Stardust May 09

Akshay Kumar: Good times ahead!

It pays to be a popular star. And Akshay Kumar is enjoying the privileges of being one, despite his new film ‘8X10’ turning out to be huge disappointment. The actor has been shooting non-stop on the outskirts of Mumbai for the past few weeks for Vipul Shah’s ‘Action Replay’. To make sure AK was comfortable, Vipul hired a sprawling bungalow for him and even refurbished it. It has a pool, a private gymnasium and a lush garden. When Akki invited his family over, beta Aarav started to learn gardening. The actor even went for a short hike with wife Twinkle in the nearby hills. Chalo, all this is fine. Abhi ek hit ho jaaye…

While on the couple, one wonders what the big hue and cry was about when Twinkle and Akshay got a little naughty at the recently concluded fashion week in Mumbai. It was a spontaneous reaction and the audience en-joyed it. One hears that Tina was so disturbed by the backlash that she just disappeared out of town for a few days. The moral brigade’s tamasha seems to be never-ending. They haven’t heard of Rakhi Sawant obviously – they’ll know the true mean-ing of scandalising.

Stardust May 2009 13

By the way, a news channel did a story on who was better on the ramp – Akshay or Shah Rukh Khan? Then they compared the two actors and their antics at the fashion week. In the end, the scales tilted in favour of SRK. We hear an Akshay loyalist then called up the channel’s reporter and said, “We know which actor has prompted you to do this.” We hope they weren’t talking about Aamir Khan.

Shah Rukh Khan seems to have become wiser suddenly. He’s decided not to speak on Aamir henceforth, whatever the provocation may be. In fact, his new resolution is to mend bridges with all those he’s fought with. Let’s see how long this lasts. Until his next hit?

SRK’s best pal Karan Johar was in for a rude shock recently when a film-maker friend of his came to him with an offer. The guy planned to do a remake of the ‘70s hit ‘Rajnigandha’ and wanted Karan to play the lead role, which was played by Amol Palekar in the original. Karan almost fell off his chair. But even then he didn’t lose his wicked ways. “At least you don’t want me to play Rajni,” he told the maker. And they say I’m bitchy.

Karan’s shooting of ‘My Name Is Khan’ is taking place in Mumbai right now. It’s a virtual high security zone right now. No wonder all the actors are feeling like Shah Rukh Khan. We hear the most affected is Jimmy Shergill. He’s adding so much intensity into his role that Karan literally has to control him. Someone please tell him the name of the film isn’t ‘My Name Is Jimmy’. And that the first choice for the role was Aamir Bashir… There, we’ve burst the bubble now.

Aamir Khan: Wasn't me!

Jimmy Shergill: Head in clouds!

Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar: No starry ambitions!


If someone were to write a book on our stars and their quirks, it would be an endless tome. An amusing chapter in the Saif Ali Khan section would be about his gym escapades. Seems the Chote Nawab is so at ease with his body that he walks around naked in the locker room on his way to a shower. His full Monty act has everyone at the gym sniggering as they derisively refer to him as ‘raja ka beta’. His royal highness also gets mighty peeved when asked to produce his identity card at the gym gate for security reasons. Saif would be better off investing in a private

gym if he doesn’t want to be made the butt end of jokes for his increasing idiosyncrasies.

Moving on from one toned body to another. Celina Jaitley has been at the receiving end of a torrent of compliments for her bootylicious avatar in the last issue of Stardust. The gorgeous actor however, was taken aback when the even more gorgeous Hrithik Roshan went out of his way to praise her, adding that he’d actually stopped his car to check out one of the many hoardings in the city she’s plastered across. Last we checked, Celina hasn’t stopped grinning over that magnanimous approval. Just goes to prove that in the ego-driven world of Bollywood, gentlemanly gestures exist and are appreciated.

While on Celina, seems the actress is a huge television junkie and doesn’t want to miss out on her favourite TV serials. That explains the Tata Sky satellite set she’s put up in her vanity van. So that’s why her van’s become the latest hang out spot on the sets as she catches up on lost television time with her co-stars. No wonder her popularity is soaring these days!

Saif Ali Khan: In the buff!

Celina Jaitley: Hogging the

limelight!


While we’ve feasted our eyes on tons of pictures of Amrita Arora’s wedding celebra-tions, the one photograph we’d love to get our hands on (as would many others) is of Maanayata Dutt dancing with gay abandon. In fact, so amusing a spectacle did she present, that Karan Johar, who was sitting nearby had a hard time controlling his glee

and was snickering away delightedly under the protection of his hand over his mouth. We only hope K Jo’s next movie doesn’t feature a non-stop dancing caricature. If it does, you’ll know where the inspiration came from.

One thing we read recently about hotshot producer Sajid Nadiadwala had us in splits. Commenting about working with Hollywood actor Denise Richards to a leading tabloid, Sajid remarked how it was ‘mesmerising’ to work with her as he was in college when ‘Wild Things’ and ‘The World Is Not Enough’, movies that catapulted her to sex symbol status, released. Considering the movies released in late ‘90s, we’re not sure what college Sajid was referring too. Unless he’s done some specialised courses late in the day that we’re unaware of, the only logical conclusion we can think of is that he’s never really graduated; which would make him a life-long college student. Oh well, it’s never too late to learn Sajid!

Maanayata Dutt: Dancing queen!

Sajid and Wardha Nadiadwala: Learning curve!


MAHIE GILL: Punjab di kudi!

While on learning, the erstwhile late lateef Govinda has been shocking co-stars on a regular basis. In a good way, mind you. The actor has been arriving dot on time for early morning shifts for a while now. Looks like he’s decided to take his second…third (we’ve lost count honestly) innings in Bollywood very seriously and is taking no chances this time. Forget turning over a new leaf, he’s turned an entire stalk.

Speaking of Govinda, his dedication and zeal needs to be applauded as the actor has been battling asthma for a while now. While practising his dance steps for a movie, Govinda kept using his pump to catch up on his breath. Even though he may be unbeatable when it comes to dancing, we think Govinda should take things easy because health comes before everything. Take care Chi Chi, we’re cheering for you.

It seems the entire industry is taking punctuality very seriously. Kangana Ranaut wasn’t exactly happy with the time-keeping skills on her new project. It seems the actress would turn up early on the sets and keep her heels cooling simply because the other technicians

would walk in late. After all, no one expects a heroine to be on time. Adjusting to the filmi ways, Kangana too started following Bollywood timings. But later, the uber professional star realised that wasting precious time wasn’t really her forte. And so, after giving all the concerned people a dressing down regarding keeping time, she has reverted back to her punctual ways. That definitely gives her even more time to spend with boyfriend Adhyayan Suman, no?

Govinda: New and improved!

Kangana Ranaut and Adhyayan Suman:

Time keeper!


Fardeen Khan for proving that family comes above everything. When papa Feroz was admitted in hospital recently for the second time, Fardeen was shooting somewhere in Lonavala. But every night after shooting, the actor would drive down to Mumbai to meet his dad. Then head back to the location just in time for next day’s shooting. On holidays, he would sit in the hospital with wife Natasha day and night. Feroz should really be proud; beta ho toh aisa.

This month goes to

Looks like Riteish Deshmukh and girlfriend Genelia are finally coming out in the open about their relationship. One saw them making a lovey-dovey appearance at Manish Malhotra’s post-event party at the fashion week. And this time, they didn’t sit in separate corners – they mingled with everyone, arm-in-arm, looking madly in love. This pyar is khullam khulla now; the gharwallas can take a walk.

Incidentally, did you know that Genelia’s friends call her a ‘fake’ Catholic in jest? That’s because the actress has an aversion to wine and happens to be a pure vegetarian. Arre Vilasrao, at least don’t object now. Such a sweet mulgi is hard to find.

Neetu Chandra has re-christened Jag Mundhra ‘teddy bear’ on the sets of Magna films upcoming ‘Apartment’. The spunky Chandra lass gets along famously with Mundhra, who is clearly loving the attention.The other star of the film, Tanushree Dutta is quite the opposite; polite, discreet and preferring to keep to herself. Let’s hope Jag’s fondness for Neetu doesn’t make him extend the shooting schedule. Considering Rohit Roy is waiting on the side - and not too patiently either!

Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia: Love

conquers all!

Neetu Chandra: Bear me!


KATRINA EDGES

Two of the most beautiful women. Two successful actresses. Two ambitious achievers. When they are in the reckoning for the same

prize booty, sparks are bound to fl y.Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Katrina

Kaif have a lot in common, besides Salman Khan and a discernible accent, that is. Both were successful models before entering fi lms. At the outset, both of them were criticised for their lack of talent. Both were in the news more for their boyfriend issues rather than career choices. The only difference was that Katrina started her innings whilst Aishwarya was in the preparation of wrapping hers up.

They’ve never been considered in the same bracket but the clash is evident because both have the same goals in showbiz. Whenever there is any debate on who’s the most beautiful face in Bollywood, only two names are

A Game Of

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OUT AISHWARYA

mentioned – Ash and Kat. While Ash fi gured once in the list of the world’s prettiest people, Katrina made headlines when she was declared Asia’s sexiest woman. Even in terms of endorsements, they go neck to neck promoting the same premium profi le of clients. Undoubtedly, over the years, both have groomed themselves to become global icons.

In real life, Katrina and Aishwarya have never really interacted much with each other. After the Salman Khan chapter in her life ended, Ash kept a safe distance from anyone and everyone connected with him. Katrina was already a supermodel then and touted as the next big thing. Except for brushing shoulders at a beauty pageant, Aishwarya and Katrina have never really gelled on any other level.

In fact, because the common factor between them was not very pleasant (Salman obviously), if at all they shared any vibes, they were only cold and colder. Like a fashion stylist who knows both of them from close quarters reveals, “Once, not very long ago, they came face-to-face at a media tycoon’s personal bash in New Delhi. They just exchanged half-hearted smiles and turned away. The tension between them is very obvious. It’s almost awkward.”

Perhaps it’s this tension that’s taken its toll on Katrina’s friendship with Abhishek Bachchan as well. Not many people know that when Ram Gopal Varma was planning ‘Sarkar’, it was Abhishek who recommended Katrina’s role for the lead opposite

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him. It was a small role but it came at a time when nobody was taking Katrina seriously as an actress. Bagging a Ram Gopal Varma fi lm at that time was a huge plus in her career and she always thanked Abhishek for the recommendation.

But after Aishwarya came into his life, all that changed. The Abhishek-Katrina friendship died a natural death. Despite the fact that they both got along fabulously well together, things just weren’t the same. Says one of her Kat’s close friends, “Even when Katrina was having her birthday bash sometime back (where the legendary fi ght between Salman and Shah Rukh Khan happened), she had made it a point to invite Abhishek. She was very upset when he didn’t even reply.”

The fi rst time fi reworks fl ew between Aishwarya and Katrina was when the famous The Unforgettables, a world tour featuring the Bachchan family was being planned. For some venues, they had decided on adding guest stars. Katrina’s name was at the forefront – the organisers were very keen that Kat be a part of the entourage. The reason was simple – Katrina’s popularity is immense among global Indians. That explains why she’s one of the most searched personalities on the Internet. Talks had also been initiated with Kat but for some reason, things came to a grinding halt all of a sudden. Says an insider from the events industry, “Aishwarya didn’t want another actress to dominate the tour, least of all someone like Katrina.”

One doesn’t have to be Einstein to fi gure out the real reason. Katrina has youth on her side. And the fact

that she’s single makes her a bit more appealing even to clients who have to make a choice between her and Aishwarya where plum endorsements are concerned. The fi rst time Katrina scored over Ash in this arena was when she replaced her as a leading jewellery label’s brand ambassador. The client had been an Ash loyalist for a long time. But last year, when it was time for a renewal of contract, Aishwarya was shown the door and Katrina signed in

her place. But what happened recently

at a popular fashion week in Mumbai has blown the situation out of control. It was the opening day at the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai where 50 years of Barbie were being celebrated. ‘Dress the Barbie’ contest attracted 75 entries from top designers in the country from which the 20 short listed creations were showcased on the ramp at the dazzling show. Amidst the pretty, frothy party dresses and

gowns, hell broke loose when Katrina Kaif strutted her stuff as the show stopper of the day.

It was touted as one of biggest highlights in Katrina’s career as she represented the Barbie doll in India. However the fact that Katrina replaced Aishwarya came as a surprise to many. When media present there, quizzed Kaif about it, she was quick to wash her hands off the replacing controversy. “I know nothing about that. My association was with Mattel Company. They approached me and I took it up. As far as Aishwarya Rai is concerned she is a talented actress and is an iconic fi gure not only in India but all over the world. I respect Aishwarya for what she is,” Katrina waxed eloquence.The truth is that the Bachchan bahu was approached by the organisers to be the Indian face of Barbie. Over a week was spent in discussions with the actress. She had demanded a certain sum as remuneration, which was agreed upon. Ash was very excited because this was something

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26 Stardust May 2009

new and she was looking forward to it since a long time.

But just a day prior to her Barbie look being unveiled before the audience, she was in for a rude shock when she was told that she had been replaced by none other than Katrina. The ex-Miss World was aghast to say the least. She was furious at the organisers for ditching her at the last minute. But she was more upset with Katrina for agreeing to be a part of something that was already committed to her. “Ash really thought Katrina had crossed the line this time,” says a designer. “It was unprofessional of Kat to have done something like this,” adds the source.

Adding pandemonium to the murky episode were the allegations against Katrina concerning how she went about grabbing the Barbie role from Ash. An offi cial from the fashion week reveals, “Katrina really went out of her way. Usually, she takes a long time to decide but this time, she wrapped up everything in a day. From what we hear, she didn’t even ask for any remuneration. She just wanted to do it and she single-mindedly went towards achieving that goal. Contracts were changed at the last minute and Ash was dropped.”

The predicament engulfi ng the two preening divas is bound to acquire chaotic proportions in the days to come. Aishwarya seems to be straining at the leash right now but it won’t take much for the ravishing Scorpio to hit back at her drop-dead-gorgeous rival with a chilling vengeance. The knives are out and let’s see who emerges successor in the second round.

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Katrina in the controversial Barbie outfit

28

“Her In-Laws Were

Marital Past MALLIKA’S

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Against Films” THEY SAY the past always comes back to haunt you. And somehow, it happens more often with the denizens of the glamour world. In this industry, once you’re in the spotlight, you want to start on a clean slate. You want to wipe clean your unpleasant history, if you have any. But the harder you try, the sooner the tumultuous times come back to catch up with you.

Finally Exposed

The most controversial heroine in Bollywood, Mallika Sherawat, has until now managed to remain an enigma to all her fans. She may be the industry’s most desirable pin-up girl and yet no one really knows what lies beneath her allur-ing persona. Sure, everyone knows that her name used to be Reema Lamba once upon a time. There have been fl eet-ing references to her marriage too – and that she is divorced. But that’s about it. Neither has Mallika spoken much about that phase of her life nor has her ex-husband tried to grab his share of fame in her glory. Perhaps that’s why this chap-ter of her life has gone completely unnoticed.

But there are questions that still seek their legitimate answers. Why is Mallika so guarded about her past? Why does she refuse to acknowledge her ex-husband Karan Singh Gill in public? What is the truth behind her whirlwind marriage and subsequent divorce? What was Mallika like as a daughter-in-law? And does she have a hidden child somewhere, as some reports have hinted at?

To unravel the mystery, I decided to travel to the remote village Mallika hails from – Moth in Hissar, Haryana. It’s a fi ve-and-a-half hours drive from New Delhi and reaching there itself seemed like an arduous task. Though Mallika spent most of her growing-up years in Rohtak, Moth is where a part of her family still resides. Her grand-parents (paternal) were landlords and they still have huge properties in the village. The palatial ‘Lamba House’ in the suburb of Hissar is still famous amongst the villagers for its sheer opulence. But after Reema Lamba became Mallika Sherawat, nobody has ever seen her in the house.

I spoke to a local who happened to be one of Mallika’s closest neighbours at one time and he said, “Why would she come to the village? These days, we only see her in news-papers. She’s become a big star now.” Another villager re-veals, “Six months ago, we saw her parents during the fu-

neral of her grandmother. We didn’t see Mallika at that time also. But we got to know that after being a star, she came to Hissar twice to resolve her property matter pending in the court. A confl ict is going on between the Lambas and P.K. Choudhary (BJP leader and brother-in-law of Vasundhara Raje Scindia) regarding a property in Shekhpura village. We saw her along with her brother, Vikram Lamba, during the court case. And before that, in 2007, her parents came to Hissar for the Jat Mahasabha elections.”

The ‘Lamba House’ is a multi-storey haveli where Mallika’s grandparents used to reside along with their four children: Mukesh Lamba (eldest son), Dinesh Lamba, Ramesh Lamba, and Suresh Lamba. Mukesh Lamba is Mallika’s father.

This small town jatni always dreamt of making it big. I met one of her uncles, Sushil Lamba, who spoke about her at length. “Since her childhood, Reema was very exuberant, extroverted and ambitious,” he said. “She had a willingness to do something different from the usual small-town girls. Always ready to explore the new world, she had a wish to work for the glamour industry. Initially, it was very diffi cult for us to allow her to initiate a career in the glamour industry. But later on, with the support of her parents, she did model-ling and then worked for many advertising agencies. She was very active and knew what exactly she wanted to do. For instance, when Reema was 15 years old, she wanted to meet the then Deputy Prime Minister of India, Choudhary Devi Lal. I introduced her to him and she took his full interview in the

midst of a crowd and everybody was astonished by her daring attitude.”

Her uncle was able to reveal a bit more about her childhood than the villagers. Lamba added, “Reema was about seven when her father was transferred to Delhi in 1983. She studied at the Delhi Public School, Mathura Road, from class third to the twelfth.” Mallika must have left some impression on the teachers, for they still remember her as a fl amboyant, bold, sharp and outspoken girl. She is probably also far more intelligent than most people make her out to be, as she went on to graduate from one of India’s top universities. “After schooling she moved on to Miranda House in Delhi University and earned a degree in philosophy. It is the same college from where renowned directors like Nandita Das and Mira Nair completed their masters. It was during this time that she worked briefl y as an airhostess for Kazakistan Airlines and used to fl y between India and Kazakistan. And it was during this period she

“Reema (Mallika) married Karan because she was in love with him but married life wasn’t made for her. From her own parents to her in-laws, every-body was against her decision and as a result, she had a major argument with all of them”

– Sushil Lamba, Mallika’s uncle

... with Jackie Chan

Stardust May 200934

met Karan Singh Gill who was working as a pilot captain in Jet Airways in Delhi,” reveals her uncle. He further reminisces, “As their friendship started brewing, the lovebirds decided to marry soon. It was a love-cum- arranged marriage and everybody from both sides of the family were present there at the wedding. It was a grand reception in Delhi.”

Reema was certainly setting high stan-dards for herself. But there was one obstacle in her life – her husband Karan and his con-servative family. “Reema wasn’t the kind of girl who wanted to compromise with her priorities and change her life simply for mar-riage. She always had a thought of becoming rich and famous. She married Gill because she was in love with him but married life wasn’t made for her. So, she decided to quit wedlock and lead an independent lifestyle. From her own parents to her in-laws, every-body was against her decision and as a result, she had a major argument with all of them. When she went to Mumbai, she knew nobody was there to help her. But she made up her mind to get out of the rut and at least try once. It was tough and heart-breaking,” states Lamba.

Taking charge of her life, the wannabe diva decided to begin a new life. Even though a bit presumptuous, she named herself Mallika (meaning Queen). But why did she feel the need to change her second name? As Lamba clarifi es, “It was purely her wish. Sherawat was her mother’s maiden

name so she kept it to thank her mother who supported her to become a star. Her mother, Santosh and brother Vikram predominantly admired her vision.”

But other locals have another tale to tell. “Reema had changed her name only to hide her origins in Bollywood,” says one of them. “She doesn’t want to give anyone a chance to laugh at her. On the contrary, Reema’s father and her relatives were very disappointed with her decision to work in the glamour industry and then marrying Karan Singh Gill. Her father did not like her decision, so he left her to do whatever she wanted to do.”

Parull Gossain (Mallika’s spokesperson), however, refutes all these allegations saying, “It’s all rubbish. Why would she strain her relationship with her father? She never had an argument with him. Why would she use her father’s name to get such publicity? She does not have any grudges against anyone in her family. In a country like India, we have always

been asked to respect our elders, not to fi ght with them.” Either way, Mallika choosing a glamorous career over love

entered Bollywood, albeit with tons of emotional baggage that she had to keep secret to make it in the industry. But it wasn’t long before the news of her marriage made headlines. In fact, rumour mills reported that she’d been married more than once. By now, Mallika has learnt that nothing ever re-mains a secret in B-town – here, even the walls have ears – but back then, probably not.

The problems between Mallika and her in-laws began soon after the marriage. Lamba gives us an insight, “You know, destiny had other plans for Reema. Like her own parents, Gill’s parents were also orthodox. As we have heard, her in-laws were not inter-ested in sending their girl into fi lms and they were completely against her late nights and parties. As a result, tension started brewing between Reema and

Karan. This might be the reason for their break-up. Maybe her in-laws were not in favour of her working in fi lms. The marriage worked for almost a year and fi nally their romance ended in gloom. The couple soon realised that it was better to get separated. It was after the divorce that she decided to try her luck in movies,” says Lamba.

What about certain reports that she also has a hidden child? Her uncle refutes the allegation, “She doesn’t have any kid. She was so sure about her vision that she didn’t take any chances. In spite of many oppositions and hurdles, she went to Mumbai in 2002 to pursue her dream in Bolly-wood,” he says.

