Ash apes Big B

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is a lady of many skills. The perfect home-maker and of course the professional actress.

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She also oversees her husband Abhishek’s professional diary. However, one hidden aspect of this light-eyed beauty came into fore the other day, when she did a perfect take off on her father-in-law, Amitabh Bachchan’s baritone. Ash aped her superstar dad-in-law’s deep voice and simultaneously paid him a huge compliment saying, “It is a voice that is unmistakable.” Of course Big B’s baritone has also been the voice of Indian cinema for the last 40-years. But Ash is too modest to say that.

It's Andheri in US

Not everyday do you hear of a Juhu lad who’s bagged a PhD in Economics from Stanford going on to pursue film-making. But then, when last did you

Susant Jain

hear of a short film with a Mumbai suburb as the backdrop doing the rounds of film festivals such as Clermont-Ferrand (France), Indian Film Festival of LA, Gulf Film Festival (UAE), South Asian Intl’ Film Festival (New York City), Edinburgh Film Festival (UK), among others.

Sushrut Jain’s Andheri is creating waves on the festival circuit.

The movie shows the strong impact Andheri has on a maid’s life. What influence do such suburbs have on the residents’ lives?
Urban life in most big Indian cities has become intensely oppressive, especially for the poor. The working underclass has to move mountains daily just to get through the day. The emotional impact is grave.

What kind of feedback has Andheri received?
Fantastic. At the Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival, locals (who saw Andheri with French subtitling) would confess how moved they were. A French lady begged me to make more films like this and not the typical song-dance stuff she always sees from India.

How does your economics background and moviemaking complement each other?
Economics helped me appreciate the socio-economic challenges of India. Being able to analyse concepts such as labour, class, economic opportunity etc makes you see your own society realistically. It also helps me stay realistic about my options as an artist.

How has Andheri, the suburb changed over the years?
During the 1980s, you could play cricket on the Juhu-Versova Link road. Today, that’s impossible. Even the idea of going for a walk seems silly!

What challenges did moviemaking pose?
A big challenge was convincing the BEST to let us have a bus and not charge us a huge amount. The GM of BEST helped us out. Getting the police and BMC permissions seemed too confusing initially, but we realised that finally, people do help you if they like you and like what you’re doing. We didn’t pay a single bribe in the process

Do the movie’s characters bear any resemblance to people you know?
Yes. Everything one writes usually is based on and inspired by what one has seen and experienced.

What next?
I intend to keep making movies set in India. My aim is to do in India what Walter Salles did in Brazil or Innaritu in Mexico - tell the world dramatic stories from my country, but maintain a firm grounding in reality.

Neil has no rules on Sunday

Actor Neil Nitin Mukesh loves his no exercise Sundays and likes spending it with family and

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friends...

Sundays off ... are not for me as I am mostly shooting. But if I get a Sunday off, I prefer packing in as much action as I can since it is my only day off. My day is divided into two parts. The first half, I spend with my family and the evenings are to have friends over for coffee or board games.

No working out ... on a Sunday. So waking up late is definitely on the agenda since I work on Saturdays. This is one day when I am allowed to indulge in ice-cream and chocolates.

Brunch is ... mostly at home. I wake up by noon and head straight for the brunch which my mother puts together. It has an assortment of items like fruit salad, crackers, pav bhaaji, dosa, all my favourites. Sometimes, I make a trip to Swati Snacks and dig into their delicious Gujarati fare.

I am currently reading ... A Face In The Dark by Ruskin Bond. I always prefer to read a book from start to finish and I only start a book when I know I can finish it. One book which has always inspired me is Shiv Khera's You Can Win. I always keep going back to this book.

I avoid ... meeting people on a Sunday. I like some space and the only people I prefer meeting are my friends. I go out for dinner in the evening but tend to wrap it up early. I like to start my Monday early.

I watch ... all genres of movies. I also watch a lot of television. I am eagerly waiting for the next season of Prison Break. I also finished watching the Lost
series.

Weekend getaways ... are mostly a drive to Amby Valley and Lonavala. But I prefer to stay overnight than just drive back and forth on the same day.

My best Sundays ... used to be my school days when we would stay up all night on Saturday with no restrictions of going to bed and waking up early the next day. Now, I look forward to meeting my friends on Sundays. We laugh, pull each other's legs and go for long drives.

Kat a modern day marvel: Amitabh

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who caught up with actors Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif on the sets of reality show "Bigg Boss 3" recently, is all

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praises for the latter and says she is a "modern day marvel".

"Katrina is a modern day marvel. From a non-Hindi speaking young shy and uncertain lady of 'Boom', she has grown and grown to become one of the most desired actresses in our fraternity," Amitabh posted on his blog.

