With Naseer in Fun Land
By Madhur Mittal

WITH Naseeruddin Shah in close proximity, things are seldom (if ever) dull. And our man proved it once more on the sets of his new, under production picture — Guru Mahaguru. Believe me, all the especially invited scribes had a whale of a time guffawing their guts out... particularly since the shoot location was the popular amusement park — Fun Land!

With his wig barely held in place (in the strong breeze) by a tight cap, it was a terrific trip down whacky lane as the cogent actor in Naseer went to town — singing a song that exhorted guys to remain single and enjoy their freedom ‘n’ fun without getting tempted or trapped by the much eulogised exciting fruits of marriage. He was joined by numerous dancers as everyone stepped smartly to the tune of Bappi Lahiri, choreographed by maestro Chinni Prakash. I tell you, Fun Land had turned into funky land..... And how!

Director TLV Prasad has given this film a fine flavour with his nifty nuances. The movie costars Om Puri, Ashutosh Rana, Mukul Dev... and introduces a gorgeous, new leading lady — Priyaanka (more on her shortly, so hold your collective breath!) The movie is a PK Arts Creations offering from producer Alok Srivastava who promises to give the viewers their ticket’s worth.

The selling of Sunny

Guess you all must’ve noticed how obviously hard Sunny Deol has tried to sell himself — and his film as debut director — to the cine buffs. TV-watchers have been deluged with "Sunny stuff" in an unabashed attempt to promote himself, to say the least!

For almost a week without let up, the various cable TV channels showed nothing but his mug on the small screen, y’know. The remote control was thrown totally out of control because whichever channel or programme one switched on, had the Deol looming larger than life — staring one in the face in different situations as the screen presented a virtual Sunny film festival with a vengeance! Boy! Think of all the megabucks that must have gone into buying all that prime airtime. The billion dollar question is: Is it going to work.

Bobby’s paid holidays

From elder brother to the younger. If you were to have a dekho at the passports of the young stars of today, you’d be surprised to find that Bobby Deol’s is the most tattered and dog-eared! No, it’s not exactly as if Bobby has been doing an overdose of vacations and blowing up the moolah. Or, maybe you can say he has — but not at his expense!

You see, Bobby’s "paid holidays" have invariably come out of the (poor?) producers’ pockets. How come? The reason is simple, really — over 90 per cent movies of this frizzy haired (clever) actor’s have been usually shot at exotic locales abroad! So, a hot tip for a hotter trip in phoren lands to all those heroines who’d love a free jaunt somewhere in Australia or South Africa: Sign a film with Bobby boy... And enjoy with Bollywood’s own NRI.

Surprise wedding

Kavita Krishnamurthy has wed! And even her closest friends confess that they’re absolutely "surprised" by the whole happening.

Well, can’t really blame ‘em, because till a couple of weeks ago, there was no indication that this famed playback singer had any notions of suddenly taking the plunge into matrimony and giving up her single status, see? She was busy doing double and triple recording shifts in a day as usual and attending all those glittering parties where the audio cassette/CD release of her films were held. Even to the best of the industry insiders who pride themselves as know alls, this marriage was a complete mystery. (No wonder they’re feeling "betrayed" by Kavita!)

And pray, just who is the lucky groom? Renowned musician, Dr L. Subrama-niam! Very evidently, the couple will now be making music together.