Amrita Rao's Wonderfull gift

Receiving three paintings dedicated to herself by the great artist MF Hussain himself as a birthday gift has not only upped her asset portfolio but also ‘humbled her’.

However, there are other things that make the girl happy, too. Apparently, when she was shooting in Peru, South America, recently, she was taken aback when a group of locals rushed to her for an autograph, and their mobiles went click, click, click.

That’s not all. They insisted that she see the photos that they had of her on their mobiles. “Some even had her picture as their screensaver,” we are told. Now how on earth did this Amrita craze hit Peru?

It was her film Vivaah that did the trick. They loved the movie, and what they loved even more was their Poonam (played by Amu) in it.

Wonder if Vivaah co-star Shahid will draw as much fan-following as Peru’s Bollywood pari? Test ho jaye , Shahid?

Continue Reading >>>> More Pictures...

The Sexy Girl Next Door

Amrita Rao, who started her Bollywood career as the girl-next-door, is creating a lot of flutter around with her all new provocative glam look. The actress justifies that she is not trying to break the image that she has created in the industry by saying that ‘a girl next door can also be hot and sexy’.

“I’m not trying to desperately do something different that would make me change the image that I have built. I’m very happy if people in the industry find me a sweet girl-next-door,” she says.
She finds nothing wrong when the same girl-next-door goes through a glam makeover and starts flirting with guys in a pub. Suddenly, the girl-next-door which is the uber chic version of the Bharatiya Nari has gone through a sea change in definition.

“But you have to understand that this girl is not predictable. She can be hot and sexy too, she can be the life of a party and can also flirt with boys,” Amrita says.

And what does Amrita have to say about her new look in the forthcoming film Shortkut in which she is provocatively soaking the sun on a sandy beach?

“See, I have worn sexy clothes before too in films like Ab Ke Baras, Ishq Vishk, Main Hoon Na. The new thing that I have done is the way I have been acting like in My Name is Anthony Gonsalves in which I could subtly be seductive through my eyes and expressions. In Shortkut too, I have a role that demands me to be glamourous and attractive,” Amrita explains.

Now an established actress, Amrita started her career as a model and featured in several commercials. Having no well wishers in Bollywood, Amrita says she has been lucky to have got big movie offers.

“It’s difficult to establish yourself in our industry if you do not know someone. Only a few from the outside can barge into the industry. I think I have been very lucky,” she says.
She admits that there are very few platforms that enable an actor to get noticed.

“The problem is that the platforms from where you can get spotted by someone from our film fraternity are few. Either you have to be a model doing ads or you have to win a beauty pageant and none of these are a cakewalk,” she said.

This svelte actress currently has three films in her kitty — the Shyam Benegal
directed Mahadev Ka Sajjanpur, Harman Baweja starrer Victory and Anil Kapoor’s Shortkut and says she has no complaints about how the industry has treated her so far.

“I don’t have any complaints because I think I have got some really nice opportunities and people have been very nice with me,” she says, adding, “Acting was something I always secretly desired to do and I’m living my dream.”

The romantic at heart
Amrita, who has acted in several romantic films, says she is a very big romantic at heart and adds that it was her role in Ishq Vishq that is most closer to the real person that she is. “I’m a very sacrificing, emotional person. Playing the role of Payal in the film was like playing me in front of the screen,” she says.

Amrita says that she believes in the classic, your-love-is-destined-for-you phrase. “I’m a very romantic person but I believe that if someone is destined to be with me, nothing can take the person away,” she adds.

Continue Reading >>>> More Pictures...

New hottie in town: Amrita Rao

If you think Mumbai’s soaring temperature has anything to do with global warming, think again.

BT has found a plausible reason behind the rising mercury. It’s actress Amrita Rao who’s setting the pulses racing of all hot-blooded men in a sexilicious new avtar. Hot, sizzling and straight off the beaches of Mauritius, the actress shares her first look from Anil Kapoor’s film Shortkut. Bollywood’s sexy sirens need not lose heart, though. This girl’s not looking to steal their sex tags and insists that she’s still the girl-next-door

Excerpts from an interview with the new hottie in town:

You’re sizzling in this new avtar. What brought about the transition?

There’s no transition. It’s just a look I sport for a song in Anil Kapoor’s Shortkut. And the credit goes to Anil, Manish Malhotra who’s styled my look, and Bosco-Ceasar who’ve choreographed the song. As an actress, I’m just their canvas.

Were you apprehensive about carrying off such a look?

Not at all. I think every girl has a sensuous side. In fact, sensuality completes a woman. But for me sensuality is incomplete without a woman’s grace and dignity. As long as I am comfortable, I can carry off any look.

