Vaibhavi Merchant: My father has a mental condition

Vaibhavi Merchant snubs reports about personal problems with her father; says he has a mental condition Choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant is aghast at reports claiming that her father Ramesh Merchant has walked out of their Shivaji Park home because of problems with his wife and children. The dancer who shares the judges' panel with Hrithik Roshan and Farah Khan on of reality show Just Dance says that her father suffers from mood disorder and nothing unlikely has happened between them. Vaibhavi says, "It is sad when people talk like this. My father is sick. He has been suffering from bipolar mood disorder for the last 10 years and this is the third time he has left home all of a sudden without telling us. He hasn't technically left us. He has just gone to stay with his brother and will come back himself in time." Avoiding medication "Dad was under medication and he stopped taking it. When you do that you become a little violent and have erratic mood swings. We understand that and are very supportive of him, " she further adds Pillar of support Vaibhavi says that her mother, Hridaya Merchant has held their family together through very tough times. "My mom has been our support system. My parents have gone through some tough times and maybe that's what has led to his present mental condition."

Game is not over yet for Sarah-Jane Dias

After Game tanked at the BO, the model-turned-actress Sarah-Jane Dias has started shooting a Telugu movie With her B-Town outing Game not making any mark, Sarah-Jane Dias is now venturing south. The model-turned-actress has begun shooting for an untitled Telugu film. As part of her preparations, Sarah is trying to get her lingo right. She has spent hours viewing Telugu films on DVD. Though she does not understand the language at all, she is trying to hear it out to get her accent right. Southern fascination Says a source, "Though she watched several Telugu flicks, what she particularly liked was 2009's big ticket Magadheera starring Pawan Kalyan and Kajal Agarwal. She was fascinated by it and has been repeating the movie's dialogues." Adds the source, "On the first day of her shoot, Sarah surprised her co-star Pawan by greeting him in Telugu. Though it's tough, as she has no clue about the language, she is trying extremely hard." Her spokesperson confirms, "Sarah is working on a Telugu film opposite Pawan Kalyan and has been researching for her role and perfecting her diction." Tamil, too Before Game, Sarah-Jane Dias had acted in a Tamil movie Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai (Restless Playboy), which released in January 2010. Written and directed by Thiru Krishnamoorthy, the film's cast included Vishal Krishna, Neetu Chandra and Tanushree Dutta.

Kareena's 'Ra.One' track leaked on the internet

A rough cut of Akon's track Wanna Be My Chammak Challo from Ra.One leaked on the Internet recently. The clip showed Kareena Kapoor grooving to the track. The video has now been taken off the website it was hosted on, citing copyright issues.

Bond between Sallu-YRF gets stronger. Is SRK listening?

Not only is Salman Khan working with Yash Raj Films, pehli baar in Ek Tha Tiger but he has also got closer to them, thanks to brother, Sohail The bond between Salman Khan and the Yash Raj family, which was never so good, has suddenly gotten very strong, thanks to Sohail Khan. The director-producer has been spending a lot of time with Aditya Chopra trying to work out dates for their respective films, Kabir Khan's Ek Tha Tiger and his Sher Khan. Apparently, both Sallu-starrers will be shot around the same time. Collective efforts Confirming these details Sallu's bro says, "Aditya Chopra's film (directed by Kabir Khan) will have a small shooting spell in July. After that, there will be a long stretch from September onwards. That's when I start my shooting with Bhai (Salman) for my own film. Adi and I have sat together and worked out the collective schedules of the two films so that there's no clash of dates." Clash-less Talking about the Chopra heir, Sohail says, "He's a really cool guy. So organised, it's a pleasure working with him. Not for a moment was there a clash of interest between my film and his. "Bhai is working with Yashraj for the first time. And both the families (the Khans and Chopras) are equally enthusiastic about it." Elaborating on the volume of work that Salman has taken on these days, the fillmaker says, "On the contrary, it's only now that Bhai is working with all the right banners. It doesn't matter whether the film is produced by Arbaaz, me or Yashraj. Bhai will only do the work if he likes the script. He has a fantastic script sense."

