Cinema Cinema Dec 22nd'2006

Himesh Reshammiya has denied rumours about actress Priyanka Chopra starring in his upcoming film Aap Ka Suroor — The Movie — The Real Love Story. It was earlier abuzz that the Bluffmaster actress was being considered to play the female lead in the film, which also marks the debut of Himesh as an actor. However, the singer has rubbished these rumours by saying, "My film will launch a new face. So the question of signing an established actress just does not arise."

He added, "There will be three leading ladies in the film, all newcomers. I am surprised about the Priyanka Chopra rumour. Neither director Prashant Chhada nor I have approached her. I hope this clarification puts all rumours to rest." Before Priyanka, it was model Deepika Padukone's presence in his music video that had raised speculations about her being a part of his mega venture. Himesh denied that too. Aap Ka Suroor will hit the floors in February next year. "We will shoot in Spain, Italy, France and Germany," the singer said.

Among the various changes that Ram Gopal Varma has made in his version of Sholay, the latest to be heard is that the role of Sambha will be changed to that of a big company's CEO. And it will be played by actor Sushant Singh. "The length of my role has been extended," informs Sushant. "The look that I have is completely outlandish and totally different from the one I had in Jungle. In Jungle, I had grown my hair and beard, but in this film, it is going to be different," he says.

Sushant, however, refuses to give out the details of his look in the film. "It is only after Ramu permits me that I will talk about it," he says. Besides Ram Gopal Varma Ki Sholay, Sushant is excited about Lahore. "I learnt kickboxing especially for the film," he says, adding, "My instructor Mark had specially come down from Holland to teach me. I am practising it on my own now."

Lahore is going to be made by debutant director Sanjay Chauhan. Sushant says that the film is about a martial art match between India and Pakistan that takes place in Lahore. "That's why the film is called Lahore. I liked the concept of martial arts being used in the film. This is for the first time that martial arts is going to be seen in a Hindi film. As I was getting an opportunity to learn it, I said yes to the film," he says.

Sambhavna Seth and actor Rajpal Yadav shot non-stop for 31 hours for the picturisation of an item number for producer Nazim Rizvi's Under Trial. Rizvi said, "We are releasing Under Trial on December 29 so we had to rush and complete it. This item number Kaga Tikulya Le Bhaga was picturised on Rajpal and Sambhavna, along with 25 dancers and 100 junior artistes.

I don't think anyone else till date has shot 31 hours like us. We have created a new record. We had booked the studio for three days and had to dismantle it on the fourth day since the film was complete, except for this song. So we decided to complete it." The film is based on Rizvi's own experience of being an undertrial.

About her marathon song shoot, Sambhavna said, "Yes, it was a long number. We shot for two days and one night continuously. Actually, Rajpal was supposed to come late for the shoot that day, but he turned up early and the producer decided to can some shots with him. Later, my costume got stolen but since the designer was my friend she got it made immediately. The switch board was not working hence there were lighting problems. All these problems had already delayed the shooting and the producer had faced major losses. We wanted to complete the shoot as early as possible." She adds that Rizvi cracked jokes throughout the shoot to keep them amused, and choreographer Reshma Khan has done a wonderful job with the number.

From what we hear, actress Konkona Sen Sharma has done an awesome job in Madhur Bhandarkar's Traffic Signal, although she took longer than usual to get into the skin of the character. The Mr and Mrs Iyer actress was very nervous about playing a streetwalker in the film. She had almost persuaded Madhur that she would not do the role.

However, Madhur was completely convinced that only Konkona could do justice to the role. Says Madhur, "Yes, it is true that Konkona was a little nervous. But I sat with her everyday for a couple of days and took her through various scenes, explained the aspects that I would want her to highlight. Once she got a hang of the character, there was no stopping her."

The story of Shiney Ahuja's extra-marital affair with his publicist Tanuja broke out on the day of his marriage anniversary. "What a day to choose for such a link up. My wife, Anu, who is in New York, was naturally shocked when I spoke to her about it. It was very embarrassing and painful. More so, since I was being linked with a woman who's senior to me and someone I respect for her professionalism," Shiney said.

Currently, Shiney is shooting with Soha Ali Khan in Goa for Sudhir Mishra's Khoya Khoya Chand. "Soha is fun to have on the sets. She is very intelligent. I guess it's her inheritance. I've got the capacity to love from my parents, and I have passed it all to my wife. She's the only woman in my life. So the talk about link-ups has no effect on my marriage," says the Woh Lamhe actor.

Shiney says that he has full confidence in his wife, and admits that long-distance marriages such as his are more prone to speculation. "If Anu was here with me, my fidelity would never be questioned. I don't socialise. I hardly talk to people beyond my work. I'm the last person to have affairs. A producer has a believable theory on these rumours. He says, 'People dig up dirt because I am here and my wife is there. That space is filled up with imaginary romance'," he says.