Sunday, September 23, 2001		Movie Magic

YOU’VE got to agree that the pre-release publicity and the promos for Nayak have been awesome! As a matter of fact, I’m (reliably) informed that leading man Anil Kapoor has pumped in plenty of monies from his own pocket...to ensure that his starrer pulls in the maximum masses to begin with! After all, the stakes are astronomically high for him as a hot hero at the box office, y’know...

Well, Kapoor’s crafty gambit has paid off — at least, initially. The mammoth crowds queuing up outside the cinema houses had to be seen to be believed... causing virtual traffic snarls on the roads near the venues! I guess producer A.M. Rathnam and director Shankar must’ve celebrated like crazy! And, of course, nayak Kapoor!

That the movie is powerful ‘n’ punchy — often voilently intense — cannot be denied. At the same time, film critics (doing the job that comes best to them) haven’t spared "the ridiculous inanities and helplessly hackneyed situations" in the screenplay as well as the "ham performances ‘n’ presentation"! Ah, one can’t possibly please all people all the time, hey!

Trade pundits foresee "a semi superhit" in Nayak. Which, if you go to ‘see’, isn’t half-depressing; on the contrary, it’s a positive pointer to above-average collections and success, right? (Anilji, are you there...? Oh, but he couldn’t be— Kapoor must be capering in the Swiss Alps or some such place out of sheer, hysterical happiness!

Look, I didn’t mean to pry, believe me — it was simply a (sincere) attempt at following up Aditya Basu Bhattacharya’s Avtaar and the progress the movie has made. Remember, I wrote about this Lucky Ali-Sophiya Haque starrer a few months ago, because it really did sound very interesting.

Imagine my shock when I unearthed the most unexpected tidbits! Like, the film is in a (strange) state of limbo... and no further shoots have taken place at all! The reason? Apparently, it’s Ali. Suddenly, he is so full of (hot) air that he’s bloating up like a big aero balloon, so insist insiders! Reportedly, he’s playing damned hard to get and even wants a number of changes made in the project — including sexy singer/dancer, Sophiya, "She’s got the most terrible, wonky legs. I’ve seen better ones on a centre table!"

Eeeks! In that case, may be Lucky saab will do the flick only with Britney Spears... or Jo Lo!

Please do not giggle. It’s true. After his (shotgun) marriage with the slurpy Twinkle Khanna, everyone had expected that Twinks would soon be going proudly around with (unmistakable) physical signs showing that she is carrying... with her sensuous belly button ever so delicately distended, hey!

But the reality is so (dramatically) different! For, while Twinkle has shed weight and is looking maha cool in her new slim self, it’s hubby Akshay Bhatia who’s put on a (prosperous) paunch and is only too obviously overweight by at least 10 kg! Our man may be quite content in his new-found, ‘weighty’ avatar... but then, maybe Akki does also not realise that all the extra lard on him is makng him look at least 10 years older, too! Shucks, what a waste of a macho body...

The ultra-original Sen — Moon Moon — had the adrenalin pumping like crazy through guys’ veins. Oh, just a naughty, inviting look from her was enough to kill!

However, her daughters — Rhea ‘n’ Raima — have had no such luck nor impact in Bollywood. Resigned to doing music videos and bit roles, the two, I’m told, are planning to quit filmi aspirations altogether!

But this ain’t no sob story: Both have (more than) enough boyfriends to smile on!