|
FLIGHTS
OF GENEROSITY
SO you thought all this so-called Shaktimaan fever was a lot
of hype? Well, so did we till we saw glimpses of the mass
hysteria on our way home from work one evening. Life-sized
posters of the superman in various poses and stages of flight
were found dotting the cityscape, with exhortations to his
loyal ‘subjects’ to donate generously to the earthquake
relief fund he’d organised.
The posters apparently didn’t go unnoticed. For lining
the sides of the Andheri highway for miles together that evening
were enthusiastic kids and the young-at-heart, waving out
to truckloads of Shaktimaan clones. Cries of Shaktimaan, Shaktimaan
rent the air, as ever-eager Shaktimaan-wannabes collected
the money generously held-out to them, in tin cans that seemed
to be filling up in minutes.
Indeed, MUKESH KHANNA, the mortal frame behind the superhero
persona, has been on a do-gooder spree all week, pleasantly
surprised, as it were, by all the attention he was getting.
For soon after the hugely successful fund collection drive,
he was spotted at a city hospital inaugurating its free medical
camps for the benefit of the poor, and visiting the earthquake
affected undergoing treatment there. And, not to forget, creating
quite a stir here too.
As a wag commented, Khanna seems to have begun to believe
in his superhero persona himself. Only, he wasn’t doing
any flying.
Top
A DREAM EVENING
BETWEEN frequent dance recitals and regular riyaaz, and, not
to forget, grooming her daughters for careers in the spotlight,
HEMA MALINI has her hands full. To top it all, she even has
the NFDC, of which she’s the current chairperson, taking
up a great deal of her time. And Hema’s the sort who
brooks no half measures, and believes in doing things passionately,
or not at all. But the Dream Girl still has time enough to
spare for the things she loves. Theatre, for instance.
We ran into her at Ali Raza’s play on Kargil, The 50-Day
War. She sat mesmerised, spellbound by the goings-on on stage,
thanks to both the production values and the intensity of
the subject. We walked up to her for a brief hello during
the interval, as she sat munching on vegetables. “The
show’s amazing, captivating. I wonder how they got all
those trolleys to work in precision,” she said, before
we left her to relapse into reverie and vegetable again.
Top
A BREAK WITH KITSCH
ALSO present at the Bandra-Kurla Complex to witness the staging
of Ali Raza’s play, The 50-Day War, were DAVID DHAWAN
and wife Laali. So what was the king of kitsch and slapstick
doing at an event as high-brow as this? Well, considering
the fact that Dhawan’s keen on reinventing himself as
a director, this may well be a start in that direction.
To be honoured on the occasion were the winners of the Paramvir
Chakra. The soldiers received a standing ovation, and though
there were several celebrities at the event, they were called
upon to sign more autographs than the showbiz folk. For a
change, people seemed to attach more importance to real life
heroes than those of make-believe. Laali, in fact, was seen
proudly watching her sons Varun and Rohit pierce through the
milling crowds to get the soldiers’ autographs.
Top
SOME BACHCHAN MUSINGS
SO the AMITABH BACHCHAN phenomenon rolls on, much to the amazement
of those around him. Indeed, Kaun Banega Crorepati has given
him a fresh lease of life in public imagination, even changed
him from a fading superstar, with the burden of bombed films,
and the tag of the ABCL flop story hanging around his neck,
to a hero who can do no wrong.
The Bachchan was there that night, at Lata Mangeshkar’s
concert at Shivaji Park, Mumbai, in aid of the victims of
the Gujarat earthquake, Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon. It also afforded
him the chance to meet up with friends, old and new. With
SACHIN TENDULKAR (seen below with wife ANJALI), Bachchan obviously
forms a mutual admiration society. Ever since the batting
sensation let his guard down at the KBC show, charming us
with his candour, the two have become the thickest of pals,
too.
KBC, meanwhile, continues to woo gameshow buffs by the megatonnes,
despite several clones going on air on other channels. And,
boy, oh boy, are they loving it? The women especially, continue
to fawn all over him, confessing admiration with unabashed,
even embarrassing frankness — some remind him of old
encounters with him in a crowd, others pester him with requests
to sing, or recite lines from his own movies. But Bachchan’s
courteous to all, modest and obliging. No wonder they love
him so.
Top
THE STUDENT WHO DIDN’T MAKE GOOD
“RECOGNISE me?,” singer SURESH WADKAR asked HRITHIK
ROSHAN, when the two met at the Lata Mangeshkar show for charity,
last week. Of course, recognise the singer, Hrithik did.
Hrithik, it turns out, used to attend music classes at Wadkar’s
home as a young boy. The lad was but average as a singer,
and certainly not musically-inclined, at any rate, not to
the extent his uncle was. But Hrithik, as we’ve since
discovered, is gifted in other ways.
Top
HERE COMES ANOTHER
EVERY time RAM GOPAL VARMA hits one of those patches when
he’s virtually incommunicado and unreachable, you can
be sure he’s working on a film. His telephone lines continue
to ring, unanswered, his mobile phones are switched off, the
numbers even changed every other day, to ward off the prying,
inquisitive journo types and pesky role-aspirants. And the
man himself virtually goes underground. Then, when he comes
back, you can safely surmise the movie’s ready and done.
Well, Varma’s currently back in circulation armed with
a ready smile and new mobile number. And the current movie
number’s all set to hit the turnstiles.
Top
WHEN EVENING BEGINS
SPOTTED EKTA KAPOOR the other night, in a black attire, seated
beside the chauffeur, with her friends huddled in the backseat
of her car. It is 11 pm, the time of night when the average
mortal’s preparing to hit the sack. But not Ekta. She’s
on her way to J49, the time of night when she’s just
about beginning to unwind and let her hair down.
It’s been a long, hard day at work for the Balaji Films
boss. With the fortunes of the newly-listed company beginning
to pick up again at the bourses, following a brief downturn,
Ekta has her hands full. As it is, she spends much of her
time at work, more than most young women her age. In fact,
she’s been so busy, lately, she’s had to make those
eager to meet her, wait for weeks for an appointment.
Top
MOM’S THE ROLE
TIPS Films have pulled off a coup: they’ve signed REKHA
to play a key role in their forthcoming project, the Preity
Zinta, Arjun Rampal starrer, Yeh Hain Mohabbat. Well, no prizes
for guessing what role she’s playing in the Kundan Shah-directed
movie — Preity’s mom, of course. The role’s
a cross between supporting role and lead, and Rekha, we hear,
plumped for it as soon as she was
offered
it.
Top
CAR FREAK COMES OF AGE
MUCH has been made of ABHISHEK BACHCHAN’s new role as
Chandrashekhar Azad in the Hollywood coproduction. But unknown
to most people, he’s quietly wrapped up another interesting
movie, the Gurudev Bhalla-directed Shararat.
Bachchan Jr plays a young, fun-loving car freak, who due to
circumstances is forced to spend 30 days in an old age home,
and returns a changed man. A New Zealand-trained automobile
engineer has specially redesigned a vintage 1960 Impala for
the young car lover.
Hrishitaa Bhatt, the model of Lyril fame, plays Abhishek’s
leading lady, a budding yet spirited journalist. Also in the
cast are Amrish Puri, Om Puri, Tinnu Anand, Helen and Dara
Singh. The list of credits boasts of several newcomers —
for besides director Gurudev Balla and leading lady Hrishitaa,
producer Suraj Bhalla, financier Jayantilal Gada and choreographer
Bosco Caesar are first-timers, too.
Shaju George Alex
shaju—alex@hotmail.com
Top
|
Cover
Story
