‘Indescribably happy’ Portman announces she’s engaged and pregnant

Actress Natalie Portman is on cloud nine after announcing that she is engaged and pregnant.

The 29-year-old Israeli-American star is expecting her first child with fiance, ballet choreographer Benjamin Millepied, in Spring 2011.

“I have always kept my private life private but I will say that I am indescribably happy and feel very grateful to have this experience,” the Daily Mail quoted her as telling in a statement to EW.com.

The couple met in late 2009 while filming ballet drama ‘The Black Swan’, which Portman has received critical acclaim and a slew of award nominations for.

French-born Millepied, 32, a classically trained ballet dancer who studied at the School of American Ballet as a teenager, was hired by filmmakers to choreograph Portman’s dances. (ANI)

Akshay plans holiday in Goa for Twinkle’s birthday

A family holiday is the only thing on Akshay Kumar’s mind after the release of ‘Tees Maar Khan’. So the Bollywood star is off to Goa to celebrate his wife Twinkle’s 36th birthday Wednesday as well as ring in the New Year with a bang.

‘I am going to Goa with my family for nine days and I will just enjoy myself. We will be celebrating Tina’s (Twinkle) birthday there first and then party on New Year’s Eve,’ Akshay told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

The action star, whose cookery game show ‘MasterChef India’ on Star Plus came to a grand end last week, says he makes sure he chalks out adequate family time every year to take Twinkle and their eight-year-old son Aarav.

‘You need to strike the right balance between work and family. I manage it very carefully. My family understands the nature of my work and never bothers me when I am working. So when I am on a holiday, I never give them a chance to complain and I just have fun,’ he said.

He also makes sure to pamper his wife once every year.

‘I like to take breaks between my projects and once every year, I take a slightly long break. At that time, I just keep a globe in front of my wife and I ask her to choose whichever destination she wants to go for a holiday, and that’s where we head! She allows me complete freedom, so I can do at least this much for her,’ said the dutiful husband.

It was an average year for Akshay with films like ‘Housefull’, ‘Khatta Meetha’, ‘Action Replayy’ and ‘Tees Maar Khan’, apart from his presence on the small screen as the host and judge of ‘MasterChef India’. He says the TV show was a ‘great learning experience’ as it was not just a chance for him to get a step closer to the masses, but also a chance for him to pick up new cookery tips.

‘I met so many people through this show and learnt so much. For the first time I heard of cooking fish in curd and mustard…I picked up many such new combinations and ingredients.

‘I could relate to their emotions because I also come from the same background. I could understand their feeling of staying away from home for a long time and could understand their needs in their quest for success…,’ said the 43-year-old, who lead a simple life in Chandni Chowk in New Delhi before he became a chef in Bangkok and then finally movedg to filmdom with ‘Saugandh’ in 1991.

The actor, best known for his action stunts in Bollywood, says he is ready to be back with a second season of the show.

‘I hope so that the channel would like to do a second season of ‘Masterchef India’. I don’t know yet, but Star Plus and I share quite a good rapport and hopefully we will return with the second season. I am all for it,’ he said.

After the holiday, Akshay is looking forward to the release of ‘Patiala House’, the official trailer of which has been released with ‘Tees Maar Khan’. Following that, he will begin shooting for Anees Bazmee’s ‘Thank You’. 

IANS

Who Are The Most Profitable Bollywood Actors Of 2010?

Bollywood has seen many ups and downs throughout this year but managed to give some really big movies with huge earnings. Today, some of the actors, directors and producers will be awarded at the ‘ETC Bollywood Business Awards 2010’ for being most profitable this year.

Surprisingly, Ajay Devgan and Katrina Kaif has managed to get the top slot defeating other A-listers. Ajay had total six releases this year including recently released Toonpur Ka Superhero. Apart from Akrosh and the recent release, Ajay’s other four releases were big hit at the Box Office. His other four films include Rajneeti, Golmaal 3, Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai.

This is for the first time, the evaluation is being done on the basis of return on investment. Considering the economic quotient of the movies, the actors are chosen to be on the top spots. As per the ETC research, the Indian viewers paid a total of Rs.282 crore to watch the films of Ajay.

On the other hand, Katrina Kaif became the most profitable heroine as Indian viewers paid a total of Rs.142 crore to watch her movies Rajneeti and the recently released Tees Maar Khan.

Debutant Abhinav Kashyap became the most profitable director for his blockbuster Dabangg, which became the highest grosser of 2010. Audiences paid a total
of more than Rs.140 crore to watch this movie. The same movie made Arbaaz Khan the most successful producer of the year.

Hema Malini Turns Director To Dharmendra And Esha Deol

Actress Hema Malini will reportedly wield the mike again for an upcoming film that hits theaters early next year. According to reports from Bollywood, the actress will return to direction after a span of eighteen years with her husband Dharmendra and daughter Esha Deol as stars of the upcoming Bollywood film. In a statement to the media, Hema Malini says that she had a very nice time shouting directions at her hubby and daughter. Considering that Dharmendra is known for his angry image, did he work according to Hema Malini’s directions? The actress turned director says that Dharmendra did object to her methods of direction initially, but since Hema Malini was strict about what she wanted from her actors, he too was bound to listen to her!

Hema Malini makes it clear that she has returned to direction only for her daughter Esha Deol, who unfortunately cannot boast of a real career in Bollywood! But mommy dearest is hopeful that her second directorial venture Tell Me Oh Khuda with Esha Deol will be liked by the masses. Hema Malini says that she shared a wonderful relationship with her daughter on the film’s sets and she loved the fact that Esha Deol always made it a point to take her advice before and after each shot.

Tell Me Oh Khuda will hit theaters in March next year. Hema Malini’s first film as a director was the Shah Rukh Khan and Divya Bharati starrer Dil Aashna Hai, which was one of the first hits of superhit actor Shah Rukh Khan.