The new sexy retro widow: Kangna

Kangna Ranaut copies Jaya Bachchan's Sholay look for 'Double Dhamaal' The retro Bollywood widow is all set to come back in Indra Kumar's next. Double Dhamaal sees Kangna Ranaut play a character inspired by Jaya Bachchan's role in Sholay. Says a source from sets, "The quintessential widow form Sholay is back with Kangana in DD. Inspired by Sholay's iconic vidhwaah (widow), played by Jaya Bachchan, the director has styled KR in a similar look for one of the scenes in the film. Instead of wearing normal clothes required for the scene, the director told the stylists to give Kangana an old white saree, just like the ones widows in old films wore." Indra Kumar confirms, "It is a spoof a funny scene all in good humor. We are not making fun of or passing derogatory remarks on Jayaji and Sholay. It's just that in earlier times all widows were stereotyped. They wore white sarees and would only cook gajar ka halwa and alu parathas for their mothers. The particular scene, with all the other actors, is a spoof where she is in a widow's garb with minimal make-up. In the film, she plays a modern, smart and sexy young secretary to Sanjay Dutt."

Why Aamir Khan will never ask Katrina for an item song?

Katrina Kaif will be seen playing a bohemian fashion student in her new flick Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara. The actor chats up Sreya Basu in Mumbai Do we see Laila (your screen name) doing another Sheila Ki Jawaani in Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara? I asked Zoya (Akhtar, director) if there is room for Laila ki Jawaani in this film. I honestly tried to put a little item song in the bill. But I guess, it does not fit in a film like this. The boys (Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol and Farhan Akhtar) are the real item numbers of the film…I was there to kind-of support them. It's their track. Talking about item numbers, Aamir Khan has said he will never take you for an item song because he is scared of Salman Khan. What do you have to say about that? I will have a little chat with Aamir later…I have to get his number…may be from Zoya; she has done a film with him. I will ask him. (Smiles) There are a lot of things you did for the first time in Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara… Yes. Zoya told us that there will be scuba diving and underwater sequences in the film. My character Laila, who is a fashion student in London, takes time off to teach scuba diving. How did you prepare yourself for the underwater sequences? It was my first time in doing anything like that. So I was trained for three days in the swimming pool at Otters Club in Mumbai. I thought it will be a cakewalk. At Otters Club, all we did was to sit at the bottom of the pool and scribble at the note pad that the director had given us; thinking this will be extremely easy. And then, cut to three months later when we came to shoot the sequence, we went out in a big boat and were told we are going to an hour into the ocean. I had fallen to sleep in the boat when it suddenly stopped and when I looked into the ocean from the edge of the boat, there was a storm…with 20 foot waves. It was like something straight out of a movie scene. We were all geared up with our suits and Zoya said 'jump'. I told her that I only practiced for three days and that too in a swimming pool and you want me to jump in the middle of the ocean and that too when there's a storm? She said: 'Yeah, yeah…jump.' It was the scariest thing I have ever experienced…I was quite sure I was never coming up from the water again. And when we got back on the boat, the diving team told us that when we jumped, above our heads was a hammerhead shark. We waved our way in…so may be didn't notice. But we got ten heart attacks after hearing that. However, I must say, it was the most beautifully shot scene in the film. We also see you riding a motorbike in the film… I was actually trained to ride a bike…I was trained for about four-five days…it was really, really hard. And then Zoya shot with me for about three hours on the bike. But I really enjoyed it…it was fun. And now, I am seriously thinking of getting myself a bike and ride around Bombay. Whom will you like to take on the backseat of your bike while riding around Mumbai? Hrithik said he is up for. So, may be, will take him for a bike ride.

Have Josh and Bipasha broken up?

Recent photos suggest, Hollywood heartthrob Josh Hartnett is back with his ex-flame. Whatever happened to his supposed romance with Bipasha Basu? Not very long ago we reported that Hollywood star Josh Hartnett and Bollywood beauty Bipasha Basu, who are co-starring in Singularity, might just be dating Will Josh Hartnett and Bipasha become a couple? However, recent photos of the 32-year-old actor reveal that he is very much seeing his supposed ex Sophie Lie. The duo was spotted together grabbing a lunchtime beverage in the Soho neighborhood of New York City, on Friday. Josh and Sophie Lie spent the day out in the sunshine, laughing and chatting away. Sources suggested that they had broken up because Lie, a Norwegian model, was not ready to settle down yet, while Hartnett wanted to. However, from the photographs it looks like the couple is back again and both of them have worked things out. In the report on May 9, a source on the sets of Singularity had revealed that Hartnett and Bips had come very close and were constantly in-touch. And that both were single and were bonding very strongly. We also heard that Josh who stars opposite Bips in Singularity, has recently wrapped filming it. The movie is described as an sweeping and riveting tale of an impossible love set across two time periods and continents. Impossible it is, we guess.