Draupadi’s John!!

John Abraham, the handsome hunk of bollywood, has agreed to play the part of great warrior Arjuna, one of five Pandavas in Rituparno Ghosh's ambitious project ' Draupadi' based on the Mahabharat epic. Bipasha Basu, the husky-dusky hot bong babe is playing the title role of Draupadi in the film while Jaya Bachchan plays an important role in the upcoming magnum opus. The outdoor shooting for the film is going to start in Ladakh and the film will have a budget of around Rs 8 crore.

As an insider reveals, ' John Abraham has never worked in a mythological film, but he is sure Ritu will extract a good performance from him. After working with Deepa Mehta in Water, John is keen on working with award-winning directors. He will act in at least one parallel cinematic venture a year.'

Initially, Rituparno Ghosh wanted John Abraham only for his chiseled body as the character of Arjuna was that of a great warrior and a great body was a must for anyone to be able to play that character from the Mahabharat epic. But John Abraham did not want to play a role, which only showcased his body; he wanted something more meaty before signing the film.

It was at John's request that Ritu further developed his character in the film and gave a complete narration to him of the same. After being satisfied of his role, John Abraham gave his consent for the same. ' Draupadi', as the name itself suggests, will be a woman-centric film but John Abraham will have ample scope to showcase his acting prowess under the national award winning director.

However, Rituparno's ' Draupadi' will be more like the Peter Brook's Mahabharat than other commercial ventures which are churned out every Friday. The ace director intends to avoid the gaudy costumes and too much melodrama in the film. Rituparno wants to present Draupadi from a fresh angle and through the eyes of the one of the most celebrated characters of Indian mythological history.

It may be recalled that Rituparno Ghosh had announced ' Sahib Biwi Ghulam' with John Abraham in the lead but things did not work out due to personal rivalry between John and macho man of bollywood Salman Khan, who was also a part of the film. But this time there is no such hurdle and both are very excited about working with each other in this Sa Re Ga Ma produced venture.

We too hope and pray that everything goes well with this Ritu's ambitious project ' Druapadi', but considering hot babe Bips and handsome hunk John Abraham's now-on-now-off relationship, nothing can be said with certainty, what say??..... but…..er…….did you say Draupadi and Bips are similar in some ways?? Well…… supposedly, Bips has been in relationships with Milind, Dino, Saif, Ronaldo and John……..total five….. and Draupadi too had five Pandavas as husband………. Remember na!!

—K K Rai
(Send in your observations & comments to krishnakumar@magnamags.com)