Khan and younger
WE ran into SHAH RUKH KHAN at the press show of his forthcoming movie, One Two Ka Four. He wasn’t expected to be there, but since his team feared there could be a technical snag, he was there like a true pro making sure that all went well. And went well, it did. We caught up with him later, blowing smoke rings into the air, in the company of director Shashilal Nair in the foyer. He was looking smashing and years younger. “Where’s Shah Rukh?” we joked. “You’re his younger brother, aren’t you?” “Ha, ha,”

An Emphatic ‘NO’
KAREENA KAPOOR, as we’d hinted last week, has four big releases coming up, close on the heels of each other — Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Subhash Ghai’s Yaadein and Dreamz Unlimited’s Asoka—The Great and Abbas-Mustan’s Ajnabee. But that doesn’t give Bebo Baby the right to drop out of a Vashu Bhagnani film just two days before the unit was to fly off to New Zealand. Industryfolk feel she developed cold feet because she was paired with a not-so-hot Arjun Rampal in the film, which is why she played truant. A peeved Bhagnani has promptly replaced her with Ms Asia Pacific, Diya Mirza. Diya, incidentally, has another notable role in her kitty, the Anupam Kher-directed Om Jai Jagdish, another Vashu Bhagnani film. One girl’s reject is another’s scoop, did we hear you say?

Now to turn producer
SO it looks as if SALMAN KHAN’s all set to turn producer. Salman, for those who came in late, was the star of brother Sohail’s productions Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya and Hello Brother. Sohail’s banner, GS Entertainment, opened in partnership with Bunty Walia, has since launched Maine Dil Tujhko Diya. Interestingly, Salman’s not in the cast, for Sohail himself plays the lead role. So what does Salman do? Well, launch a movie himself. Directing the movie, which is slated to roll in May, is expected to be Pankaj Parasher of Raajkumar and Chalbaaz fame. Other details are being worked out.

The censors be damned
DEV ANAND takes on the censors with his movie titled Censor which is expected to hit the screens in April. Contrary to widespread fears that the movie would be mauled by the mandarins at the Central Board of Film Certification, the film’s gotten past that hurdle without nary an incident. And as if to celebrate, Dev’s planning on a London premiere, instead of the usual Mumbai one. The London do has been slated for April 6, with subsequent premieres pencilled in for Birminghan and Leicester, home for legions of the evergreen star’s fans. Hema Malini, Rekha and heroine Heeni Kaushik are to be flown in to grace the occasion. The film features a veritable galaxy of stars, ranging from the afore-mentioned ladies to Mohini Sharma, Mamta Kulkarni, Pooja Batra, Mink, Tara Deshpande, Ayesha Jhulka, Shammi Kapoor, Govinda, Jackie Shroff, Raj Babbar, Randhir Kapoor, Mukul Dev, Sharad Kapoor and Shivaji Satam. This is Dev’s banner, Navketan International’s golden jubilee year. The film, which has music by Jatin-Lalit, is said to be a parody on film censorship. But will it finally manage to shake the bastion of the CBFC top honchos? Come April, and we’ll find out.

Mutual Admiration Society
MINISTER for I&B, SUSHMA SWARAJ was in her elements on the inaugural day of Frames 2001, FICCI’s two-day conference on the entertainment industry. In fact, so was AMITABH BACHCHAN, who spoke with insight into what went wrong at AB Corp. He also outlined his plans to revive the company. At the end of it, there was stunned silence and then, a deafening round of applause. Obviously, the Bachchan and his ailing outfit have managed to win not just sympathy, but also support. It was Swaraj’s turn to speak, next. That, of course, called for a drastic rearrangement of mikes, given the minister’s stature, or the lack of it. “See how the Big B harrasses short-statured women,” she quipped, before launching into a critique of Bachchan’s speech.