Immediate speculation will point to Ranbir’s chemistry with Katrina Kaif. It’s hasty to pin the blame on Katrina though, as Deepika had seemed insecure before the pretty actress came into the picture. And it’s not Ma Kapoor that put the spanner in the works either.

Ranbir, after all, is a hot-blooded Kapoor. He is a natural charmer as far as women go and sooner or later, Deepika would have heard about his flirtations. Apparently, Ranbir isn’t too modest about it either. Discretion about his less-than-innocent encounters would’ve been highly advisable, but he hasn’t exactly been a posterboy for it so far. Common friends carried the news to Deepika, perhaps adding a bit of tadka for flavour.

This is when Deepika decided to call it off. Apparently, she told Ranbir to mend his ways since she had given a lot to this relationship. She had cut off ties with all her ‘good friends’ like Nihar Pandya and Yuvraaj Singh. So, she wanted Ranbir to give 100 per cent to the relationship as well. She kept hearing about his ‘friendship’ with Nandita Mahtani and other girls.

At this point of time, Ranbir started feeling suffocated in his relationship with Deepika. He asked for his space and Deepika justifiably wanted to know ‘What space? Aren’t we a couple?’

The final straw was hearing about his ‘crackling chemistry’ with Katrina. The next thing she did was to land up on the sets of Rajneeti in Bhopal, where Ranbir was shooting with Katrina. She stayed there for nearly two weeks.

After she came back from Bhopal, her relationship with Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh’s son was almost over. The crack first became evident at Shabina Khan’s birthday party two weeks ago where the two sat in different corners of the room.

And what about Neetu Singh? Mamma Neetu, who is said to have a very cold relationship with Deepika, did not play catalyst. A source says, “Neetu wants Ranbir to be happy. She will never go against his choice. Ranbir always treated Deepika as a girlfriend and not as someone special, basically there was no passion in their relationship.”

Times

One can remember that eventful night of July 2008 when Shah Rukh Khan crossed swords with Katrina Kaif’s boyfriend, playboy lothario Salman Khan. The war of words between the industry’s two biggest stars sent shockwaves across the world. On that day two camps were created, the Shah Rukh camp and and Salman camp. Those who were old time friends of Shah Rukh sided with him while the rest decided to talk up for Salman. Everyone had a word to say and everyone took sides. But one lady had to bear the biggest brunt of all… Salman Khan’s girlfriend Katrina Kaif.

For Katrina this was a huge problem caused not by herself. On the crisp of a career high, Katrina was all set to recieve the biggest accolade for a Bollywood starlet; a leading lady role oppisite King Khan Shah Rukh himself. She was offered a mega budget film by the biggest Bollywood banner, Yash Raj Films. Even entertaining the idea of starring opposite her boyfriend’s enemy number one was no-go for Kat. The next few months she dodged every question put to her regarding Shah Rukh Khan. Rather than turning down roles opposite him she just said she was ‘busy’. But now the scene has changed for her. She is now not on the crisp of a career high but is indeed riding way up there. With hit after hit no one can say that Katrina Kaif is a nobody. She has made a name for herself in a competitive market and not only that, but fast-tracked to the elite list of Bollywood heroines.

Now Katrina Kaif has decided to become bold and risky. She will not let her boyfriend come in-between her career. So she is letting the world know that she is ready to star opposite Mr. Shah Rukh Khan.

The first step to show this new Katrina Kaif was for the lady herself to bee seen at major parties mingling with none other than Shah Rukh Khan. Only last week the whole world witnessed Katrina and Shah Rukh together at two different parties within days of each other, Subhash Ghai and Pinky Roshan’s respective birthday celebrations. When the media asked her about this, and what Salman Khan would make of it, Katrina replied, “I fail to understand why people must constantly focus on just one aspect of an event. I’m not complaining because I know that if you are in the eye of the media, it only means that you are important enough to them. However, my bumping into Shah Rukh or spending time with him at an event is just a regular thing. I think people should stop trying to look for controversy in every nook and cranny. All of us are here to work. And we have common functions to attend. Naturally, when we’re under the same roof, we will interact. Why make a fuss? Who wouldn’t want to associate with Shah Rukh or Karan Johar?’’

“After four years in the industry, I know fully well that if your work doesn’t speak for you, everything else is inconsequential,” admitted Katrina. “Believe me, I’m not excited about being in the paper everyday, or on TV, unless there is something in my career worth talking about. Media hype and publicity can’t sustain a star for long. It’s like an air balloon that can be pricked anytime… and will go phut.’’

“Karan thinks out of the box. On the one hand, he makes a Dostana and then a path-breaking film like Wake Up Sid. Naturally, I’d like to do a film for his banner. Likewise, working with Adi (Yash Raj Films) is a pleasure. He has a young unit and they work with clockwork precision. Doing a film for them is being on a school camp, but completely result oriented,” says Katrina when asked about her future films.

“Honestly, I have no illusions about where I’m positioned,’’ said the pragmatic girl. “I’m nobody’s fool and for the moment, all I want is to do is some good work.’’

Follow the links below to watch further parts of this video feature.

Follow the links below to watch further parts of this video feature.