Once in the city of dreams, Mallika always introduced herself as a single woman. And that has been the way ever since. Her father, Mukesh Lamba, was a simple man. The only thing he ever wanted was to have a happily married life for his daughter. But she is always been heard saying that she belonged to

“We don’t know anybody named Mallika. A few years back, we had a girl in our family called Reema Lamba. She was my daughter-in-law and we all loved her very much. But, afterwards, her behaviour and independent nature started creating problems for us”

– Mrs. G. S. Gill (Mallika’s ex-mother-in-law)

... with Dharmendra


a poor family and has never been married. Her distraught uncle no longer knows what to say in response: “I can’t comment on this. In Mumbai, whatever she was asked to do, she did it. I have also read about such things in the newspapers but we are not comfortable with it. It is completely her choice that she always introduces herself as a single woman and prefers to keep silent on her marital life.”

But what is her in-laws’ reaction to all the fame and fortune that Mallika has amassed? When we ask Lamba, he gets fl ustered again and concludes the conversation midway saying, “I can’t talk about this. But I must say her in-laws were very sweet to her. But unknowingly, everything got shattered. Almost a year back I saw her estranged in-laws at the Gurgaon Golf Club.”

To get the real picture, I fi nally tracked down Mallika’s estranged mother-in-law, Mrs. G. S. Gill. When asked about the actress, she commented vociferously, “We don’t know anybody named Mallika. A few years back, we had a girl in our family called Reema Lamba. She was my daughter-in-law and we all loved her very much. But, afterwards, her behaviour and independent nature started creating problems for us. We wanted a girl who was independent in her thoughts but at the same time, someone who understood the needs of the family also. But her dream was something different from what we expected. She wanted to have a career inthe glamour industry.” Before I could ask about Karan, she abruptly ended the conversation. Reportedly, Karan is now remarried and doesn’t like to talk about Mallika at all.

Nonetheless, one thing’s for sure – Mallika did not receive stardom on a silver platter. More often than not, she found herself being re-jected, even by small-timers. Says Ramesh Juglan (director of Hary-anvi fi lms), who still remembers Sherawat as Reema Gill, “I don’t remember the exact year when Reema came with her photographs at my offi ce asking for a role in some Haryanvi fi lm. But I must say she was quite eager to work in fi lms. She left a cd of her photo-graphs requesting me to have a look at it once. I didn’t pay any at-

tention to her because she looked so ugly then. At that time, I didn’t have a clue that one day she would become such a big star.”

And with fame came Mallika’s sex-kitten status. According to her own admission, she needs a tough guy to handle her. The latest buzz is that she is maintaining her proximity with a new man in her life who is supposedly a fi rang. Their rela-

tionship apparently developed over a course of time. It has also been heard that she is in Los Angeles these days roaming around with the same guy and simultaneously trying to remain tight-lipped about the rumours in India. She apparently wants to keep the fl ing a secret.

Her uncle tries to justify Mallika’s lifestyle choices. “You should better understand today’s world. Things are moving faster day by day. Whatever she’s been asked to do in Mum-bai, she did it. Today’s lifestyle is completely different than our time. If you want to achieve success, you have to explore yourself by all means. That is what Reema is doing and we have no grievances.”

It is truly interesting how each person who knows or knew Mallika intimately, views her in a completely different way. For instance, for her ex-husband, Mallika may be a thing of the past meant to be stored in the deepest recesses of his mind. Her parents and relatives still see her as their little daughter fi ghting out on her own. A local photographer who often clicked her in her struggling days told me, “She used to be a very simple and innocent girl but very camera-friendly. Every time she would give proper shoots and make us happy. She was very professional and passionate about her work

and that is the most impressive part of her personality. But on the issue of marriage, she generally preferred to keep silent.”

For most people who read this, Mallika’s past may come as a revelation. She may have her own reasons for not acknowledging her marital status. Maybe if she’d done that earlier, none of this would’ve sounded so shocking. But from her point of view, here was a married woman from a small town, without any godfather, trying her luck in movies. Would the industry have given her a chance if they knew about her marital status? We don’t think so. Today, she’s carved a position for herself so no one’s complaining or raising eyebrows. It’s Mallika’s turn to take charge now – she’s seen a lot already.

Preeti Puja

“Reema’s (Mallika) in-laws were completely against her late nights and parties. As a result, tension started brewing between Reema and Karan. This might be the reason for their break-up. The marriage worked for almost a year and finally their romance ended in gloom”

– Sushil Lamba

... with Rahul Bose

Stardust May 200940

BLOW

BLOW

Hrithik Battles The Barbara In a competitive and cut-throat industry, it’s seemingly impossible for any star to escape the burden of controversies and scandals that somehow seem to come hand in hand with fame and fortune. The mightiest of celebrities have fallen prey to this syndrome and the reason is simple – along with the fans and well wishers come your own share of detractors. The bigger the star, the bigger the scandal. And though someone like Hrithik Roshan has faced such a situation before, what he’s

encountering right now is far severe in magnitude. Perhaps the only way he can tackle it is by lying low, which is what he’s doing.

Hrithik’s forthcoming fi lm, ‘Kites’, has been in news ever since it was launched. Initially, it was just supposed to be an-other production from Rakesh Roshan’s Film Kraft. But as the script progressed, the fi lm became bigger in size. It elevated to a different league when Big Pictures paid the highest price ever in fi lm history – Rs 125 crores and bought the fi lm over.

Stardust May 200942

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Mori Romance Rumours

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For Rakesh Roshan, ‘Kites’ is more than just a profitable venture on paper. The fi lmmaker believes that this is one fi lm that could take Hrithik into mainstream commercial Holly-wood. For that reason, Big Pictures will be releasing two different ver-sions of the fi lm – one for the global market and one for India. If Hrithik succeeds in garnering any attention in the West, it’ll be a whole new beginning for the actor.

That’s why everyone associated with the fi lm is making headlines and that includes the lead heroine, the Mexican beauty Barbara Mori. When Barbara was signed for such a gargantuan project, everyone wondered who she was. Not much is known about her even now. Bar-bara was a small-time model in Mexico when she met a local actor, Sergio Mayer, and they fell in love. They never got married but had a child soon enough. Barbara pursued her acting dreams and soon landed up with a part in a television series. Around that time, she separated from Sergio even while her career was on the upswing. In 2005, she had a massive blockbuster to her credit.

While fi nalising the lead actress for Kites, Rakesh Roshan knew exactly what he wanted. The girl had to have an inter-national profi le but at the same time, she needed to look comfortable with the Indian audience too – that’s why he went looking for faces in Spain and Mexico. Among all the girls he auditioned, he found Barbara to be the best bet. Hrithik agreed – his father couldn’t have been more correct.

rithik got to know Barbara better when she came down to India for the extensive shooting schedule. He almost lay down the red carpet for her. A special vanity van was designed for Barbara,

keeping her needs in mind. Hrithik paid personal attention to the service apartment that was arranged by the Roshans for Barbara to stay, along with her son and family. When Barbara landed in Mumbai, she was overwhelmed with all the comforts. That’s how the friendship between her and Hrithik took off.

The fi lm has been shot in exotic locations like New Mexi-co, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and the Maldives. Barbara behaved like a true-blue professional; she delivered whatever was expected of her. Like a source from the unit tells us, “Bar-bara has worked with a lot of actors before but she was thoroughly impressed with Hrithik’s dedication. She even told him that. When they were shooting in New Mexico, Hrithik did a few action scenes that took everyone’s breath away. She couldn’t believe it that he was doing all this with-

out a body double. With every working day that passed, their chemistry became better with each other. And you could see that off screen too.”

Over the last two months, the shooting of ‘Kites’ was on full swing in Mumbai. One often saw Hrithik and Barbara spending a lot of time with each other, even when they were not shooting. In between shots, they would chat at leisure in their make-up vans. Outsiders were not allowed on the sets but the news of their friendship soon became a subject of discussion. This was when one fi rst heard the buzz of their alleged romance.

A member of the crew informs us, “Barbara cannot speak Hindi at all. And the problem was that most of the technicians weren’t fl uent in English, including director Anurag Basu. Communication was sometimes a major hassle. So it was Hrithik who decided to play the role of a mediator. Even when

he was not required on the sets, he would be present so that there was no delay due to miscommunication. There were so many times when Anurag would convey his thoughts to Barbara with Hrithik acting as the interpreter.”

Another time the industry was abuzz with the Barbara-Hrithik scandal talk was when eyewitnesses saw the couple at Amby Valley, a private retreat almost three hours drive from Mumbai. A close friend of the actor fi nally puts to rest the speculation. “There was a time when the unit had taken a break. Barbara’s sister had come down and Barbara wanted to take her family to some quiet and peaceful place for a short holiday. Hrithik suggested Amby Valley. He only accompanied them till there because Barbara and her fam-ily have no clue about the city and its outskirts. He played the role of a gracious host.”

The whispers kept getting louder with each passing day. “Hrithik and Barbara have often gone out for dinners and Suzanne has been there too,” says an actor friend of the couple. Eyebrows were also raised when Hrithik had an ac-cident on the sets of the fi lm and he had to be admitted to a nearby hospital. When the media reached there, they only saw Barbara by his side. There was no sign of Suzanne any-where around. “That’s because Barbara was with him when he was doing that shot. When the glass pierced his hand, she was in a state of shock. She insisted on coming along with him to the hospital. Suzanne was not in the vicinity so she took a while to get there,” states the friend.

There is no denying that Hrithik has become extremely close to Barbara’s family as well, especially her son Sergio. Our source adds, “But that’s mainly because Hrithik is aware

Barbara Mori

Stardust May 200944

that the family doesn’t know anybody in Mumbai. Rakesh Roshan has deliberately kept her away from the media. When the fi lm is ready, he’ll introduce her to the Indian audiences and the media with a huge launch. But right now, she’s not allowed to go out anywhere by herself. That’s why Hrithik gives her company. He spends a lot of time playing video games with her son.”

One of the stories doing the rounds is that Suzanne hasn’t taken too kindly to this growing bond between her husband and Barbara. According to hearsay, the couple has been having frequent fi ghts over this issue. Sometime back, when Hrithik didn’t turn up for an awards function after committing his presence, Barbara had to shoulder the blame. Rumours insisted that Hrithik and Suzanne had a major argument at home just when he was about to leave. An angry Hrithik simply decided to skip the event. Barbara was supposed to come along with him; she too cancelled. But the actor’s loyalists maintain a different version. As one of them says, “The awards ceremony took place when the fi nal schedule of ‘Kites’ was wrapping up. Hrithik had clearly told the orga-nizers that he would only come if he fi nished on time. But the shoot extended well after midnight. There was no way he could leave early as a major chunk had to be fi nished. The whole unit was present at the studio that night and they had to complete a very important scene. If what people say is true, why did Hrithik and Su-zanne attend so many public events after a couple of days later? That happened because the shooting was over,” he stresses.

Once the shooting portion in Mumbai was complete, Hrithik and Suzanne took off to an undisclosed destination for a much-needed vacation. Ac-cording to many, this was kind of a make-up trip for the actor. His actor friend laughs when we mention this to him. “They haven’t taken any time off for almost four months now. More than Suzanne, it was Hrithik who needed a break. In fact, he had made this plan with some other friends who were supposed to join them too. We had all discussed this holiday when we were in Goa celebrat-ing Farah Khan (Sanjay Khan’s daughter and Suzanne’s sister) and her Aqeel’s wedding celebrations. At the last minute, the others dropped out so Hrithik and Suzanne went on their own,” he clarifi es.

However, the rumours refuse to die down and as the fi lm gets ready for release, the buzz is only getting stronger. Earlier this month, it was reported that Suzanne had walked out of Hrithik’s house and shifted into her parents’ residence. The story goes like this: After their vacation, things were fi ne between the couple for a while. Then just before Hrithik

left for South Africa to do an ad fi lm, something happened between them with relation to Barbara. A couple of days later, when the actor was still out of the country, Suzanne moved out of the house with bag, baggage and the kids.

A source informs us, “Hrithik was shattered when he heard that Suzanne had left him. The night he came back to town, he went straight to his in-laws’ house. They sorted out their differences and he even spent the night there. For the sake of each other and the kids, they decided to give each other another chance.”

ut by then, the news of their impending split was already out. Even though the couple in-dulged in some damage control the next day, industry folk were already discussing the impli-cations of this break-up. “Suddenly, the Barbara

issue has become much bigger than one imagined,” says one of the actor’s co-stars. “Hrithik and Suzanne may have patched up for now but if they have done this to keep a scandal at bay, how long will it last?”

At this time, though, Hrithik is trying his best to douse the controversy. As he says, “It is too funny! Suzanne has shifted to her parents’ place with the kids two days ago and I was to join her on my return as there is a white ant treat-ment going on in my house and a section of my fl oor is being renovated.”

Meanwhile, another version that’s doing the rounds hints at vested interests behind this whole drama. Like a well known producer puts it, “There are people who have invested heavily in the fi lm. Other than Hrithik, there is no other big name in the fi lm. The idea could be to add some spice to the fi lm by spreading tales about

the Hrithik-Barbara romance. At least they will succeed in making Barbara a household name by linking her with Hrithik. It could be a calculated move and when such things happen, the poor actors are the ones who suffer the most.”

If this is true, these people have been successful to some extent. Already viewers are curious to see the so-called siz-zling chemistry between Hrithik and Barbara on screen. Plus, news has already been leaked out that they’ve done some really intimate scenes in the movie – hotter than anything you’ve seen on Indian screen before. So this gamble may just pay off.

The Hrithik-Barbara-Suzanne triangle is the most discussed topic in the fi lm industry right now. Knowing the actor, he will retaliate only when he feels matters have gone out of hand. This battle has just become personal and he knows best how to fi ght it.

... with wife Suzanne


D ear Asin,

&&

You surely know where your priorities lie. You made your displeasure public when your boyfriend Saif Ali Khan signed Deepika Padukone for his home production. I heard that he is working on his next production and you’ve insisted on being a part of that project. How can you dictate terms to him like that? How can you take him for granted? Reena Patel (Ahmedabad)

D ear Akshay,

D ear Kareena,

Just because you are now in a league of your own, it doesn’t mean that you should throw tantrums. Recently, I read a report somewhere that when you were shooting on the outskirts of Mumbai, you insisted on traveling by a helicopter. It cost the poor producer Rs 75000 for every trip but he had to bear the expense because you threatened to not attend the shooting. Is this true?

Ravi Divecha (Pune)

AKSHAY KUMAR: First of all, I consider myself just like any other actor; I don’t belong to any league as such. Secondly, it’s totally untrue that I insisted on a helicopter. There

was some urgent dubbing to be done for my new film and we didn’t have any time. That’s why the producer insisted on sending me a chopper. All the other times, I have been traveling in my car. Don’t believe everything you read.

KAREENA KAPOOR: Arre baba, who has told you all this? This is all rubbish. Sure, I would’ve liked to be a part of Saif’s first home production but the role didn’t fit me. I have no problems with that. And there is no second production happening as yet. Saif hasn’t even thought a bout i t because he’s busy with the first one.

I’ve been a huge admirer of your work. I feel you are a good role model for all the young girls. However, recently I read a report saying that you endorse a fairness cream. Considering it’s not a good idea to promote fairness in a country like India, why have you taken on this brand? Don’t you think it will show you in a poor light towards your fans?Nikhila Sahani (Mumbai)

ASIN: I have been endorsing this brand for a while now. For me, the brand has always stood for natural beauty. Fairness creams are a beauty need along with a healthy lifestyle, exercise and a good diet. They protect your skin from pollution and the sun. That’s where I feel such creams come in handy. In fact, I have myself been using the cream in my growing-up years.

Stardust May 200946

D ear Irrfan,

D ear Aftab,

Once in a while, we get to see a performance that blows our minds. Something like that happened after seeing you in ‘Billu’. But the

industry doesn’t seem to have recognised your talent, as you’re still relegated to doing second-lead roles. Is it that you’re not getting better roles? Or are you doing all these f i l m s m e r e l y for commercial reasons? James H (Mumbai)

IRRFAN KHAN: It’s not like I was ignored after my performances. On the contrary, films like ‘Billu’ have now given me the choice to do the films that I am excited about. There’s no question of the industry not recognising me when my audience does. So, far from being disillusioned, I’m happy giving my best efforts to every film I do.

KANGANA RANAUT: I would like to clear these rumours once and for all. Firstly, it’s not true that I

am promoting Adhayayan. He doesn’t need any promotion since he’s got an overwhelming

response. Besides, we don’t even have any projects in hand with the two of us in it.Adhyayan is busy with four films and I’m working on three.

We know you’re one of the most successful heroines in the industry. But that doesn’t mean that you should use your position to recommend your boyfriend Adhyayan Suman to directors. We hear that you agree to do a film only if he’s the hero. Isn’t that being unprofessional?

Srikant Desai (Bangalore)

I’m curious to know what were you thinking when you signed a film like ‘Aloo Chat’. You’ve played one of the most inconsequential characters one can imagine. One hears that you’re now counting on ‘Kambakkht Ishq’ and ‘Acid Factory’. But there are rumours that ‘Acid…’ has been stalled for a while, hasn’t it?

Abhishek Pandey (Indore)

AFTAB SHIVDASANI: To be honest, I’m doing films, which not only offer me enough scope to perform, but at the same time are also good as a package. I’m really looking

forward to ‘Kambakkht Ishq’ because it has come out really well. I’m sure the audiences would love to watch Indian and Hollywood stars together on screen for the first time. And that’s the USP of the film. ‘Acid Factory’ has taken off again; in fact we are almost through with it. I just finished shooting for ‘Daddy Cool’ with Suniel Shetty, Ashish Chowdhury and Javed Jaffrey. It’s a laugh riot and you are going to enjoy it. So things are happening for me at the moment.

D ear Kangana,


“Deepika Has Done A Film Down South But

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ASINON THE

Wasn’t She Also Hailed As A Newcomer?”

here’s something intriguing about watching an artist

at work. For one, there’s the obvious talent that

fl ows out from within and fi rmly entrenches itself on the concerned canvas. Then, there’s

the magnetism, which forbids you to look away, even if you want to. And you defi nitely don’t

want to when the person concerned is Asin, star extraordinaire down South (she’s never

delivered a single fl op in her career so far) and currently amongst the newest and brightest

luminaries to have lit up Bollywood.

T

I’ve heard that Salman was apparently so taken up with me that he’d given me a gift for Onam and I’d given him a return gift for Eid. We were all travelling and shooting on these days and nobody had time to buy any gifts even if they wanted to

not my ambition to be in the number one spot or maintain it. I’d rather wait for the right projects and be a part of things I know I’ll like being a part of and work with people I’ll enjoy working with. Rather than pick anything and everything that comes my way, which a lot of people do when they see success, I prefer to wait. Sometimes, insecurities creep in, especially in this industry and people do advise you that ‘out of sight is out of mind’ but I consider that rubbish. I’d rather not be a part of a movie that I don’t want to be a part of just for being in sight.” And what about the rumours of her being part of the much-awaited Yashraj fi lm with Shah Rukh Khan? “Those are just rumours”, she grins.

Asin is hugely talented and has made a splashy debut that has made people sit up and notice. However, one can’t help but think that the hype surrounding her is not as big as say a Deepika Padukone or Sonam Kapoor who’ve also made glitzy debuts and then swiftly moved into what many consider the elite A-list of Bollywood. Does she feel she’s being meted out step-motherly treatment because she doesn’t have fi lmi connections? “I’m not even aware that there is such a league existing. Honestly, it’s something I’d rather not comment upon as I hardly know about this”, she maintains a political stance.

One of the best ways to announce, ‘here I am, look at me’ is by signing movies with big banners. So where are all the

big production houses that should be queuing up outside her house to woo her? “Well, there is an Asthavinayak project in the pipeline but I always wait for the production house to make the offi cial announcement fi rst,” she succinctly tells me. Asin does seem way wiser than her 20-something years. She may be just one-fi lm-old in Bollywood, but she’s a seasoned star otherwise and that’s pretty obvious with the way she holds her own and calmly fi elds all sorts of questions.

Asin’s gone on record saying she’s quite averse to kissing scenes and exposing. Sounds a tad old school in these times where everyone is jumping on the ‘skin is in’ bandwagon and kissing on-screen is no longer a prerogative of the West. Doesn’t she feel it’ll cause a hindrance in her nascent career? Or is this another perfunctory in building a demure and girl-next-door image? She very emphatically states, “It’s defi nitely not an image-building exercise for sure. It might be prevalent in Bollywood but I’m somebody who’s totally out of it. I’m not comfortable doing that. And I think when you’re not comfortable, it affects the performance. What I had said was that I wouldn’t be comfortable with fi lms that are overtly sexual or sex-based.” So if any fi lm-makers want to offer her a ‘Jism’ for instance, that would be a loud and clear no!

I can’t help but ask what has become of her career down South. Considering that’s the industry which launched her, has she turned her back to it now that she’s a big Bollywood star? “I haven’t signed any South Indian projects even though I’ve had tons of offers. I was born as an actor there; that’s my parent industry. Just as a kid can’t abandon his mother, I would never say no to any project from down South. I don’t want to

First up, she dispels the myth that actors always make you wait by turning up on the dot for our early morning shoot. Well, she defi nitely wins brownie points for professionalism. And her ease in front of the camera is evident as she expertly poses and expresses herself for the lenses. Beautiful, talented, approachable, easy-going and fun to talk to (despite being extremely politically correct); she completely illustrates the fact that, at the end of the day, actors are also regular people; just like you and me.

