A model actress
Asha Singh

It is now Lisa Ray’s turn to follow in the footsteps of Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen. She made her debut in Vikram Bhatt’s Kasoor, playing a glamourous lawyer and lover of the accused in a murder case. She co-starred with Aftab Shivdasani and Ashutosh Rana.

What, however, took many by surprise was the timing and banner she chose for her film launch. As Mumbai’s top (read highest paid) model, she had been approached by some of the hottest filmmakers around and all along, she had refused.

Oddly enough, Lisa is herself surprised by her change of heart: "It started some time last March with a message on my answering machine from Mukesh Bhatt (producer of Kasoor). Looking back, it is interesting that I don’t even know why I answered the call..."

She narrates how she met the Bhatts at their office in Mumbai when Vikram gave her a "rough idea" of what his film was about. There was no firm story line, let alone a complete script at that stage. But she heard the director out and asked for a month’s time to make up her mind.

"I wasn’t sure," she explains. "For me it was really a big step and I was very realistic about the fact that movies are a big commitment. It’s not like an ad film, where you are in and out in three days. I couldn’t afford to take the offer lightly."

Moreover, being born in Canada and having spent her formative years outside India, she felt inhibited by her accented Hindi. In a way this was another reason for her to have consistently refused all film offers from Mumbai producers.

"From the very first schedule of shooting, there were standing instructions on the sets that no matter what I uttered, nobody should laugh. And believe me that helped a lot. Now I can say that I got through it. But getting through proved to be the turning point in my life!"

Lisa, of course, had to take the services of Divya Dutta for dubbing: "She’s got an extraordinarily good voice and it suits my character... Ultimately, a film is about doing everything for its betterment and not for you individually."

But then, Lisa is already hot property, much as Kasoor did not fare too well at the box-office. She is now in a position to pick and choose her films and in true Bollywood style, is even walking out of projects she has doubts about.

"I walked out of Arjun Sablok’s film because I had lost confidence in him," she informs. "I knew Arjun from Canada and agreed to do the role he offered, knowing well it was a cameo. I expected that as a director he would have full control over the film.

"But when I stepped on the set, I realised that what he had explained to me was different from what would be shot. Obviously, he was not in control of things. From that moment I lost confidence in the project. I realised there was no point shouting and screaming over a small part. So I walked out."

Lisa concedes that even though she does not have any previous experience in films, she knows well enough that things are not as professional in Mumbai as they are in Hollywood. Even then, she believes in keeping her standards high and expects others to treat her as a true professional.

"I admire actors who put their heart and soul to their role," she says. "Unfortunately, you don’t see too much of that in Hindi films — changing yourself physically in terms of losing or gaining weight, changing hair colour... I have seen Jessica Lange do that. I too did it in Kasoor. I dyed my hair black!"

— MF

So who’s got the blues in Bollywood? Shilpa Shetty, of course. Despite a string of reasonable hits, the Shetty baby is down and out. And whenever any Bollywood denizen asks her the reason for her ek bechari look, she’s ready to lash out.

The svelte lady has reportedly filed a Rs 20 crore damages suit against a publication that hinted that she was heavily into affairs and is said to have even linked her with a married man. All that has supposed to have happened after she broke off with Akshay Kumar.

Now Shilpa is said to be breathing fire like the legendary dragon and is ready to singe anyone who even breathes the name of the publication in front of her. Success surely has its downside. And Shilpa is learning the hard way!

Hits may be elusive but Sunil Shetty is no mug when it comes to business. With his restaurant and boutique business soaring, Shetty is sitting pretty and going through the scripts offered to him virtually with a toothcomb. After all, he can afford the luxury of waiting for the right offer.

Which explains why he’s out vacationing in the USA ever so often with wife Mana. But a little bird tells us that Shetty doesn’t keep going back to America for the heck of it. He is planning to start a chain of designer jewellery stores in Uncle Sam’s land which would specialise in antique Indian designs. With his sharp nose for business, Shetty is sure he is on a good wicket here as the rich Indians settled in America can’t resist anything as Indian as antique desi jewellery.