Farhan Akhtar to sing for AR Rahman in Blue; this will be his first song for another actor.

Farhan Akhtar cant stop smiling these days. Don’t blame him. He received a call from Oscar winner AR Rahman, who asked him to sing for him for the film Blue. Caught completely off guard by the call, it took time for Farhan to realise that it was indeed Rahman who was talking to him on the phone. A source said, Rahman told Farhan that his voice suits a cool number that he wanted him to record for Blue. Farhan, of course, agreed immediately. It was too good an offer to resist.

There's more father-daughter bonding going on in Bollywood than meets the eye. As soon as Kartik Versus Kartik wraps up, Farhan Akhtar will take time off to be with his eldest daughter.

Says Farhan, "After I complete Kartik, I'm taking time off to be with my elder daughter who has her summer vacations. When her school opens in June, I leave to look for foreign locations for Don 2."

The other day Buzz18 carried a story about how Ranbir has been being roped in for Aparna Sen's Hindi directorial debut, Gulel. Now a little birdie tells me Farhan Akhtar too has been taken on board.

The film was to go on floors earlier with Ajay Devgan playing a Bihari assassin and his target played by Saif, a Parsi. But then Ajay chickened out and Saif too walked out of the project. Finally, Konkona managed to ignite interest in her Wake Up Sid co-star Ranbir Kapoor to do her mom's project. [Ranbir in Aparna Sen's Gulel?] Ranbir being almost confirmed, Aparna perhaps thought she needed a more yuppie actor to take Saif's place and Farhan's name came to her mind.

After Freida Pinto, the next Indian export to Hollywood could well be writer-film-maker-actor.

His acting assignment Fakir of Venice that opened to rave reviews after it was screened at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, is being touted as a global Indian film that could make headlines post Slumdog Millionaire.

Farhan, who is the lead player, is described as talented, handsome and a brilliant performer.

At lunch break on the sets of his film Calling Kartik Calling, Farhan said he missed out on the festival in Los Angeles. “I’m truly happy with the reviews my film and I have been getting. I’ve been asked to get myself an agent overseas; which I may do."

Director Sudhir Mishra is adapting Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ in Indian context for his next political drama with Farhan Akhtar in lead.

Farhan will play a young man who is forced to join politics and later becomes an influential political leader like the way Hamlet did when his father was killed. The movie is named ‘Dhruv’ and stars Kareena Kapoor and Chitrangada Singh in lead.

Excerpt:

If Farhan Akhtar is landing acting roles now, it’s because of his performance in Anand Surapur’s The Fakir Of Venice, produced by Phat Phish Motion Pictures. “I saw Farhan in The Fakir Of Venice and loved his performance,” says Zoya Akhtar, who finally asked her brother to play the role of Vikram, a struggler, in her debut film Luck by Chance. Also on show will be Sooni Taraporevala’s Little Zizou (executive producer Mira Nair), and Nina Paley’s animated Sita Sings The Blues.

Ranbir Kapoor in Prakash Jha’s Rajneeti and Farhan Akhtar in Sudhir Mishra’s Druv to be produced by Farhan and Riteish have a lot in common.

Both the leading men play reluctant politicians, educated westernized young people who when forced into politics take their responsibilities as political leaders seriously.

Both will be playing chief ministers of Indian states who learn the political game on the job.

While the politics of Prakash Jha’s cinema is inspired by the Mahabharat, Mario Puzo’s The Godfather and happenings in the Gandhi dynasty, Sudhir Mishra’s film will seek straight inspiration from Shakespeare’s Hamlet and episodes from the director’s grandfather’s life.

Shah Rukh Khan is all set to replace Aamir Khan in Reema Kagti's upcoming venture. Reportedly, Aamir Khan had differences with his friends Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani over terms for their next film. Aamir, apparently, demanded a whopping fee and a considerable percentage in the profits.

According to the source, "Ritesh had gone to meet Aamir on the sets of 3 Idiots to finalise the deal, however, they had a major disagreement over certain terms and conditions laid by Aamir. A disgruntled Ritesh left the sets in a huff."

The source added, "It was sad as Farhan, Ritesh and Aamir were like family. They made a cult film like Dil Chahta Hai. Although Aamir has not worked with them again, they have always been in touch. Whether the dispute over this film will also affect their personal relationship, is yet to be seen."