The Happily Married Intellectual Couple – Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi

Like all lovebirds, this decent-intellectual couple too underwent love affair and was spotted dating each other on various private places.. Both were seeking a strong bond of love, a real partner who could understand the nature, respect the feelings and above all shower the romance, which the two were looking desperately since they both were heart-broken – Javed Akhtar from his Ex-wife Honey Irani (a renowned script writer and film director) and Shabana from Shekhar Kapoor (a well famed filmmaker of international repute). Soon the two realized that they were made for each other. Prior to their love affair, Javed Akhtar used to come to Shabana’s house to meet her father Kaifi Azmi, a well-known Urdu poet and a film lyricist. Since both (Javed and Kaifi) were from the same field of Urdu literature (writing), they shared a good friendship with each other.

Stories of the Javed-Shabana’s romance had been in the air for quite some time. And even they both neither confirmed their romance nor denied it. This attitude of their gave confirmation that they were in love. When Honey Irani got to know about Javed’s affair with Shabana Azmi, she sent her spies to investigate the whole situation. She was told that Javed left the house freshly showered with the beautiful fragrance of aftershave and cologne and went straight to meet his love lady Shabana. Akhtar’s neighbors at Sea Spring, Bandstand in Bombay whispered to Honey about his late and early mornings arrivals. And then came the magical day, which put the full stop to all rumours. 10^th December 1984 , Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi tied the nuptial knot. It was a spellbinding afternoon swathed with their guests who came to congratulate and wish the couple good luck. Both had innumerable appointments, but neither was willing to budge. Javed Akhtar had an appointment with a producer whereas Shabana had a recoding with the music director Khayyam for a movie, ‘Anjuman’. Only a few very close guests were invited since the decision of marriage was taken in haste, on the day they got married. All happened in a jiffy. Shabana, Javed, Shabana’s friends and her mother’s friends all were sitting in the garden. Neither Kaifi Azmi nor Shoukat Azmi (Shabana’s mother) was present at the occasion. As dusk fell, some more close friends dropped by. Shabana’s cousin Rajjo came with her daughter Farha. Anu Kapoor (the coveted Bollywood actor and the famous host of Zee TV’s show Antakshri) and Farha went to hunt for a maoulvi for the Nikah. Shabana Azmi as usual was unable to locate her cupboard keys and sat motionless in her room. Soon she thought of something and then grabbed the saree lying outside, tied a rubber band around her hair and the bride was ready for the most happiest day of life. Much later after the wedding, Shabana regretted not wearing a gharara and not having a photographer on her very important day. “How sad that I have absolutely no memory of the precious moment. It was over before I knew it”, she told to the press.

For a long time after, everytime Shabana Azmi attended a wedding ceremony she missed the celebration she could never have. “We had no lights, no shehnai. It didn’t even feel like a wedding…!”, she further expressed to the media. The room for their suhaag raat was decorated with the traditional mograas and agarbatties.

The press condemned their marriage. They termed Javed Akhtar a cad and Shabana a hypocrite. From someone championing women’s issues, they expected something better. The media persons arrived at the sets of Shoukat Azmi’s Umraao Jaan at Mehboob Studios to have her statement on her daughter’s marriage where she and her husband were not present. The press did not stop here instead they went to Shabana’s father Kaifi Azmi with a newspaper cutting (carrying the story on Shabana-Javed’s marriage) in Mijwan, UP. MTNL was on strike those days, which is why the news of the wedding could not reach to him there. Shoukat Azmi broke down because her daughter had taken a major decision in her husband’s absence. Kaifi Azmi, on the other hand, was not much surprised at his daughter’s sudden marriage and felt relieved that the problem had now found a solution. He got happy that now there would be one more writer in his daughter’s life.

The whole media in the country was not going to let Shabana get away so easily. But she defended herself with dignity. Shabana and Javed maintained silence. They owed no one any explanations

In a poem written on his love Shabana, Javed Akhtar dashed off, ‘Woh Us Duniya Ki Aurat Hai Jis Duniya Mein Main Rehta Hoon’. Absolutely true, because she is intellectual like Javed. And they both respect each other’s intellects. Finding a partner up to your mind is difficult and very rarely, it happens. And he finds himself lucky that he has got the one, who is like him.

- Written By: Goher Iqbal Punn

Kindly let us have your thoughts on this story on the space provided below.

- The writer is a popular and experienced Bollywood and Indian TV Analyst and laced with a good rapport with both of these fraternities and the people associated with these entertainment worlds. He also shares a good rapport with the celebs of these swanky industries. You may contact him at the e-mails: goheriqbal@yahoo.co.uk, goher.punn@yahoo.com and goher.punn@gmail.com

When a speeding car threw out Rekha onto the road…

This actress is a real dusky beauty swathed with the gifted talents, which made her presence felt in the toughest Hindi film industry and helped her stand amongst the biggies of this swanky trade. She has her own class and strapping standing in Bollywood that cannot be demolished. Which is why, she is still seen in the movies in this old age in power packed roles. Today, she looks as young as she was in her heydays though she has crossed 50.

Till date, Rekha has delivered award-winning performances in her long career. Even many flicks are still remembered with her name, as she appeared as the pivotal performer in them. The notables amongst them are: ‘Umrao Jaan’, ‘Utsav’, ‘Ijaazat’, ‘Khoon Bhari Mang’, ‘Phool Bane Angaray’ and to name a few.

