SHORT TAKES  HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY Ramya is one actress who is very candid and realistic about her position in the Hindi film industry. The gorgeous lady agrees quite readily that though she is an established actress down South, she is way down in the ladder in Mumbai. As a result she really doesn’t have much of a choice when it comes to Hindi film offers. “But I make sure that it is a big banner and the director and the hero are successful. Because that is what matters right now,” she confesses with rare honesty.     READY FOR SANYAS We never thought that the day would come when the suave, always game for a party Salim Khan would renounce all worldly pleasures and hole up in a quiet farm in Panvel. Today Salim is quite happy riding a rusty bicycle instead of a swanky Mercedes and, rather than speed down life’s fast lanes, rides at a leisurely pace over his sprawling acres of serene countryside. “Maybe this is what they call sanyas,” he says, his hair a distinguished grey and his eyes reflecting different dreams.   PAPA DOESN’T PREACH We know you’ve been reading a lot about Shah Rukh and his baba in all the movie mags. But that didn’t stop us from asking the new papa what he felt when he saw junior for the first time in the hospital crib. “Honestly nothing,” he said with refreshing honesty. “I was more concerned about Gauri who was shivering and obviously in a lot of pain. For me it was more important that the woman I loved was okay.” Little Aryan though soon became equally important to his now proud papa who says wonderingly, “He’s so fair. And so round and chubby. A great-looking guy with lovely, light grey eyes which they tell me will become darker later. He reminds me so much of my dad and mom. It’s as if they’ve come back to life,” he says emotionally. However, when we wondered if he really wanted his child to be a molester he sighs, “Oh no, I think I’ve been misunderstood again. I just want him to be a cool, happy chap without a care in the world.” Hey, this daddy is really cool, uh?    THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING PUNCTUAL Govinda underwent a dramatic metamorphosis a couple of months ago and these days reports on the sets on the dot. And he finds that it helps when you start work on time because you have more time to learn about other aspects of film making like costumes, sets and camera. “I have started noticing so many details I would normally overlook because I would be in a rush and want the shot canned hurriedly. Now, I get more time to discuss the scene and the finer points of the character with the director and the unit. I can also go to bed early and I find that I still have a lot of time for exercise, jogging and my family,” he says.    GHAI TO REVEAL ALL ON JANUARY 24 After the super success of Pardes there has been a lot of speculation about Subhash Ghai’s next project since the time he announced it during a quiet pooja at Juhu’s Hare Rama Hare Krishna temple on the occasion of his wedding anniversary. So far, Ghai has refused to reveal any details about his hush-hush venture but recently he promised us that he would tell all on January 24. “I don’t know why people are in such a hurry to know the details. Making a film is not easy today. You have to plan things according to the changing times. But I think I will be in a position to end all speculations by January 24. And I can promise you a few surprises,” he asserted with an enigmatic smile.    WHERE IS LONDON Sunny Deol’s directorial debut, London, is shrouded in secrecy. Though the film is being shot in Mumbai’s Mehboob Studio, visitors and the press are not allowed on the set. There’s a large board outside — larger than anything we’ve come across yet— prominently giving you the message. Two huge vans have been imported all the way from London and Bobby Deol and Urmila Matondkar, who has recently stepped in for Karisma Kapoor, are rushed into these vans as soon as their shot is through. And all this secrecy only arouses great curiosity about this much-in-the-news project. London, when will we get to see you?   THE DD-AB COMBO The jovial David Dhawan admitted the other day that he had a hard time developing Amitji’s character in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. “He has played such a wide variety of characters, I was hard put to think of something new for him,” he confessed. So, David spent a lot of time watching AB’s films all over again and, after several discussions with his script-writer, Rumi Jafferi, Big B’s character was sketched. David isn’t revealing much except that “his role goes with his image and age”.