With ‘Ghajini’ she made the perfect crossover and what can technically be termed as a full-fl edged debut in Bollywood that many dream of, and few achieve. With the country’s biggest superstar Aamir Khan, to romance on-screen, a strong script and all the ingredients of a requisite masala Bollywood fl ick, Asin had everything going for her. And work it she did! Even though a few critics lambasted her for what they considered was a loud and over-the-top performance, the ones who matter have welcomed her with open arms.

She’s also made a killing this awards season, winning all the major debut awards, including the Max Stardust Superstar of Tomorrow honour. And in the process, ruffl ed a few feathers (but more of that later). What has the actress palpably excited for now is her upcoming project ‘London Dreams’. Helmed by

Vipul Shah, the grand project has her paired opposite Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan. “I would call ‘London Dreams’ my actual fi rst Bollywood movie,” says Asin. “I say that because the entire cast and crew is from Bollywood. ‘Ghajini’ felt like a 90 percent south Indian movie, not just because it was a remake but because most of the people working on it were mostly from down South. The atmosphere on the set was that of a south Indian fi lm and sometimes Aamir felt a little left out. So I would act as the interpreter and it was fun. We’re almost done shooting ‘London Dreams’ and are planning to release sometime in August. It’s a musical and has fabulous music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. I had the best experience in my entire career doing this movie,” she gushes.

Next on cards is a multi-lingual, ‘The 19th Step’, which is a Walt Disney production directed by Bharath Bala along with Kamal Haasan and Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano. Recently, there were stories circulating that Manjaree Fadnis had replaced Asin in a Walt Disney production. She clears the air, “That’s another Walt Disney production, which I was offered but I didn’t take up.”

Apparently, big as it is, in these times of recession, it seems that ‘London Dreams’ is having a problem being sold. Is she affected by this? “Not that I am aware of. I don’t really think there is any such problem,” she avers diplomatically. Well, considering she’s clearly touted as the next big successor to the Bollywood throne, why isn’t she signing any big banner projects and making hay while the sun shines? Is it a good strategy to just bank on one big commercial movie? She elucidates, “I look at things I like to do. It’s not about calculated moves or strategies with me. It’s

50

be repetitive. I have done a handful of projects down South. If something really different and exciting that would awaken my interest comes along, I would defi nitely consider it.”

So has she completely migrated to Bollywood now? Considering she’s also bought a fl at in Mumbai, is she ready to shift base permanently to the city of dreams? She promptly refutes it saying, “I don’t think I’ve migrated actually. ‘Ghajini’, ‘London Dreams’ and all my endorsements, which are national endorsements, were all happening in Mumbai so it made sense for me to have a place here rather than live out of suitcases or in hotels and shuttle between cities.”

It seems as if her producers down South are quite upset with this move as they feel she has deserted them for the popularly sought after pastures of Bollywood. Have any of them made their displeasure felt with this move (literal and otherwise) of hers? She ponders a while before answering, “Upset? I don’t think so. That’s the fi rst time I’m hearing this. But I have heard about rumours about me having migrated and in a sense that’s true. It’s not a conscious migration saying I’m avoiding South Indian fi lms. But all my work commitments at this point of time are based in Mumbai.”

We move on to a slightly delicate topic – her father. He is present with Asin wherever she goes; be it shooting, events or

parties. Quite akin to the ubiquitous heroine’s mother. Is she starting a new trend of the heroine’s father? Reports suggested that Vipul Shah was quite irked by his constant presence on the sets of ‘London Dreams’. “Vipul and dad are like best friends; it’s utter rubbish. Besides, my dad’s not there as my dad, but as my manager. I don’t have any manager in Bollywood, and I’ve never had one in my career. He takes care of my dates and endorsements and that’s his job at the moment. He’s left his business and taken up this job. Just like any other Bollywood celebrity would have their manager tagging along, my dad comes and sits. It’s not like he’s there for 24 hours. He’s just there to make sure things are well organised. He’s not there to baby-sit a daughter the way it’s made out in the press. He’s just doing his job. At least they’re writing about my father and not making up some imaginary boyfriend”, she jokes. I’m fully prepared to believe her as her father just turned up for a while to make sure our shoot was well organised and then left us alone for the day.

But matters took an interesting turn when a tabloid reported that her co-star, the capricious Salman Khan even went up to her father and told him that his presence on the sets doesn’t

51

‘Ghajini’ felt like a 90 percent South Indian movie. The atmosphere on the set was that of a south Indian film and sometimes Aamir felt a little left out

OUTFIT : PEACOCK FOREVER

(On Mugdha Godse’s comment that Asin wasn’t qualified for best debutante awards): “Each person has his personal opinion. I don’t really want to get into that. Obviously I have something to say but I don’t want to say it

and each person has his personal opinion. I don’t really want to get into that. Obviously I have something to say but I don’t want to say it.” All my efforts in convincing her that it’s cathartic to say what’s on your mind are greeted by peals of laughter. However, she does relent enough to explain that, “Best debutante awards are for a fi rst-time performance in a particular industry. Obviously, the fact that it is the biggest Bollywood grosser of all times and that Aamir Khan was a part of the movie helped.”

And since we’ve opened the Pandora’s box that goes by the name of Aamir Khan, it’s but obvious to ask how her status with Aamir is after the multi-record breaking ‘Ghajini’? Are they still in touch? “We’re in touch on and off. But not on a regular basis”, she states succinctly. And speaking of ‘Ghajini’, how are things between her and her supposed nemesis, Jiah Khan? “It’s a norm that’s happening. If two actresses act together in a movie, people just start writing about how they can’t get along and fi ght constantly. Considering we didn’t have any scenes together, it was very illogical to conclude that we were fi ghting on the sets as we were hardly on the sets together. We have a very good relationship going on which the press is trying very hard and failing to spoil.”

So does she believe that two actresses can be friends? “Defi nitely. At least from my side I think so. I’ve hardly met many people here though. After ‘Ghajini’, everyone has been very kind to me. Preity Zinta very sweetly gave me a warm welcome to Bollywood. And Sush (Sushmita Sen) hugged me and had really nice things to say. Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan) also complimented me and it’s been very nice and warm of them to do that.”

Asin hasn’t been a permanent fi xture in Bollywood for long and already the girl is courting controversies. It seems that stylists and make-up artistes working on ‘London Dreams’ and otherwise aren’t too happy with her way of functioning as they feel she does her own thing as opposed to listening to them and is behaving like quite a diva. Asin eagerly breaks in exclaiming, “Isn’t that so much publicity for ‘London Dreams’? I think that’s the way it functions also. I’m still trying to fi gure out if it’s a publicity thing or not.” Getting serious she adds, “You’ve seen me here. I just sit like a dummy. And whoever wants to work on me, make-up artistes and all, I completely trust them. Finally, on any set, and especially on ‘London Dreams’ set it is the director who’s the captain of the ship. He’s the one who’s hired all these people. And he’s the person who has to decide whether he’s happy with their work or not. And if he’s not, then I don’t know why unnecessarily people have to blame me. Vipul himself came up with

mean that he could prevent him from fl irting with Asin. Sounds pretty fi lmi, doesn’t it? She quickly retorts, “I think that was the cheapest the press could come up with. It obviously didn’t happen.” So she’s on good terms with Salman? “Of course I am. I had the best time ever on ‘London Dreams’. It was a great team to work with and we were one big gang having a great time.” And what about all those alleged cold vibes with Ajay Devgan who’s not exactly known for being Mr. Congeniality? She rolls her eyes, but patiently obliges me. “Ajay’s such a sweetheart. He’s the prankster on the set. He’s the entertainment channel on the sets and comes up with these one-liners and jokes, especially when you least expect it. He taught me a lot of tongue twisters and so did I and we used to have tongue-twisting competitions on the set and it was a lot of fun. That’s why it’s really weird when stuff like this comes up. I really don’t understand what kind of a press thing is behind this. But that Salman thing was really cheap. If people really believe that he’s capable of something like this, then they’re really putting him down.”

When it comes to Salman, I can’t possibly not discuss his much-talked about Casanova status and ask her if he tried to woo her with his charm but she beats me to the question. “I’ve heard that he was apparently so taken up with me that he’d given me a gift for Onam and I’d given him a return gift for Eid. We were all travelling and shooting on these days and

nobody had time to buy any gifts even if they wanted to. The whole unit burst out laughing when we heard of these reports on the sets. But I didn’t fi nd it as funny at that point of time as I wasn’t used to Bollywood press. Now I’ve started to have a good laugh over such things as well. I’ve actually devised a chemical formula – less reaction equals more comfort. I’ve become like a lotus leaf where water just slips off,” she excitedly reveals.

But it seems Salman’s fascination with Asin was serious enough to make girlfriend Katrina Kaif turn up on the sets in Chandigarh to keep an eye on him. “Salman’s a great co-star and an absolutely charming person to work with. I’ve met Katrina and we were on the same fl ight and in the same hotel at Chandigarh. But she was there for her personal religious reasons, which she’s clarifi ed in the press. But she’s never been on the sets of ‘London Dreams’. It’s such a joke.”

Asin has wowed many critics and audiences with her portrayal of Kalpana in ‘Ghajini’. And the plethora of awards she’s garnered this season is testimony to that. However, her contemporaries aren’t exactly rushing to heap her with praises. And one of them is Mugdha Godse. The ‘Fashion’ actress was quite upset and felt it wasn’t fair she win the best newcomer awards as she’s done many South Indian fi lms. Asin quickly counters that with a, “In that case, Deepika Padukone has done a fi lm down South but wasn’t she also hailed and celebrated as a newcomer?” And just as immediately the diplomatic side takes over as she further states, “Well, anyways, no comments about that matter at all


the explanation that he did not take the particular guy in question again because he didn’t like his work. I was unnecessarily dragged into the controversy. It was nothing to do with me. I work with whoever the director and producers are comfortable with. I’m not a diva and wouldn’t ever be one either. I guess when you’re a newcomer a lot of things get blamed on to your head. I’d rather just concentrate my energies on my work and not commenting on other people. I’m not an interviewer’s delight because I can’t come up with juicy quotes.”

Any Bollywood star worth his salt isn’t really considered a proper star unless he has an assortment of brand endorsements under his belt. Asin is no exception. We’ve all seen her own television, stamping her seal of approval on some product or the other. On last count, she’s the brand ambassador for Tata Sky, Clinic All Clear, Tanishq, Mirinda, Fairever, Colgate and phew...the list is quite long. Quite an achievement for a newcomer, I chide her. She corrects me saying, “I’ve been endorsing them since I was working in the South and they’ve always been national endorsements. They’ve all continued even after ‘Ghajini’. All of them are long-term associations. Some of them are yet to be announced. People now are obviously more aware. There were also baseless rumours about how I got the Tata Sky endorsement because of Aamir Khan.”

So are endorsements just part of her job or is she taking them on to acclimatise and entrench herself fi rmly in Bollywood? “Not really. I’m glad that these companies sign you on to be the face of their brands after a lot of market research. So it’s nice to know that people relate to you. All these brands that I’ve endorsed are products I’ve used as a child. Money is not the only motive. I could’ve signed on many projects and endorsements. I’ve said a fi rm no to many liquor and tobacco companies because it’s not something I do or would want to advise people to do. I’m very choosy about whatever I do.”

Finally, we veer to her personal and social life. Or lack of thereof. She’s young, gorgeous, interesting, funny and absolutely single. And unbelievably, says she’s been single all her life! Asin is not someone you would see on the party circuit or social scene unlike her contemporaries. She launches into an explanation, “I’m not much of a clubbing person. I’m very much a people’s person; don’t get me wrong there. I like to interact with people. I talk a lot, if given a chance. I don’t drink or smoke; I do like to dance though. But that’s probably why you’ll hardly see me in clubs. You’ll see me at parties or events related to work. Besides, I’m not attached to any camps. So there’s no need to make appearances. And even if I do turn up, it will be for a friend and not for appearances sake. Of course, it’s important to be in the right place at the right time.”

We know now that she’s single, but if she had to conjure up an imaginary boyfriend, what would he be like? I wonder if there’s anyone interesting she’s worked with and that again induces a fresh bout of laughter. “No, not really. I have never been attracted to any of my co-stars. I go to my sets to work and don’t take any other interest coming my way. The reason I don’t have a boyfriend is because I’m focussing on my career. At this point of time though, I’m not even desperately looking for a boyfriend.”

But surely she has a check-list of what her ideal man should be like. “I’m really keeping my mind open. I don’t conform to the tall, dark, handsome type. Anything is fi ne. I don’t have a checklist I can tick off. My basic requirement I would look for in a man I want to date is dignity of character. I’m just waiting to be surprised.” So would she be willing to be surprised by a co-actor? Many of our top heroines are dating actors very openly. “I’m not closing my options. I have half the population out for me. I don’t have any restrictions about dating an actor.” And on that optimistic note, I take my leave from her. Even though she’s politically correct and a self-confessed anti-thesis of an interviewer’s delight, Asin totally wins you over with her effervescent charm and infectious zeal. Make no mistakes, the girl’s defi nitely here to stay!

Manasi Rawalgaonkar

Vipul Shah is the one who’s hired all these people. And he’s the person who has to decide whether he’s happy with their work or not. And if he’s not, then I don’t know why unnecessarily people have to blame me. I’m not a diva

Stardust May 200954

I wouldn’t be comfortable with films that are overtly sexual or sex-based. It might be prevalent in Bollywood but I’m somebody who’s totally out of it. And when you’re not comfortable, it affects the performance”

Stardust May 2009

TheThe

Mr.

“Name Any Actor And

I’ll Strip Him Apart

Completely”aA

aASHINEY AHUJA, once

termed the most arrogant actor with an

attitude that repels you, has come a long way. When he entered the

industry, all eyes were on him as he was

touted as the next big thing. He had big fi lm-

makers lining up at his doorstep; top heroines vying to star opposite him; basically, Shiney

was on a roll. But somewhere in between,

the cookie began to crumble as stories

about his starry attitude and lack of

professionalism started doing the rounds. His

intense involvement in his fi lms was termed gross interference by

his detractors.

Stardust May 200956

Shiney Ahuja P

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“I just wish somebody from the film industry had told me there is no point in being blunt over here with anybody. I was not prepared for success. Though I was prepared for failure, all the success that came after ‘Gangster’ I was just not prepared for”

care of. I am responsible for my own work and not for another actor’s performance in the fi lm.

What made you do a disaster of the fi lm like ‘Hijack’? For someone who has always boasted of being a script-focused actor, how could you go so wrong?

You’ve heard the song from ‘Sholay’ – ‘Yeh dosti…’ so it was friendship. I have broken a couple of rules I should not have, because of my friend-ship with the director (Kunal Shivdasani). I usually don’t step into a film until I am happy with the script. The director told me that we would work on it when the fi lm is underway so he asked me to step into it and not to

say no then. I had read the script 15 days before we started shooting for the fi lm. Finally, when it came on paper, it was not what we had spoken about. But I was assured that it still could be worked on and if I watched the fi lm and was not happy with it, it wouldn’t be release. Moreover, I was told that if there was something to be re-shot, it would be done. But that didn’t happen. When I saw the rough cut, I knew that the fi lm wouldn’t work. Unfortunately, I was shown the fi lm just fi ve days before the release. It was a big risk and it didn’t pay off.

Some of your best hits were with the Bhatts and you were even termed as their blue-eyed-boy. But one doesn’t see you in any of their future projects. Why have you parted ways?I keep talking to Bhatt sahab on a personal level but profes-sionally, let’s see how things happen. There are many things, which will have to come together before a fi lm’s release. He knows me; he knows my work more than anybody else regardless of who he works with. Also, when the time is right, things will happen.

You recently bagged the Hollywood fi lm ‘Silver Chord’ where you play the role of an American. Was this move a deliberate attempt to cash in on the latest trend of going international post ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and join the bandwagon?There is no deliberate planning or scheming in these kinds of things. If a good fi lm and a good script comes your way, I think any actor would say yes. Whether anyone has done a Hollywood fi lm before or not makes no differences to my life. What affects my life is the kind of fi lms I do. So just because someone else has done Hollywood projects in the past, it’s no reason for me to do so. My decision is inde-pendent of what anyone is doing in their lives. Do you mean to say that I should not be a part of a fi lm, which could win an Oscar? Right now, there are huge expectations from me. I had done a fi lm called ‘Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi’ and then ‘Gangster’ where I got lot of appreciation then ‘Hijack’ did not perform well and suddenly, the expectations were not there. So it doesn’t matter if there are any expectations or not. The only expectation that I have to live up to in my life is being Shiney Ahuja who is a husband, a father and a son and fending for my family. That’s the only thing I have to take

His problems with co-stars like Akshay Kumar and Preity Zinta made headlines. In an industry that seldom gives anyone a second chance Shiney was pushed into a corner – isolated and targeted. And his hot-headedness during crisis time made things only worse.

But things have changed over the past few months. Shiney has learnt the fi ne art of patience and somehow, one attributes that to the arrival of his new bundle of joy, his daughter Arshiya. But the actor maintains he has mellowed down because he now knows the diplomatic workings of the industry. In a no-holds-barred interview, Shiney fi nally lets off steam and says it like it is.

... with Mukesh Bhatt, Kangana Ranaut and Emraan Hashmi


From being the most sought-after debutant to being the most troublesome actor, you have become unpopu-lar rather quickly. With an attitude like that, where do you think you were heading?I just wish I had better PR back then and I just wish I knew somebody from the fi lm industry who would’ve told me there is no point in being blunt over here with anybody. You just have to be nice to everyone and diplomatic in answering questions. Nobody will respect you if you are blunt. People will only respect you if you are diplomatic or sweet on their face. And these are the lessons I learnt only with experience. When I came, I was very forthright and if someone is really smart he will respect you for it and he is the only person not playing a game with you while all the others do. That’s be-cause he will risk his own reputation to tell you the truth. That’s how I was because I would expect the same thing from other people. Because you always want to assume that the other person is a refl ection of yourself. I wish I knew some-body earlier who would have educated me. I was not prepared for success. Though I was prepared for failure, all the success that came after ‘Gangster’ I was just not prepared for.

In spite of the hit fi lms that you were a part of, you are still not considered in the A-league of actors? Does that bother you?I don’t know the clear defi nition of an A-league actor. I never got a solo-hit fi lm in that sense. Even ‘Gangster’ was publicised with Emraan Hashmi in it and that’s how they positioned the fi lm. Nevertheless, I am fortunate to be applauded for my performance in the fi lm and be noticed by people. There are always two sides to a coin. Maybe for a couple of people, I am not in the A-league. But some think I am better than the A-league. I am saying this as a possibility in terms of talent. It is just a question of point of view or just a way of putting it across. Different people per-ceive things differently. You name any actor and I will strip him apart completely and tell you why. In fact, even you can strip apart any actor; it’s very easy. However, if you have to position a person according to his or her talent, it’s not very easy. The point is – who am I? I am Shiney Ahuja. I would say that success and failures are a part of life and if you can’t learn from your failures then that’s a failure really. There is not even one person who has not failed. You’ll win a couple of battles and you’ll lose a couple but the idea is to win the war.

You didn’t get along with most of your co-stars – from Preity Zinta to Esha Deol to Eesha Koppikhar. They found you excessively interfering. What do you have to say?Now anything that I will say to this will become a quote. From the time I have come in the industry, have you ever seen me

bitching about other people or my co-stars? You have known me for two years now; have you ever read any article where I have bitched about anyone? I don’t do that. I don’t think there were so many issues while working as it was put across in the media. Also, when you work with someone day in and day out, there are ought to be times when you don’t agree with each other. It happens with everyone. But that gets unnecessary attention in the media.

‘Gangster’ came a long time ago and you have not had a single hit since then. Is there an added pressure to prove yourself yet again especially when the competi-tion has intensifi ed with the new breed of actors like

Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan stepping in? I am oblivious to it. The thought does not even come to my mind. Every year, so many people come in the industry and everyone comes with their own kismet and their own fate. I cannot change theirs and they can-not change mine. My work and my attitude towards my work will decide my fate.

Someone coming and giving a brilliant performance is not going to make my performance any better or any worse. The day I start losing focus on my work is the day I will start thinking of competition also because I will not be doing my best. Then I will be wondering why things are not happening. So even now, when I look at ‘Hijack’, I don’t cringe. I admit it was not good. I was there to act; not to direct the fi lm. The kind of energy and dedication I put in ‘Gangster’ is the same that I put in ‘Hijack’ but if the story was completely illogical, there is nothing an actor can do beyond a point.

... with Esha Deol

“I was assured that if I watched the film (‘Hijack’) and was not happy with it, it wouldn’t be released. I was told that if there was something to be re-shot, it would be done. But that didn’t happen. When I saw the rough cut, I knew that the film wouldn’t work”


In the industry where you have to maintain good rela-tionships with fi lm-makers, your clashes with them will only work against you. Moreover, in a place where your sweet talking skills are put to test, how far will your bluntness take you?You will be surprised that the best of friends that I made were at that time. See, success will get you more enemies than friends. So you should just take it as a part and parcel of this profession and there is nothing you can do about it. I think, in the long run, my hard work will pay off. In the beginning, it won’t. It is the harder route I have taken. Every time, when the list that comes out stating the next number one, everyone says that you have to be a PR whiz kid. But fi nally, the person who tops the number one list is being applauded for his work. Either I should have a very good producer who is backing me in most of the fi lms I am doing or else you have got to take the harder route. I don’t have a godfather who gives me bright-est, the most publicised fi lms every year, and all I have to do is work in them and do a couple of endorsements. Either you get everything on a silver platter or as they say, Khudi ko kar buland itna ki khuda hi tujhse pooche bata teri razza kya hai. So that’s the route I have to take. Either ways, the destination is the same. It is in my destiny. I will get what I want but I will have to work for it.

