Bollywood Gallery #8 - Page 2

A sk Aftab Shiv- dasani what is the number one word on his hate list and he'll tell you it's 'bandh'. He was looking forward to girl friend Yana Gupta's return to Mumbai, but a day more of seperation is taking its toll on him. She had gone to Bangalore for an event and just when she was scheduled to fly back, a bandh was declared there, forcing her to abort the return journey. No wonder he's roam ing about town in a T-shirt that screams SINGLE and humming the Mr Lonely number all through the day.

L ike the proverbial leopard who can never change his spots, Govinda is back to being the Late Latiff that he was so infamous for. Just when the industry was rejoicing with his punctuality by showing up on the sets even when required at the crack of dawn, Chi Chi bhaiyaa seems to have severed all ties with waqt ki paabandi. During the shooting of Partner in Dubai, Govinda would turn up a coupla hours after the reporting time keeping the rest of the unit waiting idle. Guess the punctuality was just a phase of the reali- ty that means: hum nahin sudhrenge. Kya?

H owdee do this Tuesday my tutty-fruties? While I'm looking for- ward to Valentine's Day, I'm also feeling ooh so sorry for Celina Jaitly. Yeah, the sex siren is very much single these days and even ready to mingle. But the saddest part is that she has to play the smiling gracious hostess to mentor Feroz Khan. A nosey friend of mine in her neighbourhood has spotted Khan entering her building regularly for months now. Keeping in mind that Khan is working on a remake of Qurbani, and will be launching a new face as the leading lady to play Zeenat Aman's character, no one knows what role he has in mind for his sweet Celin, as he fondly calls her. Don't tell me it's Aroona Irani's role. Eeeeekkkkssss!

I know Tanushree Dutta is going to hate me for leaking this info on her.. but never mind.. A khabri has just dug out a skeleton from outta her closet my sweets.. And he goes by the name Sachin Verma. I'm told the two were insepera- ble as Siamese twins once upon a time.. and that was much before movies happened to her. But like everything that comes to an end, so did their relationship. I've also been told that this Sachin is doing some television show and is also hoping for a break in films. But Tanu need not worry too much since he has no intention of getting back with her. Unless her current beau director Aditya Datt decides to cast the two together. Now that would be a casting coup she would do any- thing to avoid na?

T rust me my dahlings, but it's certainly not that I'm madly in love with Sanjay Gupta to write about him regularly here. A sleuth divulged that Gupts is now planning to relaunch a Ms Monica. What I was shocked to hear was that he had cast her as Man- isha Koirala's younger sister in his Khauff years ago. And after seeing her in the recently-released Undertrial, resolved to give her career a much-needed boost. How khauffnaak is that now?

S ikander Kher might be getting involved with other women, but it seems his heart still beats for ex-girl- friend Gul Panag. A close friend of his revealed to me that his laptop has a folder titled GP and con- tains over two hundred photographs of her. And he also takes a dekko of them very very regularly. So I can't figure out why doesn't he make up with her? Yeah my deahs, such is life, really.

I t was an unexpected – albeit unbridled - revel- ry for director Atul Agnihotri and his team. The director turned Empire Studio into a dance club last week, while recording for the first song of his directorial film Hello. Atul, music directors Sajid-Wajid, singer Daler Mehndi and some Pak- istani actors from Angelina Jolie starrer A Mighty Heart liked the recorded song so much that they danced away to glory . The hangers-on joined in the fun, cutting a picture perfect family says compos- , er Sajid. "We had great fun. In Atul bhai's unit, every- one is a family We didn't feel . as if we were working," says Sajid. Adds Atul, "It's a Punjabi club song. Sometimes, a song clicks in such a big way that you get carried away. All of us liked the number so much that we instantly found ourselves dancing to its beat. We just left every- thing, and freaked out. Believe me, Sajid-Wajid have done a fabulous job. They're giving their best, as they always do. Plus, it's so kind of Daler that he hasn't charged a penny for his efforts." Hello stars Sohail Khan, Sharman Joshi, Gul Panag and Ishaa Kop- pikar. It also features Salman Khan in a special appearance as an author. Katrina Kaif also has a brief role. The film is a cinematic adaptation of Chetan Bha- gat's acclaimed novel One Night @ The Call Centre. "Chetan has helped us tremendously. I believe his novel is as Indian in essence as Malgudi Days. It raises pertinent issues in Mumbai today The film, like the nov- . el, is about six guys, who work in a call centre," explains Atul. He adds that the he's using black humour to draw irony, growth and struggle. "There's dark humour in it. When Char- lie Chaplin ate shoes, peo- ple found it funny ..it's pret- ty real, yet humourous." The novel will soon find its way in the markets of Italy UK and US. Atul hopes , to benefit from it. "If the novel hits the markets abroad, it will only help us in selling our film. Of course, I do not take away the merit of the book. I think Chetan's work is com- mendable. But it good news for my film..it will open new avenues abroad." Hello will be shot in Mumbai, with a set replicating a call centre to be put up at Film City .