Starting her film profession at very young age in 1966, Rekha has worked with all the leading actors of the industry from Amitabh Bachchan, Jateendra, Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna, Rakesh Roshan, Vinod Mehra, Sashi Kapoor, Farooq Sheikh, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and many others.

The sizzling actress has undergone many love affairs, but the one, which she could not erase from her mind, is her affair with Lambo Ji (Amitabh Bachchan). She is deeply in love with the man with baritone voice.

Today when the hot actresses like Bipasha Basu, Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif are there to be in the news all the time, Rekha’s popularity graph is not behind rather it is so high that the world-renowned news channel ‘CNN’ interviewed her in its New York studio.

The incident, which I am going to describe you, took place during the 80s decade when Rekha and Raj Babbar were shooting on a long outdoor for T. Rama Rao’s ‘Sansar’ in Chennai. When they returned to the tinsel town, the stories about their romance were in the air. What actually spilled the beans was the midnight drama that unfolded on the streets of Juhu in Bombay. The newspapers’ phones began to ring with bizarre stories which seemed stranger than fiction. It all began when a speeding car threw out a woman onto the road in the very late hours of the night in Juhu. The woman clad with white sari collected herself, stood from the ground and started walking. Spotting a passing taxi on the road, she called it. The voice of the woman seemed familiar to the few sex workers who were out there and strolling by lazily. They recognized the actress. Even without the trace of the make-up, Rekha was too dazzling to go unnoticed. ‘It’s her. Rekha, the film actress’, they shouted. Within moments, she was surrounded by all of them – someone pulling her hair, someone her hand. It was her good fortune that a film unit member returning home stopped by. To his disbelief, he found Rekha sobbing, begging them to let her go. He hurriedly pushed his car right into the crowd, pulled Rekha from the mad crowd and then dropped her to her home in his car. To this day, nobody knows about that man, who saved the steamy damsel in distress.

The next morning, the whole of the Bombay city was buzzing with the news. The journalists phoned Rekha to find out if the story was true. She was not available for comments. It’s an utter fact in the industry that whenever a serious controversy crops up, the star is never available for clarifications.

Whether she clarifies this controversy or not, but one thing is certain that she is still there on the celluloid in the autumn of her life with her usual heart-hitting charms and mesmerizing beauty with much oomph. She has not lost her worth yet. She still looks young and fresh as she was decades back.

- Written By: Goher Iqbal Punn

Kindly let us hear your views on this story on the space provided below.

- The writer is a popular and experienced Bollywood and Indian TV Analyst and laced with a good rapport with both of these fraternities and the people associated with these entertainment worlds. He also shares a good rapport with the celebs of these swanky industries. You may contact him at the e-mails: goheriqbal@yahoo.co.uk, goher.punn@yahoo.com and goher.punn@gmail.com

The much-talked about marriage of Mohsin Khan and Reena Roy

Theirs was without any doubt the much-talked about marriage (taken place in early eighties) since the guy was a very famous super cricketer of Pakistani cricket team and the gal a coveted mega actress of Hindi film industry. When their love affair oozed out and they started dating, the gossip mill had begun to buzz in the Bollywood fraternity, in the media around the globe, amongst the Pakistani cricket team and the masses. Whenever the Pakistani team went to India to play matches, the gorgeous dusky actress would go to stadium to see her dashing hero playing the shots. Even Reena did not miss any chance to see the live matches of Mohsin Khan in other corners of the world. The same happened with the Oval hero, as he was also found on the sets and on the roads of Bombay to meet his girlfriend. This was a mad love between the two, which took both to tie the knot finally without caring about the boundaries of the two countries (as they rightly say, ‘Love sees no boundaries’).

Nobody in the industry believed that Reena would eventually settle down. Prior to meeting Mohsin, she was madly in love with the Banarsi Babo Shatrughan Sinha. Besides, Roy was also on a constant see-saw, now-on and now-off relationships with other men. Reena wanted marriage but Shatru was unable to make up his mind since he was already married to his childhood sweetheart Poonam. He was dilly-dallying between the two ladies whom he met daily – one on the sets and the other at home. Sinha’s shaky mind dragged Reena to another man, Rajnesh from whom she did also not find any happiness, utter love and piece of mind. She was deeply in a low phase, when the charming Khan came into her life. The chocolate looking macho Bollywood hero Vinod Khanna helped her get out of this low phase and Jaya Bachchan encouraged Reena to say ‘yes’ to Mohsin Khan’s marriage proposal. The moment Reena decided to become Mohsin’s bride, she did not leave any stone unturned to play the perfect bahu begum of Pakistan. She started to support the Pakistani team. Every time there was an India-Pakistan match where Indian team did better, the whole film industry would tease Reena saying, ‘Jal Gayi Reena Roy’.

In May, 1980, in an interview to the media, Reena Roy expressed her desire to get married and leave the film fraternity (as her lover boy had stepped into her life by now, but it was too early to make up her mind for him). She said, “I don’t know why, but I am suddenly beginning to resent work these days. I think I’m tired. Half of my time goes in traveling to the studios and the other half in waiting endlessly for my shot. I am fed up with costumes, wigs, make up and all that. I think I need to settle down. I wish some Prince Charming would come galloping my way. The day he does, I will get married and go away like Mumtaz. Never to return to the archlights again.”

