BOLLYWOOD BUZZ

Vinod draws huge crowds
Vinod Khanna, the BJP candidate from Gurdaspur in Punjab has been drawing unprecedented crowds during his hectic poll campaigns. His fluent Punjabi, constant mingling with the people in his constituency, listening to their woes and promises to change the face of Gurdaspur, seem to be going down very well with the locals.

His campaign will hot up next week with some leading stars promising to campaign for him. He knows he has a majorfight on hand as the Congress has won the seat four times in a row.

Ghai’s ‘surprise’ on Feb 15
Though Subhash Ghai announced his next film Taal - The Beat Of Passion a day after his birthday, January 24, at the Royal Palms, he has kept the cast of the film in suspense, apparently because of date hassles. Ideally, he would have wanted Akshaye Khanna who is the only certainty, with Manisha Koirala and either Govinda or Shah Rukh Khan. But then, for Subhash Ghai dates are of no great concern as he likes to make his films the way he wants at his own pace. Aishwarya Rai, Mahima Chawdhary, Anil Kapoor are the other names that are being talked about.

“Wait till February 15,” is all that the showman is willing to say at the moment, determined to keep this “big surprise” under wraps till the crucial day.

Rakesh to launch son Hritik, Kareena
Producer-director Rakesh Roshan has accomplished a casting coup by signing Karisma’s sister Kareena Kapoor opposite his son Hritik in Filmkraft’s Kya Yehi Pyar Hai. The film which has music by Rajesh Roshan will go on the floors soon.

Amitabh in Suryavamsham remake
Amitabh Bachchan and the popular Tamil-Telugu actress Soundarya play leading roles in RB Chowdhury and Super Good Films’ remake of the Sarath Kumar-starrer Suryavamsham in Tamil. The film to be directed by Vikraman went on the floors on February 1. Anu Malik scores the music.

Naseer's new record
Naseeruddin Shah, the actor achieved a rare feat by acting in three different plays on three consecutive days, January 30, 31 and February 1. On January 30 he played Gandhi in Feroz Khan’s controversial play Gandhi vs Gandhi at the Homi Bhabha Auditorium. “The performance was my tribute to the Mahatma on the occasion of his 50th death anniversary,” said Naseer. On January 31 he did two shows — Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot for the Motleys, a theatre group founded by Naseer and Benjamin Gilani. Then on February 1 he played the title role in two performances of Jerom Kitly’s Dear Liar with his wife, Ratna Pathak Shah. “Theatre is my first love, I can do anything for it,” said Naseer, unaware of the record he had created

Pt Jasraj performs in Pakistan
Pandit Jasraj, the well-known vocalist and father of Sharang Dev and Durga Jasraj accepted an invitation and performed at some special concerts in different parts of Pakistan. It was the first major step by an Indian artiste to do so. He hopes that the concert will help build bridges between the two countries. “The people’s love for our artistes and their response to our performances is proof of the fact,” says he.

Raja Ko Rani Se... complete
R Mohan’s Arvind Swamy-Manisha Koirala starrer, Raja Ko Rani Se Pyar Ho Gaya, is complete and post-production work is in progress. Being produced under the banner of Shogun Films and directed by Rajeev Kumar, the film has music by Jatin-Lalit, lyrics by Javed-Akhtar, action by Thyagarajan, art by Saboo Cyril and cinematography by Ravi K Chandran. Goga Kapoor, Dina Pathak, Dilip Dhawan, Shahbaaz Khan, Tanvi Azmi and Priya Tendulkar also play key roles.

Ben Kingsley heads Berlin Fest jury
Actor Ben Kingsley who was widely acclaimed for his role in Richard Attenborough’s film Gandhi where he played the title role will head the eleven member jury of the 48th Berlin International Film Festival scheduled for February.

Kamasutra on February 6
The English and Hindi version of Mira Nair’s Kamasutra will be relased simultaneously in Mumbai on February 6. The film stars Rekha, Sarita Chaudhary, Raman Tikaram and Indira Verma. The film has been passed after several cuts and has been awarded an ‘A’ certificate.

Gauthami calls on Jayalalitha
Gauthami, who had recently joined the BJP, called on the AIADMK supremo and former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalitha at the latter’s residence.

According to AIADMK sources, “It was a courtesy call.” Gauthami joined the BJP just a week ago in the presence of BJP leaders. The meeting assumes significance as the BJP and the AIADMK are electoral partners in the state.