|
LIKE PAPA
LIKE SON
IT’S official now. Shah Rukh Khan’s little moppet
of a son, ARYAN’s turn to face the arclights is here.
And the opportunity, it goes without saying, has come to him
unsought.
The little darling is to play a significant, one-scene role
in Papa’s pal, Karan Johar’s opus in the making,
Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham. Guess what the role is? Why, the
young Shah Rukh, of course.
There’s no dearth of big names on the credits —
boasting as it does of the Bachchans, Amitabh and Jaya, Shah
Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Kajol and Kareena Kapoor. But Aryan’s
presence should add to the film’s curiosity value, don’t
you agree?
Top
WHO’S AFRAID OF FIRE?
NANDITA DAS, to her utter chagrin, still finds herself having
to answer queries related to her role in Deepa Mehta’s
Fire. Four of her more recent movies may be showing in theatres
across the country — Deviri (Kannada), Ek Alag Mausam
and Bhawander (Hindi) and Vishwaprakash (Oriya), but people
still remember her more for her four-year-old movie. “God
knows why people keep harking back to Fire. There was nothing
meriting controversy in the film, but a handful of people
were set on muck-raking. People keep asking me all sorts of
questions with regard to the movie, such as whether lesbianism
actually exists in our country. I, for one, have become more
sensitive after the release of Fire,” she says.
Well, Fire isn’t the only reason she’s embroiled
in controversy. She also gets asked why on earth she’s
consented to act in a Jagmohan Mundra film (Bhawander) knowing
his penchant for erotic movies. Nandita confesses she indeed
was apprehensive about signing up, but that Mundra coaxed
her into seeing reason. “After all, Bhawander exposes
our corrupt society and deals with a real life incident —
about politicians and the cops suppressing the story of gangrape
of a low caste married woman. Issues such as child marriage
and rape need to be dealt with in cinema with sensitivity.
And that’s what Bhawander has done,” she clarifies.
Incidentally, Deviri, her other recent movie, has completed
a 70-day run at Karnataka theatres, and also found an entry
at the Cairo Fest. The film is to be released in Egypt on
persistent demand from distributors. The slums depicted in
the film may have been Indian, but clearly, the problems it
highlights are universal. Those keen on throwing mud at Nandita
would be better advised to take a look at the kind of thought-provoking
films she’s done in recent times. So what if they’re
disturbing? Isn’t real life disturbing, too?
Top
THE CHOTTA JACKSON
HE’S all of nine years old, but, would you believe it,
the diehard Michael Jackson fan already has more than 900
stage-shows under his belt. MASTER HONEY, who made his big
screen debut with the Salman-Rani starrer Kahin Pyar Na Ho
Jaaye, is already a big hit with leading artistes like Salman
Khan and Jackie Shroff. Not for nothing, for his pranks on
the sets often have them in splits.
The talented wonderkid was all of five years old when he started
on his first dance lessons. The parents were so “startled”
by his predilection to break into a jig at every given opportunity
that they got him enrolled into formal dance classes. And
soon, his talent had the family shifting base to Mumbai.
His dances and mimicry have been a hit with stageshow buffs
in the US, UK, Germany and France. Now, his second film, One
Two Ka Four is all set for release. So, what’s his ultimate
ambition? Prompt comes the response: “To become another
hero like Uncles Salman and Jackie.”
Top
FIXTURES AT THE PAGEANT
NOW that PRIYANKA CHOPRA has been crowned Ms World, couturiers
Hemant Trivedi and Sheetal Design Studio can take some share
in the credit again. Her exquisite, warm peach evening gown
with a dash of silver and crystal was designed by them, as
in fact was the rest of her onstage wardrobe. The team of
Trivedi and SDS has earlier dressed up previous pageant winners
like Aishwarya Rai, Diana Hayden Yukta Mookhey and Lara Dutta.
Dolling up Chopra isn’t the only creditable achievement
for the team, though. This year was the 50th anniversary of
the Ms World pageant, and the team was called on to create
as many as 96 special golden ensembles for all contestants.
Trivedi was chosen ahead of seven other international couturiers
who were shortlisted for the purpose. So, all said and done,
the Trivedi-SDS team appears all set to become a fixture of
sorts at the Ms World pageant. And as long as their clients
keep coming trumps, noone’s likely to be complaining.
Top
NOW TO DO A CHAPLIN!
FOR those who thought DILIP KUMAR’s tired of the spotlight,
the veteran has a pleasant surprise coming up. No, it isn’t
another comeback as actor, a la Saudagar and Shakti. Neither
is it another attempt at making a film.
