SHORT TAKES

A HAIRY TALE
Recently, the unit of Raftaar had reason to smile because of Akshay. The He-man was sporting a dark stubble and when director Priyadarshan told him that what he wanted was only a 24 hour shadow, Akki obligingly walked into his make-up room, worked up a lather and shaved off half his beard before coming out to ask Priyan if it was okay now. The sight of Akki with shaving cream covering half his face and the other half shining clean had the director and the crew laughing. Finally, Priyan smilingly told his hero to go shave off the beard entirely, they’d worry about continuity later.

THE BUSY BEDI
Manik Bedi, the hunk in search of hits, has been working round the clock playing everything from the ruff-n’-tough macho man to a mischievous lover boy, from a chor to a cop, and now will have a release almost every month. Variety and versatility, that appears to be his motto, and for the moment he’s moulding himself on Shah Rukh Khan but as far as releases go, his idol is but obviously apna Mithun dada. The Bedi with the fab body is very excited about one film in particular, Jaane Jigar. What makes it so special? Mamta Kulkarni. “She’s terrific. And the songs we shot in Switzerland are just too much!” We believe you, Manik.

BACK FROM THE DEAD
Sanjay Kapoor has suddenly got a new lease of life. Chhupa Rustom has been revived. A financier saw the rushes and was so impressed that he agreed to pump money into what was a “dead” project. The film has had more than its share of problems. First Raj Babbar who plays a significant role, got busy with politics, then unprecedented showers played havoc with schedules and finally the money ran out. Chhupa Rustom could be Sanjay’s lifeline. It stars the very saleable Manisha Koirala and the sexy Mamta Kulkarni opposite him and, Sanjay insists, that despite the delay the reel life romance hasn’t gone stale. It shouldn’t Sanjay, with these two lovelies.

HELPFUL HINTS FROM THE KHANS
Dharmesh Darshan is all praise for Aamir Khan. Not the actor but the director. No, Aamir is not directing Mela for him but he does come up with some “brilliant” suggestions which has convinced Dharmesh that his Raja Hindustani will make a very good director. And no, surprisingly, the thought of competition doesn’t bother him.

Talking of Aamir reminds one of another Khan. Shah Rukh too comes up with a lot of ideas and suggestions but unfortunately for him, his directors are not as receptive as Dharmesh and his ideas don't often get implemented. But that hasn’t disheartened this Khan. Nor stopped him from giving many more suggestions. And even those that are rejected are filed away. “I’ll use all of them in my film when I direct one and I can promise you that film will be a big hit,” he promises.

THE AUDIENCE KNOWS BEST
Recently a die hard fan of Sohail Khan approached him and began to shower him with compliments for “that brilliant first film, Auzaar, surprising the young director who had not heard a single word of praise for his debutant venture. However, if you thought Mr Khan was bowled over by the unexpected rave review you guessed wrong. He frowned darkly and told the man, “If the audience likes a film it’s a hit. And the fact that Auzaar flopped proves that they didn’t care for my film.” However, he’s most optimistic about Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya. It’s a “fearless” love story and he’s confident they’ll love it.

VISITORS NOT WELCOME
Sanjay Dutt, Shilpa Shetty, Raveena Tandon, Jackie Shroff and Aditya Pancholi... the muhurat card promised all this and more and so it was not surprising that there was a crowd of journos and lensmen at Natraj studio early last Sunday waiting to catch the stars in action. But Sanjay Gupta, the director of Jung was not at his cooperative best and shooed them all out of his set which resembled a jail, bundled his actors and actresses into the studio and no one was allowed in. No one got a peek at even the muhurat shot which took place a good two hours later. Well, that was some invite.

AKSHAYE ROMANCES NAGHMA’S SISTER
Akshaye Khanna is romancing Jyotika, Naghma’s sister these days. Now before you start imagining all kinds of scenarios, let me add that this romance is only for reel life. Or rather for Xavier Marquis’ new film, Doli Saja Ke Rakhna. And the producer is so thrilled with the duo’s very convincing performances that he just can’t stop talking about the film.

STAYING IN TOUCH
The cell phone is a boon for Mahesh Bhatt. He’s constantly in touch with what’s happening at home when he’s at work and what’s happening at work when he’s at home thanks to his cellular. No wonder Bhatt is never seen without his mobile. It ensures that he remains mobile even when he’s stationary