Bollywood actress Neetu Chandra is in the midst of a controversy once again

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Bollywood actress Neetu Chandra today denied having any links with Pakistani bowler Mohammad Asif, who is at the centre of a ‘spot-fixing’ scandal that has rocked world cricket.

The controversy began with most Indian television channels discussing a “leaked” document, which they claimed, was prepared by the Interpol and Scotland Yard for the Pakistan Cricket Board. Apparently, this document contains various phone numbers of people who interacted with Mohammad Asif in 2009.

The TV reports stated that in this document, the only mobile number from Mumbai, belonged of actress Neetu Chandra, and insinuated that she could be involved in the infamous match-fixing scandal. They further claimed that according to the document, the actress had made two phone calls and exchanged SMS’s with the controversial cricketer, discussing sensitive cricket issues and deals.

But Neetu Chandra’s publicist Dale Bhagwagar vehemently denied all the allegations. “Personally, Neetu does not know Mohammad Asif or any Pakistani cricketer for that matter. Her name is being unceremoniously dragged in the match-fixing debate with baseless allegations,” said the celebrity publicist.

“Neetu didn’t even know how Asif looked like. Within minutes of this controversy breaking out, I met her and showed her his picture from the internet on my BlackBerry. Neetu glanced at it and almost jumped from her chair, joking, ‘Oh, he’s too dark’. She also doesn’t know or understand how her cell number has featured on such a scandalous list. If it indeed has, it could well be a conspiracy,” added the PR specialist.

Owing to her active association with sports, recently, Neetu also became one of the few privileged Bollywood celebrities to have the honour of running with the Commonwealth Games torch (popularly known as the Queen’s Baton) in her hometown Patna. Apart from being a regular basketball player, the actress is a Black Belt 2nd Dan in Taekwondo, having participated in various martial arts tournaments at a district, national, as well as international level. Though Bhagwagar revealed, she is not a cricket fan.

This year, Neetu has an impressive line-up of films like Anees Bazmee’s ‘No Problem’ (with Sunil Shetty, Akshaye Khanna and Sushmita Sen), Gary Grewal’s ‘Khusar Prasad Ka Bhoot’ (with Paresh Rawal and Randeep Hooda), Barnali Shukla’s ‘Kuch Love Jaisa’ (with Rahul Bose) amongst two other mega-budget ventures opposite superstars of the South.

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Neetu Chandra Vs Veena Malik

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Bollywood firebrand Neetu Chandra will soon lock horns with Pakistani actress and comedian Veena Malik in the coming season of India’s leading reality show ‘Bigg Boss’. Neetu is said to have been offered an astronomical amount to appear on the show.

The news comes as a shocker, especially after the cricket match-fixing controversy, wherein Veena Malik unceremoniously dragged Neetu Chandra’s name, stating that the Bollywood actress had direct links with her ex-boyfriend and Pakistani bowler Mohammad Asif as well as with the ‘spot-fixing’ scandal.

Now, the battle lines seem to be drawn. Veena Malik has already been reported to feature in ‘Bigg Boss’. If Neetu indeed joins her in the reality show, there could be major catfights, news spills and more shocking drama about the humongous cricket scandal which has already rocked the world.

When asked about her appearance in ‘Bigg Boss’, Neetu’s publicist Dale Bhagwagar said, “I have also been hearing the buzz, but am yet to confirm with Neetu. I haven’t spoken to her, as I’m aware that she is in rehearsals today and her phone would be on silent mode. I’m not sure if Neetu would agree to be in ‘Bigg Boss’ even if the monies are huge.”

Wouldn’t the reality show be a good opportunity for Neetu to confront Veena Malik and her allegations head on, and clear her name from the match fixing scandal? “Veena Malik is a good comedian. She is a good actress. But I doubt if Neetu Chandra needs a reality show to defend herself.
If I know her well, she’d rather keep her grace, poise and dignity intact, than spend her time and energies on Veena Malik’s baseless allegations,” said the PR specialist.

