Pooja Batra: Back to Bollywood
By Rakhee Gupta
WHEN Pooja Batra made the switchover from ramp to silver screen three years ago, all of Bollywood rejoiced. At last there was a Hindi heroine who not only had the figure and sophistication of a western woman, but could also combine the sensibilities with the look of an Indian.

Aisa bhi hota hai !
Ace showman Subhash Ghai sure believes in catching them young. Known for his uncanny ability to spot talent and for setting many a young wannabe star on the road to stardom, Ghai has, this time, made rather far-sighted investments. He has signed Jackie and Ayesha Shroff’s 10-year-old son Tiger, to star in a Mukta Arts production when he turns 20 and Shah Rukh Khan’s two-and-a-half-year-old son Aryan.
Tiger with his parents

Karisma on a high
One actress who has surely proved her mettle is Karisma Kapoor. Her journey from the days of frills and frocks and sarkailo khatiya to designer dresses and Fiza has, indeed, been a remarkable one.

• BOLLYWOOD  STUDIO DIGEST
  
  
  
  
  
  

Pooja Batra: Back to Bollywood
By Rakhee Gupta

WHEN Pooja Batra made the switchover from ramp to silver screen three years ago, all of Bollywood rejoiced. At last there was a Hindi heroine who not only had the figure and sophistication of a western woman, but could also combine the sensibilities with the look of an Indian.

Virasat was a mediocre hit. Pooja was noticed, but before she could consolidate her position, she disappeared from the scene. Rumours had it that she had left Mumbai for good and settled down in matrimony, until some people spotted her in a Malayalam film. Clearly, she was still in circulation.

Pooja now returns to Mumbai with Kahi Pyar Na Ho Jaye, a breezy romantic caper with Salman Khan and Rani Mukherji as her co-stars. And while insisting that she is here to stay, she dismisses all talk of this being the beginning of a second innings.

"Kahin Pyar Na Ho Jaye is not a comeback film," she protests. "I did not go anywhere to be making a comeback now. I signed some films like Rahul Rawail’s Khatta Meetha and Dev Anand’s Censor. Some films like Haseena Maan Jayegi and Bhai were released. So it wasn’t as if I give up on Hindi films."

"As for Malayalam films, I got some good offers," she informs. "The roles appeared a lot more challenging with Mohan lal and Jayan as my co-stars. That actually has been the turning point in my career. I could learn a lot about the nuances of acting while working with them."

She points out that South Indian films offer more scope for a heroine than Hindi films. Her stint in the south has therefore been a "learning experience" which makes her better equipped to "handle the challenges of Hindi cinema."

"There are quite a few differences in the working of both industries," she explains. "Malayalam films are more realistic in story and theme, whereas Hindi films are always larger than life. They also wrap up films in no time, while Hindi films take more than a year to complete."

The only problem, however, was the language and regardless of her performance, she had to settle for getting her voice dubbed. "After a time, I started wondering what more could a Punjabi girl be doing in South Indian films," she narrates.

luckily for her, she had a few good offers waiting for her — Kahin Pyar Na Ho Jaye, Kash-m-Kash, Nayak, Khajuraho, Jodi No 1, Yahoo... films which offered not only variety, but also scope to showcase her talent. This was not the situation when she made her debut with Virasat in 1997.

"When I started out, I had nothing but my self-confidence and professionalism going for me," she reveals. "I had no formal training in acting, no godfather, nobody to guide me in choosing the right kind of film. So I was bound to make a few mistakes now and then. But I am not complaining..."

So what really works, to be a success?

"An equal dose of glamour, talent and luck," she replies. "In Hindi films looks are as important as talent. Destiny is one aspect you can never rewrite. So that’s crucial, too. Timing is also an important factor. If I hadn’t decided to do Virasat as a model, I may never have discovered my talent as an actress."

What remains unsaid is the timing of her return to Hindi films. But prod her a bit and she would readily confess that the emergence of "taller actors" like Abhishek Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan has been to her advantage.

"I hope to get work with them some day," she laughs. "Initially I felt my height would prove to be a hindrance as most of our heroes are on the shorter side. Now there is no longer such a problem as there are enough of tall and good-looking heroes to go around!"

— MF

 

Aisa bhi hota hai !

