Another star on the horizon
By Madhur Mittal

WHILE we have been talking about the immensely popular Khans and the hardly-there Khans — there’s one Khan who has been neatly swept under the proverbial rug — by the media as well as by the movie-going junta! I’m talking about Fardeen Khan, the only son of the most stylish and successful Khan of his time, Feroz Khan.

The year 1998 witnessed the debut of Fardeen amidst much fanfare and hype under the baton of his dad’s direction. Prem Aggan was not only the first film of the young raring-to-go Khan, but also marked the emergence of Papa Feroz as a filmmaker after a long sabbatical. And Fardeen had all the makings of a star!

Everything was working perfectly — the magnificent mahurat, the fresh-faced heroine Meghna Kothari, a handpicked crew, and finally the glittering, starry premier. But then came the shock, the film came and went as if it never existed. The only memory of the colossal mishap is Fardeen. He even received a trophy for the best debutant actor at the prestigious Filmfare Awards function!

The latest on the F.K. (s) frontier is that Feroz is launching his new venture with Fardeen, Qurban Tujhpe Meri Jaan, on a much lower key with saleable stars Aishwarya Rai and Ajay Devgan. And though protective papa would like us to believe that Fardeen has not been short on offers all this while — we know better! But one thing is for sure, this time Fardeen will be presented with the utmost care and secrecy.

After all, isn’t hype always followed by hyper!

Come November

While the entire nation is waiting for Divali — the festival of lights, pujas and bonhomie, our film industry is looking forward to the occasion for a reason — entirely different. Divali is the time when the Rajshri’s — the production house with the Midas’ touch — will release their film Hum Saath Saath Hain,

A mega-starrer with Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Mohnish Behl, Tabu, Sonali Bendre, Karisma Kapoor, Neelam and an awesome supporting cast, the film promises to repeat the magic of Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Koun.

It all seems to point in favour of this celluloid (melo) drama. The banner—Rajshri, the maker — Sooraj Barjatya and the lucky mascot — Salman Khan. It seems nothing can go wrong, but film biz like cricket is a funny game! Anything is possible and nothing is impossible.

Papa pays

Remember Jay Mehta? No, I am not referring to Juhi Chawla’s hubby. This Jay Mehta is well known producer Pranlal Mehta’s son, and has been around for over five years, acting in a number of films like.... well, never mind. The latest on the guy is that he has turned producer with Tarkeeb and has signed Nana Patekar and Tabu. The director is going to be a hotshot Bollywood biggie — "the talks are still on, nothing is finalised", says an insider predictably.

Isn’t it very convenient to have a rich father? He not only makes films starring you but is also all ready and willing to finance you when you decide (or rather, the box office dictates) to produce films of your own.

Another No. 1

After riding high on the wave of the no.1 title , Govinda has finally realised that it’s no longer his exclusive territory! After all, if Karisma Kapoor can give such a big hit with Biwi No. 1 sans Govinda something’s got to give and it has!

So, Vashu Bhagnani has announced his Beta No. 1 with Abhishek Bachchan. The rest of the credits are being finalised. What is final, is that the heroine is not Karisma Kapoor or Sonali Bendre! At least the man knows what he doesn’t want. That’s a beginning!

Bye-bye bhai-bhai

After seeing the kind of debacle Hello Brother has suffered at the movie theaters, director Sohail Khan and his co-producer-cum partner-cum-best friend Bunty Walia, would better turn to making disaster films. At least they won’t be shell-shocked if the film decides to live up to its name.