Dibakar Banerjee’s much talked-about Love Sex Aur Dhokha went before the censor board on Monday. The controversial love scene showing a bare-backed girl on top of a man making love has been told to be blurred on screen. In other words, Dibakar’s couple will be seen by the audience making love as two blurred figures. The director already miffed and mired in what he sees as unnecessary controversy refuses to be enraged even if so many recent Hindi films have had graphic love- making scenes.

As for the female bare back during a love-making scene the censors liberally allowed that in Rensil D’Silva’s Kurbaan lately. Says Dibakar, “We had submitted a dvd of the film to the censorboard so they’d recommend cuts in advance and avoid delays. The censor preview recommendation suggests that we blur the sex scene. We were told this scene was too graphic and needed tempering. There’s no way the censors could allow the love-making scene. We’ve clearly been told that even before the film is submitted for censoring. “When asked how bare-backed love-making scenes have been allowed passed the censors recently and how the one in Love Sex Aur Dhokha has been recommended toning down even before the film is submitted to the censors the director chooses to smile mysteriously. “Ive been in principle against the film being perceived as a voyeur’s delight. Love Sex Aur Dhokha is not about sex sex and sex. Those who expect that will turn away disappointed.”

However, in another more radical cut all reference to caste in a love story between a low-caste boy and a high-caste girl has been removed by the censorboard. This has infuriated Dibakar.Says the director, “This completely changes the perspective of my story since now the caste-challenged love story is turned into a poor-boy-rich-girl romance. This not what I intended.” Also, the song ‘Tu Nangi Achi Lagti Hai’ which was modified on the audio cd to ‘Tu Gandi Achi Lagti Hai’ has now been similarly modified in the film also. Says Dibakar, “But no complaints. Considering the controversial content my film got away easily with little cuts and an ‘Adults’ certificate.”?

If you enjoy working in a film, the experience lingers in your memory for years and years. Boman Irani cherishes every moment he spent on the sets of WELL DONE ABBA, so much so that when Shyam Benegal concluded the shooting and threw a farewell party for the cast and technicians on the sets of the film, Boman couldn’t help but get moist-eyed.

Boman says, he doesn’t prefer outdoor shoots, since he misses his family the most. “But I thoroughly enjoyed working on this film. It’s a dream to work with Shyam Babu [Benegal] at least once and I was genuinely awaiting that opportunity. And one fine day he called and said something very nice. He said, ‘Boman, I have finally found something befitting your calibre’,” Boman recalls.

Before working with the veteran film-maker, Boman was under the impression that Shyam Babu was a strict disciplinarian. “But he was from being a dictator on the sets. On the contrary, he kept us smiling all through the making of the film. It was like one big picnic,” Boman states.

Arshad Warsi is ready to face the biggest examination of his professional life. His debut film as producer, HUM TUM AUR GHOST, is scheduled for release next Friday. “I am excited and confident. I’ve made this film with a lot of passion and I sincerely hope the audience likes the effort,” Arshad informs me.

Meanwhile, the industry is abuzz with the speculation that Arshad had problems with the director of the film, Kabeer Kaushik. That explains why Arshad decided to take matters in his hand. “Well, we never got into fights. I am not the violent kind,” Arshad states on record, “But it’s true that Kabeer and I had differences.”

The differences stemmed from the fact that Kabeer wanted to make HUM TUM AUR GHOST into a serious film, while Arshad wanted it to be a light entertainer. “That’s true,” Arshad doesn’t deny the industry talk, “Kabeer’s interpretation was tilting more towards serious, while I wanted it to be a light entertainer. So we decided that let the editor [Steven] decide what’s best for the film. We decided to step out of the editing suite and let him take the decision.”

So, whose interpretation is HUM TUM AUR GHOST eventually? “It’s Arshad Warsi’s vision. It has its serious moments, but you’d come out smiling in the end,” Arshad smiles.

It isn’t often that we see two entertainers stand up for one another in public.