Ace showman Subhash Ghai sure believes in catching them young. Known for his uncanny ability to spot talent and for setting many a young wannabe star on the road to stardom, Ghai has, this time, made rather far-sighted investments. He has signed Jackie and Ayesha Shroff’s 10-year-old son Tiger, to star in a Mukta Arts production when he turns 20 and Shah Rukh Khan’s two-and-a-half-year-old son Aryan. Aryan, it seems, also believes in starting out early. He is all set to make his his screen debut in Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, where he will star opposite Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan,

Hrithik Roshan, Kajol and Kareena Kapoor. But what will happen if some years down the line, Tiger and Aryan decide that acting isn’t their cup of tea? Of course, not too many people have said no to Subhash Ghai and maybe that’s exactly what he is banking on.

 — Glitzy

Karisma on a high

One actress who has surely proved her mettle is Karisma Kapoor. Her journey from the days of frills and frocks and sarkailo khatiya to designer dresses and Fiza has, indeed, been a remarkable one. She has secured her position as an actress of substance with each successive film that she has done and it is not without reason that today she is known as one of the most powerful performers in Bollywood. Add to that the fact that she seems to have a Midas touch and almost any film that she does becomes at least a average hit, and it is not difficult to understand why producers queue up outside her door. All eyes are now on Zubeidaa, a period film set in the fifties, which is to be released tomorrow. She co-stars with Rekha and Manoj Bajpai in this film. It still remains to be seen how she will fare against these two actors of calibre but those who have seen the film insist that she has out-performed Rekha by a mile. Knowing Karisma that is not difficult to believe. Remember how she more than stood her ground against Madhuri Dixit in Dil To Pagal Hai ?
 

BOLLYWOOD  STUDIO DIGEST
By Gautam Grover

• Director Gagan Vihari has announced lal Salaam with Nandita Das in the lead. To be shot on a three-month schedule on location in the forests of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, the film has Sharad Kapoor, Sayaji Shinde and Makrand Deshpande playing supporting roles.
  

• Writer-producer-director Ajay Kashyap launched Angaar (The Fire) with a seven-day shoot at Chetan Studios, Surve Farm and other locations of Mumbai. Many action and dramatic scenes were filmed on lead stars Rajat Bedi, Vinay Anand, Sona Kabir and Kader Khan.
  

• Kirti Shetty, Sohail Khan, Raza Murad and Anil Nagarth faced the camera for the opening shot of Andar Ki Baat. Director Sunny Rajput is shooting the film on a start-to-finish schedule at various locations in Mumbai.
  

• Sanjay Dutt has been added to the cast of Annarth. Also starring Sunil Shetty, Raveena Tandon, Ashutosh Rana and Ashish Vidyarthi, the film is making rapid progress with a nonstop shoot in the outskirts of Mumbai. Ravi Dewan is both producer and director.
  

• Producer-director Vimal Kumar completed the first schedule of filming for Aashiqui Deewangi at Filmalaya Studios, Mumbai. lead stars Karan Nath and Keerti Reddy took part in the canning of one song during the five-day shoot.
  

• Music composers Jatin-lalit recorded the theme song of Soch with playback singers Sonu Nigam and Richa Sharma. Starring Sanjay Kapoor, Raveena Tandon, Arbaaz Khan and Danny Denzongpa, the film is being directed by Sushen Bhatnagar.
  

• Many action and dramatic scenes were filmed for Prem Yoddha over a week-long shoot at Film City, Chandivli Studios and other locations in Mumbai. With Sonu Krishna as director, the film has Nirmal Pandey, Rajesh Mahajan, Shraddha Kapoor and Shalini Sharma leading the cast.
  

• Dharmendra, Nirmal Pandey, Sadashiv Amrapurkar and Preeti Bhutani took part in a 15-day shoot for Aandhi Aur Toofan at Film City Mumbai. Director S.R. Pratap canned many action and dramatic scenes on them during this schedule.
  

• Following a four-day shoot in Mumbai, director Hamid Ali has wrapped up the filming of Meri Adalat. Starring Mithun Chakraborty, Swarna, Prem Chopra and Shakti Kapoor, the film is currently going through the post-production phase.
  

• Nana Patekar, Anupama Verma, Puru Rajkumar and Meghna Kothari took part in the last schedule of filming for Vadh around the swimming pool of a five-star hotel in Mumbai. With N.S. Raj Bharath as writer and director, the film is being scheduled for an early release. 

— MF