Why were you so secretive about your family earlier?The right word would not be secretive; it would be posses-sive. Also it was more of my wife’s decision than mine. She didn’t want to get involved in all this. Now I have a daughter and we both were very sure we are going to have kids and that one of us should have a normal life. Our daughter should feel like a normal person; otherwise with two celebrity par-ents what life will the kid have? I have never hidden my marriage. If you watch any of my fi lms, my wedding ring has always been there on my fi nger even when I’m playing a bachelor. If somebody assumes that I was not married then the assumption is their view-point but that doesn’t change

the truth. If someone didn’t know I was not married earlier then probably they have not asked me that.

You’ve been lambasted often for your attitude problems. Do such things still rattle you or have you grown ac-customed to this badgering?There is not even one star who is not subjected to things that are not true. You just learn to live with it. I know that most of what was put up to me was not true. Some people did talk negative about me and there were others who spoke positively but that’s never been written. Why don’t you ask Vidya Balan or Shilpa Shetty or even Chitrangada Singh what they think about me?

Has fatherhood changed Shiney? Has it mellowed you as a person? I am exactly the same person. Only people’s perception has changed. Earlier I used to get provoked a lot. People used to provoke me just to get reactions out of me. Now it doesn’t happen that much; it’s much better. I guess people like me more now. It’s nothing but acceptance of talent and person-ality, I guess.

It is rumoured that you have increased your price. At the time when your movies are not doing so well, don’t you feel such demands would be a sure deterrent in getting good projects?I have never asked for any money from anybody; I’ve always got an offer. How can anybody decide how much money one should get? If I have quoted a sum, it’s because someone

must have paid or offered it to me. Why would I want to ask someone for a price that no one will pay? If I am asking for a price, it means I like the script and if we are talking all this then we are sitting on the ne-gotiation table. And I am going

to talk about the price that I got before, right? Otherwise, if I just go on quoting a price, I will not be able to do the fi lm.

You’ve got so much going against you in the industry. In a place where only diplomacy works, you are not on anybody’s good books. Isn’t that a kind of professional harakiri?See, for every actor, every fi lm is a battle. I am not fi ghting anybody; I am just concentrating on my work. Is the peg of your story, ‘Is Shiney committing professional suicide?’ I am on good terms with everybody that I have worked with and whatever you’ve heard or read are just stories. It’s really surprising because sometimes, these stories are so far from reality and there is no other way of proving it. It’s better that you concentrate on your work like the horse with the blind-ers on; else you will never be able to do your work properly. That’s the lesson I’ve learnt.

Sunaina Chandran

... with Shilpa Shetty

“There are always two sides to a coin. Maybe for a couple of people, I am not in the A-league. But some think I am better than the A-league”


‘GONE’ AB

PHOTOGRAPH: SUBI SAMUEL Stardust May 2009

RAHAM!THERE’S A RUMOUR doing the

industry rounds. A few weeks

ago, director David Dhawan was

shooting his next fi lm ‘Hook Ya

Crook’ in Hyderabad. Dhawan,

who has worked with some of

the fi nest actors in the industry,

is known to have a cool

temperament. Rarely does he

lose his cool and the fi lm unit

was in for a rude shock when he

tried to keep his frustrations in

check when lead actor John

Abraham couldn’t get his lines

right. It was literally the test of

David’s patience. Unable to

contain his disappointment, the

director had no option but to

call for a break. Even John’s co-

actors in the fi lm, Shreyas

Talpade and Kay Kay Menon,

were shocked to see the tension

erupting on the set. When we

tried contacting John, he simply

refused to respond. And the

news died its own death within

the confi nes of the unit.

JOHNTHE

‘WORSTACTOR’ TAG?

SURVIVECAN

SAAYA This came soon after ‘Jism’ and everyone thought the much-hyped John would attract an audience. But even a director like Anurag Basu couldn’t salvage this fi lm.

PAAP The joint efforts of Pooja Bhatt (director) and Mahesh Bhatt (writer) failed when this fi lm vanished without a trace. Incidentally, this was the time John was at his peak as a poster boy.

AETBAAR This Vikram Bhatt-directed fi lm also starred Amitabh Bachchan and Bipasha Basu. John’s character had grey shades but instead of terrifying the audience, he succeeded in making them laugh.

KARAM Despite having Priyanka Chopra as the lead heroine, nobody knows when this fi lm came and went.

Admittedly, this is not the fi rst time that John has found himself in such a messy situation. In the past too, we have heard about directors like Anurag Kashyap, Nagesh Kukunoor and Vivek Agnihotri being compelled to confront similar predicaments when they worked with the glorifi ed stud muffi n. Sadly, the industry is too diplomatic (read scared) to admit it publicly. But at the same time they wouldn’t mind sniggering about the actor in hushed tones.

For the hunky actor, it isn’t a situation he asked to be in. The world knows that John is not a trained actor

and the dashing dude is shrewd enough to know his limitations. In fact, at the outset of his fi lm career, the successful model never entertained the thought that he would rustle up so much hype. Initially, he grabbed eyeballs because of his achingly built physique but the problem started when along with hype came the excess baggage of expectations.

Today, it is the same body, which he fl aunts at the drop of a hat, and the venerable ‘poster boy’ status that often works against him. Admits John’s friend and director Kabir Khan, “Beyond a point, if you are going to focus on the body, it is defi nitely going to go against you. If, today, John wants to be taken as an actor and not as a pin-up, it will be very diffi cult. Like Aishwarya Rai’s beauty prevented her from getting many roles. John’s physicality is such that he just cannot play any character. He

just cannot play any normal offi ce-going person.”

In the current scenario with an overdose of media coverage, getting noticed is no problem for any performer. But after the initial euphoria dies down, it’s only the talent that counts. John is a great looker no doubt – but he’s been there and done that. Now, the audience demands more from him. But the question is – does he have it in him to deliver the goods?

Mahesh Bhatt launched John for the fi rst time in the controversial ‘Jism’ but even in that fi lm, it was Bipasha Basu who walked away with all the kudos. John was only remembered for his taut torso, which he fl aunted with élan through out the fi lm. Bhatt feels that John has not grown as an actor and none of his performances after ‘Jism’ have been talked about. “The answer is a resounding no,” he maintains. “If it

Over 25 releases and just two hits – that’s a tall order for any actor. But John Abraham is surviving in the industry despite

that. Here’s a look at some of his major disasters:

JOHN ABRAHAM’S FLOP FACTORY

Stardust May 200966

MADHOSHIThis came at a time when the John-Bipasha romance was making headlines everywhere. The audience was still not interested in seeing them on screen.

ELAAN John was part of an ensemble cast in this fi lm, which will be best remembered for packing off Vikram Bhatt into hiding.

NO SMOKING No fi lm received the kind of pre-release hype as this one. John went on an overdrive but even director Anurag Kashyap knew what was in store after he saw the fi lm’s fi rst copy.

DHAN DHANA DHAN GOAL This may just be one of the few fl ops UTV has to its credit. You have to take one look at the fi lm’s music video to understand John’s handling of expressions.

were, I would have heard it from so many people who quite like him. But I still feel that he has not been able to out-distance that impression he left in the viewer’s mind. Normally, people around me often say that his best work remains just ‘Jism’. The angst, the anguish, the sincerity, the doomed portrayal in the fi lm has, kind of, left an indelible mark on the consciousness of people, which hasn’t been surpassed by his subsequent fi lms,” he says.

After the no-holds-barred physicality in ‘Jism’, the next best thing for the hunk to do was to position himself as the male pin-up sensation but the strategy went haywire. His gorgeous looks never really helped him grow as an actor. And then there was a string of duds like ‘Saaya’, ‘Paap’, ‘Lakeer’ and ‘Aitbaar’, which crashed at the box-offi ce one after another. Also, these disastrous fl icks did little for John to evolve as a performer.

him and one will get the picture crystal clear. For instance, the much low-key Shaahid Kapoor was taken as a star seriously only after the much celebrated ‘Jab We Met’ happened. But even before that, he had still successfully established himself as a solo hero with fi lms like ‘Vivaah’ and ‘Ishq Vishq’. If today, Shaahid is in a far bigger league than John, it’s only because of the fact that he has reinvented himself with every fi lm and every character. Vivek Oberoi who entered the industry around the same time proved his mettle as an actor of caliber in many fi lms like ‘Company’, ‘Saathiya’, ‘Yuva’ and ‘Omkara’. Even newcomers like Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan have raced past John in the talent department.

Filmmaker Harry Baweja who had cast him in ‘Karam’ prefers to call him a pin-up sensation and not an actor. Things sound a little bit harsh when a section of the industry today calls the actor ‘Gone’ Abraham because of his spate of fl ops. And for any lead actor, it is an even more humiliating experience when a second lead manages to overshadow you completely in a fi lm.

It happened for the fi rst time in Kabir Khan’s ‘Kabul Express’ where Arshad Warsi and Salman Shahid (the Pakistani character actor) were the only two actors whose performances were applauded. And the same episode was repeated during ‘Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal’ where Arshad completely overshadowed John despite having a much smaller part.

Kabir Khan feels that getting John to give his cent per cent before the camera is a tough task as the pin-up sensation tends to get too conscious as and when the camera starts rolling. “One thing I have always told John is if he could get even 50 per cent of what he is off-camera on to the screen, he would rock,” he states. “In real life, he has such a brilliant smile but I have never quite managed to get that on camera. That is the problem with most actors.” With regard to John’s disastrous portrayal in ‘Kabul Express’, Kabir justifi es, “John likes to be understated. Sometimes it works and sometimes it

In all of his fi lms, John had the same two-and-a-half expressions on his face and his body language literally struggled to be in tandem with the camera.

And then ‘Dhoom’ happened, which could be termed as John’s only claim to a hit in his career spanning six years. But like a Yash Raj loyalist puts it, “Aditya Chopra had worked with the character in such a way that it didn’t need any histrionics. All John needed was to look good and mouth a handful of lines.”

It’s said that during the scripting stage, Aditya gave strict instructions that John would have only a few dialogues. But the moot point is that not every fi lm would require a character like ‘Dhoom’ and every actor, after a point of time, has to raise his own bar. And the sad part is that John has been unable to do that.

Compare him with the heroes who started around the same time or after


has not been able to outdistance the impression he left in the viewer’s mind. Normally, people around me often say that his best work remains just ‘Jism’”

PH

OT

OG

RA

PH

: YO

GE

N S

HA

H

– Mahesh Bhatt

... with Abhishek Bachchan “John

doesn’t. When it doesn’t people, think it is wooden. Unfortunately in our industry, our audiences have liked a louder sort of acting.”

During the making of the fi lm, it was widely reported that John and Arshad couldn’t see eye-to-eye and it was understood that Arshad was by far exasperated with his co-actor’sno-show. A source connected with the fi lm reveals, “There were times when in certain shots, Arshad would give his best take but the shot would be canned because John wouldn’t get it right.”

Their war was at its peak when Arshad was highly disturbed about the fact he was not given his well deserved credit during fi lm’s promotion. In ‘Taxi No 9211’ too, the tall presence of Nana Patekar completely outshone John.

It is a known fact that the growth of any actor happens with the kind of directors he works with, who eventually help him come out of his dormant shell, and be his natural spontaneous self. Now, to John’s credit, he has worked with the likes of Deepa Mehta, Priyadarshan, Sanjay Gadhvi, Ravi Chopra, Anurag Kashyap, Nagesh Kukunoor and Karan Johar amongst others. However, if you analyse the actor’s performance skills from ‘Jism’ in 2003 to ‘Dostana’ in 2008, there has not

been much of a change.It would be disheartening for any

actor to fi nd his name on top of ‘the worst actor of all times’ list on the Internet. But that’s where you fi nd John. Would that be a reason why none of his directors have repeated him in any of his fi lms with the exception of Kabir Khan who’s worked with him again in ‘New York’? Not long time back, director Nikhil Adwani who had cast John in ‘Salaam-E-Ishq’ opposite Vidya Balan had blasted him for demanding a whopping sum of Rs 13 crores. The outspoken director was quoted as saying, “You have exactly 13 expressions. Do you expect to be paid Rs one crore per expression?”

John’s biggest drawback lies in the fact that he is unable to fi t into the mould of any character. Give him a character like ‘Dhoom’ and ‘Dostana’ where all he needs to do is to fl aunt his body and look good – perhaps you won’t fi nd any faults. But the moment you ask him to slip into the skin of any specifi c character, he’ll be a big disappointment.

That’s the reason why John needs excessive padding in his fi lms. That’s why even after having more than 25 releases in six years, he can only boast of two hits to his credit. That also explains why there are no takers for a solo John Abraham fi lm anymore. In

most of his fi lms, he has played a foil to the protagonist. The recent case in point being ‘Dostana’ where director Tarun Mansukhani gave him the role of a muted photographer as opposed to Abhishek who was more boisterous and loud.

The grapevine has it that Nagesh Kukunoor’s ‘Aashayein’ is ready for release for over a year now but even the producer, Percept Picture Company, seems to have lost faith in the project. For his next fi lm ‘Hook Ya Crook’, director David Dhawan was desperate to sign Arshad Warsi in a parallel role to John’s but the actor fl atly refused the role which then went to Shreyas Talpade. Adding to the pandemonium is another report about Kabir Khan’s ‘New York’. The fi lm’s fi rst promo was out a month back but it has been kept on the backburner by Yash Raj fi lms. The industry buzz was that Aditya Chopra was aghast when he saw the rushes of the fi lm, especially John Abraham in the more intense portions. Of course, to John’s credit, we must add that Kabir Khan denies this and understandably so. “We are ready but not able to release because of the producers’ strike,” he

Stardust May 200968

says. “The promos were aired because of the Yash Raj policy. The promos were shown with ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ because there were no other fi lms. Both Aditya and I were happy with his performance. I don’t want to speak about it much right now.” Point noted.

Still, John continues to maintain an image of a poster boy because he knows he is best only at that. He had no inhibitions when he bared his butt with panache in ‘Dostana’ and while doing a Full Monty in the upcoming ‘New York’. The other agenda that keeps him regular in Page 3 columns is his on and off relationship with his comparatively more successful girlfriend Bipasha Basu. And when he does get a one-off hit like ‘Dostana’ to his credit, he goes all out and hogs full credit for it.

Everyone noticed that John had a handful of dialogues in ‘Dostana’ and the fi lm was completely shouldered by Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra. Even John’s preposterous dance in the song Desi Girl became the butt of all jokes. Though director Tarun Mansukhani defends John’s dancing skills saying, “It was a fun song shot in a pub where actors were meant to just let their hair down.” Director Milan Luthria who cast John in ‘Taxi No 9211’ adds, “Yes, John needs to work on his dancing. Both of us have often joked about it.”

The million-dollar question is – how long would John’s propaganda last? John’s legion of fans and the directors he has worked with have realised it. It is only John who doesn’t seem to understand the implications of the ‘worst actor’ tag that comes along with his share of stardom. It’s time for him to act – literally.

a point, if you are going to focus on the body, it is definitely going to go against you. If, today, John wants to be taken as an actor and not as a pin-up, it will be very difficult” – Kabir Khan“Beyond

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RANI MUKHERJI:

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY!Workaholics exist everywhere, but some people take the term to another level. Rani Mukherji is quite a professional in the industry where such terms changes with the rise in their star status. While shooting for ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’, the cast was working non-

stop to finish the pending scenes. After a gruelling week of work,

Karan Johar gave the entire cast a day off on Sunday

much to everyone’s relief. However, one person was not too happy about the change in schedule. While Preity Zinta, Shah Rukh Khan and the rest of the

cast were busy planning how best to un-

wind, Rani was all dressed up and ready to work much to their annoyance. In fact, she even tried to cajole K Jo to not waste time and get back

to work. Just as tired as the oth-ers, Karan was in a quandary and didn’t know how

JOHN ABRAHAM:

KISSA KISS KA!If there are stars that turn their fans off with their snobbish attitude and curt tones, there are also stars who fans would want to approach just be-cause they’re ap-proachable and easy going. One such charmer is John Abraham. This particular incident oc-curred during his modelling days, before his foray into Bollywood. John was one of the guests of honour at an event to cel-ebrate Women’s Day. Despite the presence of the other celebs at the venue, John re-mained the most wanted, what with every-one wanting to meet him and talk to him. During the course of the evening, when John was in conversation with someone, a petite gal went up to him to greet him. The polite and chivalrous John excused himself and turned to greet the girl courteously. But he was pleasantly surprised when the girl asked if she could kiss him. With a dimpled grin, John agreed, and bent down to level his face with the petite’s girl. The elated fan planted a peck on his cheek, shook hands with him and thanking him profusely, went her way, too excitedly narrate to her friends about how she ‘kissed John Abraham.’ Word of advice John; next time you allow people to kiss you, make sure Bipasha Basu is no-where around.

to react. His efforts to get Rani to lighten up and go partying with the others fell on deaf ears as she stood her ground. The matter was resolved when Karan was informed by others that the entire cast has gone to enjoy their day off in their own respective way leaving Rani behind because of her attitude. Karan heaved a sigh at having averted what could turn into a major crisis. Who says being professional pays all the time!

CELINA JAITELY:

ACIDIC TALEGorgeous lass Celina Jaitley’s love for spicy food is well chronicled and anyone who is close to the beauty will vouch for her impec-cable culinary skills. Her tuna salad is quite a rage and she doesn’t like any of her food cravings to remain in her system. The foodie actor loves ex-perimenting with food and wherever she goes, she makes sure that her taste buds get a flavour of the lo-cal cuisine. How-ever, sometimes her binging sessions lead to lot of problems. Recently, when the actress was in Hyderabad, she stayed at The Sitara hotel. The fun-loving beauty found the whole experience quite grotesque to say the least. She was heard telling her friends sarcastically that Sitara is world’s most posh hotel and also joked about the camel painting which was donning the wall of her hotel room and the gaudy chandeliers. She happened to binge on a lot of haleem which led to severe acidity. We sure hope this experience won’t act as a damper to for her love food.

this character. However, what took us by surprise was when she revealed that even today, when the local cops see her on the road, they offer her a salute and address her by that character name. “I feel for me, that is my biggest reward”, she admits. We’ve gotta say Eesha, for someone who had the guts and gumption to play that role the way you did, you totally deserve all that praise.

EESHA KOPPIKHAR:

FROM REEL TO REALThe true testimony of an actor’s talent lies in the fact that people remember and admire their on-screen characters. One such person is Eesha Koppikhar. The lovely actress won many hearts for her fun portrayal of Inspec-tor Urmila Martodkar in the 2005 hit ‘Kyaa Kool Hai Hum’. She garnered much appreci-ation and tons of laughter for her on-screen histrionics and become quite a rage after

Tusshar

“I Can’t“I Can’tToppleTopple

Govinda”Govinda”

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sn’t it strange that the fi lms and the actors who actually have you in splits and help you in forgetting the realities of the harsh world outside the theatre are rarely taken seriously? Though it may sound a little ironical, comedy, even if aesthetically and wittily portrayed, is hardly ever taken seriously. Nor is the actor portraying the funny man. Give the audience an over-the-top, high pitched emotional melodrama any day – that will be gulped down with sheer glee and the actor portraying the role will be inundated with praise. Though comedies have been most consistent money-churners

at the box-offi ce, they’ve never got the due they deserve. Or else, how would you describe the reason for an actor like Tusshar Kapoor to take so long to get his share of recognition?

But well, like they say, better late than never. Tusshar has managed to destroy the over-riding mindset about comedies in our country and has proved his mettle with side-bursting performances in his recent fi lms. Acknowledgment may have taken time but he is undoubtedly among the most talented star kids around.

After the rip-roaring success of ‘Golmaal Returns’, the industry has fi nally awakened to the fact that Tusshar has it in him to eclipse even the most seasoned actors. No wonder then that he’s already being touted as the fresh prince of comedy. But the actor still seems a bit upset when he says, “According to me, it is high time comedy got its due.” He then goes on to explain, “Earlier, comedy was considered a very niche genre. Earlier, fi lms had everything – action, emotion and comedy all packed into one solid entertainer. But now, you have fi lms that specialise in each aspect. The hero can be just the comedian and that’s great because that’s as strong as any other hero today,” he says proudly. “I am very lucky as I got the opportunity to get into this genre with ‘Kya Kool Hain Hum’ and then ‘Golmaal’. I know this shift is here to stay because of the increasing levels of stress in the world. People now want to watch fi lms to unwind. And I think it’s a promising shift for people like me.”

The only fear he has is people restricting him to one category. “Well, you know, it’s only within the industry that people start categorising you as a comedy hero or an action hero. I think the audience is willing to accept you in any role if you do a good job. When I did ‘Shootout At Lokhandwala’, I was very skeptical about it because I didn’t know how the audiences would react. However, it worked. So, one has to take that risk every now and then. At the same time, I am not going to stop doing fi lms that are comic in nature just because I feel I have done a lot of them. Why lose out on good opportunities just because of the fear of being typecast?” he asks.

syswm–in

at the box-office they’ve


Tusshar also believes that no amount of strategy can help you in the long run, when it comes to choosing the right kind of roles. “Life takes strange turns and planning never works out the way you want it to. But I am going to be choosy even though I don’t believe in strategies. One has to think before signing a fi lm of any genre. I go with my heart and I have a good judgment in scripts. No fi lm I have left has gone on and done really well. So it stops at my gut feeling and instinct as far as strategy is concerned. And I love doing comedies.”