Three years later, when she was in London to attend the Amitabh Bachchan show, their love boomed and soared sky high. Mohsin Khan took the flight to London to spend the leisure time with his princess. Every evening, Mohsin Khan called her up at her hotel, where she was staying, and asked her to be ready. He picked her up in his car and took her for long drives. They talked for long hours. Mohsin told her about his game, his ambitions and his future. Reena listened him and enjoyed his talking thoroughly. She, on the other hand, expressed about her flagging interest in her profession, her dilemma and her growing insecurities. Both also discussed their parents, their families and friends. Slowly but surely, the strong love relationship was cemented between the two.

Back home, in India, Reena began to think often of Mohsin, started missing him a lot. She confessed to herself and then to her close friend Jaya Bachchan that she was deeply in love with the super Pakistani cricketing hero. But the problem was that she was unable to decide what to do..! Jaya, being a good friend, made Reena conscious of her own identity and the need to find real happiness for herself. She asked Reena to put aside her doubts about her family, her career, about Shatrughan Sinha and helped her make a decision for her prosperous future and happiness in life. Therefore Jaya gave the positive signal to wed to Mohsin Khan, as Reena was unable to live without the guy and her world was lying with the charming Moshin Hassan Khan. Reena knew Moshin for more than six years. Besides, he was talented, successful, much famous across the globe and very rich. Hence there appeared no problem at all for the beautiful renowned actress of Bollywood to spend the rest of her life with the popular dashing Khan. On the other hand, she too had played long innings in the film industry and earned pretty good fame and money, as she was there for the last ten years. But now she was tired of acting and the futile relationships, she had gone through earlier. There was a vacuum in her life and above all, the age for marriage was growing also. So, she decided to be the life partner of her dream man, Moshin Khan. Finally, the wedding took place on 1^st April, 1983 and Reena left for her new home in Karachi, Pakistan.

Years later, when Moshin Khan said good bye to the national cricket team due to his clashes with the cricket board, he settled with his wife Reena Roy in Bombay and tried his luck in Hindi cinema. But as the fact is crystal clear that the cricketers can hit sixes only in playgrounds not on celluloid, he too flopped at Bollywood front doing few films in a few years like his counterpart Sandeep Patel (the debonair batsman of Indian cricket team), who made his debut in films opposite with Poonam Dhillon in ‘Kabhi Ajnabi Thay’ and did some films after that and went back to home. Reena did not return to filmdom, though her hubby was doing movies, instead she preferred to be a housewife looking after her baby girl, Jannat.

All Reena and Mohsin want is a happy married life being lovers always. But destiny had something else in store for them. The clashes started to emerge between the lovers and some years later, they parted their ways. Mohsin gave divorce to Reena and returned to his home, Pakistan. Khan joined Lollywood (Pakistani film industry) and did many films but again he had to face bad luck on movies front.

Today he is a successful commentator of cricket and coaches the young aspiring cricketers. Reena Roy, after being divorced, returned to archlights but failed in both the entertaining worlds – films and television being the leading actress of the past. When they divorced, Mohsin Khan got the custody of the daughter but when he re-married, Reena Roy got her back with the help of the law. Today, Jannat lives with Reena Roy.

Once the mad lovers, today they both hesitate and do not like to talk about each other.

- Written By: Goher Iqbal Punn

Kindly send us your valued thoughts on this story on the space below.

- The writer is a popular and experienced Bollywood and Indian TV Analyst and laced with a good rapport with both of these fraternities and the people associated with these entertainment worlds. He also shares a good rapport with the celebs of these swanky industries. You may contact him at the e-mails: goheriqbal@yahoo.co.uk, goher.punn@yahoo.com and goher.punn@gmail.com

The Broken Marriages of Vinod Mehra

Vinod Mehra, the sober looking fine actor of the 70s and 80s, who maintained his career steadily and made his place in the Hindi cinema with the dexterous skills he was swathed with. Not a super star, Mehra did not touch the heights of success in his entire phase of films, but always gave his best shot and kept a good status in the industry. Which was why, he was never out of the film abode. An average hero with marvelous dexterity of acting draped with the soft style of dialogue delivery, Vinod made his presence felt with his acting prowess amongst the mega stars of his time from Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Mithun Chakraborty, Jateendra and others.

The polite actor did not find himself happy in his married life. He went through broken marriages till death. Mehra got married four times. And out of them, three marriages broke and only the last could survive.

The first woman to enter his life was none other than the epitome of beauty-the dusky Rekha, who became his life partner. It was a love marriage. Both had worked together in many films prior to their wedding. The marriage could not survive since Rekha gave her heart to Lambo Jee (the dashing man with rocket solid voice, the super star Amitabh Bachchan). But they both remained good friends till Mehra’s death.

The next lady to hit his home as his bride was Meena Broca, the girl his mother had chosen for him. Since it was an arrange marriage, Vinod was not happy at all. Thus the relationship could not develop between the two. After some days of his marriage, a journalist went to interview the newly-wed couple and found that the certain natural fragrance (which is normally attached to a happy occasion) was missing in the ambiance of his residence. Vinod was awkward and Meena nervous. Their answers to the questions of journalist were appearing rehearsed. And it was obvious that they were not comfortable in each other’s presence. Mehra suffered his first heart attack soon after his wedding to Meena. He could not take much time to compromise with the gal, his mother had selected for him. And three months later, one fine afternoon, he eloped with the co-star Bindya Goswami (the ravishing actress with innocent looks) while still being married to Meena Broca. It was Mehra’s third marriage and appeared in the media as a major scandal, which took an ugly turn when Meena’s brothers threatened him with dire consequences. Torn between his love for Goswami and his mother, Mehra was overridden with guilt. On the other hand, Bindya’s parents were pretty much upset with her for spoiling a promising career to settle down with an already married man. For a while, the two stayed in hotel rooms.