While Amitabh hosts the reality show, Ranbir and Katrina had appeared to promote their film "Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani", which released Friday. "They (Ranbir and Katrina) were charming and involved and sweet. Ranbir as you all know is related to me. His cousin - Rishi Kapoor's elder sister's son is married to Shweta, my daughter. "I wished them happiness and success," he said.

In the meanwhile, Amitabh is himself busy charting the marketing plans of his forthcoming movie "Paa", being touted as his best work so far. He plays a 13-year-old suffering from progeria, a rare disease which causes premature ageing.

Have a size zero Kareena pizza

It all started five years ago with a leading film publicist ordering a chocolate-cheese cake for Bollywood actor Bobby Deol from confectioner

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Milanda Jagtiani at Pali Hill in Mumbai.

The three-tier cake, which has a baked lower half, with a liberal helping of chocolate on the upper tier and some other magic ingredients in the centre, became such a hit at the Deol household that repeated orders from them followed.

Happy to comply with the continuous orders from one of Bollywood’s leading joint families (they consume a lot of cakes because they host at least two dozen parties each year) and thrilled with the growing numbers ordered by them, Milanda named the cake Bobby Cake. Now it is a part of her designer menu. Jagtiani caters to the Pali Hill elite and invariably gets asked about the cake named after the Deol scion.

At Urban Tadka, a middle-order suburban restaurant that is frequented by film and TV personalities, the menu offered Om Puri Ka Mutton Saagwala because the actor, who lives a stone’s throw away from this eating joint, patronised this eating place and the dish for years on end. “Currently, a new menu is being planned; but whether it will once again have the Om Puri dish is something we don’t know,’’ says restaurant manager Augustin.

The internationally acclaimed actor continues to frequent this joint with his wife Nandita and son Ishaan but has apparently had a change of taste and now orders a host of other dishes; so the mutton saagwala has been relegated to the background in his list of food favourites.
But superstars, dishy or otherwise, continue to remain items on food menus across the country, though some come and go like seasonal flavours. When Sanjay Dutt frequented the Tada Court, a corner roadside joint in that area named a mutton dish after Baba. However, now both the joint and the dish have been forgotten.

A popular Italian joint in Delhi recently introduced the size-zero pizza named after Kareena Kapoor. And the very flattered Bollywood diva said: “I love pizza and I’m kicked about the fact that someone thought about naming a pizza after me.’’ The actress says she was particularly tickled when her sister, Karisma Kapoor, and her gang of girls told her that they were headed to the pizza joint to have a size-zero pizza.

During the height of Jeetendra’s stardom in the 1980s, Taj Coromandel in Chennai served a Jeetendra Thali. The Peshawari at the ITC in Chennai, where Rajnikant had dinner for almost a decade, served some “North-West Frontier cuisine’’ that was the Tamil superstar’s indigenous recipe. Currently, Andhra phenomenon-turned-politician Chiranjeevi has pride of place on the menu of a popular dosa chain called Chutneys that is on Jubilee Hills.

A waiter at Chutneys says: “People come here in droves, especially on the weekend, to eat the steamed dosa named after Chiranjeevi. Since the dish has become popular after its christening, it will have a permanent place on our menu.’’

Boney is ecstatic

Boney Kapoor is maha excited. Not over Wanted, his September blockbuster that got close to Rs 40 crore billing, but by his January release

Boney Kapoor

Milenge Milenge — which is the last time you will see Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor romantically paired on screen.



I don’t have to tell you the film’s been in the making for a while, but Boney is confident it will be successful. “I can feel it in my bones,” he said emphatically, “why should it not work, it’s a good love story, it’s got fantastic music.” But what about the chemistry between Kareena and Shahid, I asked. “That’s there,” Boney declared, “besides, once the lights are off in the theatre, you forget whether they are a couple or not, and they become characters.”

He’s been a major player in Bollywood for 33 years now, and has always been big on ideas, and bigger on executing them. Which accounts for some 30 successes over the 80s, 90s and so far into the 2000s. Now he rattled off their names to me not in any order but as they came to mind. “There was Judaai in 1997 with Anil Kapoor and Sridevi which was a major hit but not a blockbuster,” he began, “Company, Pukar in 2000 — that won the National Award, and Loafer which was very successful, also Run in 2004... Abhishek Bachchan’s cleansing began with this film, and Sirf Tum in which Sushmita Sen had the superhit song Dilbar... then No Entry, the biggest commercial success of 2005, and Wanted now, which I would rate as one of the Top 10 films of all time. It’s still running! And it’s a case study to the business that has evolved now. When people talk of a film raking in Rs 200 crore... that’s a western concept to lure eyeballs. What you get in hand is what matters. I gave you the Indian box-office figures for Wanted. The overseas, satellite, home video/audio, branding rights are separate.”