There’s already buzz about him having replaced Govinda in the comedy genre – in fact, he’s been touted as the fresh prince of comedy. He laughs, “Baap re, now that’s pressure,” he says with a smile. “I don’t think I can topple him. I mean, look at his body of work. I can’t think of competing with him until I have a ‘Coolie No.1’ or ‘Hero No. 1’. I think the fact that I am getting to do fi lms with him in the same league is a huge compliment. No one can match his comic style, timing and improvisation even today. I am really happy that people are comparing me with him. Why not look at it positively? I do take it as an admiring comment.”

Tusshar is presently doing two fi lms with Govinda (‘Run Bhola Run’ and ‘Life Partner’). Considering Govinda is known to be interfering, isn’t Tusshar scared about his roles being slashed in these movies? “Nothing like that has happened till now,” he sighs with relief and continues. “Probably because the directors I am working with are not newcomers. So, if any actor had to overpower them, they wouldn’t let it happen. Both Neeraj Vora and Rumi Jaffrey have done loads of work. I don’t think there is any question of that happening. Plus, Govinda hasn’t shown me that streak or side at all. In fact, he’s so particular that even if he changes a line, he asks his co-star and the director before doing so. Maybe he does that because people have made him so conscious about this so-called image of his.”

Since Govinda’s recent fi lms like ‘Money Hain Toh Honey Hain’ and ‘Chal Chala Chal’ failed miserably, the makers of ‘Run Bhola Run’ and ‘Life Partner’ are all geared up to promote their fi lm’s on Tusshar’s brand value. How does that make him feel? “Well, I hope so,” he laughs. “It feels very good when you’re coming out of a fi lm like ‘Golmaal Returns’. At the risk of sounding boastful, I’ll say that when the last fi lm has done very well, it feels great because the next one you do has you as the selling point. I am not saying this in comparison to someone else but I know I’ll be plugged very well since my last fi lm has been a hit. In this industry, you’re as good or bad as your last fi lm. Tomorrow, if something goes wrong, people won’t say the same thing. So I think one should enjoy this phase as long as it lasts and only try to better it,” he grins.

At one point in time, rumours had also suggested that because of the underhand tactics of close friend Riteish Deshmukh, Tusshar couldn’t sign ‘Apna Sapna Money Money’. Tusshar was supposed to do the role that eventually went to Shreyas Talpade but Riteish didn’t want him in the fi lm. “I don’t think Riteish would do such a thing,” says the actor. “And I was never offered the fi lm. It was entirely the call of Mukta Arts. I did ‘Good Boy Bad Boy’ with them at the same time. So, I

elina and I love watching films and we’ve been spotted together so many times. She’s someone who’s straight out of a Bollywood film from the 80s. She is like a goonda mawaali who’s totally crazy”

... with Celina

didn’t have any doubts like that in my mind about ‘Apna...’ I was happy that I didn’t do the fi lm because if Riteish and I have to do a fi lm, it should be the ‘Kya Kool Hain Hum’ sequel.”

But it is believed that Riteish is not too keen to star in the sequel of ‘Kya Kool…’ He feels that a naughty comedy like that could harm his career at this stage. “Even I have heard those rumours but I have no idea about that,” admits Tusshar. “We are still working on the script. Honestly, my co-star doesn’t matter to me because I want to do the fi lm. It would be nice to work with the original but if it doesn’t work out, it’s absolutely fi ne.”

At Tusshar’s recent party, for the fi rst time, Riteish was openly seen with girlfriend Genelia. The news was that Tusshar hadn’t invited her and was shocked to see her there. Hearing this, he immediately cuts in, “Of course, I had invited her; she’s a damn good friend of mine. We are doing ‘Life Partner’ together. I invited her much before I invited anyone else. What’s between

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Stardust May 200974

them is not my concern but I invited both of them separately. In fact, I am much friendlier with Genelia than with Riteish.”

Tusshar has always been known to get along with all his co-stars. It was even said that when Sharman Joshi walked out of the ‘Golmaal’ sequel, Tusshar was very disappointed. “It’s his call and his life so I didn’t really get into that bit. Yes, I was very upset that he didn’t do it because we were very friendly during the fi rst part,” he says honestly. “I missed him on a personal level but on the professional front, kaam toh chalta rehta hai. And now that he’s part of the third one, it’ll be great to work with him because for us, it’s like the more the merrier.”

There’s no denying Tusshar is profi cient where comedy is concerned. His characterisations have never been in-your-face like Akshay Kumar. Is it a concerted effort to underplay and evoke the laughs with his mannerisms and dialogues rather than playing to the gallery? “I don’t control myself in any way,” he thinks and answers. “I try to be as energetic as possible. Maybe if I start going over-the-top, it won’t suit me. I think Akshay manages to carry it off very well and he is liked for that kind of comedy. What’s good for me may not be good for him and vice versa; everybody has their own style. But to pull of a style which is in-your-face is commendable. That’s not my style yet. Maybe it’ll be in a couple of years after a little more experience. But you can’t play to the gallery and force yourself to be someone else when it doesn’t come from within. Akshay has made it till there and it’s great. He’s one of my role models, just like my dad,” he pauses for a second and adds, “Both of them have managed to make it big without big banners behind them. He’s worked hard and slogged it out and today, he has his own brand of fi lms.”

Talking of family, Balaji has been going through a lot of problems of recent. How has that affected him? “Problems at Balaji are about shows shutting down and all. It’s a sign we are taking very positively because now we’ll move to newer channels, newer kind of shows as one can’t carry on with the same things that are four or fi ve years old. Ekta is also tired of making the same kind of stuff and so she too is moving to different genres. She’ll start her own channel probably. This

can’t think of competing with Govinda until I have a ‘Coolie No.1’ or ‘Hero No. 1’. But I’m really happy that people are comparing me with him”


is not a phase where we are going down; it’s a phase where we are starting something new. Like there’ll be more concentration on fi lms. It’s like moving to a new era,” he says confi dently. “It’s like a business shift more than a result of an economic slowdown. We’ll be making more serials but with different channels now. New relationships have been made. A lot of it is not because of us; it’s because of personal problems with certain media heads that has led to a shift. Ekta has slowed down a lot. In fact, I am very happy for her because she has worked so hard for 10 years that she needs to take it a little easy now. She has a lot more time for herself. She needs to move on to other things before starting the same speed again.”

But despite being his home production, Balaji has never made a fi lm with Tusshar as the solo lead. Does his own company feel he’s not a saleable star? “No, I don’t think that’s the case. In fact they wanted to launch me for my debut but I refused to let them launch me because I wanted to make it or at least start out on my own without the support of my family. It was a conscious effort on our parts to keep it like a business and only offer me fi lms if they really needed me. They were never unwilling to take that risk with me but only if the script was good and the director wanted me do it,” he says. “They might not approach me if I don’t fi t the bill and I might reject it if I don’t like the set-up. I didn’t say yes to ‘Krishna Cottage’,

‘EMI’ and ‘Mission Istanbul’. And I wasn’t offered ‘Koi Aap Saa’ and ‘Kyunki Main Jhoot Nahin Bolta’. A good script should work out for both of us.”

Not many know that Tusshar and

Ekta share a rather volatile relationship. A couple of months back, he had a party after very long. When someone asked him as to how it would be as compared to Ekta’s parties, Tusshar had said, “She calls TV stars and my party will have only fi lm stars.” The sister didn’t take too kindly to that comment and had a huge fi ght with him over it. Tusshar gets apologetic when he says, “I didn’t mean it in the sense that I look down upon TV actors or anything. In fact, I love her parties but it’s just that we have different friend circles,” he pauses. “Both our worlds are different so therefore I just made a statement that my parties were not going to be like hers as the invitees were going to be different. It’s not that the medium of fi lms is bigger than TV or anything; I know so many of her friends from TV. I was never intending to look down upon her work in that way because she is much bigger than I am. Ekta and I are like buddies even though I am not as emotionally expressive as she is.”

The one thing Tusshar has been discreet about is his dil vil pyar vyar. But of late, a lot of people have been talking about his alleged affair with Celina Jaitley. He smiles and

admits, “Celina and I love watching fi lms and we’ve been spotted together so many times so people think there’s something on between us. She’s like another guy friend of mine. She’s very funny, extremely entertaining and completely cracked. I’ve not seen a more cracked person than her and that’s what I really like about her,” he laughs. “She’s someone who’s straight out of a Bollywood fi lm from the 80s. I just enjoy the company of someone who is so uninhibited about being funny and stupid. Usually one works with actresses who are very prissy but Celina is like a goonda mawaali who’s totally crazy and that’s what I like about her. I am genuinely not having an affair with any actress; not yet at least. I have always been attracted to the most unlikely people usually not from the industry. Somehow, I always wonder what would they think about me if they know I have the hots for them? So I keep quiet.”

So that’s why Tusshar prefers to be private about his romances. “I am single and I am ready to mingle. I am not seriously involved with anybody but yes, I am very discreet about my personal life. I have been enjoying and having fun of all kinds. I am not just sitting and having a drink but I also not in love yet,” he giggles. “If I fall in love, I am not going to hide it. I will come out in the open about my relationship but until then I just want to enjoy especially till the time recession is going on,” he laughs again. God save us from this recession. As if doomed appraisals weren’t enough, it’s also costing Tusshar his love life.

Raedita Tandan

We’ll be making more serials bu

roblems at Balaji are about shows shutting down and all. Ekta will start her own channel probably. She has worked so hard for 10 years that she needs to take it a little easy now”

... with sister Ekta

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Stardust May 200976

On The Fast Lane

Bad Hair Day

Minissha Lamba was spotted at a mall in

frumpy black tracks and a blue tee. We really

hope for her sake that she was on her way to

the gym and not on a shopping trip, because

she was certainly not making a style

statement!

Sweet ToothNewcomer Adah Sharma was in a mood to indulge her sweet tooth as we caught her munching on donuts with a mystery man at a suburban café. Good to see someone not uccumbing to the size-zero fixation.

Dirty Dancing

Bandra boy Purab Kohli has two left

feet and he discovered that

recently when he joined jazz dance classes. Hope he

gets his steps right soon enough!

Also SpottedWhen an Adonis like Dino Morea

wears a floral headband at the gym, girls around him certainly

have a reason to chuckle. Talking of hunks, Z-lister (we’re being

kind because alphabets end with Z) Ashmit Patel is quite a rage at

his gym among the fairer sex.

DirtyDancing

Bandra boy PurabKohli has two left

snippetsSixpack AmbitionMadhavan, who just turned heads in smash hit ‘13 B’ has always lost in the battle of bulge.

After several failed attempts it seems that the well-fed dude from down South is going to US for some weight loss programme for the nth time. We wish him speedy six pack abs!

Workout WoesNot many know that Saif Ali Khan’s awesome physique, which he flaunted with élan in ‘Race’ was thanks to his filmi workout. The Nawab

doesn’t believe in the serious workout and has picked up

term “isolation” in the workout lingo and uses it

quite often much to everyone’s amusement.

After becoming the talk-of-town because of her sensational bikini shoot, the gorgeous Neetu Chandra has got another ace up her sleeve. The sultry siren just booked a sexy BMW. Wow!!!


GOVINDA

IPHOTOGRAPHS: BBHUPI; MAKE-UP: RAMESH

It’s surprising really how Govinda hasn’t been grilled for a long time. Chi Chi gets into enough trouble in a day to be able to put him into the dock every month. Brawling and acting obnoxiously seem to feature more in the Hero No. 1’s agenda than his daily shootings. People just can’t seem to be able to make up their minds about him. They’re not sure whether to label him a liar or a jinx. In fact, his detractors are quick to tag him both. The filmmakers (he’s recently worked with) almost have a mutual dislike society going for him. He’s also accused of being a hypocrite and trouble-maker.On one hand, he’s got a rejuvenated film career to contend with. And on the other, anxious party workers are provoking him up for an election he doesn’t want to contest. Caught between his film career and politics, Govinda doesn’t know what to do next. His turbulent state of mind is understandable. He’s finally getting worthwhile roles once again and he doesn’t want to give up the opportunity to work with reputed filmmakers like David Dhawan, Mani Ratnam, Ravi Chopra and Nikhil Advani among others. With so much going for him, the Entertainer No. 1 was quite the obvious choice for this month’s COURT MARTIAL. Read on as he speaks on bidding politics goodbye and saying hello to films once again.

image always helps. Things are going well for him since quite some time, like he got married and now he’s contesting elections and they’re (the Samajwadi Party) helping Sanju bhaiya. Sanju’s also a very dear friend. He has done lot of good work in the past, which I think nobody knows. David (Dhawan) ko director bananewala Sanju hain. One day he called me and said, “Ek Punjabi aadmi ko director banana hain.” It was very sweet of him. My best wishes are always with him.

Being an MP, you would be well aware of the pressure you face from the opposition parties. Did you ever discuss that with Sanjay?Khana pressure mein hi pakta hai bhaiya. Jokes apart, the pressure would be there irrespective of the good work Sanju would do. I think that’s a part of every profession. You have people bad-mouthing or bitching about you and trying to put you down. It depends on how Sanju deals with such circumstances. We have never discussed politics though.

Coming back to films, over the years, you’ve been appreciated for your comic timing. Don’t you think playing a grey character in Mani Ratnam’s ‘Ravana’ might work negative for you? Why are you getting so desperate? But that’s not true. I’m not playing a grey character in ‘Ravana’.

You’ve also started smoking. Is it because things are not going quite well in your life?(Laughs again) Not more than once

“During my tenure of five years (as an MP), I was asked only one thing – why wasn’t I seen often in Delhi? I was supposed to do a good job and I did it. If my party doesn’t benefit from me, then why should I ask for a seat?”

After receiving severe flak and hatred from the political arena for quite some time, you eventually decided to quit politics. People still cannot fathom why you chose to join politics when you knew nothing of it. Politics is an inseparable part of life. It does enter in your life in various forms. Nobody can escape it. I’m still a part of the profession, and an active member of Parliament. Though I will not contest, I will definitely try to campaign for my party candidates. I think one shouldn’t forget that I defeated the respected Ram Naik by a huge margin. I’ve given my best what was in my capacity under the given circumstances. I have completed my tenure. I know people didn’t expect me to enter politics or do something like this ever. But with God’s grace, I could achieve all this. It hurts when you consistently keep doing good work and people don’t acknowledge or praise your style of working. So I

... with Priya Dutt

felt it would be correct to leave politics and hand over my responsibility and power. Let the seniors decide. Sometimes I feel it’s very important to save your power, thoughts and judgment of so many things to your own self and use them in a correct way in future. It’s not a good idea to reveal everything.

Was it a proactive decision?I think a lot before deciding on anything, be it politics or films. Sometimes you visualise things, understand the situation and then decide. I think I’m going the right way now.

So you’re saying you may contest the next elections?I don’t know.

It’s heard that your family wanted you to permanently bid adieu to politics for a really long time. Is that true? We never discuss politics at home just because they don’t understand it. If they don’t understand it then

how could they advise me to quit politics?

What do you think of Sanjay Dutt as a neta? Do you respect his decision to join politics? Do you think his Gandhigiri and Munnabhai image could win or you still believe that he should continue only in Bollywood?Sanjay has grown up with politics. His father, the late Sunil Dutt sahab, was one of the most respected politicians of our country, and his mother, Nargis Duttji was a great social worker. So politics runs in his blood. He understands politics. A positive

Stardust May 200984

“If somebody decides not to give you credit for anything then you can’t go out of your way to ask it. I supported the Congress when they required somebody to defeat Ram Naik. Politics is a team effort. It’s not a one-man show”

shouldn’t even discuss such things. It’s very sad.

Your last release ‘Chal Chala Chal’ has resulted in losses to the extent that you are once again indebted to some people. Why did you even attempt a film like this? ‘Chal Chala Chal’ is not my film. I wasn’t convinced even while doing the film. I spoke to Priyadarshan about it but then I was in need of work and not in a position to choose films. After ‘Bhagam Bhag’, Priyan spoke to my wife Sunita and assured her that he’d do a solo lead with me. He also assured Sunita that he’d be

or twice in a week. But then there’s no reason to it.

You still haven’t been able to attain major success in your second innings in the film industry. After ‘Partner’, you ended up choosing the wrong films. Are you losing perspective? Being a part of the industry for more than two decades, I’ve worked really hard to carve a niche for myself and reached a certain level. I strongly feel that the future is nothing but collective efforts we put in today. In my second innings, I am working really hard to make sure the audiences love me once again. And I’m really thankful to my audiences and fans who have always supported me. I could have worked more but couldn’t concentrate because of politics.

You proved that you’re an amateur in politics when you distributed money to people on Holi. You were even pulled up by your own party for that. Don’t you know that’s against the rules? In our family, it’s an age-old custom to distribute money to dancers and singers during festivals. They come to your place with a lot of expectations. And if I help them in whatever capacity I can then what’s the harm in doing so? Their blessings are very auspicious. I respect them. You tell me, is it wrong to help someone who is in trouble? There are some good souls who donate money to poor people everyday. I feel people have made it a big issue for no valid reason.

So you’re saying you were attacked only because you’re a Member of Parliament? But weren’t you aware of the norms? When people don’t think before doing bad then why should I think before doing something good? If you think too much, you won’t be able to do what you want to do. Yes, one must do within the boundaries of law. People who are trying to make it an issue are not from my constituency. They must be some roadside beggars. One

... with Salman Khan

around during the making of the ‘CCC’. But then I realised it wasn’t her mistake because she took Priyan at face value. There was a world of difference between what was narrated to me and what was shot.

Priyadarshan has vowed not to work with you again after the trouble you gave him during ‘Chal Chala Chal’. As a result, the film was delayed and what came out looked like a B-grade product. Nahin aisi koi baat nahi. I’ve just told you what went wrong with that film.

So that means you won’t work with Priyadarshan in the future?It depends (smiles).

Post the incident, big filmmakers like Mani Ratnam or others can easily take you for granted since they know you aren’t in a position to retaliate. Why have you made yourself so vulnerable? You cannot think negative and work. One should always think positive. Nobody can harm you, unless your time is bad. If you get good work that means tumhara time achcha chal raha hain. If your films flop, it doesn’t mean you are not a good actor or people would blame you to be a part of the film. It’s a pleasure working with Mani Ratnam. Sometimes you have disagreements over certain


“I haven’t met Rani (Mukherjee) for the last five years. We are a part of the same profession. So I don’t mind working with her again”

things but then you have to rely on good filmmakers. You shouldn’t fight with them and put yourself in danger.

You and Salman don’t see eye-to-eye anymore. You’re upset with him as he didn’t take any interest in launching your daughter Narmada after Sanjay Leela Bhansali promised to do so. How could you forget that Salman got you ‘Partner’?Rubbish. Where do you get to hear all these things? After Narmada’s accident last year, I wanted her to first come out of the trauma, which she bravely did. I was really worried then. She considers Salman as a father-figure and fondly calls him chachu. She’s in London to pursue her make-up course and she’ll also complete her acting course by July this year. Talks are on regarding her foray into films. She’s extremely hard-working and sincere. But let’s see what destiny has planned for her. We’ll have to wait and watch.

Just a few years ago, you were approaching everyone for work. Once you got it, you started throwing tantrums. Will you never change?I’ve never troubled any filmmaker or any person for that matter before or after joining politics. I believe the moment I give a hit film, people start talking and writing negative about me. And I know there are some groups in Bollywood who don’t like my films doing well. I don’t believe in working in groups, which seems to be a new trend in Bollywood these days.

You also have the knack of being in the news for all wrong reasons.Kuch logon ke saath aisa hota hain. I’m one of the fortunate ones (laughs sarcastically). Earlier I used to think a lot as to why such things happen only to me. Gradually, I learnt not to give too much attention. But now I know how to tackle all these things. One should learn from one’s mistakes and try not to repeat them.

All the actors of your era are playing character roles now. But you still want to play hero. With the younger lot coming in, don’t you feel your days are numbered?I’m playing an interesting character in ‘Ravana’. I agree I played the second lead in ‘Partner’. However, in ‘Run Bhola Run’, ‘Naughty At 40’ and David’s next film, I play the male lead. I do a particular film only if I get convinced by the script. They all require Govinda; it’s altered in that way.

You started Jag Mundhra’s ‘Naughty At 40’ with much fanfare. But it’s stuck now. First you hassled them for dates; now the film has no buyers. Will it be shelved?I don’t know. People are talking like that. As far as I know, sometime back, the film had no financer. I would say that the producer wasted Jagmohan’s and my dates. We all had decided on a month-long schedule. And I was there. You should ask this question to the producer or Jagmohan Mundhra.

Jag had major problems getting a girl opposite you. First Ayesha Takia refused and even Amrita Rao said no. None of the new generation girls want to work opposite you.I think Ayesha didn’t agree because she was

planning to get married and was focusing on that. I think Amrita had some dates issues, which is why she didn’t take up the offer. That’s the story I know.

You have two sets of rules for filmmakers. You make life hell for smaller directors but when you work with the likes of Mani Ratnam, you’re discipline personified.(Laughs) I don’t know why you always come up with such weird questions. See, it’s like when you work with newcomers, you have to work harder and be extra cautious to make them happy as compared to the established filmmakers. They tend to expect a lot from you because they are relatively new. After joining politics, I’ve become more lenient.

You still have a weakness for your heroines. You went to Celina Jaitley’s party and there were reports that you ended up staying the night at her house. It became huge news the next day.