Meanwhile, after being in national and international headlines from over a week, Neetu Chandra has suddenly emerged the new sought-after Bollywood actress. Her demand for feature films, stage shows and events has grown manifold. As a trendsetting filmmaker commented, “Neetu has always been a good actress. She has had critical acclaim and two of her movies have won National Awards too. But after hitting the headlines with this international controversy, she is now a popular star in demand. The issue has actually pushed her celebrity status a few notches higher. Neetu Chandra’s equity has shot up at least by ten times now.”
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Is Neetu Chandra affairs with Randeep Hooda?

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Neetu Chandra had created much stirs with her ‘girl to girl’ photo shoot for ‘The Man’ magazine. However, the actress has been having a lull phase in her career. She has all her hopes pinned on her forthcoming Gary Grewal’s Kushar Parsaad Ka Bhoot that is currently under production.

Here she stars opposite Randeep Hooda, Sushmita Sen’s ex-boyfriend Randeep Hooda. Sources say that the two hit sparks of friendship as the shoot of the movie progressed and now they share a bond which is more than just friendship. They have been spending a lot of time together though away from public gaze.

Neetu had earlier been linked with a politician’s son in her home state Bihar. Later, she was linked with actor-producer Anuuj Saxena with whom she was spotted at events and restaurants. However, these rumors soon faded away.

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Neetu Chandra keep herself busy

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Neetu Chandra may not have too much film work, but she knows how to keep herself busy. She’s now a favourite with dress designers who are constantly looking for showstoppers at the various fashion events. Rocky S roped Neetu in as the showstopper for his fashion show in Delhi this week and the very next day Neetu was chosen by Neeta Lulla for a show in Chandigarh.

The actress says, “Being a ramp showstopper gives me a different kind of high and confidence.” She adds, “Most of the time I get piercing looks or raised eyebrows, followed by a lot of instant attention, love, affection and warmth from the audience. It feels as if I got a thousand jadu ki jhappis all together. It’s ecstatic and I love all of it.” Romp on, Neetu, romp on!

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Bollywood filmmakers to share their views For Neetu Chandra photo shoot

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Neetu Chandra’s  ’woman-on-woman’ photo shoot has literally created a storm. Leave aside the protests (or the lack of them), the fact remains that the pictures have been one and all (though quite a few also deny having looked at them, but more on that later) and the Garam Masala girl who got ’lucky’ with an unlucky number ’13’ quite recently has now moved up from a ’Traffic Signal’ to Page 1 across National Dailies as well as prime slots on news channels.

Joginder Tuteja catches up with quite a few industry men and tries to gauge their reaction on Neetu’s photo shoot. While doing so, we came across an interesting trend. While majority of top line actors (names withheld) either refrained from commenting at all or evaded the query by stating - ’I am yet to look at the pictures’, quite a few Bollywood filmmakers were game to share their views around the photo shoot. This is what they had to say:

Suparn Verma - "More woman power! She looks fabulous and the pictures are aesthetically done. I think the moral police should take a nap!"

Ken Ghosh - "It’s quite an interesting concept! Great going!"

Rohit Jugraj - "I think it’s very awesome and gutsy on Neetu’s part to go ahead with such bold and sensuous pictures. Times are changing and we should pay heed.

They say cinema is a reflection of the changing society and if the world can have a festival like Moondance (a gay and dance film festival), we can at least celebrate freedom of expression in cinema. I have always had a script about two women, a pack of cigarettes and a road trip in mind, though that script of mine is not about lesbian characters but does have an intimate moment between the girls.

Photo shoots like Neetu’s only prove to me that audience is ready, howsoever niche it may be. But the question is - ’Are we filmmakers ready to handle such themes deftly with maturity and sensitively?"

 Randeep Hooda - "Neetu’s pictures are very hot. It’s in some form or the other every man’s fantasy. It’s about time we started opening up about it (smiles). It’s a brave shoot so cheers to her!"

Jag Mundhra - "I just checked one such picture on the net. I think it is quite beautiful and provocative. Her body language is defiant; celebrating raw female sexuality. It says - ’As an artist I am ready to push the boundaries’. It defies the viewer to do the same. I think it is very symbolic than sexy, just like the PETA ads."

Rahul Dholakia - "I saw the shoot, and while I thought it was an interesting concept and a good marketing tool, I don’t think we should give it any more importance than that. If this picture is generating any kind of controversy, I don’t think it should. It’s bold but not obscene; it’s about two women, maybe lesbians. So what?"