He’s had some lemons at the box office as well, films like Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja in 1993 that I wasn’t reminding him about. However, Boney said on his own, “I’m a complete hands-on filmmaker, I’ve been through it all, I’ve done so many films, and several for my brothers Anil and Sanjay too, that I’ve got to know the complete and detailed aspects of filmmaking and distribution. With today’s invasion of corporates, the role of the producer is not underlined, there’s just a mad rush to put the package together. That’s why you’ve seen so many packages falling like nine pins! The control of the project is the engine... and it’s important to have a producer driving it with passion. Yes, the corporates brought in discipline where the business of filmmaking is concerned, and they streamlined the revenue mode, but they took away the passion.”

That Boney has passion, there is no doubt. “I’ve been through the highs and lows, I’ve had a fractured financial status, but even then... if I can still churn out a blockbuster, what magic might I have done with a complete back-up,” he asked. The answer to that, perhaps, is in the films his production house BSK Network and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. is making. I’ve already told you about Milenge Milenge. Then there’s the Anees Bazmee directed It’s My Life with Genelia, Harman Baweja and Nana Patekar, a remake of the successful South Indian film Bombraillu in Telugu and Santosh Subramaniam in Tamil. Isn’t Hurman bad news in Bollywood, I asked. “Wasn’t Amitabh bad news until Zanjeer,” Boney shot back.

And he’s got three more films in mind for which Boney Kapoor can already hear the cash tills at the box office ringing. They are all sequels. “I’m starting Mr. India 2 — Be Positive, there’s a strong possibility of Anil and Sridevi being the lead pair, plus a new, young couple, and somebody big playing the major and unusual role of the villain. Then I’ve got a fix for No Entry 2. And somebody suggested a good idea for Most Wanted. Everything depends on the viability of the projects and availability of the main crew. I’m a strong believer in the need for a good support system. My cast is always according to the need of the film. What works is not a package, but the product.”

Bollywood date for French actress

Guess who is coming to India in December?

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi

The French actress Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, elder sister of the first lady of France Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is expected to be part of a French delegation to India. Valeria will interact with Bollywood biggies like Yash Chopra, Vishal Bharadwaj and Anurag Kashyap. The 45-year-old actress’ film Les Regrets is chosen for second Rendezvous of French Cinema that is being organised by Unifrance and the Embassy of France. Eight films will be premiered on this occasion between December 2-6 and Valeria’s film is one of the awaited ones. A special highlight of this festival is the classic by Jean-Luc Godard, Pierrot le fou, which has been freshly been restored.

The opening of this event will take place in Mumbai and Valeria along with a glittering artistic delegation from France including some Oscar nominees, Palm d’Or winners and film-makers has confirmed her presence say sources for the. cultural arena at a five-star hotel venue.
There is a strong buzz that the French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla will reportedly be in India to visit the Taj Mahal when the French delegation is here. However, there is no word on whether they will even make a stop at Mumbai.

Sanjay-Vashu fall out over broken promise

Sanjay Dutt and producer Vashu Bhagnani have had a serious fight because the latter broke his promise of re-launching Sanjay’s good friend

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Dharam Oberoi’s daughter Neha. To make matters worse, Vashu replaced Neha without informing the actor.

Consequently, a dismayed Sanjay has walked out of Vashu’s film, Faltu, which is also supposed to re-launch the producer’s son Jackky Bhagnani.

Our source said, “Sanjay and Vashu have always been on very good terms. Sanjay even did an item number without charging any money in Kal Kissne Dekha. Sanjay agreed to star in Faltu only because it was supposed to be the re-launch film for his close friend and manager Dharam Oberoi’s daughter, Neha, who had earlier starred in the tanked Woodstock Villa opposite Sikandar Kher. But while Sanjay was busy promoting All The Best, Vashu went ahead and signed on the current Miss India-World Pooja Chopra, and unceremoniously dropped Neha from his film. Sanjay was furious when he got to know about this and told Vashu that since he had failed to keep his word, he too won’t keep his promise. Vashu is now trying to get Anil Kapoor to replace Sanjay.”

Vashu said, “I had not even signed Sanju as the script is not ready yet. Sanju has to read the script and then decide. I have always maintained that he is a friend and has helped us with Kal Kissne Dekha. We will finalise everything only when the script is ready.”

Sanjay’s spokesperson confirmed that he is no longer part of Vashu’s film. He said cautiously, “Sanju opted out of the film due to date problems.”

Rensil wants guru Mani's blessings

Unlike filmmakers who take their film’s final print to religious places prior to its release, Rensil D’Silva, whose directorial debut film

Still from Kurbaan

Kurbaan is set to release next week, plans to show his film to his guru Mani Ratnam.