... with daughter Narmada

Stardust May 200986

Yeh toh kitna purana kissa hain yaar… kya tu bhi (laughs). Some say that I left the party in between and then returned later. Whereas others accused that I was the last person to leave Celina’s place. If I was the last one to leave the party, then how could I return? Celina is a dear friend. I think once your on-screen chemistry works with a particular actress, you tend to do more films together. And the hit pair becomes a brand, which also helps for the film’s success. Of late, I vibe really well with all my heroines – be it Celina, Ameesha (Patel), Rimi (Sen) or Lara (Dutta).

What about your one-time favourite Rani Mukherjee? Why haven’t you two signed a film together? (With a weary look) I haven’t met Rani for the last five years.

Would you want to work with her again?We are a part of the same profession. So I don’t mind working with her again. I haven’t worked with Preity Zinta for a long time too.

Your stint in politics is a joke. You joined politics when your film career was over. When you got films again, you deserted politics. No wonder Congress doesn’t want you to contest this time.

“After ‘Bhagam Bhag’, Priyadarshan spoke to my wife Sunita and assured her that he’d do a solo lead with me. He also assured Sunita that he’d be around during the making of ‘Chal Chala Chal’. But I realized it wasn’t her mistake because she took Priyan on his face value”

I don’t agree to this. When I won the elections, people said it was destined. I think if somebody decides not to give you credit for anything then you can’t go out of your way to ask it. I supported the Congress when they required somebody to defeat Ram Naik. Breaking the wall and getting into Ram Naik’s territory was not a joke. Politics is a team effort. It’s not a one-man show. I don’t worry because I’ve been accepted by Sonia Gandhiji. So I’m happy. Politics is not my business. It’s a duty I am performing because I have been asked to. That was more than enough.

Does it mean your party people didn’t support you?You see, everybody got busy. I think every party consists of a political chain. It’s a simple funda that either you are accepted by the chain or you aren’t. Now I’m more relaxed. The pressure is gone. When you work with a fresh mind, you deliver better.

Apparently, Sonia Gandhi is so upset by your performance in politics that she has even refused to meet you. She’s trying to place Nagma on your seat. Shah Rukh Khan is also been considered…Har cheez ke liye koi kasoor hona chahiye. When I have proved myself then how would she (Soniaji) be upset with me? During my five years’ tenure, I was asked only one thing – why wasn’t I seen often in Delhi? I conveyed the answer and they are convinced now. I was supposed to do a good job and I did it. If my party doesn’t benefit from me, then why should I ask for a seat? That’s my question. Jitna bada aapka naam ho jaata hain, utna hi bada objection ho jaata hain. There’s a vast difference being a good politician and a good social worker. I don’t want power again. I don’t know whether Nagma or Shah Rukh would contest. Somebody would definitely come to power, if not me. Politics ka bazaar aise hi garam rehta hain.

Would you ever regret being a part of the profession?Never, because I have learnt a lot and got the opportunity to serve people of my constituency.

So in a way, this is your third innings in films. Don’t you feel you should be in better shape now? Yeah, you can say this is my third innings. I’m looking forward to do good films and get a good physique. I want to lose eight kilos in two months. Let’s see how it goes.

Dhiren Trivedi

Y h t h kit ki h i I d ’ hi Wh I h

... with Akshay Kumar


IS

There’s a popular belief (not without good reason) in Bollywood – two actresses can never be friends. Especially when they’re in the same league, things become all the more diffi cult. The professional hostilities more than often start affecting personal

equations. And for today’s blithe and care-a-damn girls, it doesn’t make much of a difference when the clash becomes public either.

Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra are renowned for their rather volatile camaraderie. At times, they’ve refused to acknowledge each other’s presence in public. And there have been instances when they’ve expressed a warm friendship, purely for the cameras’ sake. At the Max Stardust Awards recently, everyone was not surprised when the two actresses sat next to each other without even exchanging a polite hello. However when the shutterbugs closed in, they started talking to each other like long-lost BFFs, proving that they are better actresses off screen. Within their own coterie, of course, they don’t make any bones about their rancor.

Over the past few months, the game of one-upmanship has gathered a new momentum. And everyone’s now wondering whether it’s because of the sudden entry of Bebo’s ex-fl ame chocolate-boy Shaahid Kapoor into Priyanka’s life that’s renewed the friction between the two actresses.

Kareena and Priyanka have always had a very uncertain relationship. Initially, it seemed the girls shared warm vibes and even went out on double dates together with their respective boyfriends (Shaahid and Harman Baweja) at that time. They always had good things to say about each other in print too. Things took an unexpected turn when Kareena,

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on Karan Johar’s popular talk show maintained that the equation had changed and they were merely acquaintances now. Even Priyanka was taken aback when she heard that. Adding insult to the injury, Bebo took pot-shots at PC’s acting skills in an

interview to a leading daily. But Priyanka was not one to take an injury lying down and proved she was made

of tougher stuff when she hit back with a vengeance in a magazine interview when she took a dig at Kareena’s ‘Jab We Met’ success story by stating that the well deserved kudos came after a wait of eight long years. And everything rapidly went downhill from this point. These happenings merely made everyone conclude that they were never really friends to begin with.

The two stars have always been pitted against each other because they’ve been the closest contemporaries for the top crown. The fi rst time the claws were out in the open was during the making of the Abbas-Mustan directed fi lm ‘Aitraaz’, starring Akshay Kumar. Even though Kareena was the bigger star then, Priyanka walked away with all the awards and accolades thanks to her negative and glamorously etched out role in the movie. The war begun when Priyanka maintained she was the main protagonist of the fi lm while Kareena stated that she was the leading lady. The girls also shared an icy cold relationship even when they acted in ‘Don’ together. Kareena only did a special appearance in the movie, but was more talked about than Priyanka, who was the lead. Even though they just had a couple of scenes with each other, the unit was abuzz with tales about hostilities between the two on the sets. There were times when even Shah Rukh Khan would crack jokes about it.

Over the last year, this clash has become more intense as they race towards the fi nishing line – the prize being the much-coveted numero uno position in Bollywood. Priyanka and Harman were in a steady relationship when Kareena was approached to do Harman’s mega-debut ‘Love Story 2050’. Kareena knowing well that Harman was Piggy Chops’ boyfriend, put down her terms, perhaps in a bid to dissuade the producers. She quoted an enormous fi gure and was even more surprised when Harry Baweja agreed to it. However despite that, when Bebo developed cold feet soon after and walked out of the fi lm, people attributed that to Priyanka’s presence in Harman’s life. Eventually, Priyanka stepped into her nemesis’ shoes to salvage the situation.

One even hears that when boyfriend Saif Ali Khan was working on his home production with Imtiaz Ali, one of the director’s choices for the leading role was Priyanka. But later, Deepika Padukone was pencilled in for the same role. Insiders insist that the size-zero sensation had a part to play in that but the Kapoor girl hasn’t ever spoken about it.

The last few months have been particularly stressful for both the heroines. And incidentally, it’s all happening thanks to the entry of Shaahid Kapoor in Priyanka’s life.

A close friend of Kareena discloses, “It’s not that she

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is jealous of Shaahid and Priyanka. Kareena is well over Shaahid and she just wants the best for him. It’s bothering her because she believes Priyanka is just not the right girl for him.”

Kareena has never had an issue with any of the other girls Shaahid was linked with – Sania Mirza and Vidya Balan. “In fact, when they bumped into each other once, Kareena had teased Shaahid about the many women in his life,” reveals our informer. But she’s certainly peeved with the Priyanka episode.

The fi rst time this came to the fore was when Shaahid hosted a party to celebrate his birthday at a popular suburban fi ve-star hotel. It’s a small world, and via Shaahid and Kareena’s common friends, she heard about how the Chopra lass was taking charge of the entire party and offi ciating as the hostess. Kareena was shocked when she heard that the former Miss World was calling the guests herself and was taking care of the minutest details, as if she wanted to make sure nothing went wrong for her man on his special day. “What upsets Kareena is the fact that Priyanka is not acknowledging her relationship with Shaahid. Shaahid doesn’t mind going public but Priyanka doesn’t want to. By doing this, Kareena feels Priyanka is demeaning Shaahid. She doesn’t want Shaahid to go through what happened with Harman,” says our source. Kareena decided to hit back by having her own party on the same night. It was a last minute call and some of the guests were obviously common. So they all had to eventually shuttle between the two venues.

The belligerence blew through the roof and came into full public eye fi nally a week later at Ali Morani’s party. Kareena came with Saif and the two were (as usual) glued to one another. Then when Priyanka made an entry with Shaahid (probably their fi rst offi cial public appearance together) – they had everyone talking in hushed whispers on whether they had fi nally decided to go public with their relationship. Naturally, the highlight of the night was when the two couples came face to face in front of everyone – and they just looked through each other and walked away, without even exchanging pleasantries. It was the talk of the evening – how Priyanka and Kareena gave each other the royal snub.

Like a designer friend of Kareena puts it, “Bebo is hopelessly in love with Saif. But she also feels very protective of Shaahid. They have been in touch and she wants good things to happen to him. She just feels Priyanka isn’t the right one for him and the sooner he realises it, the better it is for him.” This just goes to prove that even though Bebo is not a part of Shasha’s life, she’s still concerned for his welfare and obviously wants just the best things for him in life.

What started out as a modifi ed catfi ght between two actresses is slowly reaching the proportions of a full-blown battle. It seems, at this point, the only person who can do anything to even remotely salvage the situation is Shaahid Kapoor, by standing up and reclaiming his life. Shasha, are you listening?

“Bebo is hopelessly in love with Saif. But she also feels very protective of Shaahid... She just feels Priyanka isn’t the right one for him and the sooner he realises it, the better it is for him”

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Stardust May 200992

“He’ll“He’llBe An Be An

Amazing Amazing Husband”Husband”

EESHA KOPPIKHAR KOPPIKHARPRINCE CHARMINGPRINCE CHARMING

UNVEILS HER

t’s always interesting to meet people in love. They offer

you a perspective drenched with optimism, brimming with positivity, interlaced with tons of zeal and heck, they’re just plain happy about life in general. The euphoria of love, and the sensations that being in love bring up about are very infectious. Try having a conversation with someone who’s enjoying the fi rst fl ush of romance. You’ll come away thinking the whole world is indeed a better place and that happily ever after with that someone special truly does exist.

I


I certainly did after meeting Eesha Koppikhar. She looks svelte and absolutely stunning even sans make-up. And she’s got to be one of the most chilled out and easy-going actresses, nay, make that person, I’ve met of late. Love is completely working for her, as she’s got this exhilarated glow. So naturally, we dive headfi rst into the interview with the person who’s responsible for that perpetual smile on her face – Rohit Narang.

Better known as Timmy to his friends, Rohit is a well-known hotelier who manages the elite Ambassador Group of Hotels that is responsible for airline catering as well. So where did Eesha bump into him? “We’d run into each other at the gym. But it was just a casual hi, hello and we never really spoke to each other. Then, I met him properly at this special sit-down dinner he’d organised. After that, we started text-messaging and mailing each other as he was at Harvard fi nishing an additional degree. And we just hit it off really well. He’s the most honest, giving, sensitive, caring and fun guy with a great sense of humour and a complete people’s person. We have started formally dating each other sometime in June last year”, she rattles on, her heart in her eyes.

Not many know, but it seems as if Eesha and Rohit were meant to be. Too many people around them thought they were perfect together and tried to play Cupid. For starters, there was Preity Zinta, her co-star from the upcoming movie ‘Har Pal’. The two actresses bonded big time, with Preity even going so far as to declare that were Eesha a guy, she would’ve defi nitely gotten hitched to her. Well, since that obviously wasn’t the case, she thought her friend Rohit would do perfectly for Eesha as they were pretty similar and tried to set them up. What she didn’t know, however, that was Eesha and Rohit were already well acquainted (and reasonably interested in each other too). Then there was fi tness trainer Leena Mogre, who had been specifi cally asked by Rohit to get Eesha for the sit-down dinner. “The thing is, at that time I had no idea. It was only later

“No matter where we are, he always holds my hand; never lets it go. He’s very romantic. Whenever I’m

shooting, he always makes it a point to send

me flowers or a cake wherever I am” — Eesha

that I found out about it”, she discloses. Sounds pretty romantic right? Well, this is just the beginning.

Was it attraction or love at fi rst sight with Rohit? Any tingling feelings or butterfl ies in the stomach? Or even better, was there any musical symphony playing in the background every time they met, a la Bollywood? “When we fi rst met, there was zero attraction from my side,” she reveals, gesturing with a downside thumb. “But eventually, as we got to know each other better, it developed into something more.” Everyone has a past. And it’s a lot harder to conceal when you’re a public fi gure. Especially when you’re an actress who’s had her fair share of controversies. Did that cause initial hiccups in their romance? “See, the thing is that both of us are not the kind of people who would grudge one another their past or bring it up. There was always a healthy exchange of conversation from both our sides, and we didn’t hide things from each other. There is a great amount of mutual respect and trust in our relationship,” Eesha explains.

Speaking of scandals, it’s a little diffi cult to not mention the white elephant in the room that goes by the name of Inder Kumar. Apparently, Eesha was pulling herself out of her earlier tumultuous relationship with him when Rohit happened to her. Did his presence affect her relationship with Inder? Is she still in touch with him? She clarifi es that point saying, “I had already moved on and it was clear in my mind that it was over for good. Rohit happened much later, so the question of him affecting our relationship isn’t valid. But no, I’m not in touch with him.”

Most actresses are still coy when it comes to that special man in their life. They’d rather play the laughably predictable ‘We’re just good friends’ card than own up. However, Eesha and Rohit have never made any effort to ‘hide’ their relationship. So whose decision was it to go public? “There was nothing to hide. We go together for events and we’re photographed together so there has never been any conscious decision to go public as such. It was never a goal to avoid the paparazzi,” she clarifi es. It’s


generally assumed that being in love is the best thing ever to happen to anyone. And it changes people. Usually for good. Does she feel Rohit has changed ever since she’s come into his life? “His friends tell me he’s mellowed down, is more responsible and has never been more in love. This is what his friends have to say. I really don’t know myself though,” she shrugs charmingly.

Rohit sounds like the perfect catch; he’s good-looking, well-established and successful, charming, talented and the list goes on. But how high does he rate on the romance scale? Eesha blushingly admits, “No matter where we are, he always holds my hand; never lets it go. He’s very romantic. Whenever I’m shooting, he always makes it a point to send me fl owers or a cake wherever I am. He even sends gifts to my staff. And it’s not just grand romantic gestures. He’s very thoughtful and extremely attentive about small everyday life things. That’s what matters the most.”

So what’s the most romantic things he’s done for her? “Well, on my birthday, he’d organised a special dinner in his garden with lots of candles and great food just for the two of us. Since it was a bit hot, he’d also kept an air-cooler. But that kept blowing the candles out. So fi nally he was like, ‘Baby, either you want the cool breeze, or the candles’. I think it was really sweet, the way he went through all that trouble,” she tinkles with laughter as she reminisces. The couple already works out together. Eesha confi des that they’re looking forward to joining cooking classes together now. A couple that eats and stays fi t together, stays together eh?

Eesha and Rohit come from extremely diverse background. It’s a classic case of a business-based family meeting someone fi lmi yet grounded. Did the couple face

any problems thanks to what could be obvious discrepancies because of the environment they come from? “As far as Rohit is concerned, I’ve never faced any such issues. We have a lot of honesty and communication between us and there’s very little place for misunderstandings. He’s a very affable guy who won’t judge you. And even though I’m from the fi lm fraternity, I’ve always lived with my parents. So there’s nothing typically fi lmi about me. ”This is when Rohit intervenes via phone stating, “It’s not backgrounds that matter but values. Eesha and I have similar values and that’s why we connect.”

And what kind of a relationship does she share with his family? “It’s cordial, comfortable and getting better with time. His folks are very sweet and I get along very well with them.” She’s indeed very fond of them and she has a hard time containing her glee as she tells me how his sister Ramona has just delivered adorable twins.

Rohit is in a profession where he mingles with beautiful women all the time. Also, he’s a great guy and very easy on the eyes. Sounds like a perfect recipe for insecurities. So does she have any? “I happen to know what a great combo I am,” she quips with a ready smile. “We’re at a stage where we know each other inside out. And that way if you go to see, even in my profession, I’m constantly working with good-looking actors. The truth is, Rohit and I are very comfortable with each other. So there’s honestly no place for petty insecurities. ”

And anything she’d like to change about her Mr Perfect? “One thing I defi nitely want to change about him is that I wish he’d love animals more. He doesn’t get along with my dog Mowgli at all. They just can’t stand to be in the same room together. But that’s because he’s allergic to dog-hair,” she bursts out laughing.

The thing with actors is, they’re always under scrutiny and come with excess baggage, not all of which is pleasant. Under circumstances, it’s natural to develop generic prejudices against them and everyone has their own conceptions or misconceptions regarding actors. As a result of this, most men are quite wary about dating an actress. So did Rohit have any misgivings about dating an actress? “Like I said, he’s not a judgemental guy. Yet, in my chosen profession where I’m mostly under limelight, things get blown out of proportion. People say ten thousand things. He hears things from people. But, when you love someone so much, you always put them before yourself. Rohit and I share our fears, likes, dislikes and clear out stories we’ve heard about each other. When I remember something embarrassing that I want him to know, I make it a point to share it with him. We talk things out,” she explains.

The natural progression of most serious relationships results in marriage. Eesha’s also been on quite a long professional hiatus. Is all this in preparation for an impending wedding announcement for the happy twosome? “Well, I always keep hearing about my wedding details from other people”, she chortles with laughter. But immediately sobers up, “My relationship with Rohit is my top priority. Marriage will happen eventually when it has to. Whatever happens, happens for the best. All I can say is that, I’m very happy.”

And what kind of a husband does she think he’ll make? “I think he’ll be an amazing husband. He pampers me and takes care of me immensely. And I can talk to him about everything under the sun.” Her happiness is infectious and I leave her place, happier and in general overjoyed with the world. That’s what love does to you, I guess.

Manasi Rawalgaonkar

“It’s not backgrounds that matter but values. Eesha

and I have similar values and that’s why

we connect” — Rohit (Timmy) Narang

“At Least They Haven’t

HAS BOLLYWOOD GIVEN MADHAVAN A

his industry loves to compartmentalise actors and bind them within the perimeters of their own talent. Someone is tagged a realistic actor; someone gets

labelled a hunk; someone’s bracketed only in negative roles while someone’s horizons are restricted only to comedy. They love branding you because that saves them the trouble of experimenting with something new. Who has the time, energy, patience and inclination to venture into uncharted waters?

This ind str lo es to compartmentalise actors and bind

RAW DE

Stardust May 200998

Written Me Off”

AL


So what happens to an actor like Madhavan in a scenario like this? Surely, he isn’t your regular bubble-gum hero. He’s not a box-offi ce badshah. Neither does he fi t into any of the pre-existing grooves of this industry. He does very few Hindi fi lms but most of the times, he stumps us with his inspiring portrayals – be it a bit part in Mani Ratnam’s ‘Guru’ or the lead role in the recently released taut thriller ’13 B’. Madhavan has never failed to make an impact and that’s really what distinguishes him from the rest.

But is Bollywood ready to accept him in this avatar? Despite having everything going for him (he also has an enormous fan following thanks to his superstardom down South), why has the Hindi fi lm industry given him a raw deal? Why is Madhavan not getting the kind of work he de-serves?

I meet the actor to analyse this aspect of his career and he quite promptly gives me an insight into his

viewpoint of the big picture. “I always wanted to be an actor but I was very sceptical because I don’t know how to dance. I have 15 left feet,” he says laughingly. “I can’t dance to save my life; I can’t sing and I don’t have a six-pack either. I don’t think people found me good looking when I joined the industry. Hrithik Roshan is great looking; I’m not as good as him or Salman Khan. These guys are men

and I am still a boy.” If you think the

humility is a farce, Madhavan is ready to change that perception too. “It was never a struggle for me in fi lms. I do not know why people want to romanticise the fact that I was struggling to make it big. I still have not made it big. I still have a long way to go. A movie has to break certain boundaries. I

have been in the industry for 10 years and before that, I had done fi ve years of television where I was readily accepted. I was like destiny’s child. I just got opportunities over opportunities and people seemed to like what I was doing and started calling me an actor. I became a small-time TV star. And just when I thought life could not be any better, I got a Mani Ratnam fi lm. That was

... with Shankar, Ehsaan & Loy

M“All Tamil film heroes

have moustaches; they’re dark complexioned and

have been having six-packs and eight-packs

even before Aamir. So in that aspect, I

shouldn’t be a hero”


enough for me to start looking at myself as an actor.”

After the Mani Ratnam movie, there was no looking back for Madhavan and he became one of the most formidable stars in the South. Most people believe it’s this factor that works against him in Bollywood. No male star from the South has really made it big here – Rajnikanth and Kamal Haasan included. “I don’t think that’s the case because I went from Mumbai to the South. The point is just to make good fi lms; where you’re from doesn’t really matter. And even if any fi lm of mine hasn’t worked, nobody has said it’s because I’m from the South,” he states fi rmly.

