SHORT TAKES

BACK TO BENGAL
Yesteryears’ matinee idol Biswajeet is returning to Tollygunge after decades to give his son Prasenjit who’s the present-day crowd-puller, a run for his money perhaps. Biswajeet has given the nod to Dulal Bhowmick’s Shreeman 420 in which our Bengali babu plays the role of a dreaded Naxalite. Biswajeet made his debut with the superhit Mrigmayee opposite Sandhya Roy. He was on a success trail with money-spinners like Dui Bhai, Shesh Prayatna and Chowringhee before he was lured to Mumbai by Hemanta Mukherjee whose Bees Saal Baad opposite Waheeda Rehman ensured that Biswajeet did not return to Calcutta for the next 20 years and more. But now he’s returning home to amar sonar Bangla which can still make his heart soar.

MISSING BABY
Bumped into a despondent dad the other day. It was none other than Shah Rukh Khan who’s been so busy wrapping up Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se and Yash Johar’s Duplicate and rushing through Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai that he hadn’t had time to rush home to Aryan for a long fortnight. “And I’m really missing my baby,” he groused. That’s papa love for you.

PICTURE PERFECT
Yesterday came alive once again as Rati Agnihotri stepped out of the shadows into the spotlight. Looking as stunning as ever and oh-so-chic in a slinky black sari and a strappy blouse. It was hard to imagine that this slim, svelte and sexy lady was the mother of a child. Of late one has heard the buzz that Rati is thinking of staging a comeback and though she airily waved off the rumours at a recent party and seemed quite content being Mrs Anil Virvani, we can assert that if Rati wants to return to the studios now’s the time. She’ll give ladies half her age a complex.

ANOTHER GAMBLE
If there’s one film Manisha Koirala is all excited about it’s Parto Ghosh’s Yugpurush with Nana Patekar and Jackie Shroff. Manisha plays an innocent who gets sucked into the murky world of politics and becomes the mistress of a neta. A daring role for a virginal nayikaa but then, Manisha has always been ready to risk all for a challenge. Let’s hope this gamble pays off too. Manisha certainly has her fingers crossed.

NO POLITICS PLEASE
If there’s one actress who refuses to be drawn into any discussion about our netas and their political wheelings and dealings it’s Urmila Matondkar. The rangeeli refuses to come up with anything but a noncommital “no comments” whenever she’s quizzed about what’s happening to the desh in Delhi. “Why do people expect us film stars to be up to date with social happenings and political affairs?” she argues. Yeah, why?

LOVE NOT
Arshad Warsi’s shrugging off all rumours about him and Namrata Shirodkar with a cool, “There’s nothing to them” smile. Yes, he’s heard that he and his Hiro Hindustani heroine are an item. Well, isn’t such talk inevitable considering that he is romancing the girl in reel life? “But don’t believe them,” he cautions. “The only love in my life at the moment is my work.” Yeah, and Maria and his lil’ puppy too we hope?

LOVE KNOT
The party at the Piano Bar to launch Kamaal Khan’s new album saw a surprise guest strolling in in the late late hours. It was none other than the reclusive Salman. Not so surprising really when Salman confessed that kamal ka Kamaal was his best friend. With Salman was his other good friend Somy Ali. Now her presence was certainly surprising and more so the fact that the Khan came in holding her hand tight and never let go even for a minute. Is Salman taking a cue from another buddy Sanjay Dutt and giving Somy and shaadi a serious thought?

THE METAMORPHOSIS
The name N. Chandra brings to mind an image of a middle-aged man in a crisp white kurta pyjama sporting a more salt than pepper mane and beard and a warm and welcoming smile. Right? So we were surprised when we tripped up his garden path and were confronted with this vision in blue denim, a medallion dangling from a chain around his neck. “Chandraji?” we asked hesitantly. “Kai zaale?” the vision retorted and there was no mistaking that Marathi accent. Yes, it was Mr Narsimha Chandra. Now to whom or what do we owe this metamorphosis? Madhuri and Wajood, may be?