At DJ Aqeel’s club Hype on Wednesday night, Akon attended to wave to the crowds. A rather ugly situation was averted when the personnel at the Club tried to stop composer Aadesh Shrivastav from accompanying Akon to the podium.

Akon had to intervene and remind the Club’s staff that Aadesh was like his brother. Says Aadesh, “Yes that was a rather embarrassing situation, I’d have lost my temper if it wasn’t for Akon. Akon did persuade me to come on stage with him. He has treated me like a brother from the time I got to know him five years ago. When the idea of a Punjabi track came to me, I was hesitant to put it forward to Akon, considering his packed schedule in Mumbai. But he immediately agreed.”

The Punjabi recording with Akon on Thursday was a riot with the singer savouring the words to the fullest. Says Aadesh, “I wrote the lyrics myself. Akon sang the track about the kudi who took away his kaleja like true Punjabi munda. I have given him a rhythm section consisting of violins, the daff, a matka, dholak and table. Akon freaked out.”

The singer left Mumbai on Thursday night. Aadesh Shrivastav said, “The craze for Akon singing in any language is phenomenal. You’ve to judge how popular Akon is among youngsters in Mumbai by the crowds that gathered for him.”

Shah Rukh Khan won over our hearts and minds with the Good Samaritan Rizwan Khan in MNIK by helping poor American villagers in their time of need. But who would have guessed that Karan Johar shot the whole flood sequence in Mumbai and made it seem like a quaint, rural village in Georgia? A far cry from yesteryear’s films that used cardboard cut-outs for the sun and the moon, the art and carft of visual effects (vfx) has progressed by leaps and bounds enabling filmmakers to use computer technology to save on crucial time and money.

Directed by Karan Johar, the Shah Rukh - Kajol starrer My Name is Khan had some path breaking vfx executed by redchillies.vfx. The Mumbai based vfx house had a team of 100 artists working rigorously for three months to make the 380 vfx shots, and thus the film, a creative success.

Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, Haresh Hingorani (Harry), Production Director at redchillies.vfx shared, “For us, creating the flood sequence was the biggest challenge. Since we had to play with computer generated (CG) water and simulations, the sequence became even more complicated. Apart from flood sequence, there were several other chroma background shots, CG elements and background creation, which took time to complete.”

In this exclusive case study, we bring you some of the exciting shots executed by redchillies.vfx, courtesy Fox Searchlight, Dharma Productions. Special thanks to the redchillies.vfx team - Haresh Hingorani, Arjun Mitra and Keitan Yadav.

Click on the thumbnails below to check out the shot breakdown:

Shilpa Shetty and hubby Raj Kundra may be busy touring with their IPL team- Rajasthan Royals but that hasn’t stopped them from expanding their other business interests. Shilpa and Raj recently announced the opening of their new nightclub called ‘Royalty’ in Mumbai. The high end club is located at the same place where popular hotspot ‘Poison’ was earlier situated.

After their closely fought match against the Mumbai Indians on Saturday, Shilpa and Raj threw a lavish bash at their new club Royalty. The bash saw some bigwigs in attendance including Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan, Harman Baweja, Ameesha, Kabir Bedi, Shamita Shetty and Jackie Shroff.

One will have to wait and watch if this nightclub turns out to be a hotspot for Bollywood’s party animals in the days to come.

Ever wondered why Vidya Balan looks as fresh like a Lilly. It’s probably because of good sleeping habits. Therefore, naturally, Indian Sleep Disorders Association (ISDA) has appointed her as the brand ambassador of sleep awareness month that runs through all of March.

The drive is to sensitise people about sleep disorders, the symptoms of which are often ignored but can cause serious health issues. It’s Miss Balan’s belief which is validated by doctors as well that getting a good night’s sleep is as important as having daily vitamins and in case you’re facing irregular sleeping patterns, it’s important to see a doctor.

According to experts one in every three Indian suffers from insomnia or some other form of sleep disorder but having Vidya working on creating awareness, there is bound to be a lot of people having sweet dreams.