Short Takes

LONDON IN SUMMER
SHABANA AZMI’s discovered a nice way to beat the heat of the Indian summer. Or so it seems. Bald-pated and all, she’s all set to storm the British stage, having landed herself the plum lead role in the play, The Waiting Room, that premieres at London’s Royal National Theatre in May.

The play, written by Tanika Gupta, is an allegory on life’s ups and downs. The protagonist, played by Shabana, of course, finds herself in heaven’s waiting room. Freed off her mortal remains, she has three days to roam the earth and tie up the loose ends in the form of unresolved relationships, before she’s allowed to enter heaven’s hallowed precincts.

It’s indeed a dream role for Shabana, who, in fact, has performed in England before, in John Schlesinger’s Madame Souzatska, Nicholas Klotz’s La Nuit Bengali and Channel Four’s Immaculate Conception.
But her tonsured head has put her in a spot of bother, though. She’d had her head shaven to play a widow’s role in Deepa Mehta’s Fire, only to have the shoots put off summarily. And Shabana’s not only had to live without her hair, she’s also had to put up with pesky Muslim fundamentalists, who object to her going bald. But that hasn’t stopped her from roving the world. Hairless, she’s been to the D’eauville Fest in Paris, where a retro of her movies was held. And now, London.

The world, it seems, won’t wait for her head to sprout. And her hair, as if on purpose, has been taking extra long to grow — “about an inch a month.”

TONGUE-TIED, WAITING
SHE was the studious, academically-inclined sort. Who knows she may even have got through the IAS, by now, were it not for the ABCL, which coaxed her into giving the movies a try. And she did, reluctantly.
Today, the army man’s daughter is yet to take Hindi films by storm, though. Not that PRIYA GILL hasn’t had her chances, she has. Four of them, in fact — Tere Mere Sapne, Shyam Ghansham, Bade Dilwale and Sirf Tum. These haven’t translated into bigger and better roles for her, or come to think of it any sort of role at all.

But Priya hasn’t had time to stay at home or catch up on her reading. She’s been living off a suitcase down South, in Mammootty country, co-starring the national award winner in a Malayalam film by Priyadarshan. And thoroughly enjoying the spice-rich Kerala cuisine, particularly the fish curry, to boot.

What’s more, she’s arrived back in Mumbai, just in time for an exciting, big banner offer. She’s been asked to keep the project under wraps for the moment, though, while they tie the other loose ends together. And so, mum’s the word on it, for now.

SEDUCING NANDANA
SHE’s the one they tried seducing, much to the delight of moviebuffs, in Seducing Maarya. The film was screened thrice on popular demand at the last IFFI in New Delhi. And those who did manage to catch the film, directed by Hunt Hoe and starring FTII chief, Mohan Agashe, are sure to remember this Sen girl, if only by her face.

The name’s NANDANA SEN, and she’s Nobel laureate Amartya Sen’s blue-eyed girl. The film has Agashe playing Vijay, a widower and restaurant owner, who runs into Maarya, and decides she’d make the perfect Indian match for his Canada-born son. The marriage does happen, but Vijay discovers his son needs to be tutored on how to consummate his marriage, only to develop a mighty crush on his daughter-in-law, himself.

Nandana did catch the eye as Maarya, and had filmbuffs hoping she goes on to work in Indian productions, too. Question is, can our Mumbai filmmakers manage to get in touch with the globe-trotting Nandana? And when they do, can they seduce her into doing another of those inane run-around-trees routine? Well, no harm in trying.

SHE GETS BY, TOO
IT’S called Siren City, a comedy by Australian playwright, David Williamson, which has been adapted for the Indian stage by Lilette Dubey. The play’s been doing the rounds of the metros, and currently wowing Delhi. And it’s KITU GIDWANI’s ticket to the theatre big time.

Yes, she who took the Trishna, Air Hostess, Swabhimaan and Star Bestsellers route to stardom on the idiot box, is now tired of the monotony involved. “Do one TV role, and you’ve done them all,” she says. And Kitu, you can be sure, means what she says. For she’s one actress who’s worked strictly on her own terms and pace, and thumbed down just about every offer that hasn’t quite measured up.

She’s been every bit as choosy about her exposure on the big screen, too. She took Nantes by storm in ’97, with Rajesh Khosa’s Dance Of The Wind, and followed it up, recently, with creditable turns in Deepa Mehta’s Earth and Pankaj Butalia’s Caravan.

Work, even on her terms, isn’t hard to come by any more, now that she’s working in the odd TV commercials, too. There’s work enough to go around, even for those, like her, who’re too proud to solicit for roles. Who says only the hustlers and pushers can get by? Kitu can, too.

BIG B ALL IN WAX
THE fight’s on, down to the very finish. Six of Mumbai’s stars have been short-listed by the British Tourism Authority and Madame Tussaud’s, one of whom will eventually rub shoulders with 400 others at the London museum — Madame Tussaud’s hall of fame. All in wax, of course.

