Meet Salman's new heroines

Not only has Bollywood run out of original ideas, but it is also recycling names of old hit films. Now, the classic Amitabh Bachchan-Shashi Kapoor comedy Do Aur Do Paanch is being remade, but with female protagonists.

Amitabh's character is being played by Shivi Malhota, and Vishaka Singh steps into Shashi's shoes. The movie, directed by Abhijeet Sengupta, revolves around these two heroines playing orphaned sisters. If reports are to be belived, the film also stars Salman Khan! In real life, the two girls are poles apart, despite the fact that they share their birthday -- May 5.

Read on to find out more about these new Bollywood entrants.

Vishaka has lovely eyes, with a determined jaw line.

Born on the fifth hour of the fifth day of the fifth month, Vishaka ignored her bachelor's in business administration and came to Mumbai with stars in her eyes and dreams of being the next Rani Mukerji. Her parents were sceptical. They gave her just 10 days to try her luck; she was offered an advertising assignment on the ninth day.

The visibility the ad gave her resulted in a few movie offers. She auditioned for Swades, and among 25 girls who were shortlisted, she made it to the final three.

Then she was offered a role in the skin-fest Neal 'N' Nikki. But three kisses and a bikini did not appeal to her. Then came the Do Aur Do Paanch offer, and she accepted. Being the shorter of the two girls, she plays the younger sister. On the sets, she recollects one memorable scene. "Ranjeet, the villain, had to push me. He did that a little too forcefully, and I went flying out of the frame. Without batting an eyelid, Shivi grabbed me and set me upright. We continued with the shoot."

Shivi Malhotra is fair, tall, funny and so full of energy that you expect her to blast off at any moment.

She was born in Canada and moved to Florida as a teenager, where she did a course in film and television. Then came a New York movie, Indian Fish In American Waters. She came to India to integrate art and social work. She wants to act and use the money she earns to empower women in India. When asked about the men, she replies, "The men here are already independent, it's the women I want to help." This she plans to do by teaching arts and crafts. In Mumbai, she wanted to act in art films. But she found a break difficult and so she turned to commercial movies.

A year and a half after she landed in India, Do Aur Do Paanch came along.

About the differences between New York and Mumbai, she says she has realised that there when they do not like you for a role, they say, 'No!'; in India they say, 'We will see.' She appeared for many an audition before she got the Do Aur Do Paanch role. "You have to keep putting the coins in, before you hit the jackpot," is her take. In the West, casting directors asked her to be subtle, but here "it was more lively, like you hit the audience on the head with your act." Let's wait and watch if the two new girls can hit Bollywood audiences on the head with their act.