Sunday, September 28, 2003		Bollywood Bhelpuri

HEY! That was some party, guys! Super Cassettes (India) Ltd threw a lovely, lively, lavish party by the poolside of Juhu Centaur to celebrate the completion of Tum Bin — Bhushan Kumar’s first independent production that also marks the directorial debut of Anubhav Sinha. And no less than four newcomers — Priyanshu, Sandali, Himanshu and Rakesh!

The entire venue had been turned into a fairyland fantasy... what with colourfully clad acrobats, men on stilts, dancing birds and animals, weird midgets and leprechauns, fire dancers and real fire eaters! On one side, there was a magnificent stage, giant video screens and glass dance floor, at the other end were tents for the VVIPs to lounge comfortably in.

As the biggies of Bollywood continued to pour in even past midnight, it looked like gathering of who’s who of the Hindi film industry — stars, singers, producers, directors, famous faces and figures from the TV and modelling world. Such was the celebrity influx that even pretty PR executive, Bina Kothari, was left amazed... And exhausted. "Good Lord, looks like I’m going to be here on my li’l feet all night long!" she laughed (anxiously). And she was virtually proved right.

Incidentally, the fireworks display was truly awesome. If only Bill (Clinton) had still been in the city to see it...!

If the grapevine is to be believed, nubile Namrata Shirodkar is next in the line for nuptials very soon! It appears she’s had this hunk of a boyfriend tucked away behind her skirts for quite a long time (ever since her initial ramp days, as a matter of fact) and now she has finally decided to tie the knot with him.

Had this been the beginning of the year 2000 AD, I, like many others, would probably have pooh-poohed the entire idea as the (fertile) figment of someone’s imagination. But, still shook up by the matrimonial surprises sprung by so many stars in rapid succession towards the end of last year, I am willing to believe just about anything now... especially if it’s got anything to do with wildfire weddings in desi filmland! Can’t blame me, can you?

Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta is smitten by Hollywood, no two ways about it. He has planned the entire shoot of his new film Kaante, wholly in the USA and has drawn the entire crew and junior cast from the studios of Hollywood.

With a start-to-finish script in his hands, Gupta will be flying to Los Angeles soon with his cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Shetty, Kumar Gaurav, Mahesh Manjrekar and Lucky Ali. The story is based on Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, with a gang of six deciding to loot a big bank. But the daring heist goes haywire... because one of the guys turns out to be a cop!

Just a moment. Is it true that Sanjay (Gupta) has roped in namesake buddy Sanjay (Dutt) to finance Kaante by forming a new production banner called White Feather? And, since he didn’t officially introduce any heroines of his movie, does it mean we’ll find Sunil Shetty dancing with Hollywood actresses?

No, I haven’t misspelt that, nor is it a typing error. Chi Chi is Govinda’s ‘pet’ name, as we all know. But when I say Chhee Chhee, I mean tsk tsk. Or, to be brutally frank, shame shame!

Whatever for? Well, for being so money hungry, that he continues to do the most pathetic ads and endorsements! Having already appeared in ad films for a paan masala, undergarments and other products, our ‘hero number one’ (sic) is now busy selling a sticky, smelly hair oil!

Sigh, I guess yeh sab maal ka mamla hai!

This feature was published on May 13, 2001