So what’s the Last Emperor up to, do you think? Well,
writing, of all things. Or, to put it more accurately, he’s
been recording his memoirs on tape, which another’s been
transcribing. Dilip Kumar reckons he has a lot to say that’s
interesting, even arresting. “The life of Yusuf Khan
may turn out to be more interesting than that of Dilip Kumar,”
he dares say, adding, “If you’ve read Charlie Chaplin’s
autobiography, you’d know what I mean.”
Top
AAMIR BAN GAYA BUSINESSMAN
IN these days of corporatisation and brand ambassadorship,
no artiste worth his salt would want to miss out on an investment
opportunity. The medium may be artistic, but consolidating
one’s financial base is tops on every artiste’s
mind. So, every now and then, we have an Ajay Devgan floating
his company and distribution concern, or a Shah Rukh Khan
pumping his hard-earned money into a software production house
or website.
Now, even the cautious, safety-first AAMIR KHAN, seems about
to jump aboard the bandwagon, too. On his mind are plans to
turn distributor early next year, with home production, Lagaan.
As if to test the waters, the Khan proposes to take on Mumbai
territory only. So what’s next Aamir? A private limited
outfit?
Top
A SARTORIAL STATEMENT
HIS film Utsab, the tale of family reunion centred around
Durga Pooja, was the toast of Mumbai’s MAMI fest. But
RITUPARNO GHOSH couldn’t make it in time to introduce
his film to the audience at Tata Theatre.Two Ghosh movies
were screened at the fest, the other being Bariwali.
Nattily dressed as always, Ghosh made up for his absence at
the Utsab screening, turning up ahead of time at the Chauraha
— the fest’s interactive event.
Ghosh, who edits the Bengali mag, Anandalok when he isn’t
making national award-winning movies, hailed the growing film
fest culture in the country. “Filmmakers should participate
in more such fests, where they not only find great audiences,
but also get opportunities to interact with filmfolk of other
countries,” he said.
Top
SIGNING UP FOR THE VEG REVOLUTION
SO, our man on the cover, last week, AMITABH BACHCHAN, could
well be the next legend, after Martina Navratilova and Sir
Paul Mcartney, to promote a veggie revolution on behalf of
the animals right outfit, People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals (PETA).
Preparations are currently underway for the ad to be released
early next year. Though PETA’s India representative hints
that the legend chosen for the campaign “could be Amitabh,
Hema Malini or Pandit Ravi Shankar, all of whom are confirmed
vegetarians,” the Big B, it appears, is the first among
equals. Among other Indian celebrities who’re self-confessed
veggies are the likes of Juhi Chawla, Mahima Chowdhury and
cricketer Anil Kumble. So PETA isn’t really faced with
a paucity of choices in selecting the celeb to launch the
India leg of the veg revolution.
In the recently launched ad in the series, Sir Paul feeds
a lamb from a milk bottle. “The best idea — going
vegetarian - is staring us right in the face. Go veggie,”
he says. The sight of lambs playing in a nearby field at his
home in Scotland, one afternoon, helped him realise he could
no longer eat them. “If slaughterhouses had glass walls,
every one would be vegetarian. I feel better about myself
and better about the animals knowing I’m not contributing
to their pain,” he adds.
Top
THE DUS CRORE QUESTION
HE went through an ordeal, trying to put together his first
film as producer. The NRI who’d consented to fund the
movie developed cold feet, and ANUPAM KHER’s own production
house was in shambles, financially. The original budget was
Rs 30 lakh, but the total costs worked up to Rs 35 lakh. Kher
had to sell a car to meet payment deadlines while production
was on, and when even that didn’t suffice to wrap up
the shoots, his employees chipped in with handsome contributions
of their own. “Good films aren’t made without passion.
And when you’re gripped by the passion, you can’t
rest till the film’s complete and the passion’s
spent,” says Kher.
Happily for the Khers, it now finally seems to be payback
time. Wife KIRON won the national best actress for her performance
in the film, which has also been the toast of the international
film fest circuit. It’s even been scheduled for an early
release in Calcutta and Mumbai, and negotiations for the satellite
and overseas rights are in progress.
Speaking at Chauraha, an interactive forum held in Mumbai,
last week, the Khers already hinted at a second production.
An immediate launch seems unlikely, though, tied up as they
are with other pressing commitments — Anupam with the
Sawaal Dus Crore Ka show for Zee and his many roles and Kiron
with Mahesh Manjrekar’s Ehsaas and a film with Priyadarshan.
Besides, they’re yet to run into an engaging enough story.
“We’ve been reading a lot of scripts, lately. Sadly,
none of it’s been inspiring. It isn’t enough that
we find a script to match Bariwali, our next one will have
to be even better,” says Anupam.
So when will Bariwali Act II roll, did we hear you ask? Well,
make that the sawaal dus crore ka.
Shaju George Alex
With inputs from Ayyappa Prasad & Shoma A Chatterjee.
Top
|
Cover
Story
