It's good to be bad: Priyanka Chopra

MUMBAI: She is one of the most sought after leading ladies in the Hindi movie industry, but actress Priyanka Chopra prefers characters with grey shades over positive roles. And why not? Her role of a femme fatale in 7 Khoon Maaf has fetched her a prestigious award. "I like doing negative roles. I think they are lots of fun. It's so good being bad," said the 29-year-old who bagged the Screen award for the best actress in a negative role for 7 Khoon Maaf.

Priyanka had earlier donned negative shades for the 2004 successful film Aitraaz -- for her performance in that film also she had won the Filmfare award for the best performance in a negative role.

The former beauty queen is careful while choosing a role as she feels that the character should leave an impact, however, small it is. "I think the most important thing in a character to see that it has a presence. A character should not feel wasted or redundant. Even if it is a small role, the scenes that you have should make an impact, that is important," said Priyanka who will be seen playing Hrithik's love interest Kaali in Agneepath releasing on Republic Day.

Besides Agneepath, Priyanka is also busy shooting for Teri Meri Kahaani, Barfee and Krrish 3.

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Bollywood gives warm welcome to Winfrey

MUMBAI: She is known for hosting the who’s who of the world on her talk show, and on her maiden visit to India, Oprah Winfrey was greeted by top-notch Indian socialites and Bollywood glitterati including megastar Amitabh Bachchan, superstar Shah Rukh Khan, and her ever favourite Aishwarya Rai at a private party here Monday night.

The party, hosted at socialite Parmeshwar Godrej’s residence here, saw an impressive footfall from B-Town, and also saw others like novelist Shobhaa De and jewellery designer Farah Khan Ali. A few businessmen are believed to have attended the party too.

From tinsel town, filmmakers Ashutosh Gowariker and Rajkumar Hirani, as well as actors Anupam Kher, his son Sikander Kher, Abhishek Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta, Priyanka Chopra, Shilpa Shetty with hubby Raj Kundra, Abhay Deol with actress-girlfriend Preeti Desai, Lara Dutta, Dino Morea, Sameera Reddy, Kalki Koechlin, Kangna Ranaut, Anil Kapoor and Imran Khan were in attendance for the high profile party.

Godrej’s Juhu residence was well-guarded with at least two police vans and a minimum of 10 security men on duty.Though none of the celebrities stopped to interact with the media before entering the party, some took to Twitter to share their excitement upon meeting the 57-year-old iconic lady.

Sameera tweeted: “My god! Oprah Winfrey is the warmest most down to earth person I have ever met! What a personality! I'm thrilled.”

Heavily pregnant actress Lara was equally upbeat about being in the company of Winfrey, as well as her Don 2: The King Is Back co-star Shah Rukh. " @Oprah and @iamsrk, two people I absolutely adore! Thank you for making my day! Now can go into labour happily!” posted Lara.

Before the party, Winfrey went to visit the Bachchan residence Jalsa to meet Abhishek and Aishwarya’s two month-old daughter, nicknamed Beti B. The job was among her priority list upon her arrival in Mumbai Monday.

Proud grandfather Big B was overwhelmed with the gesture by Winfrey, who wore an orange and gold sari for the occasion. Amitabh, along with Abhishek and Aishwarya drove her to the party after her over an hour-long stay at their residence.

“The gracious Oprah Winfrey visits our home, to meet us and bless the baby…warm hearted, endearing…drive her to party in her honour. And Oprah in sari…looking lovely!!” tweeted Big B post the party.

Winfrey is in India primarily to shoot for her new show Next Chapter, which will see her travelling around the world and interviewing celebrities. She is scheduled to attend the forthcoming Jaipur Literature Festival.

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Freida Pinto back in March for Bollywood

MUMBAI: Post-Slumdog Millionaire’s (2008) success, she has travelled across the world for personal and professional reasons. But Mumbai girl Freida Pinto finds her hometown very inspiring and simply electrifying. The actor was in the city till about two weeks ago, following which she has returned to Los Angeles.

The actor, who plans to visit Mumbai in March next, feels the city charges her for new projects.

“Every time I get a break from filming, I visit Mumbai. Of course, my family is settled here. But I strongly feel that the city charges you up for the next thing. For me, it’s of course my new projects,” she says.

The Immortals (2011) actor contends, “There’s something about the city that’s simply electrifying. It’s very inspiring in a way. Plus, on an everyday basis, you get to meet people from different strata of society. And the kind of mixture (of people) you get in Mumbai is very difficult to find elsewhere in the world. It’s amazing to come back, get that vibe and go back charged.”

Freida’s sister Sharon has a place in Malad. “But I am not going to reveal where I stay when I am in the city,” laughs the actor. Right now, though, she is putting her feet up and relaxing.

“Yes, I am slightly more free (compared to boyfriend Dev Patel) and I am enjoying it. Due to my work in the past, I had been travelling a lot. So, I haven’t had a stable place. Now, I finally get to relax while he goes to work everyday,” she laughs.

Ask her how she and Dev stay in touch and she says with a smile “We always find middle ground. Of course, phone is great, but finding something in between is important for whoever is in a relationship, if they really want to make it work.”

On the work front, Freida is excited about Michael Winterbottom’s Trishna. But question her as to why she hasn’t shown interest in Bollywood and she says, “People have still not understood that Trishna is an Indian film. And before any film becomes a Bollywood movie, it’s an Indian film. So, Trishna is, 100 per cent, an Indian film.”

Interestingly, Freida has given an open offer to Anurag Kashyap, co-producer of Trishna.

“I keep telling Anurag, ‘listen, you know, I am ready (to work with you). Whenever you think you have a role for me, I am geared up. I really like his sensibilities when it comes to filmmaking. Similarly, Vishal Bhardwaj and Dibakar Banerjee too have great sensibilities as filmmakers,” says the actor, who will next be seen in the Antonio Banderas-Mark Strong starrer, Black Gold.

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