Today, we’re talking once again about Madhavan because of his literal one-man-show in the just released ’13 B’. The fi lm may have received a mixed response at the box-offi ce but nobody can deny Madhavan’s contribution to it. He carried the fi lm on his own shoulders and did a fantastic job of it. “The fi lm made sure that I could pull off a main lead in a movie and still make it a viable option,” he admits proudly. “I would not call it a comeback. I have been always doing quality fi lms. Be it ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’ or ‘Guru’ or ‘Rang

De Basanti’ or ‘Dil Vil Pyaar Vyaar’ or even ‘Ramji Londonwale’. They all have a certain standard of their own and I am pretty proud about these movies. At the end of the day, I’m happy that I am still being offered solo-hero leads and am still doing Hindi movies after 10 years. I don’t know how many actors can claim of doing that. What I am trying to tell you is that I have been in the industry for 15 years and people still consider me as a newcomer, which is a brilliant place to be in. It’s a fabulous advantage. When everyone is still thinking I am at the threshold

... with Kamal Haasan

of success then what the hell! At least they have not written me off. Most of the people who came in and joined at the same time as me have changed professions,” he says in jest.

But things seemed to have changed for Madhavan after ’13 B’. Like he puts it, “The ratios have changed drastically and I’m now doing a lot more Hindi movies than before,” he says. “Earlier too, I was very busy trying to establish myself in Tamil movies. Then of course I wanted to come back to Hindi fi lms because I am comfortable with the language. Since I was born in Bihar, I speak better Hindi than most people in Mumbai can,” he states with confi dence.

For someone who claims to believe in quality cinema and who has done fi lms down South in a more profes-sional working arena, does he fi t into the mould of a typical Hindi fi lm

hero? Madhavan doesn’t mince words when he says, “Today, people are going out to watch good movies; it doesn’t matter who the actor is. There could be Anupam Kher, Jimmy Shergill and Naseeruddin Shah in a fi lm and it could turn out to be a blockbuster or it could be a rank newcomer in a fi lm like ‘Aamir’ or an established star-cast in ‘Raaz-2’ or ‘Ghajini’. I think it depends entirely on the movie. Even I, as an audience, will never

discriminate while watching a movie simply because I don’t have an actor that I would like to see in it. I will still go and watch ‘Aamir’ or ‘Rang De Basanti’ or ‘Taare Zameen Par’ and despite all the video piracy all these fi lms make so much money. It only goes to show that people really care to watch these movies in the theatres. I haven’t yet seen a fantastic fi lm that was released and didn’t make money at the box-offi ce.”

That’s also the reason why a six-pack doesn’t fascinate Maddy. “I don’t have a six-pack yet. But if it is

M“I can’t dance to save

my life; I can’t sing and I don’t have a six-pack either. Hrithik Roshan is great looking; I’m

not as good as him or Salman Khan. These

guys are men and I am still a boy”

Stardust May 2009102

masters in advertising and public relations. I was not meant to be an actor. I didn’t know how to dance or how to sing. I don’t look like a Hindi fi lm hero. I don’t even look like a Tamil fi lm hero. All Tamil fi lm heroes have moustaches; they’re dark complexioned and have been having six-packs and eight-packs even before Aamir. They have the best bodies that have come out in the past four years. So in that aspect, I shouldn’t be a hero. I also got married before I came in the industry. But I am here still getting solo leads.”

Madhavan is already on a roll now – his next attractions include ‘Teen Patti’ with Amitabh Bachchan, ‘Three Idiots’ with Aamir Khan, Anand Rai’s ‘Tanu Weds Manu’ and some untitled

required, I’ll get it. But I don’t think my six-pack will get me a hit. A good story will. However, if a role requires me to look powerful, I will certainly do it,” he assures.

Madhavan comes across as an overtly chilled out guy. And in the day and age of publicity-driven hits, will his laidback attitude work against him? “It is important how well you sell the fi lms because the opening that a fi lm draws today is very important. It all depends on how your PR skills are because they keep you alive in the industry. People can think of casting or not casting you. All in all, the project has to be conceived well, made well and received well. I have always been a part of an ensemble cast and experimenting with fi lms. I am not scared of anything. I was not supposed to be a part of this industry. I was never trained to be an actor. I was qualifi ed to be a trained electronic graduate and have my

M“Most of the people who

came in and joined at the same time as me have changed professions.”

... with Neetu Chandra

fi lms, which he isn’t talking about as of now. He’s fl ying high right now and the numbers game seems to excite him at this stage of his career. “Who doesn’t want to be the box-offi ce king?” he asks and the adds, “But when you do become a king in terms of your collections, you have thou-sand things to worry about. I don’t think I have the qualifi cations to be a box-offi ce king. It does not excite me. I just want to make sure that my fi lm is sold at the right price and released at the right time and most important-ly, the producers who invest in me should fi nally make money. See, after 15 years in the industry, I am still here and that is a huge achievement in my opinion. I could do an Airtel ad with Vidya Balan and that gets talked about. It’s the only national ad, which I have at this point in time. The fact that my fi lms are not ringing cash registers or raining money has not affected me much. Who doesn’t want to get there and if there’s any reason why I want to get there, it’s because I want to make bigger and better fi lms. I want to be a part of any fi lm that will go into the archives as a good fi lm,” he explains.

But one thing’s for sure. Irrespec-tive of the kind of money and fame Hindi fi lms have in store for him, Madhavan insists he’ll never desert the industry that’s made him what he is today. “I will still be doing South Indian fi lms,” he declares. “They are my bread and butter. Money is not important because I get paid much more in the Hindi fi lm industry. In the South, you get to do so many different types of movies with such amazing technicians. I will never think of leaving Tamil fi lms just like the way I will never think of leaving India. It’s one thing nobody has every done before but I will keep doing it,” he states fi rmly. It’s this single-minded dedication that really separates this actor from the rest. That’s exactly what makes a lambi race ka ghoda – in pure fi lmi terminology. And for Madhavan, the race has just begun.

Sunaina Chandran


Will Preity-Ness

PH

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RA

PH

: RA

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SH

SH

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ST

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for a

It’s an industry where every relationship is

short-lived – personal or professional. And that’s

why when we see a long-lasting love story that

spans over a period of time, it seems all the more

heart-rending. We want it to last; we want the

romance to linger on forever. But this is life, after

all – meaner, tougher and far severe than movies

can ever be. Where there’s life, there’s pain. And

nothing is as painful as heartbreak after a long

innings of togetherness.

Ever since Preity Zinta and young industrialist

Ness Wadia made their relationship public, it was

the cynosure of all eyes. For the outside world, it

seemed like the perfect match. She was the

classy diva from the movie business; he was the

heir to an illustrious legacy. But the picture is no

longer perfect because much to the chagrin of

Come Back Together?Stardust May 2009 107

L:\STARDUST\SDE MAY-09\PREITY ZINTA.INDD 3 13, APRIL 2009 10:52 AM

everyone who knows the couple, they

have called it quits. And the most

shocking part of this split is that it was

Preity who ended the relationship.

Ness and Preity had been going

steady for a long time – over four years

to be precise. Way back in 2005, after

Preity had broken up with her previous

boyfriend Lars, it was rumoured that

she was dating a mystery guy with

whom she had been spotted often.

Later, it turned out the man in question

was actually the one who was

instrumental in introducing the actress

to Ness at a social event.

The couple hit it off from day one.

Unlike other Bollywood beauties, Preity

has always been highly articulate,

outgoing, well read and well informed.

Their sensibilities matched and there

was no stopping the duo once they

clicked on a personal level. The news of

their liaison fi rst became public when

Ness accompanied Preity to Australia for

the outdoor shooting stint of ‘Salaam

Namaste’, in which he even made a

fl eeting appearance on her insistence.

Preity also never tried to hide their

relationship – once she was convinced

that Ness was the man for her, she went

all the way. They were soon spotted

arm-in-arm at social events, posing

together for the cameras, oblivious to the

world. Ness took a step forward when he

introduced her to his family and they

accepted his choice. Preity soon became

a familiar face at the Wadia residence –

she bonded well with his mother

Maureen and also his brother Jeh.

But four years is a long time for an

actress to be in a relationship,

especially someone who looked

forward to take this commitment to a

new level. Over the last two years,

Preity had been cutting down on her

work assignments. She started drifting

away from commercial cinema

because it took away a lot of her time,

which she needed to spend on herself

and Ness. She started doing offbeat

fi lms like ‘The Last Lear’, ‘Heaven On

Earth’ and ‘Har Pal’ focusing more on

performances rather than the scale of

the fi lms. The transition was deliberate

– the idea was to gradually move out as

she prepared for the eventual culmina-

tion of any relationship – matrimony.

However, according to sources close

to the actress, Ness wasn’t ready for it.

And perhaps that’s the reason why

they started having frequent fi ghts

over the last year or so. In fact, after

the last season of the Indian Premier

League (IPL), things just kept getting

sour between the couple. Preity and

Ness are business partners in the Kings

XI Punjab team. Much was written

about Preity’s on-fi eld show of

affection with cricketers like Yuvraj

Singh. But unlike reports, that had

nothing to do with her problems with

Ness. “At that time, things were still

good between them. Ness never took

any of those reports seriously. He

knows Preity is an affectionate person

so he never felt threatened by anyone,”

reveals our source.

Considering they were so much in

love with each other and also associ-

ated in business together, Preity

believed it was the right time to take a

step ahead. Like a friend of the actress

says, “You can’t keep pushing a

relationship to a point of no return.

Ness had always told Preity he was

committed to her. But they soon

started drifting apart.”

“One had heard of some tension

brewing between Preity and Maureen

Wadia after a point. There was also

news that they both had a major

showdown once. She hoped that Ness

would not be dragged into it but he

was. And that created further friction

between them,” states our source.

Almost three months ago, Preity

decided enough was enough. That’s

when she ended the relationship on

her terms. She didn’t want to make it

ugly because she still cared for Ness.

But she couldn’t play the second fi ddle

in his life any longer. “Ness was

shocked when she told him her

decision. They spoke about it at length.

Finally, for the sake of whatever they

had shared in the past, they decided to

go on a break. Right now, they’re not

together. They are leading their

separate lives. If this suits them fi ne,

they’ll go on with their lives. But if this

break makes them realise they cannot

“““EEEEEvvveeennn iif III wwwaaanntteedd tttoo gggoo ooouuttt aannyyywwwhheerreee wwwiiiittthh aaannyyyooonnnee, II ccceeerrttaaaaiiinlllyyy wwwooouuulldnn’’ttt dddoo iiitt ddduuuurrrinnggg aaa ffaaassshhiiooonnn wwwweeeekkk.. III’’’mmm ppprrreetttttyyy hhhooonnneeessssttt aabbboouuuttt mmmmyyy llliiiffe. IIff III wwwaaaannntt ttooo llliivveeee wwwiiittthh sssooommmeeoonnneee orr sssoooommmeetttthhhhhiinnnggg,, III’llll cccoommmeeee oouuuttt mmmyyyssseeeelllff aaannddd ssaayyy iittt aaaallloouuudddd”” ––– PPPrrrreeeiitttyyy ZZZiiinnnttaaa


L:\STARDUST\SDE MAY-09\PREITY ZINTA.INDD 4 13, APRIL 2009 10:52 AM

do without each other, they may just

come back together after a point.”

The timing also couldn’t have been

more interesting. The IPL has taken off

and Preity is busy with her team. She

and Ness have decided that they won’t

let their break-up affect their business

association. But of course, Ness would

take as much of a backseat as far as

the team is concerned to avoid

complications between the two.

Preity is enjoying her single status all

over again. When she had her birthday

bash recently, all her friends joined her

in the revelry. Ness was missing but at

that time, she hadn’t told anyone of the

situation between the two. When they

asked her, she only said he was out of

town. It was only at Karan Johar’s party

a month ago that the buzz became

stronger. Ness was in town and Preity

made a solo appearance. Then, a

couple of weeks back, she came single

at Manish Malhotra’s party during the

fashion week and tongues started

wagging again. After a point, she too

decided there was no point hiding the

truth any longer.

But according to close friends of the

couple, this may just be a temporary

phase. “They are too much in love with

each other to go their own ways,” says

one of them. “Preity also knows this

and maybe that’s why she is not

making it public. She is the kind of

person who would never hide her

relationship status. But for the fi rst

time, she’s doing this. We wouldn’t be

surprised if they get back a month later

and sort out all their differences.”

Meanwhile, as she’s coping with life as a single woman again, rumours abound regarding her new alliances. While some speak of Preity’s growing friendship with IPL head honcho Lalit Modi (reports say he’s besotted by her), others are linking her with New York-based hotelier Vikram Chatwal. Preity has taken severe objection to any such link-ups. “It’s almost as if every time I’m out of the country, a new story is being cooked up about me. And each time I

return, new allegations fl y in my face,” she says angrily.

Preity even threatened to sue a local tabloid when it highlighted a story on her alleged romance with Chatwal. Not willing to take things lying down anymore, she hits back, “They’re say-ing this because I was cheering for Vikram Chatwal at the recent fashion week. How ridiculous is that? When I cheered for Shah Rukh Khan, no one questioned me as to why I cheered him the most. At the fashion week, there were also Arjun and Mehr Ram-pal, Rahul Bose, Ujjwala Raut – all fa-mous celebrities and my friends; and I cheered all of them. I cheered be-cause the show was for Mumbai. The show was to see if Mumbai had the spirit or not. The message being, ‘Come to Mumbai, do your business. We don’t get scared. We will live our lives the way we want to!’ That’s why I was supporting people at that show. Not for any other reason. And even if I wanted to go out anywhere with anyone, I certainly wouldn’t do it dur-ing a fashion week. I’m pretty honest about my life. If I want to live with someone or something, I’ll come out myself and say it aloud,” she states sounding furious.

Well, only her near and dear ones know what the truth is. “Right now, due to the break she and Ness have given each other, Preity cannot even talk about the current situation,” says a friend. “They’ve just decided to give each some space and time. They’re simply crazy about each other and they’ll be a couple again soon. All this stupid hearsay will stop once that happens.”

Preity’s heart still belongs to Ness Wadia. If and when they come back together – that’s just a matter of time now. But it will happen sooner than expected. Remem-ber, you read it fi rst in ‘Stardust’.

“““Nessss aannddd PPPPrreittyyy aaarrree tttoooo mmmmuuuccchhh iinnn llloovvveee wwwwiiiittthh eaaccchh ootthheeerr too gggooo ttthhhheeeiir ooowwwwnn wwwaayyysss. TTThhheeeyyyy’’vveee jjjuuussssttt dddeecciidddeeeddd too gggiivvveee eeeaacchhh sssoommmee ssspppaaccceee aaannnnddd tttiiimmmeeee.. TTThhheeeyyy’’re sssiimmmppppllyyy crrraaaazzzyyy aaabbooouuut eeeaaaccchhhh ootthhheeeerrr aaannddd tthhheeey’lllll bbeee aa cccouuupppplllee aaaggaaaiiinnn sssoooonnn”””


LOOKING BEYOND THE FUTU REFUTU


FUTU RE RE

being in danger. Just in the nick of time, he saves her life and his secret gets exposed. The media and TV channels highlight it as breaking news. Meesha softens towards him and love blossoms. What Nihal doesn’t know is that someone is trying to use his gift against him. In his innocence, he is manipulated and his visions become a tool. Will betrayal be his fate or will Nihal’s brilliant mind recognise the traitor before he destroys everything that Nihal loves? That’s what ‘Kal Kissne Dekha’ is all about.

The new star son on the rise“I wanted to start with a fi lm based on an underdog,” says debutant Jackky, “because relating to the subject was

Kahaani kuch is tarah hai ki…Jackky aka Nihal Singh from Chandigarh is an unconventional boy. As per his nature, he questions everything and builds complicated gadgets in his spare time. He’s glad when he becomes a student of the most elite institute of science in Mumbai. Nihal has a secret gift – he can see the future. When he tries to explain it to his friends, nobody takes him seriously. On the contrary, he is ragged by his seniors and insulted by Meesha, the girl he likes. Nihal’s world gets interrupted when he gets visions of Meesha

Nothing can equal the zeal of a father launching his

son in any profession. In Bollywood too, like last

year, Harry Baweja introduced his son Harman, this

year, producer Vashu Bhagnani is all set to launch his

son Jackky with ‘Kal Kissne Dekha’ in a role that is

endearing as well as challenging.


easy. In my case, the biggest challenge was to lose weight. I was mentally disheartened and wanted to reduce but it ended up being more diffi cult than I had imagined. I fi nally managed to lose 60 kilos and till date that has been my biggest achievement. In everyday life, we all are more or less like underdogs struggling to get somewhere. So, in a way, everyone relates with an underdog theme. The love story is a sub-plot,” says the debutant actor and adds further, “It was a great learning process. You learn lot of things while reading but when you practically do it, you correct it. There was a vast difference between my fi rst and last schedule.”

And what was papa Vashu’s reaction to his fi rst shot? “He heaved a sigh of relief considering that I was at least decent. I hope he liked it and I hope I don’t let him down because he has really supported me emotionally and fi nancially. In this time of economic crisis, he has made a 25 crore movie with a newcomer with big grandeur. The fi lm also has some amazing special effects. As a son and as a newcomer, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. My fi lm is as good as an Akshay Kumar or a Shah Rukh Khan fi lm in terms of production,” he beams proudly.

Trust Vashu to make his son’s fi lm memorable with several Bollywood actors like Rishi Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Juhi Chawla and Riteish Deshmukh making special appearances. “I know Sanju sir for a really long time but I was extra scared with the thought of working with Rishiji because I had

scene. I had to say something to Rishiji and it was a wide angle shot. It was followed by a close-up shot. And Rishiji was ready even while the director was explaining. After that I just looked at Rishiji and he understood what I meant and he helped me to do it in just the fi rst take. Actors like him are not what they are just like that. There’s something in them which has brought them to that level.”

Producer Vashu Bhagnani is always known for his lavishly mounted fi lms and extravagant music launches. ‘Out Of Control’ was launched in a plane and ‘Vaada’ was launched on a cruise. But things were different this time, as he says, “When you start the movie with a newcomer, it becomes very diffi cult to convince people about the scale of the fi lm. Also, we started the movie in South Africa so it was a bit diffi cult to take people over there. I felt it would be better to fi nish the project and then come straightaway to the point. We had enough time to do a lot

of special promotional activities. I’m planning for a big premiere in a unique way, which people would defi nitely talk about.”

Being a proud father, Vashu says, “For me, Jackky is the only USP because he has really worked hard to get everything in place in order to start working on the movie. Before the movie releases, I’ll release a small promo of Jackky on how he used to look when he was 130 kilos. It’s a direct message to the audience that if he can then why can’t you? He has done a fantastic job. I hope people would love the fi lm because it’s a very youth-oriented subject. When you culminate ‘Kaho Na Pyaar Hain’ and ‘Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na’, the colour that will come out would be ‘Kal Kissne Dekha’.”

After a shaky start with ‘Bhootnath’, what prompted director Vivek Sharma to go for this movie? The director says, “I met Vashuji through a friend.

“I couldn’t have asked for anything more. My film is as good as an Akshay Kumar or a Shah Rukh Khan film in terms of production”

— Jackky Bhagnani

never met him before. Sanju sir has just done one cameo song. No matter how good a dancer I am but I ended up looking like a fool in the frame with him. Every scene with Rishiji was a remembrance and I would cherish it all my life. I was really shocked to see him perform some intense scenes

so effortlessly. My scenes are most natural with him and Archana Puran Singh because they are so good that you forget that you’re acting,” says Jackky.

How Jackky got bowled over by Rishi Kapoor!Jackky says, “It was a classroom


I narrated him the subject keeping Saif Ali Khan in mind. Then he told me about his son Jackky. I liked Jackky and we clicked immediately. It’s purely on the basis of emotional attachment that I did ‘Kal Kissne Dekha’.” Elaborating further, he says, “I always wanted to work on unique subjects. So I had this story of a boy who could see the future or gets visions. It’s my own story as in real life I see things before it happen. I converted that into an interesting screenplay and made a few changes. That’s how we started the fi lm.”

Vivek adds, “Rishi Kapoor plays the most interesting character. And how he becomes Nihal’s guru forms an interesting chapter in the fi lm.” He shares his experiences working with Rishi and Sanjay Dutt. “Sanju baba is a sweetheart. When I reminded him that I worked as an assistant director in ‘Gumrah’ (directed by Mahesh Bhatt) he was more than happy. With Rishiji, my bonding is on an emotional level. When I went to him to narrate ‘KKD’, he thought I was offering him the hero’s father’s part. But when I told him the story he got excited. He told me that he was craving for this kind of role since the last 30 years. He is an amazing actor and a great human being. For the fi lm, he broke all his rules – shooting till late night and coming early mornings. I am

“There are few surprises but we would like to keep it as a surprise. Let the public discover it in the fi lm. Jab fi lm release hogi toh pata chalega, SRK aur Abhishek hain ki nahi.”

Money is not an issue with Sanjay Dutt Big actors are known to step out of projects mid-way through fi lming on grounds of money differences. But Sanjay Dutt is an exception. “Sanju didn’t charge anything even for my last fi lm ‘Shaadi No 1’ where he played a very important role,” says Vashu. “He was never bothered about money unlike the other stars, who act only after the money matters are resolved. Sanjay was shooting director Ajay Chandok’s fi lm in Cape Town and since we were also shooting in the nearby location, I went to meet him. Fortunately, they were not shooting the next day, so he and Ajay visited the sets.” Didn’t he offer him money? “I don’t have the guts to offer him the money because he’s a very good friend and considers Jackky as his younger brother. It doesn’t look nice.”

The producer versus multiplex issue won’t affect the fi lm’s releaseThe battle between the producers and multiplex owners has reached a new high with the former making it very clear that no new Bollywood fi lm would be released after April fi rst week. ‘Kal Kissne Dekha’ was one of the fi rst fi lms to arrive in the fi rst week but Vashu insists, “If, by any chance, the distributors, exhibitors or the production companies decide to postpone it then it would be a different thing. If my movie gets delayed for two weeks, every other movie would get delayed. It would be the multiplexes’ loss. I’m with the industry, so I have to stand by with it,” informs Vashu.

