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August 29, 1998
BILLBOARD
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Hunted!
The lady is so nervous that she doesn't even go out anywhere without a chaperone attached. Why, you may puzzle, is the Rangeela femme fatale so jittery? Well, it began soon after she saw a man watching her intently when she checked into her hotel room at an outdoor shoot. Later, when she was leaving the hotel for the shoot, she saw him again, still watching her. An hour later, at the shoot, there he was again, with eyes only for her. And rather malevolent ones, those. That night, she went to bed and soon awoke again, hearing some strange noises. She hauled the producer out of bed and asked him if he could get one of the female assistant directors to sleep in her room. It was done and the rest of the night passed without incident. "But the worst thing was that when I slept I saw the man in my dream, staring at me intently again. I do believe I've seen him somewhere before. Now I make sure my mother or sister accompanies me." Wonder why she didn't just confront the chap...
Manisha graph goes down
The girl was banking a lot on this film, refusing roles in films like Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Jhoot Bole Kauva Kaate. She's quite upset, particularly since Achanak, her last film, hasn't been heard of since the day of its release, though the songs hung on awhile. And if there's anything more galling, it's that Preity Zinta has got better reviews than she did. And more offers too. Manisha is still hoping that, with Govinda's help, she'll come back. That's in Maharaja,, to be released next month. Despite Achanak, which starrred both of them, Manisha hopes Govinda can do a rescue act, like he did when he resurrected Raveena Tandon's career with Dulhe Raja. He's also ensured she signs four more films with him. And if that doesn't work... Hey, when's the next plane to Kathmandu?
A large canvas and a heck of a lot of clothes
The canvas is pretty large, involving hundreds of details in terms of clothes, accessories, colours and design. For the test shoot itself, nearly 7,400 items were readied. That involved dresses, uniforms, shoes, headgear et al. Sarika Haasan, who is in charge of the costumes, is believed to be very fastidious about the clothing. So everything about the film replicates life in the 18th century, with muslin and silk. No synthetics, zips, Velcro etc.... Xerxes Bhathena, who is doing the designing, is apparently completely involved now. The man who stopped accepting film offers some time ago was coaxed back with this enticing offer. Kamal Haasan could apparently not do with anything less for this costume drama. Last heard, Xerxes was thoroughly revamping his opinion about the industry...
Footloose
"I was more than happy with the roles I was doing. Even today, when I go on the street, people merely look at me and start laughing. It shows how strong my image as a comedian is," he smiles. We asked him if he planned to do more roles after Chachi 420. Johnny shook his head good-naturedly. "Not at all," he says. Chachi 420 was an exception. I did the film because it was a clean comedy being done under Kamal Haasan's professional expertise. It will be sometime before another Chachi 420 happens," he said. And as he went away with a spring in his step, it was we who felt good.
Nuptial news
And the production? To be handled by Ajay's brother Anil, the film, Rajoo Chacha will star Manisha Koirala. And Kajol? Ah, she's quite happy being involved in Ajay's own 'home' production.
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