Piyush Jha - "Everyday I get surprised at how much further and further we are pushing the envelope of morality in India. While I am not aesthetically riveted by the pictures, I am impressed by the challenge it throws at the so called ’norms’ of our society."

Madhu Mantena - "I am in London and haven’t seen the pictures yet. However, would like to meet them together!"

Vivek Agnihotri - "We are living in time of media clutter and to get mind share, media must titillate; so a shoot like this is nothing novel.

Also competition is so tough in our industry that lots of people are willing to go to any extent to be noticed. What can be a better way than shock the audiences? The picture meets both these aspirations. Neetu is talented and I am sure she is capable of shocking more with her talent and soon she will realize it."

 Shirish Kunder - "Awesome. In fact I thought it was a little restrained. They should have gone out a little more."

Navdeep Singh - "Girl-girl action is always very welcome. These pictures seemed tasteful enough. There is a need and space for some eroticism in our lives. And when it’s girl-on-girl, it’s even better!!!"

Robby Grewal - "Neetu has liked doing the shoot and I have liked looking at the pictures. So where does the question of protests or morality come into picture?

At the end of the day when an artist and a consumer are comfortable with something, there should not be a problem with everyone else.

And come on, it’s not the first time that such pictures have come on print, so why are we making a hue and cry?"

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Priyanka Chopra was questioned what’s her take on Kareena

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Many media channels do precisely look to pull-on something more interesting from celebrities by shooting polemical questions. Here’s a stark exemplification and Priyanka was smart enough on reverting with a sassy answer. Priyanka Chopra was questioned what’s her take on Kareena saying that she and Shahid are unremittingly using her name for their film’s (Kaminey) publicity?

Ah! Priyanka was so cool in responding, “Kaminey is made by one of the best filmmakers (Vishal Bharadwaj) of tinsel town and churned by a great banner. Shahid Kapoor does dual role and me as a Maharastrian woman. I think the film doesn’t need much more publicity than this.”

Kareena, are you listening to this? Preferably, these two filles should be waiting for the box office warfare as their films ‘Kambhakth Ishq’ and ‘Kaminey’ hits the screens on alternative weeks in August. Possibly, the producers-multiplex owners tiff may get the releases postponed furthermore.

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Bollywood to give us their thoughts on IPL

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The IPL (Indian Premiere League) matches will not be held in India but in South Africa this year due to security reasons. Cricket fans across the country seem to be unhappy with the BCCI’s (Board of Council for Cricket in India) decision. We ask Bollywood to give us their thoughts on the matter.

Neetu Chandra

From the game’s point of view, I think that it is even better if we shift to various countries. It sends the rest of the world the message that ‘we have arrived’ and we can challenge anyone, anywhere. Ideally, I would love to have it in India but democracy, the elections and the security issues are all above the game. We need to accept the shift to South Africa, keeping the above in mind. 


Sonu Sood

It does not really matter to me. The game is the game, the venue does not matter. India has more important things to sort out and handle other than to take the IPL so seriously. Chill and enjoy the game rather than making an issue of where it is being played. 


Pooja Bedi

Personally, I find it quite amusing that the Indian Premiere League series will be held in South Africa! It sounds like the Australian Open tournament being held in Japan! 


Chunky Pandey

I have no problem with which part of the world the IPL will be held. All I know is that the craziness is about to begin on April 18. It will be a pleasure to watch the teams battle it out! 


Sudhir Mishra

I feel that it would have been better if the IPL was in India but it hardly matters to me as I am not very interested in cricket. However, there are millions of cricket lovers here who would enjoy the matches. 


Prateik Babbar

I believe that as long as there is cricket, it does not matter where it is played- it makes me happy! I love the game! I am looking forward to this year’s IPL series. 


Neeraj Pandey

Rather than questioning and doubting whether the decision made by the BCCI (Board of Council for Cricket in India) is right or wrong, we should enjoy the game. I personally don’t have a problem; I am looking forward to the games. 


Rumi Jaffrey

It should not be an issue because games cater to a global audience. There is nothing wrong with the IPL being shifted to South Africa. We should enjoy the matches rather than panicking about where they are held.
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