About his marriage with Meena, Vinod Mehra said to the media, “I don’t want to explain, but my marriage with her is not a marriage”. Certainly, it was a very sad break-up. The blushing bride, who had come to his home with abundant of dreams, had to pack her baggage a few weeks later.

The Goswami family was much sure that the marriage between Vinod and Bindya wouldn’t last since they knew that their daughter was irresponsible. Mrs. Mehra, Vinod’s mother was also not happy with his son’s marriage with the actress. She said to the journalists, “Ek bar jis larki ko madam bulvane ki aadat par jayee vo bahu ya bhabhi nahin ban sakti. Vo madam hi rahte hai”.

Call it destiny, but a few years later history repeated itself when Bindya left Vinod’s home to tie the knot with the noted filmmaker J.P Dutta, whilst still being married to Mehra. The lover (Vinod) went to plead to bring Bindya back, but she had made up her mind. A few years later, Mehra made up his mind too when he got married to Kiran. Again it was a love marriage. Vinod tied the nuptial knot for the fourth time and she (Kiran) for the second. The excited Mehra told to the reporters at the wedding ceremony, “This is the right one. You wait and watch, this will last forever”. And surely it did, only Vinod Mehra died too young due to the severe heart attack he suffered.

His death was as dramatic as his marriage. Covered in mystery till the very end, nobody was able to resolve why his body turned black during the last hours. He felt severe pain in his chest and asked his wife Kiran who rubbled balm. “Call the doctor. I think I am dying”, he said to better half. The frightened wife rushed to summon the doctor. He’d begun to turn pale by then. “I don’t want to die. I want to see our baby”. These were the last words he uttered to his wife again and again. The death did not let him see his baby and took him along. He died on 30^th October 1990.

The numerous marriages the actor (who acted in a long list of films) turned filmmaker went through his life, Rekha was his regular confidante. They continued to remain friends till the end day of Vinod’s life. Rekha was the first person to meet Meena to give her the customary saree and jewellery. And many years later, she did the same with Kiran. Today, Kiran wears the same locket Rekha had gifted her at the wedding.

Kiran gave birth to two kids – Soniya Mehra and Rohan Mehra. Soniya was two years old when Vinod died. Rohan took birth after his father’s death (whom he wanted to see). Soniya Mehra has recently made her debut in Bollywood with the flick, ‘Victora No. 203’, which is a remake of the 1972 classic of the same name. Such a fine-polite actor, Vinod Mehra will always be remembered in good words by his fans and the movie buffs of Hindi cinema.

- Written By: Goher Iqbal Punn

Kindly send us your valued thoughts on this story on the space below.

- The writer is a popular and experienced Bollywood and Indian TV Analyst and laced with a good rapport with both of these fraternities and the people associated with these entertainment worlds. He also shares a good rapport with the celebs of these swanky industries. You may contact him at the e-mails: goheriqbal@yahoo.co.uk, goher.punn@yahoo.com and goher.punn@gmail.com

Bollywood Babes’ Inclination to Dance in Marriage Ceremonies and Private Parties

In the swanky world of Bollywood, many things happen and anything can happen. Earlier we used to hear about stars performing live in concerts but now they have taken a step ahead and entertain their audiences live in marriages and private parties. In Pakistan, this trend is not new rather it has been going on for long as you have been witnessing it in almost every marriage ceremony and private party where the coveted babes of the film world and the other stars render their performances to entertain the guests. Across the border, this thing was not much active years back, they just used to hire the services of the popular vocalists to provide entertainment to their guests. But in today’s modern world, everything is changed and so is the Bollywood industry. Now the stars particularly the famous stunning babes of the filmdom and the entertainment world are roped in to perform live at the wedding ceremonies and the parties. And they love to show their dexterity at the occasions. From low profile gals of the ritzy world of showbiz to the high profile actresses and models, all seem to be fully geared up to shake the legs on the tunes of popular Hindi numbers at the events.

To perform live before the audiences at the private functions was not considered good for the famous and high status actresses till some years back. And they strictly refused these types of offers, if proffered. But now they are more than happy to dance at the parties of any type. And to accomplish this task, they have their business managers who settle the deals with the clients on behalf of the actresses. Besides, the Bollywood babes and the curvaceous lasses of the modeling and entertainment abode, the male stars of film, television and modeling world also do not leave any stone unturned to display their histrionics at the happenings. Except the big lot of the male Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan and the likes (who give their live performances in concerts or film functions only), rest of the brigade like to deliver the goods in private gatherings.