Rensil wants Mani to be the first person to see the film’s final print and seek his blessings. A source close to Rensil said, “Rensil is a fan of Mani sir and interacts with him both personally and professionally. He also worked with Mani sir on Raavana. In fact, Rensil can keep talking at length about Mani sir. When Rensil was ready with the final print of the film, he decided that the first person to see it should only be Mani sir.”

However, it has not been decided yet where Mani Ratnam plans to see the film since he is currently shooting for the Aishwarya-Abhishek Bachchan starrer Raavana in Hyderabad. “It all depends on his schedule. If Mani sir comes to Mumbai then he will see it here or Rensil will take the film print to Hyderabad,” said the source.

Shahid Kapoor likes it green

Shahid Kapoor, who was voted as the Sexiest Vegetarian in Asia according to a poll conducted by PETA in June 2009, is now feeling a tad edgy as

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he is scheduled to go for a shooting schedule to Bangkok tonight.

Shahid, who is off to shoot for Yash Raj Films’ untitled film, directed by Parmeet Sethi, is worried that he won’t get sufficient variety of vegetarian food in Bangkok.

Shahid also had a tough time for the same reason in the US where he stayed for 40 days last month while shooting for the same film. A friend of Shahid says, “Shahid serves non-vegetarian food to his friends whenever he has a party at home but himself is a staunch vegetarian. He doesn’t even eat eggs.”

“Many hotels abroad do not have much to offer as far as vegetarian food is concerned. When he was in the US last month, his man Friday had to especially instruct the chefs in the hotel what he likes and dislikes so that they could accordingly cook for him. A similar thing might happen in Bangkok,” adds Shahid’s friend.

While Shahid remained unavailable for comment, his official spokesperson confirmed the story.

It's Shazahn vs Gauhar for Ranbir

Shazahn Padamsee and Gauhar Khan might be making their acting debut in Shimit Amin’s Rocket Singh - Salesman of the Year, but they are

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already well-versed with starry airs that Bollywood actresses are expected to have. Both the actresses claim to be the lead actress in the Ranbir Kapoor starrer.

Recently, during the wrap up party of the film, both the actresses refused to greet each other and made a conscious effort to stay away from each other. A source from the unit said, “Shazahn has been the hot topic on the sets, especially because of the way she has been publicising herself. The film is not a love story in which she can play the lead. It is a completely different genre where one cannot play the lead opposite the protagonist (Ranbir). We wonder what dancing and acting classes she was talking about when she barely shot for four days. Gauhar has been silent because she knows about the length of her role.” Incidentally, Gauhar has shot for four months for the film.

When asked about the cold vibes between her and Gauhar, Shazahn said, “I haven’t shot with Gauhar. I have only shot with Ranbir and he is a good friend of mine.”

Commenting on who plays the lead actress, Shazahn said, “I have nothing bad to say about anyone. It was a great experience working in this film and I have nothing to complain about.”

About Gauhar shooting for four months while she has only shot for four days, Shazahn said, “It is not the number of days we shoot for that defines our work. It’s about your character in the film and once the audience sees the film, they can decide for themselves.”

Meanwhile, Gauhar said, “I have never interacted with Shazahn professionally or socially. We have only shot for one scene together.”

When asked who plays the lead in the film Gauhar said, “All I can say is that Shazahn is opposite Ranbir. About who plays the lead, I leave it to the audience to watch the film and then decide. The one who stays in the audience’s mind is more important.”

Emraan loses his shirt

Serial kisser Emraan Hashmi got a taste of his own medicine while promoting Tum Mile in Kolkata last week. Last Friday, he was mobbed by a group

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of girls, who ended up tearing his shirt while trying to grab him and kiss his cheeks.

Confirming the news, Emraan says, “We had a press conference at a mall in Kolkata. I was supposed to go to a store in the mall and was waiting near the escalator. A group of girls caught me off-guard and grabbed me. One of them kissed my cheeks and my shirt tore because of their enthusiasm. I bought a new shirt and changed immediately. Fortunately, this time only my shirt tore. Last time I was in Hyderabad, I had lost my watch while promoting the film. It was too late by the time I realised it.”

Shahid, Priyanka bag awards

Actors Priyanka Chopra and Shahid Kapoor bagged the Teacher's Achievement Awards while noted lyricist Gulzar was bestowed the lifetime

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achievement honour at a function here.

Priyanka, who bagged the award in the entertainment category at an event Saturday night, dedicated the award to her mother.

"I am thankful to the jury. Whenever I get a prize, I think this would not have been possible without the constant support of my parents," she said.

Shahid was conferred the Teacher's People Magazine Achiever award.

