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July 30, 1998
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Sridevi returns!
And, so, over a year after saying her goodbyes and opting for what could be termed an illegal marriage to Boney Kapoor, the actress is making her way back into cinema. She can do it now. Her daughter, Jahnavi, is over a year old and can manage with the maids. And as she grows more independent, her mother, finding herself twiddling her thumbs, decided to get back to business. But things have changed a little now. Sridevi will now be acting in a film made by Boney, and opposite brother-in-law Anil Kapoor. Details of the dream project are still being worked out. And, no, this time Sridevi won't be doing any jhatak numbers, maturity being the severe thing it is. Apparently she is tired of all those routine films and is seeking an offbeat subject.
Getting choosy
Anil Kapoor now prefers to pick his roles with care, having had his fill of fame and fortune. "I am quite famous now for what I have been doing. So let me take a chance and do roles that give me satisfaction as a actor," he says most immodestly. So the man has gone ahead and signed an out-an-out art film to be directed by Sudhir Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin Mishra. The film is also believed to be a last-ditch -- and therefore desperate -- attempt at stardom for brother Sanjay Kapoor. The film that is more of the parallel cinema kind, is a medium budget film to be produced by Boney Kapoor.
He lives a dangerous life
For long before the success of Ghulam had receded, he picked Aishwarya Rai to play the heroine in his next movie. Of course, this is his first big hit. His last one, Fareb, made the grade only because so little was spent on it that it would have taken the bomb squad squatting outside to make it a flop. Now, professionally speaking, getting Ash isn't really a bad move. With indifferent success behind her, Ash will come cheaper. And she has the potential to do something sometime. But then, Vikram's just bid his last goodbyes to his wife and has settled down, for the past few months, with Ash's arch rival, Sushmita Sen. And Sen, we must realise, may not understand the complexity of his scheming mind. Not, at least, in the business sense we imply....
On shaky ground
Mahima's been having some trouble already. She didn't look too confident when shooting for Pyar Koi Khel Nahin, her first film after Pardes, opposite Sunny Deol and Apoorva Agnihotri. On the sets of Daag (opposite Chandrachur Singh) too she looked a little nervous, never really in her element. And then she slowly began finding projects she was already signed on inexorably slipping out of her hands. There are rumours doing the rounds, though, that despite that placards put out that all is forgiven, Subhash Ghai still has his knife into his protégé. Now, if Mahima hadn't already queered her own pitch, it might almost have been believable...
Kiss and tell
"My wife knew what kind of a person I was when she married me," he once said when quizzed by an inquisitive journo if he indulged in extramarital excesses. But then, Ayesha wouldn't be too happy if she had heard what her dear husband was boasting about with the guys at In House studios. "I've kissed almost all the girls out there except Manisha Koirala. I still don't know how her lips taste," he said pensively. Jackie was nonchalantly shooting from the lip as it were, oblivious of the fact that there were journos -- like yours truly -- in the vicinity. Careful, Jacko. Don't brag. Ayesha might just hear of it.
Putting out the bans
While the Sena has made its name proscribing things, the Bajrang Dal is catching on, already working hard on keeping out that upcoming film on Jinnah. Just as well, considering Christopher Lee , who plays the protaganist, has made a reputation of freezing the marrow. Husain had wisely planned a private screening in Bombay for minister and culture vulture Pramod Navalkar. But the Bajrang Dal got there first. The painter-turned-producer is still trying to save his film, having already sent a letter to Gajanan Shirke, leader of Shiv Sena's movie wing. We hear, he's also trying to gain an audience with Sena chief Bal Thackeray. Soothing that ego, he hopes, will give his movie a chance. He can at least point out that he's paid the highest price in the film to a Maharashtrian. There, of course, is the fact that there's no telling how Thackeray will take that...
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-- V S Srinivasan | |||||||||||||
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