Is it a conscious effort to move away from your girl-next-door image?

No, nothing of that sort. It’s just that as an actress I get to play and discover many facets to my personality. And they are just extensions of who I am or I can be, but not the real me. Once the arclights turn off and I hear pack up... I’m back to being myself, a girl-next-door. I’m not interested in earning a new sexy image.

From the demure Poonam in Vivaah to the glam diva in Shortkut, you’re convincing...

Poonam was Sooraj Barjatya’s conviction and this look is Manish’s vision. As an actress, I always give every role my best. Fortunately my face can accommodate these makeovers and the rest is all God’s grace.

What’s your take on the size zero syndrome in Bollywood...

Almost everyone seems to be getting paranoid about their weight. It’s quite unfortunate since a lot of young kids try to ape such celebrities without realising the consequences. The aim should be to stay fit and healthy, and not attain a size zero.

Three big films coming up, you must be excited about 2008?

Absolutely! A village girl in Mr Shyam Benegal’s Mahadev, a glam–diva in Anil Kapoor’s Shortkut, and a medical student in Ajit Pal’s Victory, it’s like living three different lives in one year!

How come a hot single girl like you has no man in your life?

I am sure my man is pretty much on this planet and I am waiting for that beautiful moment when our journeys become one.

Continue Reading >>>> More Pictures...

Bollywoods Sexy Acterss Amrita Rao Says I regret not working with SRK

Vivah Amrita Rao was looking for that role which would take her beyond the old-world elegance of Sooraj Barjatya's imagination.

She has at last found the right project.

"When I got a call from Shyam Benegal's office saying he wanted to meet him I was over the moon. He has always been on my wish list.

And when that call came I pinched myself. I didn't ask any questions. I immediately said yes. He has told me nothing much about my character and the script.

After I saw what he did with Karisma Kapoor in Zubeida I just felt I should be directed by him. I'm very excited. For a while I was traveling. When I returned I met him, and we were on."

Amrita loved subject. "I play a village girl and the film entitled Mahadev was shot in Hyderabad. My co-star is Shreyas Talpade. I saw his work in Dor. And I absolutely adored him. "

Shyam Benegal hasn't seen Amrita in any film, not even Vivah. "What really excites me is that I get to do a workshop. With Soorajji there was no workshop. But he did all the homework for the actors.

We'll start workshop every shortly. And for me who's had no formal training in acting this is a like an all-new avenue opening up."

Amrita's last release was E Niwas' My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves "It was a very cute script…Now I have Anil Kapoor's Short Cut with Akshaye Khanna and Arshad Warsi. I've worked with Akshaye in Deewaar. Arshad was there in Wah Life Ho To Aisi. But we didn't have any scenes together. They're such versatile actors."

Amrita has done a wacked-out comedy Masti. "Short Cut isn't an out-and-out comedy. But Arshad has the funniest part since Circuit in Munnabhai."

She's almost completed a Telugu film with Mahesh Babu.

Any regrets? "I couldn't shoot the all-star guest song for Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om. I was shooting for my Telugu film in Austria. But I did participate in the item song in Farah's brother Sajid's Hey Babby. For Farah, anytime."

Continue Reading >>>> More Pictures...

Bollywood Actress Amrita Rao likes to surprise

Amrita Rao recently visited Delhi to meet her designer friend Renu Tandon. The ladies caught up with each other at a Delhi do, and while they did that, we spoke to the two of them.

The result? A conversation full of fashion and Bollywood! While Amrita kept saying how she loved her look in her film Vivah, Renu insisted that Amrita could carry off any look beautifully. She said, “Amrita looks lovely in long dresses. Not really long, but somewhere below the knee. I loved the vibrant oranges and reds she wore in Vivah. I’d like to make a pretty balloon dress for her, complete with a crinkle look. I think she will be able to carry that look well too.”

And Amrita was more than happy to be listening. “Yes, even I think I can carry off various looks. And more recently, I have gone glam in all my movies because I think an actress should keep surprising her audience. I should be seen in different avatars and that is why I’m open to experimenting all the while,” she said.


Renu added, “Since Amrita is so youthful, whatever she wears becomes a fashion statement for others of her generation.” And Amrita couldn’t agree more, “That’s true and I hope I can influence girls my age in the right manner. It is a responsibility to be a young ambassador from Bollywood.” And what is Amrita’s style statement? “My style statement is to be comfortable, and to wear something that makes me feel confident. Footwear, accessories are all a part of my look and I take time to coordinate my look,” she said.

Continue Reading >>>> More Pictures...