"I feel special. It's really a big achievement when such an eminent set of jury has decided to give me the award," Shahid told IANS.

Filmmaker-poet Gulzar was modest when given the Lifetime Achievement of the Year award.

"I don't know what I have done so special. It's you, the people, (who) make me realise that I have made some contribution to the Indian film industry. I am thankful for that," he said.

Leading advertising photographer Iqbal K. Mohammad got the award in the communication-photography category and Saina Nehwal, the first Indian to win World Junior Badminton Championship was given the achievement award in sports.

"We are hopeful that each edition of the Teacher's Achievement Awards shall inspire and encourage people from all walks of life to strive for accomplishment, that not just add to individual glory but also propel societal growth and well-being," said Matt Shattock, president and CEO, Beam Global Spirit & Wine Inc.

Ajab Prem... this is called chemistry!

If you’ve ever wondered what on earth is on-screen chemistry here’s your one-stop all-purpose encyclopaedia on celluloid

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magic.

Fasten your ‘see’-it belts, as veteran filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi sheds all his Lajja, pulls out all stops to do a wacky goofy edgeless, weightless comedy of characters who walk in and walk out of frames, leaving behind fumes of old-fashioned funnies. Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani is an airtight trapeze down that familiar romantic lane. The starting point seems to be Saawariya. A wacky loud, opened-up rimless and riotous interpretation of Ranbir Kapoor’s character in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s opera on screen, Prem in Ajab Prem ....adores the fresh, scrubbed girl-next-door Jenny. But she loves someone else. No, it’s not Salman Khan, though in a tongue-in-cheek homage to tabloid realism Katrina meets her idol Salman, who drawls to the roadside Romeo Ranbir, “You’re behaving as if you’re making my girlfriend your own.” Touche.

As in Saawariya and his more recent films Bachna Ae Haseeno and Wake Up Sid, a major part of the narrative becomes a showcase for Ranbir’s skills as an all-purpose actor who can pull out any emotional response to the most sterile dramatic stimuli. In sequence after sequence, written to spotlight the young actor’s virtuosity Ranbir rises above the material given to him with glorious gusto.
Even while mouthing corny maudlin sappy dialogues about serving moong-dal ke pakaude to his beloved or plucking stars from the sky for her, Ranbir makes the trite seem just right. His phenomenal talent gets radiant support from Katrina Kaif, who gets better with every film. As the waif with a face so vulnerable and imploring you want to protect it from the harsh rays of evil sunlight, Katrina Kaif is at once wholesome and haughty, feisty and flirtatious. She’s everyman’s dream-come-true, so why not Prem’s?

Would Ajab Prem... have worked as such a swimmingly sleek showreel for the besotted-boy-meets-the-absentminded-waif’s tale without the same lead actors? The answer, frighteningly enough, is an emphatic no. The noticeably over-done comic situations include a cartel of goofy goons who pop up towards the end to join the party. In one laboured sequence of comicality, Ranbir must wear Katrina’s bodice and pretend he wears such clothes comfortably to avoid exposing Katrina’s concealment in his home.

The above scene defines the sense of inner-wear weariness that Ranbir and Katrina effectually avoid and alchemize into a watchable potpourri of parodic passion. This is a rare film that surmounts and jumps over all the hurdles of clichéd plotting and corny dialogues on the sheer strength of its protagonists’ charm and grace. The film wears a bright, bouncy sunny look. The location is an obviously papier-mache town filled with a benign bonhomie, which doesn’t go beyond the rituals of surface-level romanticism.

And yet, several individual sequences come alive to convey a sparkling potency. Check out those sequences where Ranbir and Katrina stammer under emotional stress, both individually and separately.

The couple in Kaminey seems suspiciously rehearsed in comparison. Indeeed, though the material provided to the lead reeks of second-hand emotions Ranbir and Katrina embrace those emotions and make them scrubbed. Is there a better star-pair than Ranbir and Katrina in recent times? Maybe there is. But who cares. This one just makes you want to cuddle them.

Jail is real, but too grim

By now a Mandhur Bhandarkar film has come to signify a startling wealth of socio-cultural dynamics, not all of them done in depth but

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invariably done in shades that leave us stunned by their immediacy and resonance.

The shades in Jail are not quite as flamboyant as what we saw in Bhandarkar’s last film Fashion or as acerbic as Page 3 or as lyrical as Chandni Bar. Jail is Bhandarkar’s most straightforward social treatise to date. Gone are the symbols and hushed relevances that characterize the director’s narrative. Here, he strips not just his hero but also his plot free of all adornment to give us a long disturbing sometimes traumatic dekko at life behind those stone walls.