Recently I was provided the details of a marriage ceremony of an Indian business tycoon Sachiin Joshi by a renowned film-celeb’s PR Company (which also deals with the PR activities of the famous Bollywood and TV celebrities) to give coverage to the giant dazzling wedding of the town where the big wheel actresses like Kareena Kapoor, Sameera Reddy. Yana Gupta, Malaika Arora Khan, Amrita Arora and popular TV actresses Shama Skiandar and Sangeeta Ghosh shook the legs on popular Hindi tracks. In addition to the actresses, the male artists have also been witnessed giving performances there like singer-musician Shankar Mahadevan, Himesh Reshammiya, coveted drum maestro Sivamani with Rahul Sharma who set the event afire with their power packed acts. Javed Jaffery (the Boggie Woogie fame star) hosted the show. The marriage ceremony held in Udaipur.

Since Pakistan seems to be the biggest market for the Hindi movies to the Bollywood filmmakers (as they are so much determined to screen their flicks in Pakistan and are showing them also), a very well known music company cum production house approached me to have work for their clients (if anyone/any organization shows interest to showcase the stars’ performances in the concerts or private gatherings in Pakistan). The picture got clear more to me when I got to know the names of their clients that the biggies like them can perform in the private parties..? Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Amrita Rao, Malaika Arora Khan, Urvahsi Sharma (the movie Naqab fame) Alisha Chinoy and to name a few are on their clients’ list.

Last year, the ravishing women of the glittering world of Bollywood – Katrina Kaif, Malaika Arora Khan, Yana Gupta and Juhi Pramar (Star Plus’s show Kum Kum fame) were invited to deliver the dance performances in a marriage ceremony and birthday party by a business magnate in Lahore. They had been given the stay at a five star hotel in the city. Although the babes of the Hindi film industry and television fraternity have been bopping in concerts in Pakistan, but they are also being invited secretly in private functions in the country. The top Bollywood women like Shilpa Shetty, Sushmita Sen and many others have come to show their talents of dance in Pakistan.

It has emerged as a trend now to invite the gorgeous actresses of Bollywood to dance in the private parties and marriages. Whether it is good or bad, it is okay as long as they do not mind it.

- Written By: Goher Iqbal Punn

Kindly send us your valued thoughts on this story on the space provided below.

- The writer is a popular and experienced Bollywood and Indian TV Analyst and laced with a good rapport with both of these fraternities and the people associated with these entertainment worlds. He also shares a good rapport with the celebs of these swanky industries. You may contact him at the e-mails: goheriqbal@yahoo.co.uk, goher.punn@yahoo.com and goher.punn@gmail.com

The Stars Who Have Vanished from the Scene…

In and out of stars from the industry are the parts of Bollywood fraternity. Every day, many people come to the city of dreams to make their mark in this gigantic entertainment abode. Amongst them a few get a chance to enter the glam world, the rest of the lot has to return back disappointedly. Talent is what the industry always needs, which is why it welcomes anybody who is swathed with the ocean of talents no matter the artist is from the other part of the world. We have been observing from the outset that the stars often disappear from the scene…some of them vanish for forever and some make their comeback after some hiatus. It has been happening in the Hindi filmdom since the day the film industry has taken birth.

In recent past, a horde of coveted stars has evaporated from the big screen. This normally happens when the worth of the star falls flat. But the question is that when does the worth of an artist collapse? The answer is that when the sparks of acting and the talent appear zero on the judgment meter of a filmmaker. And how does the filmmaker judge it? It is simply through the audiences’ reaction and the box office value of the star. But wait…before you make it a point, there is another side of a coin as well and that is sometimes the stars themselves shrivel from the view for some lull in order to make the audiences feel their absence so that they can yearn to see their favourite stars on screen. And when they make their comeback, their arrival is highly acknowledged and adored as happened with Amitabh Bachchan. Amidst all of these facts, there is also another fact that it has also been witnessed that sometimes the comeback of stars harm their star power in the minds of the viewers since they have forgotten them and do not want to see them on screen. Anyway, in the midst of all, luck has its role too to play.

Lately, we saw the queen of Bollywood, Madhuri Dixit (who had left the Bollywood after getting married to an NRI doctor many years back) making her comeback in the industry (which was hugely awaited) with the big banner film, ‘Aaja Nach Lay’ churned out by Yash Raj Films; with them she has delivered many hits earlier. The whole Bollywood fraternity was looking forward to her comeback very anxiously and every filmmaker wanted to rope in her in his movie. In short, the whole industry welcomed her colossally with big heart. But when the people do not approve of any star and do not like to see any star (who they have forgotten), how can a filmmaker then move forward to chew a film with that star (whether or not he/she is his/her favourite) because ultimately everyone wants to see his business boosting. The same case happened with the gorgeous yesteryears’ top actress, the dancing queen Madhuri Dixit. People did not come out to see her movie in theaters and eventually the turn out of the flick was average. The obvious reasons of people’s not coming to theaters might be so many but the main ones are:

· She took a very long period to return to movies.

· She is old now and has crossed the age of a heroine (since she is above forty years of age).

· No one would like to see an old woman dancing and acting like young heroines.

· The wrinkles on her face are apparent.

· The sparks, which she had in plenty in her time, look stumpy.

· She is married with two kids.

Another ravishing actress of the past, Sri Devi has hid herself from the movies since quite long. The actress left the film industry when she was on the peak of her career. Married to Bonny Kapoor (the famous filmmaker and the elder brother of Anil Kapoor), Devi has a baby girl and still has no plans to return to Bollywood. Although she has made many appearances on TV soaps but the actress likes to pursue her career in production side not on acting front. It is no doubt a very intelligent decision, the actress has made, as she knows that she has become older now and the people will not like to see her in a heroine’s get-up.