Guess who the six are? Well, be warned, the list is only representative of the BTA survey, so don’t be surprised if the luminary of your choice isn’t among the big six — AMITABH BACHCHAN, Raj Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan, Helen and Aishwarya Rai. Fans of stars like Madhuri Dixit Nene and Kamal Haasan are welcome to write into SCREEN, giving vent to their outrage. And do tell us who you think ought to have made it to the top six, instead.

The winner will be announced in June. But AB seems the top contender for the honour this time. After all, his success with the BBC’s millennium survey indicates his popularity among the expatriate Indians who were polled. And chances are, the Big B will make it to the London museum. Life-sized and angry. As the angry young AB he’s stuck in our collective memory as.

KK IN Y2K!
IN the David Dhawan comedy, Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge, she plays a sweet little wench under the beck and call of three domineering uncles. It’s been KARISMA KAPOOR’s first release this year, after a windfall 1999. The film’s turned out to be average fare at the b-o. But the year’s not over yet, and the Kapoor lass has several strong releases up her sleeve.

Chal Mere Bhai, in which she has Salman Khan and Dutt Jr for company, will be the first to hit the turnstiles. Then of course, there are films like Shyam Benegal’s Zubeida and Khalid Mohammed’s Fizaa, both of which are shorn of the commercial claptrap. And Karisma’s especially thrilled that after the regular David Dhawan comic routine, she has the chance to prove her acting mettle in meaningful, thought-provoking cinema, too.

Incidentally, sister Kareena is poised to take her first bow at theatres soon, with JP Dutta’s Refugee. And though Karisma feels every bit the protective elder sister, she’s careful not to ply Kareena with unsought for advice. “She’s the one who’s always brimming with advice, not me,” she smiles.

MUSIC CURRY FOR THE SOUL
CUT to the Oberois, Mumbai. The event marks the merger of Mandar Agashe and Adinath Mangeshkar’s musiccurry, India’s first music web radio, with indiainfo.com. RAJESHWARI, it turns out, is the unusual cynosure of eyes at the event. She troops in, sans make-up and dressed in a casual salwar outfit, along with the Mangeshkar clan, poses for keepsakes with them and even sticks by them for the rest of the evening.

Soon, believe it, there’s a veritable buzz at the musiccurry bash. What on earth’s Rajeshwari doing, sticking by the Mangeshkars, we’re asked by curious guests and gatecrashers. Is spring in the air for her with someone from the clan?

Later, party over, we congratulate her on unwittingly inviting a great deal of attention to herself at the do, and drop a hint or two about the rumour of spring. Rajeshwari guffaws in response. Adinath, it turns out, is keen that she “does something” for musiccurry some day soon, and she’s here by invitation. “Lataji, in fact, made my day, telling me I’m a good singer,” she gushes.

So what’s next for the actress who turned singer with the Magnasound album Hulle Hullare? A second album for the very same label and, hold your breath, a chance to sing for a UK-based music label. And marriage? Rajeshwari pulls a long face in mock irritation: “None of your business,” she laughs.

TO CALCUTTA WITH LOVE
HIS screen presence is now the talk of the country. The other week, he gave Calcuttans a peek into his stage presence as well. The occasion? Well, Sanjiv Goenka of RPG Enterprises was celebrating the sale of 5 million musicassettes of Kaho Naa... Pyar Hai.

And HRITHIK ROSHAN obliged Calcutta with visits to Tantra, the uptown discotheque, and the RPG group’s swanky music store, MusicWorld, shaking hands with thousands of milling fans who threw the city completely out of gear. He also visited the Gramophone Company of India (GCIL) factory in the city.

At places, Hrithik was seen shoving the besotted TV crews aside, to get within reach of his fans. “Do you believe in music? Do you believe in love? Then say Kaho Naa... Pyar Hai?,” he said, whipping up the already-animated crowds into an uncontrollable frenzy. Then he shouted, “Leave your names and addresses behind, and I will autograph the posters and send them back.” With Hrithik so eager to please his fans, is it any wonder then, that they stayed doggedly at his heels, all the way to the airport?

IN DEFENCE OF HIS OPUS
HEY! Ram may have had a blink-and-you-could-miss-it run at some theatres, but KAMAL HAASAN staunchly stands by the film, down to the last nuance. He weathers charges that the film is an elaborate exercise in Gandhi-bashing: “My film is not about Gandhi, but about his times. Today, I am in awe of the man, although like the typical neo-Indian, I started off as a Gandhi-basher.”

As for the surfeit of violence in the film, Kamal insists it was intentional. “If violence is to repulse people, we ought not to show it in a morphed, underplayed form,” he reasons.

There’s been criticism, too, that while Kamal’s lavished a fortune on the special effects, he’s neglected the authenticity in sets and props. The tram car he’s recreated looks hardly the sort that was once in use. “On the contrary,” says Kamal Haasan, “you’ll be amazed that the Gandhi Foundation got so taken in by our art director’s extensive research into detail, that they thought we’d laid our hands on Gandhi’s original pair of spectacles and slippers that are still missing. They actually wrote to us asking that they be handed over at the earliest!”

Compiled by Shaju George Alex With inputs from Salman Khatib