Parag Dixit’s journey from carefree good-living to a prisoner sucks us in from the word go. We enter the prison with Neil Nitin Mukesh, and leave with him. The young actor takes us through his hellish journey into debasement, torture and final self-recognition with a stinging sense of authenticity. His craving for girlfriend (Mugdha ‘Hardly There' Godse)’s company almost becomes a throbbing character in the film.

The dynamics of prison life are not alien to audiences. We’ve seen heroes and heroines being tortured prisons in films as varied in language and content as Lock Up and Gumrah. In the latter, the wrongly-incarcerated Sridevi finds a saviour in Sanjay Dutt.

In Jail, Neil’s character slums it out, relying on more experienced inmates and his own instincts to survive. Does he emerge transformed from the ordeal? Neil has worked very hard on conveying an authentic body-language to his character’s passage into the damned. As his traumatic travel into the terror and trauma of a jailed white-collar dude passed into the real of the irreversible, the sense of pain becomes palpable.

There are some strong supporting performances, particularly Manoj Bajpai and to some extent Aarya Babbar, characters who create an aura of dread and foreboding . The mood of gloom is considerably brightened by Lata Mangeshkar’s evocative chant Maula sun le data sun le, which fill the polluted ambience with hope.

There isn’t much to look forward to for the characters who live in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Jail. Quite often as a viewer you find yourself asking why we must suffer an ordeal that doesn’t really yield a participative lesson.

In Madhur's impressive oeuvre, Jail won’t rank as high as Page 3 or Fashion. Too much of the plot pilots its proceedings into the province of the predictable. The prisoners’ behaviour goes from the sordid to the noble, depending on where the narrative pins them down. The mood swings don’t entertain. They baffle.

You can’t fault Jail on any count except its grim airless ambience. The director has purposely made the goings-on claustrophonic, so that we are as suffocated by the prison walls as the protagonist. The prison is authentically constructed by Nitin Chandrakant Desai. And Kalpesh Bhandarkar tries to see the truth behind the prisoners’ dare without probing too hard.

There are no incisive insights into life in jail. Yes, they all wear the correct cell numbers on their jail uniforms. But where are more tactful suggestions of squalidity besides furtive sex in the bathroom and homosexual suggestions everywhere? And why the hideous item song. Dil kara jai, kuan ma kood jaaon. Oh well.

I was paid Rs 3.11 lac in cash: Koena

Koena Mitra is livid. Livid because she has been accused of avoiding the media for being allegedly involved in the money laundering case of the

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disgraced former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda. While allegations have been made about how she was paid Rs 50 lac for being the ‘face of Jharkhand’, Koena Mitra insists that nothing of that sort ever happened and is ready to come clean. Excerpts:

Your name has been dragged in the Madhu Koda case...
I know. It’s unfair of the media to cast aspersions on my alleged involvement without taking into account my side of the story. My folks in Kolkata are extremely worried on seeing my name being mentioned in such a suspicious context. I’ve been accused of avoiding the investigators as well as the media. But the truth is different. Nobody called me up. If I was avoiding the investigators, why would the cops from the Oshiwara PS keep vigil to protect me from 9 am to 10 pm on Sunday? I was very busy with the technical rehearsals for a show and hence, couldn’t clear myself. But that doesn’t mean that the media should accuse me of being unreachable.

So, what exactly is your take?
I have been accused of taking Rs 50 lac for being the ‘face of Jharkhand’. If I had to agree to being the ‘face of a state’, why would I settle for Rs 50 lac only? I’d have charged Rs 80 lac. Being the ‘face of a state’ is not something that can happen on the basis of verbal communication. It’s a huge responsibility. Besides, hawala money is given in a hundi. Why would they give money for being the ‘face of a state’ in a hundi? A formal letter has to be sent to me from the state government. I never received anything of that sort. As a celebrity, I was only invited to be a part of a rally. I was roped in because I speak the language of the people of the state. It was a goodwill gesture.

So, didn’t any monetary transaction happen?
I was given a shawl, bouquet, dry fruits and chocolates. They also gave me a token amount of Rs 3.11 lac in cash. I didn’t ask for it. For two days, my name has been dragged along with reports regarding the Jharkhand scam. I should charge whoever is doing this to gain publicity.

In a CT interview about canvassing in Jharkhand (April 22, 2009), you’d said you were ‘only there for friend Vinod Sinha’...
n Vinod had coordinated with my manager. He took me to Jharkhand and was responsible for taking care of us while we travelled from Mumbai to Jharkhand. I had met Madhu Koda only after I reached Jharkhand and never earlier. I’m an outstation girl in Mumbai and hence, need protection. I’m performing for a programme for Mumbai Police. It’s a goodwill gesture because if I do this, I know I will also get their help should I need it sometime. The same holds true for fashion designers. When I agree to be the showstopper for a designer, I do it gratis simply because while the designer gets a celebrity on the ramp, I can also ask the designer to help me with my outfits when I need to go for a show without paying for it. Such gestures work both ways.

