ROLE CALL
Soha’s hat-trick

Soha Ali Khan

Reiterating her Bengali connection, Soha Ali Khan will now be seen in Aparna Sen’s tentatively titled Goynar Baksho (The Jewellery Box), where she will star with her mother Sharmila Tagore. This is Soha’s third Bengali film, her earlier ones being Anjan Das’s Iti Srikanto and Rituparno Ghosh’s Antar Mahal.

When contacted, Soha said, "Yes, Aparna Sen did express her desire to work with my mother and me for her next project and we liked the idea. We would love to work with an internationally acclaimed filmmaker like her. And no, I am not nervous about the prospect of working with my mother. Instead, her presence will be a comfort," she adds.

Close to his film Antar Mahal’s release last week, Rituparno Ghosh has already signed Sa Re Ga Ma’s magnum opus Draupadi and is working on the final script. "I am not sure about casting Sushmita or Bipasha for the coveted role, but I am certain that I want Jaya Bachchan to play Gandhari, Shabana Azmi as Kunti and Naseeruddin as Dhritrashtra," says he. Rituparno is also working on Guddu Dhanoa’s next project in Bengali with Manisha Koirala.

Rituparno’s fascination for working with Bollywood actors, especially in regional cinema, is a well-known fact. He worked with Aishwarya Rai in Chokher Bali, Ajay Devgan in Raincoat, and Antar Mahal stars Abishek Bachchan, Jackie Shroff and Soha Ali Khan.

Kalpana Kartik, wife of the evergreen Dev Anand, will stage a comeback after almost 50 years. She is doing a cameo in Dev Anand’s latest film Mr Prime Minster. She was last seen in Vijay Anand’s Nau Do Gyarah where she starred opposite her husband way back in 1957.

Mr Prime Minister is about one hour 45 minutes long and stars Dev Anand, Boman Irani and Tara Sharma. While Dev Anand plays the title role, Tara plays a terrorist in the film.

The film makes a political statement and also covers an episode on the Al-Qaida bombings. Dev Anand — the man with the never-say-die spirit — will not take a break after Mr Prime Minister.

He will start with Beauty Queen that he had planned before Mr Prime Minister and also has Song of Life on the cards, that is on the lines of the famous musical Chicago.

Call it a coincidence, but soon after Amitabh Bachchan and Sharmila Tagore came together on screen in Mahesh Manjrekar’s Virudh, their respective offsprings are co-starring in Rituparno Ghosh’s Antar Mahal, which has been produced by Jaya Bachchan. We caught up with Jaya to talk about the film and son Abhishek Bachchan.

"Quality matters, awards don’t," is what the lady seems to believe in. "I’ll work with Rituparno any day and I agreed to produce the film as I have tremendous faith in his work," she said.

"The film may not have won any award at the Locarno film festival, something I’m questioned about, but that does not mean that it’s not a good film," she says.

"When Ritu approached me to convince Abhishek for the role, I told him to talk to him directly, as I don’t want to influence his decisions," Jaya continues. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t advise him at all.

"I don’t suggest until asked. When Abhishek asked me about Antar Mahal, I told him he shouldn’t miss an opportunity of working with Ritu. I believe this project will help him improve as an actor." — MF

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