H indi cinema is getting bold.. at least when it comes to portraying conjugal moments. Abhay Deol and Minissha Lamba play bed games in Honeymoon Travels Pvt Limited. The honeymoon rendezvous throws up some intimate moments. In one of the scenes, behind the closed doors and an inviting bed, Abhay pleads and groans like a dog to catch the attention of his newly wed wife. As a repartee, Minissha teas- es him while mooing like a cat!

A few years ago any newcomer would have thought twice about making their debut in Bollywood with a deglam role. It was almost like been written off as an actor without star power. No longer. Young actors today are not afraid to play down their looks for a role of substance. The latest are Kunal Khemu and Neetu Chandra in Madhur Bhan- darkar's Traffic Signal. It started perhaps with Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor in JP Dutta's Refugee, where both the youngsters were cast in the roles of villagers. That Abhishek and Kareena were not willing to give up is clear from their choice of roles later. It was flop after flop before Mani Ratnam's Yuva had Abhishek por- traying Lallan, a Bihari goon who worked for politicians. The image of Lallan did not go with Abhishek's usual image — urbane and cool. But it is this role that salvaged his career before Dhoom gave him his first hit. Kareena followed up her deglam dreams with that of a sex worker in Sudhir Mishra's Chameli. Her per- formance in the film gave her the much-needed critical acclaim that she had missed till then. The list goes on. Viveik Oberoi made his debut in the role of a deglam don in Company, Ayesha Takia (played a Rajasthani village girl) in Dor Randeep Hooda was a don in D , and Tulip Joshi played an innocent village girl who was sexually harassed in Matrubhoomi. These are all young- sters who have excelled in roles that were more gritty than glamorous. Why do young actors opt for these kind of roles? In this age of experi- mentation, where the audience can- not be taken for granted, such roles enable them to reach out, feel experts. "A touch of the soil helps audiences identify with them," says Bhandark- ar. It is also more of a challenge to play such characters. And once they succeed in such portrayals, critical acclaim flows in. "Playing Meera was tough since I had to learn the diction of a Rajasthani girl and keep in mind her body language," says Ayesha on her role in Dor. Filmmaker Manish Jha who directed Matrubhoomi adds that another reason that spurs them to do such roles is the international market. "They are very much aware of the global market. There are lots of Indian films making it to the inter- national market. This is the easiest way of getting some recognition there." There are others following suit. Isha Koppikar plays a deglam don in Shabri, Vidya Balan is a village belle in Eklavya, a film that features Raima Sen as a mentally challenged girl. It's easier, too, nowadays for young- sters to experiment. They are not slot- ted in any category by filmmakers. But as Jha says, "It also depends on how the director's handling. If one is not handled properly, things can go haywire." digantaguha@hindustantimes.com

W hen actor Shabana Azmi talks about her favourite roles in an expansive career spanning over three decades, it is quite tempting to presume that she is talking about her cinematic tryst with directors like Shyam Benegal, Aparna Sen and Mahesh Bhatt. But then she sur- prises us by rattling off names of more recent films like Fire, Godmother, Morning Raga and 15 Park Avenue which have further enriched an otherwise illustrious career. Her forthcoming film, Reema Kagti's Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. also falls in that bracket. "It is a special film," she says. The reason: Her children Farhan and Zoya Akhtar have produced it. "It was heartening to note, during the 45-day shoot in and around Goa, that my kids had imbibed the best of West- ern professionalism, a rarity in Hindi films earlier," she says. "Reema's strength as a director lies in the fact that she can instantly think of an alternative if an origi- nal idea does not work out. As a first-time director she does not feel the weight of the world on her shoul- ders," she adds. Shabana also does not forget to point out that the future of Hindi films rests in the hands of young directors. "We have the talent… even the big production houses are willing to support them. But more emphasis should be given on the marketing of films. It might help young filmmakers to tie up with big sponsors," she says. Honeymoon… flaunts the best of both worlds with its "heart-warming tale" of six couples on a honeymoon tour on a bus. Seeing the opportunity, we gather enough courage to ask her about the kissing scene with Boman Irani. "Oh please," she remarks with a laugh, "Do not read too much into that. It's a sweet, innocent, non-controversial scene that takes place in the middle of the road." The sense of bonhomie persists when we ask her about Deepa Mehta's Water making it to the Oscars. "It is a huge slap on the faces of those who conspired to hold up the shoots. It is the triumph of freedom of expression. I wish Deepa all the best at the Oscars," she says. chat.arindam@gmail.com Films that define Azmi ARTH: She excelled as a woman abandoned by her hus- band. MANDI: Shabana as Rukmini, the madame of bordello, received high acclaim. PAAR: She was at her best as a labourer's wife in Bihar. SATI: Shabana plays Uma, an orphaned woman forced to marry a tree. GODMOTHER: The veteran actor sinks her teeth into a juicy feminist role.