While doing favours in Mumbai is understandable, why would you want to do favours for politicians in Jharkhand?
I was in Guwahati for a show and the organiser, Peter, literally kidnapped me and kept me in a tea garden. This organiser was from Kolkata and because I refused to perform extra numbers that weren’t stated in my contract, he got nasty. Along with my dancers, I was left stranded at the show with no transport to return to the bungalow. I had to hitch a ride with a fan. Next day, this organiser came up to me and said he wanted to watch the fun since he would neither give the tickets nor provide us with any mode of transport. He threatened to make me work in the tea gardens! In such a situation, what does one do? I had known a cop in Delhi whom I called up for help. Within 20 minutes, he rescued me and my dancers. This cop was on my speed dial because I had, in the past, done him a favour. Since I travel to Jharkhand and Bihar, I thought it would be good to indulge people with clout.

While the clout is evident, did you ever get any inkling then that Madhu Koda and Vinod Sinha could be involved in such scams?
No. Right now, investigations are on. I have full faith in their expertise and have extended my complete cooperation to the authorities.

Saif: Fascinated with the gothic

In keeping with their reputation of shooting some of the most remarkable Bollywood title video tracks, Dharma Productions have outdone

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themselves with the music video shot for Rensil D’Silva’s Kurbaan.

The film produced by the inimitable Karan Johar has Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor in the lead. The music video was shot by Bosco-Caesar; and leading man Saif says, “The music video is really cool. I was wondering how it would work. Till the last minute, we are doing things. And still we managed to find magic.” The actor adds, “Rensil and Bosco-Ceasar had been prepping for a while and they came up with this great Gothic concept. The film is stark and real, so the music video had to be contrasting. It had to have it’s own story to tell. So, we have this Black Gothic bride with tears flowing down her cheeks, her veil on fire, the guy wearing a hood at the altar, roses bursting into flames, etc. It is really amazing. The theme had to convey what Kurbaan symbolises. The music video is rocking. The film is realistic and devoid of glamour. The characters of Kareena and I are like real people. But the music video is stylised. And I had an amazing time shooting it.” Celebrity designer Aki Narula has done Saif’s look for the video and the actor is very happy with the final look.

Only a matter of time for Imtiaz

Both, Ranbir and director Imtiaz Ali, are sought after and it’s natural that we might expect the two to team up.

Imtiaz Ali

This idea snowballed into rumours that they are working together, but Ranbir says he is yet to sign a film with Imtiaz, though he is keen to work with the director of Love Aaj Kal. Ranbir says, “Imtiaz is somebody I am really interested in working with.

We have had a couple of meetings in which he has also shown interest in working with me. Imtiaz is a director who will make a movie if he has a story and he will cast accordingly. I met him through the making of Love Aaj Kal. He has come home often. I have done an adfilm with him. I have
interacted with him at many filmi functions. I really like the guy. People may think that he is philosophical but I think his philosophy is really simple in life. He has lots and lots of stories to tell.”

Himesh plays the number game

Himesh Reshammiya’s film Radio is all about number

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three.


It will be released worldwide on December 3. It also happens to be Himesh’s third film as an actor. Acting itself is Himesh third profession. He started of as a music director, went to on sing many hit songs and then turned actor. Also the length of Radio is exactly three hours. And last but not the least the producer of Radio has already earned Rs 30 lakhs profit over and above the cost of six crores by selling the music, satellite and video rights.


They believe that their profit will be around Rs 3 crores on the day of release of the film. Producer Ravi Agarwal says “It’s true that number three has some strange divine connection with Radio, and yes I have covered the entire cost already and have already made a profit of Rs 30 lakhs and now whatever come from the theatrical release would be an additional profit. I think even the numbers of that profit will have something to do with number three.”

Esha ready to sizzle once more

Eesha Koppikhar, who is getting married on November 29, is trying to finish her film assignments.

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And guess who she is spending maximum time with. It is filmmaker Subhash Ghai because two of Eesha films — Right Yaa Wrong and Hello Darling — are being produced by him. “Ghai realised that time is running out and came up with the idea of shooting a sizzling number with her, because he knows Eesha has a wedding trousseau to attend to, and a pre-wedding week full of various celebrations before she ties the knot with restaurateur Timmy Narang.

Shahid : DON'T talk MONEY !!!

Shahid Kapoor, fresh from his New York movie outing, arrived in Mumbai to a round of rumours about his father Pankaj Kapur’s directorial debut

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Mausam. A segment of the media went to town saying that the actor’s price for his dad’s film would be a staggering Rs.12 crore.

