Neetu Chandra paired opposite Chirag Paswan?

Of late there have been murmurs around Neetu Chandra being paired opposite Chirag Paswan. For the uninitiated, Chirag is the son of politician Ram Vilas Paswan and has been nurturing Bollywood dreams for quite some time now.

A source close to Neetu stated, "She may or not be a part of the project. It would be interesting though if Chirag and Neetu come together since it would be a unique pairing. Considering the fact that both of them hail from Bihar, it would be a full-on Bihar force in the offering."

The source goes on to add, "From the current generation, Neetu and Chirag are the new entrants and it would be quite an interesting preposition. They both look good together and if things work out then there is a good probability of the two being paired together for this film. In any case quite a few film personalities today are hailing from Bihar."

"We know about Madhavan and Imtiaz Ali. Other than that Jehangir Surti (director of AA DEKHEN ZARA) also hails from Bihar. Shatrughan Sinha's son and daughter would be seen on the big screen soon, Shekhar Suman has already made a good name for himself while Adhyayan Suman is showing a good rise in stocks as well", he rattles down a few names here, "It's pretty much a 'Jai Bihar' situation currently."

When contacted, Neetu refused to comment and neither agree nor deny being a part of the project. For the records, she is currently working with Tanushree Dutta, who again hails from Bihar, in Jagmohan Mundra directed APARTMENT.link

An evening dedicated to mothers of Patna

At a glittering function, full of musique concrete and fun, a number of moms in different age-groups sashayed down the ramp to mark Mother's Day on Sunday at Chanakya Hotel here. The vibrant programme was jointly organised by The Times of India and Radio Mirchi. The chief guest on the occasion was Bollywood producer and actor Poonam Sinha, better known as wife of actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha. Also present on the occasion was Meera Srivastava, mother of actress Neetu Chandra.

The special evening was dedicated to the mothers of Patna who came with their kids and participated in the three-hour-long programme. The title of Super Mom went to Sushmita Mukherjee and the first and second runners-up were Nisha Agarwal and Anita Rathee respectively. They were awarded by Poonam Sinha, who too, possibly for the first time, walked on the ramp in a black sari amid much applause.

Super Mom Sushmita said, "I am feeling very nice and I never expected to be adjudged the Super Mom." She gave credit for this to her daughters, Ishani and Indrani, who were also present on the occasion. The first runner-up Nisha said, "My entire family is delighted. I too had not expected this award." Nisha has two children -- Ritwik and Ananya.

Poonam Sinha, who was there for over one and a half hours and enjoyed the evening, said this was the first time she was away from her children Luv, Kush and Sonakshi on Mother's Day. She, however, was hopeful to reach Mumbai before midnight to be with her children to accept their greetings. But she was happy to be in the midst of a good number of mothers and children and said they belong to her extended family.

The programme, full of fun, entertainment, humour, games, food and music was anchored by Radio Mirchi's RJs who successfully tried to involve all the mothers present there. All participants, including children, were given away prizes. A few mothers also shared their views and spoke about their hubbies and children. Others who were involved in hosting this programme included Advantage Services, Chanakya Hotel, VLCC and Sudha.link

Madhvan, Neetu connect to their Bihari roots

Madhavan, originally from Bihar, became a Tamil superstar before he migrated to Bollywood. So when he got to work with another Bihari Neetu Chandra, there was an instant bond between the two.

“And Bihar isn’t the only common factor between me and Neetu. We’re both athletic and sporty. We both play basketball,” says Madhavan who spent his childhood, growing years and early years Bihar.

Madhavan is enjoying every moment that he is spending on the promotion of 13B. His supernatural movie with Neetu is all set to arrive this Friday (March 6).

13B is a supernatural movie starring Madhavan, Neetu Chandra, Poonam Dhillon, Murali Sharma, Sachin Khedekar, and Deepak Dobriyal.

13B has music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and lyrics by Neelesh Mishra. The film is written and directed by Vikram K Kumar.

13B tells the story of a middle-class family which moves into a new apartment 13B where things start to get eerie when all the incidents that happen on a TV show start happening in their life as well.

Madhavan says he took up the project, directed by Vikram K Kumar, because it had an intriguing theme that’s scary as well.

“Vikram and I wanted to work together for last seven years but we did not have a script. We finally got a perfect script and worked on it for two years. This sort of movie has never been made in India before,” Madhavan is quoted as saying by a news agency.

Apart from 13B, Madhavan is presently doing three films in Bollywood – 3 Idiots with Aamir Khan , Teen Patti with Amitabh Bachchan and another film titled ‘Sikander’.

The film 13B is bilingual in Hindi and Tamil. While all the other actors in the two versions are different, Madhvan and Neetu are common actors to both the versions.