Bhagiya Shree, the very cute gal of ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’ fame, has not been seen in films for last many years. Shree ruined her career by herself as she had laid the restriction that she would be working only in those movies in which the hero opposite her would be her husband. Soon after her decision, the filmmakers left working with her and later on she was seen on TV soaps only. But later she stopped appearing on the television as well. Recently we saw her dancing on the show, ‘Jhalak Dikhla Jaa’.

Mamta Kulkarni, the sex symbol actress, is no more on Bollywood scene today. She got instant fame in the industry due to her bold attitude and beauty. But she could not survive due to her lack of acting.

Pooja Bhatt, the daughter of the popular filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, has switched over to filmmaking and left the acting. She is also married and is doing well with her own production house, ‘Fish Eye Network’.

Manisha Koirala, the very stunningly gorgeous actress, who has marvelous dexterity of acting and was amongst the biggies of trade till some years back, has suddenly disappeared from the celluloid. Lastly she was seen in Akbar Khan’s magnum opus ‘Taj Mahal’ and in another low budget film, ‘Chahat Ek Nasha’. Probably, she knows the fact that she has grown older now and gained much weight.

Sonali Bandre, the dusky gal of the tinsel town, left the movies’ foxhole when she had married to the film director, Goldie Behl. She has no intention to join the actresses’ bandwagon again though she is still young to carry on the acting job. Lately she was seen judging a music show, ‘Indian Idol’. But for films, an utter ‘No’ from her side.

Karishma Kapoor, the blue-eyed curvaceously sexy lass of the Kapoor family, absconded from the films when she had tied the knot with a Delhi based industrialist some years ago. But she returned to the cinema with the movie, ‘Mere Jeevan Saathi’ opposite Akshay Kumar in 2005. The film flopped and so did the actress. Once the hot favourite of all the moviegoers, she could not carve a space in her fans’ hearts again.

Twinkle Khanna, the gorgeous elder daughter of Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapdia, left Bollywood after getting married to super star Akshay Kumar some years ago. Today she is a housewife and has a baby boy.

Rinkie Khanna, the younger sister of Twinkle Khanna, disappeared as well from the movies’ scene after she had married to an NRI. She is currently in USA with her hubby.

Ravina Tandon too said good-bye to the filmdom after getting married. Today she is a mother of kids. Recently it has been learnt that she will make her comeback soon.

Mahima Choudhary, the gal with sparkling smile, got married a few years back with her boyfriend (a famous architect of Mumbai) and is currently enacting as a housewife with her baby girl.

Perizaad Zorabian, the ‘Joggers Park’ fame gal, tied the nuptial knot with her longtime boyfriend Boman Irani (no…no…he is not the famous actor rather he is a leading constructor of Mumbai) and is maintaining silence on film front.

In addition to the above noted actresses, there are many other low-profile actresses who have vanished from the movies’ canvas like Pooja Batra, Ashwini Bawane, Reema Lago, Reema Sen and Deepa Sahi.

Not only are the actresses who have evaporated from the film abode but also there are many actors who have not been seen on the celluloid.

Jackie Shroff, the legendry star of Bollywood, is vanished altogether these days and is being seen in the bashes only. What happened to the maestro of acting is a riddle to solve!

Jugal Hansraj, the Masoom movie fame child star, was seen in only a few films. The actor could not carve a niche in filmmakers and viewers’ hearts. And this is because he still has to learn the acting.

Sharad Kapoor (who made his debut with Sushmita Sen in ‘Dastak’), the actor with impeccable skills of acting, could not float on the movies’ waves. With him, it is his bad luck that he is not being offered roles these days otherwise the actor is of class.

Chandar Choor Singh, who was introduced by Gulzar in ‘Maachis’, is far away from the films though he is potentially a good actor.

In the vast sparklingly mesmerizing world of Bollywood, the in – out of the stars is the part of this game and this practice will continue forever and cannot pop off.

- Written By: Goher Iqbal Punn

We surely like you to place your thoughts on this story.

- The writer is a popular and experienced Bollywood and Indian TV Analyst and laced with a good rapport with both of these fraternities and the people associated with these entertainment worlds. He also shares a good rapport with the celebs of these swanky industries. You may contact him at the e-mails: goheriqbal@yahoo.co.uk, goher.punn@yahoo.com and goher.punn@gmail.com

Indian Beauty Queens’ Fascination for the Film Industry

The relation between the beauty queens and the Hindi film industry is indissoluble and has been strolling from the outset. Since the glamour is the key element in both the fields, the lasses of the beauty pageants get instantly attracted to the silver screen. And once they are geared up to enter the filmdom, all the big banners appear fervent in casting them in the leading roles. Not only do they get the mammoth projects to work in but also are paid huge amount to act in a film because of the significance of their winning crown. With no background of acting at all in their kitty, these beauty queens nonetheless make their mark in the movie trade and create ripples in the business. Which is why they are successful actresses and stay on the top position. Some, after winning the circlet, turn to the other genres of glamour world like modeling, television, fashion designing, fashion journalism and emerge as the triumphant in the fields. Very few become the housewives and spend the low profile life. Since the taste of popularity does not spare them to sit idle, most of them get themselves associated with some glamorous projects to shove their fame graph to the heights.

