Bollywood Gallery #8 - Page 11

T he euphemism is out, con- temporary cinema is getting graphic. The threshold has been crossed. The two loopy flowers bobbing their heads coy- ly during love scenes have be- come museum pieces. Today, moviemakers are leav- ing nothing to imagination, be it on-screen intimacies or violence. The trend towards realism is fro- ntal and full-blown. Black Friday, Parzania, Undertrial, Red, Nish- abd, Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd, Just Married, Provoked and Wa- ter exemplify this new mood. The themes: Diverse, inspired from true-life events. The treatment: Authentic and bold. In Ram Gopal Varma's Nish- abd, a re-visitation to the Lolita theme, Jiah Khan and Amitabh Bachchan boldly depict the love between a 16 and a 60-year-old. In Honeymoon…the newly-we- ds, played by Abhay Deol and Mi- nissha Lamba, have a seductive bedroom scene. "The physical as- pect of love can't be ignored so why shy away?" asks Minissha. Many in the industry are en- thused by this 'healthy trend'. Actor Kay Kay Menon whose role in Black Friday has won ac- colades says, "More than any- thing else, I'm proud of the audi- ence for being so receptive. They are displaying courage by accept- ing such dark themes." And when it comes to sex the Bhatts are not known to be coy. Vikram Bhatt's Red promises some red-hot scenes between Aftab Shivdasani and bikini babe Celina Jaitley. As Vikram puts in, "People don't like formula films any more. Why remain conserva- tive and hide our real feelings?" But what about impressionable minds? "We should rate our films and say adieu to the Censor Bo- ard," feel Kay Kay and Vikram. Film critic Indu Mirani begs to differ. "I feel we are not ready to take such decisions." Others li- ke the former Censor Board chief Anupam Kher share the sentime- nt. Showing his concern for those who take 'reel for real' he says, "Let's attain 70 per cent literacy first before doing away with censorship."

B engali beauty Riya Sen is in the news again. Not for her forthcoming projects but because of her frequently changing "dates". According to reliable sources, the sultry actress has a new man in her life. This time it is a young director named Vicky Chopra who directed Fight Club and even won an award for it at some dubious award show. Riya is frequently spotted in the filmy parties with her new found date. Now, is it just a professional bonding or more than that, time will tell. So let's wait and watch.

C at fights amongst actresses are a common phenom- enon in Bolly- wood but now the actors are also not behind in giving them some serious competi- tion. According to grapevine, Abhay Deol and Shahid Kapur cannot stand each other and look the other way when they cross each other's paths in public. The reason is said to be the neg- ative vibes once upon a time be- tween Shahid and Soha Ali Khan during the shoot of Dil Maange More. Anyway, on the Abhay-Soha front, they're keeping away from the public glare and all that. Wonder why? They are much in ishq vishq it seems.