Asin Thottumkal’s ‘no bikini’ clause

While her peers are donning bold avatars onscreen, south Indian actress Asin has said no to wearing bikini on-screen, Zee News reported. Call it being conservative, but Asin has made it clear to the makers of ‘Housefull’ that she will not be wearing a bikini in the sequel of the film. The first part of the hit film had Lara Dutta, Deepika Padukone and Jiah Khan donning the sexy swimsuit for a song. The sequel will star Asin and Sri Lankan beauty Jacqueline Fernandez along with Akshay Kumar, John Abraham and Ritesh Deshmukh. Asin has even gone to the extent of including a ‘no bikini’ clause in her contract. Director Sajid Khan will now be hoping that the other leading lady, Jacqueline Fernandez, agrees to wear the sexy number. So while Jacqueline will scorch the screen in her sexy avatar, Asin will just have to make do with her usual western outfits.

Asin Thottumkal falls out with hair stylist?

Asin Thottumkal reportedly threw a tantrum at her stylist because she was unhappy with the number of extensions that the woman put into her hair.

According to The Times of India, the actress accused the stylist of deliberately making her look "ugly".

A source told the paper: "The situation was so tense in the dressing room that the hair stylist even contemplated quitting.

"However, at one point, she snapped back, which is when Asin said that she was being deliberately sabotaged by someone who wanted her to look ugly, and she stormed out of the make-up room."

Thottumkal puts at least six hair extensions in to make her hair look thicker, the site claims.

It was suggested last week that the actress had opted for plastic surgery to make her lips look bigger, after she was spotted looking different at a film premiere.

She will next be seen starring opposite Akshay Kumar in the eagerly-awaited follow-up to the comedy Housefull.

Asin clarifies nixing biggies

Asin is celebrating Dabangg’s super success. No, she wasn’t a part of the blockbuster but is hoping Salman Khan’s recent success will rub off on their next movie, Ready, too. And it won’t go bust like their last musical, London Dreams. It is said that the 44-year-old hunk had recommended her to writer-director Anees Bazmee for the Hindi remake that was filmed in Sri Lanka.

“I had no idea,” she retorts. “I got a call from Bhushan Kumar of T-Series who’s producing the film. Since it’s a remake of a Telugu hit I knew about it and liked Anees bhai’s adaptation. So I took it on. End of the story.”

She insists that despite the action-packed title, Ready is a love story and will not be another Ghajini for her. “There’s plenty of scope to perform. Also, a film like this is important, as a commercial hit can help you reach out to a wider audience,” she reasons. For someone who moved into Bollywood with an Aamir Khan-starrer that is one of the biggest grossers ever, Asin surprisingly has only Ready in her kitty, after nixing Ashutosh Gowariker’s Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey with Abhishek Bachchan and Vipul Shah’s remake of Kakha Kakha with John Abraham. She was replaced by Deepika Padukone and Genelia D’Souza in the said two films.

Asin says that she had to let both these biggies go because of date problems. “I respect Ashu sir (Gowarikar) and his wife Sunitaji, but I had already committed the dates they wanted to the Tamil film, Bodyguard,” she sighs, adding that eventually Bodyguard’s schedule was pushed ahead due to problems with hero Vijay’s dates.

Bodyguard was also responsible for her losing out on the Kakha Kakha remake. “Initially, it was to be directed by Gautam Menon who had done the original too. I’d played Maya in the Telugu version, so I know the character inside out. But then Nishikant Kamath stepped into the project and by the time he came back to me with the rewritten script, I had started shooting Bodyguard and didn’t have the dates. So Vipul, Nishi and I mutually agreed to let this pass. I didn’t refuse the film because of language or money problems as has been reported,” she reiterates.

Atul Agnihotri is producing a Hindi remake of Bodyguard with brother-in-law Salman Khan. He’s keen to sign on Katrina Kaif, but she’s reportedly too busy. If approached, will Asin take on the film given that she’s already doing the Tamil version? Asin says, “I believe Salman will start work on his Bodyguard after Ready. I can’t say anything now, we’ll cross the bridge when we reach it.”

Asin to star in James Cameron`s next film?

The sizzling 24-year-old actress from south thinks that everyone in Bollywood is a 'commodity' who can be replaced by another at a moment's notice. And therefore there is the need for constant compromise.

Asin Thottumkal was speaking in the Youth Forum of the India Today Conclave 2010 here today on the topic 'Change: Idealism vs Reality' was at her candid best and said that values and integrity are compromised on a daily basis in the film industry.

Asin who was already a superstar in South Indian cinema when she debuted in Bollywood opposite superstar Aamir Khan in the 2008 blockbuster 'Ghajini' said that the only way to put the "soul" back into the industry was to stand up and say no to sub-standard products and practices.

"There can be many repercussions if you say no. As an actor it cam mean less endorsements, less visibility and less industry friends. But saying no to mediocre products is the only way to put the soul back into the industry," said Asin.

The actress who has not signed on any new projects after her second film 'London Dreams' starring Ajay Devgn and Salman Khan flopped at the box office said that she has always been choosy about her projects.

"There is a lot of pressure on me to sign movies. But one should believe in what one wants to do and it works for me," said Asin who shared the dias with actor Ranbeer Kapoor at the event.

James Cameron, who was also present at the The India Today Conclave 2010 later met her over the dinner and discussed cinema with her. Cameron confirmed to Asin that he is ready to make a film with Indian actors and the two even discussed the possibilities of collaborating on his film.

Talking about her experience she told a leading daily, “It was an experience of a lifetime for me to meet ‘the’ James Cameron. We spoke about cinema, both Hollywood and Bollywood. I was really fascinated that he knew so much about our industry. Though he has delivered two of the greatest films in history, I was surprised to see how modest he was.”

When asked about James’ plan of collaborating with Indian stars, Asin added, “I asked him if he was ready to make an Indian film and he said ‘certainly’. He also revealed that he was looking to take Indian actors in the movies he makes in future. But it is too premature to talk about anything because nothing has been confirmed from his side.”