Ranbir have potential to follow "Big B"

Director Siddharth Anand feels the young actor has the potential to follow in the footsteps of megastar Amitabh Bachchan as the "complete Hindi film hero".

"The day Ranbir does an action film and does it well, he has the potential to fill the void that Bachchan created," said Anand who teamed up with Ranbir for the second time for his new romantic comedy ‘Anjaana Anjaani’ releasing Sep 24.

"Ranbir is the perfect guy to play Anthony (a character played by Big B in `Amar Akbar Anthony`), he can play coolie, he can play the characters Bachchan played in his prime. There is no one else but him," Anand told reporters.

"In `Anjaana Anjaani` there is a sequence where they are stranded in the middle of an ocean. It was the Pacific Ocean and he had to dive into the freezing waters. He did it even though he has aquaphobia," said the director.

Talking about the film that co-stars Priyanka Chopra, he said: " `Anjaana Anjaani` is the story of two strangers who meet in strange circumstances and then part as strangers. So it`s a very unique concept for a Hindi film, but it`s deep-rooted as a Hindi commercial film. It has songs, stories, beautiful locations and fabulous performances."

Siddharth says more than the actresses, he bonds well with actors.

"I am a hero`s director. I bond with my heroes more than I bond with my heroines. Once we become friends, I like to work with them repeatedly if they are okay with it. I have been fortunate enough to work with two superstars," said Anand.

Mallika’s Dream is about to come true

In the show ‘Koffee with Karan’, Mallika had expressed her desire to work with the ultimate superstar of Bollywood - Amitabh Bachchan, and now it seems like her dream is about to come true. The golden opportunity knocked her door via Pritish Nandy Production Company, when they decided to cast the sexy siren with Big B in their next venture.

Talking to a news daily, Mallika said, “PNC has sent me the script and I have really liked it.” She further added, “Who wouldn`t want to work with the superstar and run with him onscreen?”

The movie, according to a source, is a love story where Mallika and Amitabh will be paired opposite each other.

Meanwhile Ms Sherawat is super-duper excited about the movie and is completely ecstatic over the fact that she’d sharing screen space with the star she idolized. Birdies say that the beauty will be taking the narration once she’s back in India, by the end of this month.

Well, it would be really interesting to see the sexy lady run down the meadows with Big B on the silver screen!

I am an INDIAN : Amitabh Bachchan

While the debate over caste census intensifies with most parties rooting for it, Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan is clear where he stands on the controversial issue. If ever asked to mention his caste, he says categorically, he would be ready with the answer - Indian.

Census enumerators came calling on the Bachchan household, prompting Amitabh to express his views on the issue of caste census.

"Wary of the sensitivity that this has raised recently by politicians, they keep away from it. They reason that they would wait for some government decision on this. I tell them irrespective of what the system decides, my answer is ready - caste, Indian," he wrote on his blog bigb.bigadda.com.

Big B says that his father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, a noted Hindi poet and litterateur, never believed in caste system.

"My Father never believed in caste and neither do any of us. He married a Sikh (Teji Bachchan), I married a Bengali (Jaya Bhaduri), my brother a Sindhi (Ramola), my daughter (Shweta) a Punjabi (Nikhil Nanda), my son (Abhishek) a Mangalorean (Aishwarya Rai)... in his autobiography he (Harivansh Rai) had expressed that future generations of his family should marry into different parts of the country. So far that tradition has been kept alive!!"

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the government will soon take a decision on caste-based census in the country.

"From the morning a consensus on the census. Officials from the BMC, the Bombay Municipal Corporation, troop into Prateeksha to detail in on information that shall for the first time in India develop for every citizen the UID - a Unique Identity Card.

Amitabh Bachchan gets angry.....

India's biggest star admits they sometimes get under his skin -- and when that happens he says he takes care not to show his irritation, particularly before the media.

Amitabh Bachchan has learnt to live with controversies. but I have accepted that controversies are bound to happen with me. I do get angry about it at times but we don't let it show - not in front of the media at least," added the 66-year-old thespian who will soon be seen as host of the third season of the reality show "Bigg Boss" that features a bunch of celebrities locked into a house.

The subject of many controversies, big and small, Bachchan seems to often vent his ire in his blog, which he labels a "revelation".

The blog - www.bigb.bigadda.com - has become almost an obsession, says the star candidly.

"It (my blog) has been a great revelation. It's a medium where I can talk to myself. It has now become almost like an obsession and it's not so much because I want to express myself but the fact that I better express myself now there are hundreds of people who wait to read what I'm going to do, what I am thinking and then they comment on it," he said.

Amitabh Bachchan's Lent Voice for TV commercial Ad

Songs like "Mere angane mein" from Lawaris, "Rang barse" from Silsila and "Chali chali" from Baghban for his movies, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan now has lent his voice for a TV commercial Ad, Directed by Sujoy Ghosh.

Sujay is also directing the actor in his forthcoming film "Aladin", Amitabh has sung the song for a Himani Navratna Oil commercial, for which he is also the brand ambassador.

"He has an incredible energy level that comes across on the screen as well. We had an amazing time shooting the ad with him," said Ghosh.

The jingle has been composed by Vishal-Shekhar and sources claim "Amitabh too spent long hours in the studio with the musicians and provided his own inputs".