It was also suggested that Pankaj had written this subject in 2007 — and at that point had contemplated asking Bollywood’s No.1 actress Kareena Kapoor to be the leading lady in this romantic caper.

Shahid, who was dubbing for his film Chance Pe Dance — a January release, fails to understand where such talk is originating from. He says, “Dad has always wanted to make a film with me. Mausam is something he is working on currently. He didn’t have an inkling of it in 2007; and even if the germ of the idea had been sown then, he didn’t discuss it in detail with any of us. So the question of him thinking of casting anyone at that point is ludicrous.”

The 28-year-old says the only thing that is certain about Mausam is that it will be financed by a leading film corporation. It is expected to go on the floors in January and a major portion of the film will be shot abroad because the film needs picturesque locales. Reacting to rumours of his remuneration, the actor says, “Whether I will charge Rs 12 crores or less, is something even I don’t know because nothing is on paper.” Market sources say that the actor got his last highest price (reportedly Rs 8 crore) for Vishal Bharadwaj’s Kaminey. However, Shahid refuses to talk money in print. He is also amused with rumours of his going on a state-wise hunt looking for a fresh face to serenade on screen. “The film is still in the final draft stage. Yes, a big film corporation is on board, but the budget, my remuneration as an actor, dad’s remuneration as a technician and other aspects can only be talked about after it is put in black and white. Everything currently being said about Mausam is speculation,” Shahid insists.

No Full Monty for Emraan

He might be cool with the serial kisser tag but Emraan Hashmi lives with his share of inhibitions too.

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These are apprehensions that have resulted either from irrational habits or personal experiences that have left him shaken and stirred enough to be cagey in parts. For one, it’s a fear of doctors that’s so all-encompassing that he dreads the thought of going to a hospital. “I don’t like the whole business of doctors and operation theatres. And yet with my child due in February, I want to be there in the labour room. I might even faint before I reach the OT, but I still want to give it a try to see my child’s delivery,” says Emraan, slowly giving a peek into his vulnerable world of dilemmas.

While the actor is hoping to just about manage to fight this fear, he is not ready to battle his inhibitions about going Full Monty on screen. Doesn’t matter if Bollywood actors are dropping their pants at ease, but Emraan, who hopped into bed with Mallika Sherawat in Murder, is going no further with his skin show. “I don’t want to do a Full Monty,” he insists.

His biggest fear, though, concerns the Fourth Estate. That’s something he has started living with only recently after his comments regarding his housing problems became a matter of national debate. “I know of celebrities who plug anecdotes about their
private lives only to be in the news. But that’s not me. I’ve never manipulated the media. For me, it’s always been a case of what you see is what you get, even while I knew that there’ll be at least one per cent of my life that the media will never get to unravel. Contemporary India is still not ready for the paparazzi culture. Paparazzi are scary,” he says.

Though the paparazzi culture hasn’t yet arrived in India, a mature Emraan is more politically correct today. “I had made a comment about a problem in my housing estate. I was fighting for a cause in general since I don’t believe in living in ghettos. I’d have reacted similarly if a Hindu was denied accommodation too. While I understand that it’s important to hear both sides when there is a problem, what irked me was the way the whole issue was summed up once the problem was resolved between the housing estate authorities and me. I made the effort to personally clarify my stance but a section of the media just didn’t report it,” he insists, adding how that’s resulted in him losing his spontaneity.

While onscreen, Emraan is still playing a journalist in Raftaar (a role that Ramu had also offered him for Rann), his guards are out in real life. “Had the same incident happened today, I would have been more cautious in my approach of airing my concerns to the media,” he admits. And the can’t-throw-caution-to-the-wind approach is evident when Emraan gets politically correct while refraining to make any comments on the alleged racial attacks in Australia, an issue his next Mohit Suri film will deal with. And that approach
continues while he smartly dodges airing his standpoint about the Maoists, a subject that another film of his is scheduled to explore. “It’s better to ask Bhatt saab,” he deflects.
Can’t blame him if he uses the once-bitten-twice-shy alibi now!

Aamir can't decide

Aamir Khan threw a cosy bash for wife Kiran Rao at their Panchgani house on November 7.

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Before Aamir drove down to their sprawling weekend getaway, he was in a dilemma on what to choose as Kiran’s birthday gift. As is his habit these days, he posted a query on his networking site, and got as many as 2,500 suggestions on what he should get Kiran. While someone suggested he get her riding gear, someone else asked to him to buy her jewellery, so on and so forth. The actor welcomed all suggestions but what he ultimately gifted Aamir is something no one knows. Guess one of these days, Aamir will reveal what exactly he got for biwi dear.