All eyes on Kareena Kapoor!
By Madhur Mittal

AN attractive persona and an aggressive attitude.... that describes Kareena Kapoor. So what if sister Karisma is riding a revived rainbow in the starry skies — devouring footage in glossy newsglaze by squashing all rumours of an "impending marriage"? Cool Kareena, aka Bebo, isn’t one to lag behind, either....

She is currently on her own high, being seen in all the right places at the right times. And, most importantly, with the right people! This blue-eyed Kapoor girl is no pushover; in fact, Kareena has evidently inherited the heady mix of papa Randhir Kapoor’s bold outspokenness and mum Babita’s no-holds-barred combat approach.

With her debut release (hit film-maker JP Dutta’s Refugee just around the proverbial cine corner), Kareena Kapoor promises to the new heroine of the new millennium. She’s likely to stir up a celluloid storm with her devastatingly deglamourised screen presence... and that too, with Abhishek Bachchan as her prized costar, remember?

Avoiding any smutty liaisons in real life and staying clear of the Bollywood gossip treadmill (well, at least, so far), this sensible stunner has lined up quite a few reel-life zappers for her fans. Like, Abbas-Mustan’s Talaash with Akshay Kumar and Bobby Deol, Ketan Desai’s Yeh Hai Jalwa with Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt, Milan Luthra’s Chori Chori with Ajay Devgan, Sohail Khan’s Aryan... and more!!!

I guess you can safely say that here’s a star who has arrived even before she has started!

Fardeen is still around

Honestly, I don’t blame all those (innumerable) cinegoers as well as trade folk who summarily snuffed out whatever chances young Fardeen Khan may’ve had.... after one look at Prem Aggan — father Feroz Khan’s labour went in vain! I mean, nobody in his right mind could have been impressed, even though, Fardeen himself did fairly well on his own despite all the film’s shortcomings.

Now, this budding leading man has been given the much-needed opportunity to redeem himself... as also his reputation by none other than Ramgopal Verma (of Urmila Matondkar fame)! Yes, It’s a fact that the fine film-maker has especially selected Fardeen for his new movie, tentatively titled Jazbaa! Said to be a rather violent story based on a recent Hollywood blockbuster, the female lead will, of course, have Urmila in a "very different and daring role".

Mela.... or jhamela?

There can be little doubt that Twinkle Khanna is one of the most popular, in demand leading ladies today. Perhaps, that is the prime reason why she is reported to be acting hoity-toity on (and off) the sets of her films nowadays.

Quite a few top producers and directars are heard cribbing about Ms Khanna’s nakhras of late. While some of these film-makers say that Twinkle has gone on to a massive ego trip, others complain that they are starting to get rattled by her constant interference in the market’ work... to the extent tht the release of her new starrers is being unnecessarily delayed due to her uncooperative attitude.

Dharmesh Darshan, the director of Amir Khan-Twinkle starrer Mela, is one such tormented soul. It appears that just because Dharmesh (mildly) rebuked Twinkle one day, for fumbling up her lines as well as the dance steps, she packed off in a huff and didn’t report for subsequent shooting for rest of the shoot schedule! If all this is indeed true the "popularity" and "demand" that Twinkle has been enjoying will soon be distant memory.

Sweet sixteen

Believe it or not, but Pooja Batra is travelling back in time! She says: I’ve lost so much weight, that today I feel like a 16-year-old."

This feature was published on December 12, 1999