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Anupam
Kher dons the director hat
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Never
mind the controversy about his non-performance in the gameshow
Sawal Dus Crore Ka
and the
haste with which the channel dropped him lumping all the blame
for the show's failure on his not-too-lean shoulders. Never
mind his tiffs and tantrums with colleagues. Never mind the
generation gap with the likes of Dilip Kumar on one side and
Aishwarya Rai on the other. They all lined up to cheer him
on his first day of a new job. And, what a tamashahe
put up.
At Mehboob,
the shooting floor had been converted into an auditorium of
sorts. Everyone cheered as Kher introduced his cast for the
film -- Anil Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Tabu, Urmila Matondkar
and Diya Mirza, (Fardeen Khan, who's also in the film, was
shooting in Bikaner) -- took over the stage while the music
system blared the popular bhajan from which the film's title
is taken.
Having
lost oodles of weight and draped in a pink sari, Kiron Kher
beamed brightly while her husband invited ``my friends - Boney
Kapoor, Satish Kaushik and Pradeep Guha - who have helped
me so much in my career'' to break the auspicious coconut.
Producer
Vashu Bhagnani preened like a proud peacock, at having assembled
such a stellar cast, not to mention a fab deal with HMV, who
have picked up the audio rights for this and the next five
of Bhagnani's productions.
According
to industry information, the Tauranis of Tips were not willing
to enter into a multi-crore deal with Bhagnani for his future
films prompting the producer to look elsewhere. But all's
fair in love and film-making -- Ramesh Taurani was spotted
in the front row, loudly clapping.
It was
also an afternoon where some old pals caught up after a long
time. There was much air-kissing and friendly hugging. Tabu
engulfed Boney Kapoor, mentor and brother-figure in a tight
bear hug while Aishwarya Rai playfully tugged at Guha off-stage.
For Kher,
this is a milestone. Having started his acting career in Mahesh
Bhatt's Saaransh which was released in the mid-eighties and
a veteran of the industry for 15 years, Kher is attempting
a new role. Over the years he has essayed a variety of roles
-- villain (Karma, Vijay), comedian (Ram Lakhan, Dil, Dil
Hai Ke Maanta Nahin) and strong supporting roles (Daddy, Chandni)
as well. Last year he turned producer when he hired Rituparno
Ghosh to direct his wife Kiron in the Bengali masterpiece
Bariwali which won her the National Award for Best Actress.
Now, the director's touch.
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