NOT QUITE A WINNER
I liked Salma Khatib’s interview with Anu Malik (Screen, February 2). But I can’t help thinking Anu Malik’s a whiner more than a winner. He lifts scores and tunes, and then has the gall to say others lift his tunes. The reason why he hasn’t won a major award to date is probably that his music doesn’t really ‘touch’ you, as say, AR Rahman’s does. He’s also inconsistent and rarely does he touch the sublime heights he did with the music of Josh, Fiza, Akele Hum Akele Tum and Baadshah.
TL Mahesh
tlmahesh@hotmail.com

ALMOST BUT NOT QUITE
LISTENED to the songs of One Two Ka Four and Sonu Nigam, I agree, sure has done a good job. But his voice doesn’t quite seem to suit Shah Rukh Khan as well as Udit Narayan’s does.
Nazir Patel
npatel@home.com

WOW FEATURES
I loved Roshmila Bhattacharya’s interview with Tabu and Padmaraj Nair’s "Spotlight" with Nandita Das (Screen, February 9). The stories were well written and well presented. Tabu and Nandita sure are two of the most promising actresses we have today.
Sanjay Savarkar
ssavarkar@vsnl.net

PERFORMANCE OVERLOOKED
I am terribly disappointed that Madhuri Dixit did not win the Screen-Videocon Award for best actress for Pukar, in which her performance in a very difficult role was absolutely outstanding. The jury, perhaps, thought she didn’t have much footage or long lines to utter, with Anil Kapoor hogging most of both. But I think what proved decisive was the fact that she has won this award three times already while no one else has won it more than once.

Apparently Screen believes in spreading happiness around. Since Karisma Kapoor hasn’t won the award yet, my hunch is she will win the next one, regardless of how brilliant Madhuri is in her forthcoming films.
K Raghunath
St Thomas Mt, Chennai

GLUT OF WRONG CHOICES
A regular reader, I congratulate Screen on completing 50 years in the business. But I was thoroughly disappointed with some of your choices for the 7th annual Screen-Videocon Awards.

I feel Amitabh Bachchan, with his brilliant portrayal of Narayan Shankar in Mohabbatein, deserved the award for best supporting actor more than Sanjay Dutt did for Mission Kashmir. I’m not too pleased with his nomination in this category, either, for his role was just as significant as Shah Rukh Khan’s in the film, and he ought to have been nominated for best actor, too,
Hrithik Roshan, in my opinion, wasn’t the best choice for the best actor award. Neither was Rakesh Roshan for best director -- Aditya Chopra, I thought, deserved it more.

Screen, with its reputation of hosting the toughest awards to win, ought to pay more heed to its choice of winners. At the very least, it should specify why each winner was chosen over the other nominees.
Althaf AR
althaf@almalayals.com

WHERE ARE THE WRITERS?
THIS has reference to the Short Take on Mithun Chakraborty ("Bankable as ever", Screen, January 12). A diehard fan of Mithunda’s, I’m truly elated by the news of my hero’s return to the big time.

I have one grouse, though. Week after boring week, our filmfolk seem to insist there’s no dearth for talented writers in the industry. Why, then, may I ask, isn’t one of them writing a good enough script for an actor of Mithunda’s obvious talent?
Roopan Narayanan
Thiruvananthapuram

WILL IT OR WON’T IT?
NOW that Bharat Shah’s been arrested, I’m worried about the fate of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s dream project, Devdas. Will this film, too, be held up, just as Chori Chori Chupke Chupke has been? Considering the fact that the shoots for the film have been progressing, regardless of the film financier’s arrest, I hope this one at least will hit theatres as scheduled.
Mitali Swain
Unit 2, Bhubaneshwar

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
I appreciate the practice you’ve begun of giving the complete filmography of every artiste you feature on your cover stories. I’ve been clamouring for it for ages. I hope you continue the trend.
VN Gupta
Mayur Vihar, New Delhi