Desi News Corp - Index

Desi News Corp - Desi News - July 2009 - Index

PSSST...!
FROM THE FRONTLINES OF BOLLYWOOD
The Sridevi factor
Sridevi reigns right on top of
Salman Khan’s wish list for
guests on his television show. He
was in such awe of her during her
heyday that though he worked with
her in a couple of films, he never
managed to break the ice with her.
He has worked with Sridevi’s
husband Boney Kapoor, too, but
every time Sridevi came on the
sets, Salman disappeared! He
claims he is still in awe of her and
it might be up to the usually
reticent Sridevi to get Khan to
open up on his own show!
Oh shoot!
Aishwarya Rai reported late for a
Vipul Shah film, and then took her time
changing into her costume, doing her
make up and hair – the process took
several hours. When she was finally ready
to shoot, Shah shot for precisely a minute
before declaring pack up. Aishwarya was
aghast that he had made her get ready
only to shoot with her for a minute. When
she expressed her displeasure, he shot
back, “Apne sets par sab time par ate hain,
aur sab time par jaate hain (We come on
time and leave on time on my sets).”
Roshan vs Roshan
It’s learnt that Hrithik Roshan is
planning to move out of his parental
home, into another property very
soon. The buzz is that his differences
with Roshan Sr. are behind the move.
The actor has been house-hunting for
a while and has reportedly settled for
a property worth Rs.450 million
($11.25 million). Hrithik’s surprise
move has his fans wondering if he will
set himself free in his professional life
as well and work for other producers.
Watch this space!
The eye of the beholder
Gulshan Grover, who turned down Irrfan Khan’s role in Slumdog Millionaire
to do Hurman Baweja’s Victory, was recently in Los Angeles. The talk turned to
Freida Pinto, and Grover shrugged. “She’s okay,” he said. “Are you all right,
man? How can you call Freida okay? She’s so sexy!” was the reaction. Grover
explained: “We have so many Goan girls who look like Freida that we tend to take
them casually. Aishwarya Rai never generated that kind of excitement in the
west because the fair, light-eyed variety of beauty that we worship in India is a
dime a dozen in Hollywood. But the dark and sensuous Freida is an exotic rarity.”
History repeats itself
Muzzafar Ali, whose last film, Umrao Jaan,
was released in 1981, is now casting for another
historical, Noor Jehan Jehangir. Will he be able to
cope with an industr y that has changed
dramatically since he made his last film? “Why
should I fit in? I am much ahead of Bollywood!
Bollywood has to fall in step with me,” he says
with a chuckle. Ali believes today’s actors are scared
of period films and directors don’t understand
the intricacies of period films though Jodhaa Akbar
and Hrithik Roshan got a lot of the details right.
Sounds like a winner
The new season of Sa Re Ga Ma Li’l Champs is
being judged by Alka Yagnik and Abhijeet
Bhattacharya. The earlier season made stars
from some very talented kids like Rohanpreet,
Tanmay, Vaishali, Vasundhara and Sanchita.
Abhijeet says there are only one or two
candidates from Bengal in his team and more
singers from Delhi, Lucknow, etc. That though
several of his friends sent their children to the
auditions, they were not selected because they did
not have the spark. “I tell the parents not to feel that
their kids have come for a job but to think that
they are participating in a quiz. They may win, but
if they don’t, it is not the end of the world.”
He says he does not envy any singer and is happy
with his career. “Other than Shaan, no playback
singer has been able to make a name because, let’s
face facts, a vast majority of them sound alike. I
have sung over 3000
songs. If you ask me to
pick my best three, I
will pick Suno na suno
na, Tumhe jo dekha and
Chand taare. I am the
most satisfied among
all the playback singers
in Bollywood. I’ve
achieved more than I
had dreamed of.”
Incredible India. Incredible Ar t. Incredible Collection.
22 Desi News July 2009