What rubbish! The girl looks nothing like Katrina

By Subhash K Jha

The chairperson of the censorboard Sharmila Tagore and the former holder of the position Anupam Kher who had been replaced under an wave of acrimony, are in a film together.

Entitled Morning Walk, the film about an autumnal couple meeting up in life after years of separation, is directed by debutante Aroop Dutta who has earlier directed serials for Balajee telefilms.

Says Anupam, "I reminded Sharmilaji that the last time we worked together was in 1984 when we played man and wife in Jawani (the film that introduced Neelam). It's wonderful to reunite with such an old co-star and that too in such an unusual film. "

Morning Walk is the story of an elderly couple who meet up after decades. The old man discovers he has a daughter by the woman whom he had once courted and won.

Several films on old people discovering love are now being made, among them Shoojit Sircar's Amitabh Bachchan-Sarika starrer Shoebite and Ashu Trikha's Mithun-Ranjeeta starrer Zindagi Tere Naam.

Says Anupam, "It's a good healthy sign. Everyone deserves love at any age. About time our movies got old people out of the rocking chair and made them rock. "

Was all the bitterness about the way Anupam was unceremoniously replaced by Sharmila wiped away?

"Oh it was erased long ago. It's not healthy clinging to resentments in life. Sharmilaji and I are having a ball shooting together. She reminded me how I used to ask the director a hundred questions during Jawaani. I told her the questions are still there but are more internalized now. "

Interestingly little Avika Gore now a household name in Balika Vadhu, plays Anupam's grand -daughter in Morning Walk.

"She's wonderfully selfconfident. When I work with kids today like Purav Bhandare in Tahaan, Gargi in Hawaii Dada or Avi in Morning Walk I feel inadequate. "

Anupam soon leaves to shoot for Gurinder Chadha's film which has been named It's A Wonderful Afterlife.

Back home work at his acting school An Actor Prepares keep him on his toes. One of Anupam's proudest achievements is the acting school An Actor Prepares which has branches all over the world. The school has lately been in the news for one of his student Zaira Khan who's been selected by Salman Khan to co-star with him apparently because she resembles Katrina Kaif.

"What rubbish! The girl looks nothing like Katrina. Except for the fact that they're both fair-skinned there's no resemblance between the two at all, " ends Anupam.