Kissa Tabu Ka
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Tabu with Sajid Nadiadwala. Click for bigger pic!
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Nemesis seems to be catching up with Sajid Nadiadwala. That is, if he isn't all what he's touted himself to be.
The producer first came under scrutiny after his wife, teen star Divya Bharti fell to her death from a balcony. For some reason, the cops have reopened the case and are exploring the possibility that fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim was somehow involved in the death.
Nadiadwala is also having trouble on another front -- his relationship with Tabassum Hashmi -- aka Tabu - which at one time seemed headed towards matrimony. Things changed after Tabu's fortunes zoomed and the Hyderabadi lass got close to Telugu superstar Nagarjuna. That, apparently, is causing Sajid much heartburn.
What apparently is driving the knife in is Nag's regular calls to the lady. At least twice Tabu's mobile tinkled, heralding a call from the hero, much to Sajid's chagrin. Sajid was apparently wooing the woman when the phone showed the competition in.
Zeenie opts out
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Zeenat Aman. Click for bigger pic!
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Filmi families are bringing their cadavers out of the closet for public exhibition.
Neetu Singh allegedly called up a suburban Bombay police station last month, alleging that hubby Rishi Kapoor was beating her up. Later, she claimed differently. Poonam Dhillon parted ways with hubby, producer Ashok Thakeria but, fortunately that pair didn't get down to washing their dirty linen in the lurid star glossies.
Another celebrity couple heading for a divide are Mazhar Khan and Zeenat Aman.
The strain began showing in their marriage after Khan's frustration with life found vent in the oomph girl of the 1970s. Khan was apparently upset that he had to reshoot his film Gang after Amjad Khan's death. Zeenat had organised the finances for the second round.
Khan fell desperately ill thereafter and his wife stood by him again. But the man's moodiness began to chafe and, finally, Babusha -- as her momma Usha Heinz used to call her -- decided to opt out.
Currently, she is close to Zaheer, a London-based Pakistani friend of Khan. It was Zaheer who helped Zeenat get Mazhar back on his financial feet during the Gang crisis.
Lonely lady
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Parveen Babi. Click for bigger pic!
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Unmarried heroines have it hard. A youth full of pleasures has this way of highlighting by contrast the loneliness and rejection of middle age.
Consider the case of Parveen Babi who is currently suggesting there is an international conspiracy on to label her as a schizophrenic.
She has allegedly been calling up old friends and informing them that she is not suffering from a mental divorce with reality -- which approximately defines schizophrenia -- and that there is an 'international organisation' that's out to get her. Said friends tell her that they don't believe it either, make some other reassuring noises, and put the phone down, tut-tutting in private.
Sulakshana Pandit, the former actress and singer who at one time tried her damndest to marry the late Sanjeev Kumar, is also behaving oddly.
These days she roams around in a burkha gate-crashing parties and picking up awards meant for others who are not present.
Jaya picks the best for her son
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Abhishek Bachchan. Click for bigger pic!
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We've already told you Abhishek Bachchan has finally decided to take the plunge -- into the movies. Now some more details.
Aditya Chopra has been shortlisted to directed the Bachchan boy's debut vehicle, Purushartha. Momma Jaya was very impressed by the way Adit handled Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. She did want Mani Ratnam to do the honours, but things somehow couldn't work out.
So Adit it will be. He has the privilege of working with arguably the second biggest casting coup in the last three decades. Top honours going to dad Yash for roping inAmitabh, Jaya and Rekha to replay on celluloid their lives off screen in Silsila. Purushartha too reflects reality to some extent, since Amitabh and Jaya play dad and mom to Abhishek with Shah Rukh Khan pitching in to play elder brother.
Dreams die first
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A still from Dus. Click for bigger pic!
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Mukul Anand's unfinished Dus may remain unfinished.
After Mukul's untimely death, the project was slated to be directed by Nitin Manmohan, Mukul's partner. But Sanjay Dutt was pretty upset that a greenhorn like Nitin, who only had the flop Prithvi to his debit, could direct the venture.
So Priyadarshantook over, which satisfied Dutt but got the goat of one of the heroines. Last heard, Priyadarshan too was out and the producers are trying to rope in Ramesh Sippy, who might not have the time for it. The way things are progressing, there seems to be little progress. And the way thingsDus seems headed for the shelf.
Akki's excesses
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Akshay Kumar. Click for bigger pic!
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Akshay Kumar likes playing with
fire. Why else would he annoy his producers so much?
One of them, Surendra Mohan, is particularly irked with him. It was director Pramod Chakraborthy who actually decided to pick the Bhatia boy.
"I signed him because Chakkida (Pramod) had signed him on. I never realised he could cause me so much trouble. He suddenly became a star and signed on too many films." And Akki had this ceiling slapped on him so that he could not do any film till 1992.
"After that he has just been postponing a meeting with me. He is harassing me," wails Mohan, who had seven jubilee hits out of the ten films he's made.
Now it may be Mohan who is in the soup, but once the word gets around, no prizes for guessing who will be.
Tailpiece
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Mamta Kulkarni. Click for bigger pic!
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Q: Why couldn't Mamta Kulkarni get the role of Mother Teresa in a Bengali film?
A: Because it was nun of her business!
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