With Vashu holding the reigns, one thing’s for sure – he’ll sure make a lot of noise about the fi lm. As for whether Jackky turns out to be the industry’s next poster boy, well, kal kissne dekha. We’re keeping our fi ngers crossed.

Dhiren Trivedi

blessed to have worked with Rishiji and Amitji in my fi rst two fi lms.” About Jackky, he says, “He is a natural and that’s his strength. He is very hard-working and has a sense of cinema. He understands a nuance and that’s rare in newcomers. He will do very well and I really wish that he works with good directors.”

Are Shah Rukh Khan and Abhishek Bachchan the surprise packages? For some time, the buzz doing the rounds is that director Vivek has approached SRK and Abhishek to do cameos in the fi lm. Now if we jog our memory to the fi lmmaker’s debut fi lm, we know that he had roped in Shah Rukh for a special appearance. So no prizes for guessing that Shah Rukh is again going to make an appearance in Vivek’s ‘KKD’. The director says,

“I’ll release a small promo of Jackky on how he used to look when he was 130 kilos. It’s a direct message to the audience that if he can then why can’t you?”

— Vashu Bhagnani


Hi, have you’ll gone from talking ill about Shah Rukh Khan to now targeting John? It was hilarious to read your interpretation of John as Gone Abraham and I thought journalists are not supposed to take sides and just report news as it is. Your repetitive digs at John for some reasons smells of bias and stinks of favouritism. I have seen you run down many stars for their deeds but never have I seen the magazine stoop down to such a level. Also the covers look shoddy. The colour scheme is distastefully done and resembles an old school of thought. C’mon guys, see the difference in other elite magazine covers. Though in the same breath I also want to say that the stories and

the interviews are quite refreshing. But it all this goes down hill with such tacky covers and colour schemes. You guys should do something about the way the magazine is presented. I am doing graphics designing and am well aware of how things should be and thus can easily spot flawed copy. And please give us a brief story, about John and not some biased anti-John article. Readers have grown up and it’s time the magazine grows up too!

Ritwick Chatterjee (Mumbai)

earned him great respect among the film lovers.

Akshay Arora (New Delhi)

Revamp!

I’ve been a big fan of Stardust. I’m very happy that you guys have managed to raise the standard after it had sunk to an all-time low last year. The articles

JOHN ABRAHAM: MEDIA VICTIM?

earned him great respect

The Real King

It was a surprise to see Aamir Khan on the April issue. After decades, Aamir finally graced the cover and the spicy story made for an interesting read. It is a known fact that Shah Rukh Khan’s PR machinery makes him the most talked about star in the industry today. ‘Ghajini’ is the biggest hit in the

history of Indian films and ‘Rab Ne

Bana Di Jodi’s collections were nowhere compared to it. Another blow to SRK’s

prestige was the dismal

collections of ‘Billu’. Despite the fact that the film petered out at the box office, SRK’s paid editorial in the leading dailies made it sound like a blockbuster. I think stardom is obtained by real success stories over a period of time and no amount of money and public relation acrobatics can make up for it. Aamir today is the unrivalled number one in the industry. He is one actor who has always let his work speak for him and has never blown his own trumpet. He only interacts with the media when his film is up for release. He guards his privacy zealously and his conduct has been immaculate. Perhaps his strategy to remain always low key and let his work speak, has

and scoops are more interesting and so are the photographs. I’m still waiting for the day when Stardust comes up with eye-catching and beautiful photoshoots like other magazines. Stardust has lots of good content, but I feel you fall behind when it comes to good supporting photographs.

Also, was very surprised to see a pro-Aamir Khan story and that too on the cover. Are you guys turning over a new leaf? Surprisingly, while the pages inside looked good; the cover itself looked very boring, staid and old. Maybe its time for a designing makeover.

Allu Govind (Chennai)

A Beauty With Brain

Celina Jaitley is a classic example of a true Indian

beauty. Her interviews are a treat to read and she looks like million bucks on screen. It takes real courage to speak about your gay boyfriend. She fully supported the man despite knowing about his sexual preferences. I think her career is on the right track now and her powerful performance in ‘Golmaal Returns’ has made her to remain in the news. She was compared to the legendary Zeenat Aman when she appeared in ‘Janasheen’. The lovely lass made her presence felt on the social scene when she put her thinking cap


on and turned into a gay right activist. I think it was comendable of Stardust to feature Celina. The images with the interview were amazing too.

Arjun Mehra(Mumbai)

Aamir Khan: Numero Uno

The April issue of Stardust was full of surprises. A cover story showcasing Aamir as the industry top-gun was good to read, especially as the star deserves it more than Shah Rukh Khan. He’s hard-working, a better actor, better looker and clearly a smarter person. SRK is favoured mostly because he’s an under-dog who came from nowhere and made it big without a godfather. But that’s not true as without the support of the Chopras and Johars, he would’ve been nowhere. Aamir didn’t rely on any big banners to make him the superstar he is today. On the contrary, he worked with people like Ashutosh Gowariker and Rakesh Omprakash Mehra despite them not having big hits to their credit and today these two are among the most-respected directors in

Who’s The Barbie Doll?

In 1994, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan won the Miss World title and since then there have been numerous attempts to immortalise the Indian beauty as a Barbie Doll. However I believe due to her professional commitments she had to postpone their endeavour. When Aishwarya had become a house hold name the world over, Mattel proposed her to endorse the Barbie doll but she declined it once again. On the eve of the favourite doll’s 50th Anniversary, Aishwarya is still the most sought after celebrity to be impersonated as a celebrity Barbie. Mattel was also keen to have her walk the ramp at the Lakme Fashion Week ‘Barbie dolled up’ in a winning design, which would be unveiled and auctioned for a charity of her choice. Of late, it was reported that she opted out of the event as she did not want to trouble anybody while taking time out to this event due to her prior commitments (filming Vipul Shah’s next ‘Action Replay’ & her being honoured Padma Shri) Great going Ash.

Ravi Patil (Mumbai)

the country. And he’s also taken big gambles which have paid off. Aamir’s the best! What however surprised me this time was reading Kelly Dorjee’s interview. He seems like a very calm and collected person. Therefore, the kind of tongue lashing he indulged in against his one-time best friend Dino Morea seemed very uncharacteristic and suspicious. Almost felt like it was an off-record interview with the actor who’s renowned for being the silent, thoughtful types.

Niyati Acharya (Mumbai)

Padma Shri: Well-deserved or Not?

This year, the Padma Shri awards have brought a few surprises. I can’t believe two of my favourite stars, Aishwarya Rai and Akshay Kumar received such a prestigious honour. I think they have really made a mark and carved their own niche over the years. Though questions were raised on what basis

or criteria the government gives the award? Are the candidates judged solely by their popularity or they being the country’s highest tax-payers? Well,

if income was the criteria, then certainly Akshay Kumar deserves a Padma Shri. Jokes aside, I certainly believe that is not the case. No matter how the media paints the picture, Akshay and Ash definitely deserves such honour.

Radhika Trivedi (Delhi)

Aamir Khan: Undisputed King

Hello, I am a huge fan of Aamir and I was really happy to see such a good article about him in Stardust. Long time back I had written a letter to you guys requesting you to stop picking on him. And it feels good that finally you have done it. I also agree with the other reports of him being self-centered and pompous but no one can ever deny the kind of actor he is. Every film of his has something to look forward to. You supporting this definitely make me a complete fan of your magazine. Also it was really nice to see the pictures of Celina; she is skimpily dressed yet elegant. All this while she was known for her gown with low cuts with too much of unflattering cleavage show but for a change her pictures in the last months issue spell class. She is no doubt a pretty girl but never ever was she photographed this well. With so many good stories, you guys are on a roll!

Sumiksha Aggarwal (Bangalore)


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Kelly!

The Lara-Dino

ClashOver

NEWTON’S THIRD LAW STATES THAT FOR EVERY ACTION, THERE

IS AN EQUAL AND OPPOSITE REACTION. ERGO, HARD-HITTING

CONFESSIONS RESULT IN REPERCUSSIONS. AND THE HARSHER

THE CONFESSION, THE MORE SEVERE THE RAMIFICATIONS!

was of absolute bewilderment as he’d never expected the reticent Kelly to lash out the way he did. The actor, who had been attending practically every do about town, completely vanished from the social circuit to seek refuge from the media and the ensuing backlash.

But more importantly, Kelly’s confessions created gaping cracks in the Dino-Lara relationship; to the point that there were rumours about their split. Also, Kelly had no axe to grind with Lara as according to him, she had come clean to him about her and Dino – that made things worse. And owing to

this, the two still continue to be good friends even today – a fact that doesn’t go down well with Dino at all. As a close friend of the couple puts it, “Lara and Kelly are still on good terms with each other. And after all the things he’s said about Dino, obviously Dino isn’t too happy with their continued camarade-rie. This has caused the current strain in their relationship.”

Once the interview was out, Dino was understandably up-set. In fact, Lara and Dino even had a major showdown at the latter’s home where Dino re-portedly told Lara that he want-ed her to sever all ties with Kelly. Their friend continues, “Lara told Dino that she found nothing wrong in Kelly’s confes-sions. She felt that Dino was being unfair as she had told him to speak to Kelly about their relationship a long while ago. But maybe because he felt guilty, Dino didn’t. Lara thought it was unfair of him to expect her to hold a grudge against Kelly.” Lara was of the opinion that Kelly giving vent to his anger was justifi ed and his re-action to Dino’s behaviour was very natural.

Needless to say, Dino has still not gotten over Lara’s pro-Kelly stance. And that is supposed to be the primary reason he’s re-newed contact with his ex-girlfriend, Nandita Mahtani. The only reason Dino wasn’t in touch with Nandita was be-cause Lara wasn’t too comfort-

Last month (and for the fi rst time ever), Kelly Dorji opened up to ‘Stardust’ about his broken relationship with Lara Dutta and being back-stabbed by ex-best friend Dino Morea (read box on the next page). Now, there were two immedi-ate outcomes of his outburst. One, he inadvertently con-fi rmed Dino and Lara’s twosome status, a thing which both the stars had kept studiously mum about. And two, it brought to fore the hostilities between Kelly and Dino, which the latter had been carefully hiding.

This situation came as a complete shocker to Lara and Dino, both of whom have known Kelly for the longest time. For Dino es-pecially, whose im-mediate reaction

“Lara told Dino that she found nothing wrong in Kelly’s confessions. She felt that Dino was being unfair as she had told him to speak to Kelly about their relationship a long while ago”

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able with her presence in his life. But now he feels that if Lara’s going to stand up for Kelly and continue to be friends with him, then he can do the same. Dino’s good pal tells us, “If Lara wants to continue to be on good terms with Kelly even after all the things he’s said about Dino then there is nothing wrong with Dino being in touch with Nandi.”

Thanks to this development, there is major trouble in paradise for Dino and Lara. The couple has consciously stopped making public appear-ances, reinforcing stories of their relationship having gone kaput. In the case of Lara, the dam-age done is not substantial, considering she’s always been silent about her relationship with Dino. Also, she’s never really been open about her personal life like Dino and that saves her the trouble of doling out explanations.

Dino, on the other hand, is in quite a soup. Hitting out at Kelly and justifying his stance in the media simply won’t do as it’ll make him look foolish considering he’s never publicly admitted to being Lara’s boyfriend. It seems all he can do now is face the trauma and the repercussions of Kelly’s verbal whiplash alone. As Dino’s friend discloses, “Thanks to Lara, who has asked him to maintain silence on their relationship, he’s in no position to clear his name. As a result, the world now believes he’s the one who’s in the wrong.”

However, sources tell us that Dino shouldn’t shoulder the blame alone as Lara knew all along that Dino hadn’t told Kelly about them. So why Kelly’s rancour should cause problems between the couple remains a mystery. Is she merely using this as an excuse to ease out of the relation-

“Dino lied to me. Even after he started dating Lara, he never told me and he hasn’t told me till date. Lara had to come and tell me because he didn’t”

“One has to be a man and stand up for what you do. It gives me no pleasure to even look at Dino’s face because that just brings back 15 years of belief gone wrong. I don’t want ever want to be in touch with him”

“I have taken enough shit and enough laughing from people saying that, ‘Oh! Someone stole your girlfriend.’ I mean, f*&@ you! I have no expectations

THE INTERVIEW THAT CREATED A FURORE

but to be stabbed in the back from within your own walls is a bit harsh”

“When Dino is old and lying down ready to leave this world, I truly hope he doesn’t look back in regret because everybody deserves to live well. There is nothing he can do to correct it as it’s done. One just has to move on”

“What hurt me was that Dino didn’t have the guts to tell me himself. We would be in London together and after being with me for a while, he would run away saying he’s got some work and would be shop-ping with Lara. All this I found out later on”

FOR THOSE WHO MISSED OUT ON KELLY DORJI’S EXPLOSIVE INTERVIEW IN THE LAST ISSUE OF ‘STARDUST’, HERE ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM IT:

ship? When we called Kelly to ask him about this, he said, “I’ve said all that I wanted to and have nothing more to say.” All calls and attempts to talk to Dino were futile as the actor didn’t answer his phone.

Every story has two sides. We’ve already heard Kelly’s. It’s time now for Dino to stand up and defend not just his actions, but also his honour. Until then, this saga remains incomplete.

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tic look. Each piece is unique in itself and is one-of-a-kind”, says Tania. To congratu-late the illustrious designer on her big day, the entire Deol family was there in full force. Along with DHARMENDRA, SUNNY DEOL, BOBBY DEOL, the presence of long

time friend TWINKLE KHANNA made it a happy family portrait. And how!

The Lakme India Fashion Week was eclipsed by the mesmerizing presence of a lot of Bollywood stars. The lilting presence of the luscious KATRINA KAIF, who walked for the brand ‘Barbie’ on the opening day, was the ultimate icing on the cake. She wowed the audience with her elegant walk and zillion watt smile. Then came the much awaited show of the celebrated designer SABYASACHI MUKHERJEE which had glamazons like SONAM KAPOOR and VIDYA BALAN gracing the front row. Both the beauties looked elegant in Indian en-sembles. The preview of designer PALLAVI JAIPUR’s collection titled ‘Double Take’ too saw the filmi razzmatazz with presence of the very young and striking SONAKSHI SINHA who was also the designer’s show-stopper. Sonakshi was accompanied by her mother PUNAM and both of them looked like a million bucks. Bollywood’s most loved designer MANISH MALHOTRA had the entire front row filled with the A-listers. HRITHIK ROSHAN, KAREENA KAPOOR, KAJOL, PREITY ZINTA, TUSSHAR KA-POOR and CELINA JAITLEY had the shut-terbugs going delirious. As all good things come to an end, the fashion week ended with a brilliant show by designer ANA-MIKA KHANNA. The talented designer

P

Tmade a glittering impact with graceful ap-pearances of the three Lakme faces - IN-DRANI DASGUPTA, AMRIT MAGERA and VIPASHA AGARWAL. Also, the presence of supermodel NAOMI CAMPBELL at the ‘Mai Mumbai’ show made the five day gala all the more memorable.

PREITY ZINTA visited New Zealand re-cently on an invitation by the New Zealand Government for the ongoing India - New Zealand cricket series. As the co-owner of Kings XI Punjab IPL team, the bubbly ac-tress not only attended the matches, but also indulged in adventure sports like Taupo bungee jumping, tandem sky diving and the Huka jet boat ride. Preity was all praise for New Zealand, a country that she had visited several times for her films, but seldom had time for leisure pursuits. “New Zealand is awesome! I always remember seeing picturesque locations and beautiful weather. I’ve heard people talk about the adventurous side of New Zealand and this

With the remake fever still on, director MEHUL KUMAR launched his prestigious film ‘KRANTIVEER- THE REVOLUTION’, the sequel to the Mega-blockbuster ‘Kran-tiveer’ of 1994 at a glittering event. And who better than the hit star cast of the film NANA PATEKAR and DIMPLE KAPADIA to give the mahurat clap? The young stars of the upcoming sequel were in an upbeat mood. The cast includes debutant actress and daughter of Mehul Kumar JAHAN BLOCH, SAMIR AFTAB, KELLY DORJI, RANJIT, FARIDA JALAL, GOVIND NAMDEO among others. The highlight of the evening was when AMITABH BACH-CHAN lit the inauguration lamp, a gesture to show his support for the veteran director. Along with him were other prominent personalities like J.P DANGE, deputy chief secretary for revenue and forest and JAYANT GAIKWAD secretary for culture and tourism for Maharashtra. With so many well wishers to egg you on, luck wouldn’t be too far.

Actor BOBBY DEOL’s better half, the tal-ented and gorgeous TANIA unveiled her new furniture and home accessories col-lection entitled, ‘Jewels In The Forest’ at Good Earth in the suburbs. The collection reflected Tania’s signature ‘glitter and shine’ style. Crystals, semi-precious stones, embellishments, superfluities are a distin-guishing element of all of Tania’s collec-tions, and this one was no different. But what set ‘Jewels in the Forest’ apart from her other works was its treatment. “I have tried to use newer materials and mediums in this collection to give a fresh and stylis-

Amitabh Bachchan with Mehul Kumar

Preity Zinta

Bobby Deol with wife Tania


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Rtime I discovered it for myself,” she ex-claimed. With Preity engaging in some of the most daring activities in the adventure capital of the world, she’s totally proved that she’s one of the gutsiest and daring lasses around.

Rolex is synonymous with perfection and excellence. Hence, it was no surprise to see AAMIR KHAN, with wife KIRAN RAO in tow, attending a dinner hosted by Rolex at the newly renovated Crystal Room at Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai. This dinner was to celebrate Rolex’s sponsorship of the Vi-enna Philharmonic orchestra. Also in at-tendance were the crème de la crème of the social circuit like ADI GODREJ, RAJIV and KOMAL WAZIR, RAKESH OM-

PRAKASH MEHRA and ZUBIN and NANCY MEHTA among others.

The tech savvy actor ADHYAYAN SUMAN launched his website with the intention of staying in touch with audiences, friends and fans. Though his regular support KANGANA RANAUT was not to be seen, he was accompanied by his upcoming movie ‘Jashnn’s co-stars SHAHANA GO-SWAMY and ANJANA SUKHANI. To add a little zing to the evening, singer-compos-er siblings TOSHI and SHARIB gave the media a preview of the fantastic sound-

SUBSCRIPTION RATES: For India Rs. 510/- (1 year/12 issues), Outside India Rs 1800 (1 year/12 issues) Cheques to be drawn in favour of Magna Publishing Co.Ltd., Mumbai. SEND ALL Subscription inquiries/address changes to [email protected]

Edited and published by Ashwin Varde for Magna Publishing Co. Ltd. Magna House, 100/E, Old Prabhadevi Road, Prabhadevi, Mumbai 400 025, and printed by him at Magna Graphics (India) Ltd., 101-C&D, Govt. Industrial Estate, Kandivli (West), Mumbai 400 067. All objections, disputes, differences, claims and proceedings are subject to Mumbai jurisdiction.

COVER CREDITS

track of the movie ‘Jashnn’ through an acoustic performance of three music tracks. The website includes trailers of Adhyayan’s movies, a section on his film-ography that includes movie stills and on-location pictures, a selection of news stories and links to news videos, exclusive picture galleries and loads of fun stuff like wall papers and e-cards. And if that’s not enough, the site also has space for contests that allow fans to engage with the star, offering opportunities to meet him, win autographed music cds, movie dvds, get exclusive downloads and more. A perfect escapade for his fans we say!

Bollywood’s craze for BIKRAM CHOUD-HURY’s Hot Yoga was felt loud and clear at his health abode, True Fitness when movie stars turned up in full force to meet the celebrated yoga guru. Bikram’s Hot Yoga comprises of 26 a s a n a s a n d t w o breathing exercises scientifically designed and sequenced by Bikram himself in a studio heated to over 40 degrees celsius and taught by a team of internationally

MALLIKA SHERAWAT: ATUL KASBEKAR

HRITHIK ROSHAN: MAHENDER SONI

KATRINA KAIF: RAKESH SHRESTHA

Adhyayan Suman with Anjana Sukhani and Shahana Goswamy

Aamir Khan with wife Kiran Rao

certified instruc-tors. MANISHA KOIRALA, SUB-HASH GHAI, RIYA SEN, GULSHAN GROVER, SONU NIGAM, POONAM DHILLON, SIDDHARTH KOIRA-LA, BAPPA LAHIRI, hair stylist AALIM HAKIM and others dropped in to con-gratulate their favourite yoga guru.

They came, they zoomed and they re-joiced! Over one thousand women took off in 250 cars from the Reclamation Grounds, Bandra, in the ‘Lavasa Women’s Drive’, held to spread awareness about cancer. The rally traversed 225 kms to reach Lavasa, India’s first largest hill city located near Pune. Flagging off the drive were Bollywood stars AJAY DEVGAN and FARDEEN KHAN, gorgeous divas GUL PANAG, DI-ANA HAYDEN, MUGDHA GODSE, POOJA BEDI, VJ SOPHIE CHOUDHARY, socialite DEVIKA BHOJWANI and fashion designer SHAINA NC. The first car to drive out of Mumbai was an open Logan decorated with roses, steered by renowned VJ TEE-JAY SINDHU.

“I’m proud to be a part of the event. I salute the spirit of women coming to-gether to support the noble cause,” said Fardeen Khan.

Ajay Devgan, Mugdha Godse and Fardeen Khan


Stardust May 09

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Transcript of Stardust May 09