Amitabh Bachchan to dye beard, hair for 'Boodha'

After retaining the same appearance for the last 11 years, Amitabh Bachchan has suddenly turned experimental about his looks. First he decided to sport a trimmed beard and new hairstyle in "Aarakshan" and now for "Boodha", the Big B will dye his beard and hair into a flamboyant trendy colour!

The colour is yet to be decided. According to insiders from the frantically-experimental unit, Big B would either sport a red-tinted beard and hair in the movie -- which will be directed by Telugu maverick Puri Jagannath -- or it could be various flamboyant colours.

When contacted, Jagannath said: "That's right. Bachchan sir is going totally psychedelic for his part in 'Boodha'. You see, he plays a man who is 60 but believes he's still 25. So he moves around dressed and made up like today's youngster. And if anyone calls him a boodha (old man) he is livid. He will be dyeing his beard and wig."

Even the clothesline for Big B in "Boodha" would be in keeping with his character of a man of 25. Apparently, the megastar would be borrowing accessories from his son Abhishek's wardrobe.

The film will go on floors next month.

SRK, Big B & Dench to work together

It cannot get any bigger or better than this! Two icons of Bollywood and a heavyweight Hollywood A-lister are coming together to support the cause of education among the underprivileged in India.

Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Judi Dench will be working in tandem to promote education among the low-income groups of the country with the sole aim that when these kids become bread-winners, they will have a better life and in turn provide better opportunities to their children.

And bringing these top actors together is none other than the Oscar-winning sound engineer Resul Pookutty. His foundation has been silently working towards bettering the socio-economic conditions of the poverty struck groups but he believes that the time has come to go top gear. "It is unimaginable that even in the 21st century there is rampant illiteracy in India. We are making our presence felt in the world and this aspect is something that should definitely be tackled. Along with economy and cultural boom, India should not be spoken as a country that is also illiteracy stricken," Resul told TOI.

He added, "Without Amitabh Bachchan's blessing, my project would have not started at all. He has helped me with funds and goodness. It is time to implement new things. Just when I was planning different things, Judi Dench came to my rescue. She had spent eight weeks in the country while shooting her Hollywood project in Rajasthan. She saw the rich and the poor and was touched by the work that we were doing."

According to Resul, Judi will play a very active role in the project. "Judi has told me to draw plans and just tell her what is to be done and she will try her level best to do more than what has been asked of her," he said. SRK's inclusion certainly bolsters the plans further. "I have met Shah Rukh while working on his movie Ra.One.

 I told him all about our charity that is being supported by two big luminaries and he was more than keen to support. SRK is a silent benefactor and he too will be with us in this cause," Resul added.
Check out Shah Rukh Khan's homepage

Big B's Save Tiger programme in controversy

The 'Save Tiger' programme, hosted by superstar Amitabh Bachchan for a TV channel in Madhya Pradesh's Pench Tiger Reserve, has sparked off controversy with a NGO claiming the event had violated wildlife laws.

NGO Uday has complained to National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the central environment and forest ministry and the state's chief wildlife warden that the 12-hour telethon Dec 12 committed gross violations of various sections of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 for violating sound limits in the tiger reserve.

"The campaign targeted profits and more TRPs regardless of the ill effect on wildlife... although it's a good move to start awareness among people and unite them for a global cause... but pros and cons should be kept in mind before organising such an event," Shehla Masood of Uday told IANS.

The programme had generated about Rs.5 crore for tiger projects in India.

Masood also said that the NTCA has informed her that they have forwarded the complaints to authorities concerned for further action.

State Chief Wildlife Warden H.S. Pabla told IANS that the complaint was "not much of a serious issue".

"The programme had been organised outside the park, so we have to see the legalities of the jurisdiction," he said.

Amitabh-Shahrukh-Hrithik walk the ramp for KJ

All the three Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham stars walked the ramp for Karan Johar. Amitabh Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan were the showstoppers for Karan and Varun's fashion show on men's wear on Thursday evening.

However, the show was stolen by KJ's lucky mascot Shahrukh Khan. Shahrukh was not walking the Couture ramp this year, he was seen sitting at the front row and cheering for his designer friends. When the showstoppers Amitabh Bachchan dressed in a black overcoat with aviators and Hrithik Roshan in a military jacket, took a final bow with the designers, Karan insisted that King Khan should come up the ramp.

The showstoppers of the day Amitabh and Hrithik, walked back to SRK and Big B pulled Shahrukh onto the stage. The atmosphere was suddenly electrified with all the powerful and enigmatic personalities gracing the stage.

The sounds of claps and cheers hovered the entire venue. The audience were full of joy and enthusiasm after seeing the trio Amitabh, Shahrukh and Hrithik of Karan Johar's film Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham on stage. It was a bonding atmosphere between all the biggies of Btown. SRK hugged Amitabh and Hrithik on the stage.