Apart from India, the film will see a limited release in the US, Canada, UAE, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia.

Says Big Pictures (the motion pictures brand of Reliance Big Entertainment) chief marketing officer Saurabh Varma said, “We truly believe in the potential of this project and are strategising ways to engage with the audience.”link

Neetu says, "Bollywood will be mine"

Neetu Chandra is on a high these days, as the glamorous actress got good reviews for her performance in Oye Lucky Lucky Oye and has an Neetu Chandra impressive line-up of films in the coming months as well.

The girl from Bihar was in a straight-talking mood when we caught up with her in the capital recently, saying, “I am lucky that I got Oye Lucky Lucky Oye. Abhay Deol is cute and I think he is an amazing actor, but according to me, the real star of the movie was director Dibakar Banerjee.”

We ask her what she thinks of her status as one of the ‘glam-babes’ of Bollywood and she gets annoyed with the tag. So what tag would she prefer? She replies, “Happening. I like being called happening, for hot also comes under happening and all the other compliments like cute, sweet and sexy also come under it.”

So, what according to her, is her best feature? She considers the question for a bit and replies,“I think my eyes are my best feature. Once, Priyadarshan told me that my eyes ‘speak’ but, I think my curves and curls are also the other best things about my body.” And how important does she think those curves are to achieve success in Bollywood? She says, “It is the whole package that is needed today in Bollywood. A good body helps of course, but so does acting, dancing skills and sex appeal.” So does she dislike being called a sex-symbol as well? She says,“I think that sex is too hyped a word. Having said that, I can’t wear a lehenga if I am doing a beach scene. The character should dictate what you wear and how you look. Many people have told me that I was looking sexy in a saree in Traffic Signal.”

So, if she hadn’t decided to be an actress, what she would have been? She replies, “I would have been a waste! Luckily my decision has been working out well for me. I truly believe that nothing is impossible to achieve. If that wasn’t true then I, a girl from Bihar, would not have been sitting here today. I would have married a guy who loves me.” So who is the person who has inspired her the most? “My mom is the reason that I am here, alongwith my hard work and everybody’s blessings also, of course. And I have to tell you, I am not as sweet as I look, I have to be really rude and show a lot of attitude to get noticed, which is very important. I think every woman should be like this.” And does this lady have someone special in her life? She answers, “A person who I find it easy to be with is my kind of guy, and I am still waiting for him.”

And finally, where does she see herself a few years down the line, “Bollywood will be mine,” she declares.link

I will do anything for Bihar: Neetu Chandra

Bollywood actor Neetu Chandra is fierce about her Bihar roots. "For Bihar I will do anything," she stressed. Chandra has come to perform in `Fantasians-2009' scheduled on Saturday at the Bharatiya Nritya Kala Mandir.

The event is being organized by the Notre Dame Academy Almuni Association and Chandra is an almuna of this school and Bihar's only girl in Bollywood. "My director was pressing to go ahead with the shooting. But I cancelled the shooting to be here," she remarked and pointed out that this would be the first time she would be performing in Bihar. The proceedings of the show will go to her school for upgrading its computer lab.

The `Garam Masala' girl has a busy 2009. Her next film `13th B' is scheduled for next year. Other films `Khusat Prasad' and `Sandy' - the film launching Shatrughan Sinha's son Luv - are also scheduled to be released this year. "In Bollywood, I have to fight for my career and my image as a Bihari," she said, pointing out that she was often asked in Bollywood if she lived in a village in Bihar where farming was done.

"That's the image Bihar has," Chandra, who has lived in Patna throughout her life before shifting to Mumbai, stressed. She said that it took quite a lot of persuasion in Bollywood to make other stars to come to Patna. "Perhaps it is because of their past experience in Bihar," she said.

Though Bihar has thrown up quite a few male actors in Bollywood - Shatughan Sinha, Manoj Bajpayee and Shekhar Suman - to name a few, Chandra happens to be the only female actor, "Perhaps more women from Bihar will come to Bollywood if we change our mentality. The parents, schools and teachers all have to contribute. I was encouraged in school and by my parents. There are Bihari girls working for theatres in Delhi. Perhaps they will come," she said.

Talking about `exposing her body', Chandra stressed that she had no hesitation in dressing as per the demand of the character played by her. "If I have to wear a swimming suit I will wear it. There is a protocol which has to be adhered to or else there are thousands of others who will do it," she remarked. She said that she has no objection to working in Bhojpuri films. "But I have asked the directors to make a film which a child can see with his grandfather," she stressed, pointing out that it was the presentation which mattered. "One can look decent in a swim suit and vulgar in a saree," she stressed.link