SHE KNOWS BEST
WHILE admirers of Madhuri Dixit have been expressing disappointment over the fact that she is playing a cameo in Raj Santoshi’s Lajja, I for one, am quite excited by it. For, knowing Dixit’s penchant for selecting yummy roles, I’m sure she’s found ample scope to prove her mettle in the film, not that she has to prove her mettle any more.

Which is why I’ll be least surprised if Madhuri turns out to be the scene-stealer in Lajja as she so often does.
TV Nair
Ulloor, Thiruvananthapuram

POETRY? SURE
ONE was surprised to hear a non-entity like Faaiz Anwar claiming not only to be a poet but also one in the class of Sahir Ludhianvi. Who’s he kidding? Writing an occasional song for a film or private album is no great shakes.
He claims his songs are in fact poems that come straight from the heart. Sure. Except that the lines go Line marle re, Suraksha... suraksha or Jack and Jill. Ninety percent of his songs have been discarded by music buffs, and that goes for Jaanam and I love You as well.

Here’s a bit of friendly advice for Anwar: stop claiming to be another Anand Bakshi, Sahir Ludhianvi or Majrooh Sultanpuri. And start being just Faaiz Anwar.
Vinod Chandran
Elampal, Punalur

FEAST FOR THE EYE
THE "PIC OF THE WEEK" featuring man of the millennium, Amitabh Bachchan and his waxen twin at Madame Tussaude’s, London, (Screen, December 29, 2000) was mind-blowing. The similarity between the two Bachchans, asli and naqli sure was stunning.
Jyotiranjan Biswal
Durgapur, Orissa

AWARD-WORTHY HUNK
THE cover story on heartthrob and megastar, Hrithik Roshan was good. Having proved his credentials with his very first film, Kaho Naa... Pyar Hai, Hrithik went on to prove he was no flash in the pan, with good performances in Fiza and Mission Kashmir. The Screen Awards for best actor and most promising newcomer were well-deserved. I was disappointed his last two films didn’t really become as much of a success as his first one. Here’s hoping his forthcoming films do just that.
Parwez Ahmed
Golihole

A GREAT COVER
THE cover story on Sunny "The Rock" Deol (Screen, January 12) was worth repeated reading.

Dharmendra’s mast puttar has indeed impressed us with his classy angry young man act in films like Arjun and Ghayal. I wish him the very best as actor and filmmaker in the days to come.
TR Anand
Budge Trunk Road, Sarangabad

OBJECTION, YOUR HONOUR
IN your issue dated January 12, the nominees for the Screen-Videocon Awards were listed in a rather random and whimsical fashion. A better, and more professional way of doing it would have been to list the names in alphabetic order, don’t you think?
RK Sarma
RA Puram, Chennai

GLOSS DEVOID OF CONTENT
THE nominations to the 7th Screen-Videocon Award for best film are reflective of the poor quality of cinema churned out by Mumbai’s film industry in the year 2000. None of the movies that contended for the best film award really deserved it.

Kaho Na... Pyar Hai may have won the top honour, and made Hrithik Roshan a star to reckon with, but in my opinion, it was an average cliche-ridden film. Mohabbatein had an unconvincing plot. Mission Kashmir had a good subject alright, but the treatment was rather shabby. Astitva did stand out from the crowd, but it wasn’t the average Hindi potboiler. Hera Pheri, if you ask me, ought to have been nominated. It was a better film than all the rest.
Content and theme have taken a backseat in cinema, today, with the filmmakers focussing all their attention and energy on style -- sound, locations, sets, costumes and the like.

I hope we get films that are worthy of our time, money and attention in 2001. Lajja, Devdas, Yaadein, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham and Lagaan ap-pear promising on paper. If only the filmmakers don’t let us down again.
Vimal Pant
Haldwani, Nainital

SHE CAN ACT, TOO
THREE cheers to the adorable Sonali Bendre on winning the Screen-Videocon Award for best supporting actress for her role in Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai. In my estimate, she’s the most beautiful actress we have today. Now, she’s also proved she’s an actress to reckon with. Hamara Dil Sonali Ke Paas Hai.
Milind More
Trimurti Chowk, Nashik