There is a lot of curiosity about Imtiaz Ali's next venture

There is a lot of curiosity about Imtiaz Ali’s next venture. And why not it will be the next project after great and entertaining films like SOCHA NA THA, JAB WE MET and LOVE AAJ KAL.

It was recently publicised that for his next project, ROCKSTAR, Imtiaz had signed Katrina Kaif opposite Ranbir Kapoor, though there was no confirmation from the concerned people. To know the exact situation we decided to ask the person at the helm of affairs, Imtiaz Ali.

As per Imtiaz, "It is true that that the name of my next project is ROCKSTAR, but it is only a working title. As you know JAB WE MET too was TRAIN initially (as we had broken the news from Shimla in May 2007) but got a final title only after completion."

As for the cast, Imtiaz says, "Ranbir is there definitely but as of today we have not finalized Katrina or for that matter any leading lady for the film being produced by the same production house as JAB WE MET, Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd."

Before signing off the soft spoken and down to earth Imtiaz discloses the shooting venue, "We will shoot predominantly in Delhi."

Southern star Siddharth plans to turn producer next year

Southern star Siddharth, who plans to turn producer next year, says he is the "Shah Rukh Khan" of the Telugu film industry and that romance will always be his forte even though he is popular for his intense roles in Hindi movies like "Rang De Basanti".

"I do a lot of romantic roles in Telugu films. In fact when people say you are the Aamir Khan of Telugu films, I say I am the Shah Rukh Khan of the film industry. I do all the `Tujhe dekha toh ye jaana sanam` type of sequences in Telugu," Siddharth said in an interview.

"I do romantic movies as my mainstay and when I want to change my mood, I do a `Striker` or a `Rang De Basanti`. Now that I have done a serious film like `Striker`, I need to go back to my strengths and do a romantic film," said Siddharth, who has done Telugu films like "Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana" and "Bommarillu".

At the same time, the actor, who played the intense Karan Singhania in "Rang De Basanti" and a Mumbai-based carrom player in crime thriller "Striker", stressed that doing romantic roles is not a cakewalk.

"I find romantic films, which are on a lighter vein in Telugu, as challenging as serious dramatic films in Hindi - both are equally tough. The important thing is that you have to find a nice script and I think `Striker` was one of the nicest scripts I have read in my career because I found it a very realistic film.

"My next Hindi film would be a more light-hearted one. I wanted to do a light-hearted one for now because when you do a serious role, you need to come out of it. I want to give as much time as I can to Hindi," he said.

Siddharth made his debut in Bollywood with "Rang De Basanti" in 2006. He took a four-year break before his second release "Striker" but now plans to do more Hindi films.

"At this time, I am shooting for two Telugu films simultaneously so that I can have a year to do Hindi films," said the 30-year-old.

The actor is currently busy with a Rs.300 million fantasy adventure film in Telugu and a village comedy.

He also has his plans set for launching his own production house in 2011.

"I am starting my own production next year. India is becoming a great country to make small, independent films that are content driven, just like `Striker`. These films need to be made because these big studio films with the routine `naach gaana` (song and dance) and foreign locations will always be made because they are fun. But it`s important to make realistic cinema as well.

"I want to get into production very soon. We are going to make an announcement in a couple of months. We have got our funding," he said.