Much had been reported about the issue between actress Deepika Padukone and producer Ramesh Taurani a few months back after the former had walked out of Race 2 following some date issues and Taurani was also supposed to have filed a complaint against her with the CINTAA (Cine and TV Artistes' Association).
However, now that Dippy, as she is fondly known, is back in the film, Taurani couldn't stop gushing about her at a recent interview. The producer cleared the air about the issues that had sprung up between him and actress Deepika Padukone and said, "Though there were certain misunderstandings between us as regards date issues, we discussed them amicably and the issues have been cleared out now. We just shot for a segment of the film in Turkey and everything was fine. I also took back my complaint with the Association the day issues got resolved between us two"
Taurani also gushed about Deepika's professionalism and talent as an actress and said that Race 2 would be ten times more grand and entertaining than the prequel.
After Kareena Kapoor ceased being a part of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's upcoming flick Ram Leela, there had been much speculation about which actress would be roped in to play the female lead opposite Ranveer Singh.
Sources now confirm that Bhansali has narrowed down on dimpled dame Deepika Padukone for the female lead in the film. It seems that Bhansali was keen to have an A-list actress play the part and had approached Katrina Kaif for the role, but as she was busy with other projects, Bhansali decided on roping in Padukone for the role.
A desi version of the famous tragic romance Romeo And Juliet, Ram Leela is set in Gujarat.
Actress Deepika Padukone is as pleased as the proverbial punch lately. The dimpled dame, who was seen playing the glamorous Veronica in recently released Cocktail, gushed about the response that the movie has received and claimed that she herself did not get a ticket for the show when she wanted to go with her friends!
It seems that Dippy, as she is popularly known, had made plans to watch the Homi Adajania flick with her own bunch of friends but when they went to a movie-hall, they discovered that it was housefull and they had to come back empty-handed. Though this might have made her pals groan in disappointment, the pretty Padukone sure seems glad about it…
Cocktail, which also starred Saif Ali Khan and Diana Penty, revolved around the themes of love and friendship between three people.
Saif Ali Khan has all the reasons to break into a wide grin. His Cocktail has managed to net 55 crores in it's first week, hence turning out to be his biggest week ever, either in a solo or multi starrer. After a 36 crores weekend, the film held on well in the weekdays as well and though there was a slight decline in collections from Tuesday onwards, it wasn't scary enough to lead to any alarms. In fact the collections were pretty much as per industry norm of 50%-60% fall in collections over the weekdays, hence resulting in the kind of total that now marks Cocktail as a definite hit at the least.
It's eventual fate depends upon the second weekend though. The Dark Knight Rises is the major release of the weekend and since that too is expected to create havoc at the box office on it's first couple of days at the least, Cocktail should ideally come back on track from Sunday onwards. Hollywood euphoria is expected to settle down by then and family audience should be favouring the desi daaru of Saif Ali Khan-Deepika Padukone-Diana Penty all over again.
All of this means that while 75 crores is most definitely achievable from here, it would be interesting to see if the film crosses the 80 crores mark. There is competition in store week after week (Kya Super Kool Hain Hum and Jism 2) which means Cocktail would have to hold on ground quite firmly. However, given the fact that Saif didn't quite have a happy outing with Agent Vinod just a few weeks back, one can be rest assured that he would happy with anything between 75-80 crores for Cocktail.
Cocktail is the only Hindi film to release this Friday and it should manage a good opening for itself. There are quite a few things going in its favour. First and foremost the young, modern and contemporary look and feel has managed to catch one's attention. Secondly, the music has picked on well as well. Thirdly, there hasn't been any negativity around the film with all around positive vibes been generated. Fourthly, Saif Ali Khan looks at ease with the genre that has helped him gain maximum commercial success over the years. Last but not the least, his pairing with Deepika Padukone is reminding of Love Aaj Kal days.
With such factors going in its favour, the film should open better than Agent Vinod that had accumulated around 30 crores in it's opening weekend. Moreover, the film finds itself in a space where it has in it to grow further with word of mouth and enjoy sustained collections than merely rely upon the first weekend collections. With a 60%-70% start expected, especially in multiplexes which are its target audience, Cocktail should be a safe project for Saif. However in single screens the film may open much lesser since the very title is so urban centric while the promotion so far hasn't tried to convey anything else.
The film is quite important for Saif since his last commercial success was Love Aaj Kal and post that there have been commercial disappointments like Kurbaan, Aarakshan and Agent Vinod. Even Deepika Padukone would want a much bigger success in her kitty than a Desi Boyz. Moreover since she enjoys an author backed part here, she has all the more expectations for it to do good.
Overall the film is finding a best possible release since it arrives solo, has the cream of multiplexes and screens available for itself and doesn't have any competition in week to follow. If it manages to sustain itself, it has all in it to grow just the way Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara when released around the same time last year.
A few weeks back, we had reported that Prabhu Deva, who tasted immense success with Rowdy Rathore, is planning another massy flick named Namak, which will have Shahid Kapoor as the male lead. Sources now claim that the director has roped in Deepika Padukone as the female lead to star opposite Sasha, as he is known.
It is being said that Prabhu was highly impressed with the dimpled damsel after seeing the promos of the recently released Cocktail and decided to rope her in as the lead actress of his film. Deepika, who played the wild party animal Veronica in Cocktail, earned rave reviews for her looks and performance in the Homi Adajania flick.
Namak is reportedly a massy entertainer, which will deal with the issue of drug trade in North India
Rivalry between Bollywood heroines is not really a new thing. However, it is very rare to come across two actresses being friends with each other. Buzz is that recently Anushka Sharma sent a congratulatory message to Deepika Padukone for her performance in the recently released Cocktail.
Sources claim that Deepika was pleasantly surprised to receive such an enduring message from Anushka.
Considering both, made their debuts opposite Shah Rukh Khan and are at the same juncture in their respective careers, it is certainly heartening to see such camaraderie.
Cocktail is the only Hindi film to release this Friday and it should manage a good opening for itself. There are quite a few things going in its favour. First and foremost the young, modern and contemporary look and feel has managed to catch one's attention. Secondly, the music has picked on well as well. Thirdly, there hasn't been any negativity around the film with all around positive vibes been generated. Fourthly, Saif Ali Khan looks at ease with the genre that has helped him gain maximum commercial success over the years. Last but not the least, his pairing with Deepika Padukone is reminding of Love Aaj Kal days.
With such factors going in its favour, the film should open better than Agent Vinod that had accumulated around 30 crores in it's opening weekend. Moreover, the film finds itself in a space where it has in it to grow further with word of mouth and enjoy sustained collections than merely rely upon the first weekend collections. With a 60%-70% start expected, especially in multiplexes which are its target audience, Cocktail should be a safe project for Saif. However in single screens the film may open much lesser since the very title is so urban centric while the promotion so far hasn't tried to convey anything else.
The film is quite important for Saif since his last commercial success was Love Aaj Kal and post that there have been commercial disappointments like Kurbaan, Aarakshan and Agent Vinod. Even Deepika Padukone would want a much bigger success in her kitty than a Desi Boyz. Moreover since she enjoys an author backed part here, she has all the more expectations for it to do good.
Overall the film is finding a best possible release since it arrives solo, has the cream of multiplexes and screens available for itself and doesn't have any competition in week to follow. If it manages to sustain itself, it has all in it to grow just the way Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara when released around the same time last year.