Meher Mistry, the first to get the crown of Femina Miss India in the year 1964, did not go to join the Hindi film industry instead she opted fashion writing and modeling to make her career. Although the crowned queens had been proving their mettles in the fields of television, modeling, journalism and so on. But as far as joining the film industry was concerned, there were the three stunning gals, who followed their pageant careers with acting in Bollywood – innocent beauty Poonam Dhillon (who won the title of Miss Young India in the seventies at the age of 16 and then joined the Bollywood bandwagon. She gave numerous hits in her career), sex symbol Zeenat Aman (who first started her career as a journalist at Femina magazine in Mumbai after completing her studies from Los Angles then moved on to modeling and later on was crowned the Miss Asia Pacific in 1970. She stepped in Bollywood with the flick, ‘Roti Kapra Aur Makaan’ opposite Manoj Kumar but it was Dev Anand who gave her the taste of success with his critically acclaimed film, ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ in 1972) and the ravishing Tina Munim who got the tiara of the ‘International Teen Princess’ way back in the seventies. The evergreen legendary actor-filmmaker Dev Anand launched her in his blockbuster, ‘Des Pardes’. The trio really did big in the films.

After Poonam, Zeenat and Tina, the gorgeous lasses of the beauty pageants started to flow into the Hindi film industry. Sangeeta Bijlani (wife of the famous cricketer Mohammad Azhar ud Din), a name to reckon with on the ramp, won the title of Miss India in 1980. Soon after, she was seen on the silver screen enacting with the giant male costars like Vinod Khanna, Jackie Shroff, Naseeruddin Shah and many others. ‘Tridev’ is the enterprise, which still reminds of her good acting prowess. The finest model turned actress Juhi Chawla got her crown of Miss India in 1984 and after a few years’ hiatus, she made her Bollywood debut with Aamir Khan in ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’. Today she leads a happy married life with the millionaire Jay Mehta and runs a film production company ‘Dreams Unlimited’ with Shah Rukh Khan and filmmaker Aziz Mirza. Sonu Walia, a psychology graduate and a student of journalism, was conferred with the title of Miss India in 1985. After winning the crown, she embarked on a career in film acting and won accolades for her performance in her very first film. Miss India 1992, the leggy gal Madu Sapre’s entry into Bollywood was with the film, ‘Boom’ with Amitabh Bachchan and Jackie Shroff. She still is the hot favorite ramp model.

Namarta Shirodker, Miss India 1993 was launched in Bollywood opposite with the macho man Salman Khan in ‘Jab Pyar Kissi Se Hota Hai’. Today she is married but still has sparks for the movies. The long-legged Pooja Batra, Miss India Second Runner-Up 1993 was introduced in a film, ‘Virasat’ opposite Anil Kapoor.

The very gorgeous Sushmita Sen (nicknamed Sush in the industry) won the title of Miss India in 1994 and the same year she got the Miss Universe crown in Manila. The coveted filmmaker Vikram Bhatt gave her the launching pad with his venture, ‘Dastak’ opposite Mukel Dev. During the shooting, both Vikram and Sushmita fell in love with each other but finally after some years they broke-up the relationship. The same year (1994), Aishwariya Rai (nicknamed Ash) Miss India First Runner-Up was crowned Miss World in South Africa. Soon after winning the title, the offers started to pour on to her. And she made her debut in movies with the film, ‘Aur Pyar Hogaya’ opposite Bobby Deol. Today she is married to Abhishek Bachchan and called the world’s most beautiful woman.

Diana Hayden, Miss India First Runner-Up 1997 (who won the Miss World title in Seychelles) and Miss India First Runner-Up 1999 Yukta Mookhey (The 5’11” tall brunette who became Miss World in 1999 at London’s Olympia Theater) too joined Bollywood but unfortunately could not make better in films. Gul Pang, Miss India 1999 did handsome jobs on the celluloid in the movies such as ‘Jurm’ and ‘Dor’. She is still in good demands by the filmmakers.

The year 2000 proved to be magically precious for India when the three beautiful ladies – the stunning Lara Dutta (Miss India 2000 who wore the crown of Miss Universe in Cyprus), the dusky beauty Priyanka Chopra (Miss India First Runner-Up 2000 who won the Miss World crown in London) and the elegant Diya Mirza (who got the title of Miss Asia Pacific in Manila) brought all the three titles of beauty pageant in the country. Lara and Priyanka both were launched together opposite Akshay Kumar in ‘Andaaz’ and Diya was introduced in ‘Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein’. Today all the three gorgeous women are doing pretty well in the films and rated the big actresses of Bollywood. Celina Jaitley (Miss India 2001), a real crowd puller gal due to her curvaceous body is doing great in movies. Neha Dhupia, the dark brown-eyed girl (Miss India 2002) and Tanushree Dutta (Miss India 2004) are proving their skills of acting impeccably in Bollywood.

Without any doubt, the contribution of beauty queens to the silver screen is remarkable and this trend must go on.

- Written By: Goher Iqbal Punn

Please pen down your thoughts on this story on the space provided below.

- The writer is a popular and experienced Bollywood and Indian TV Analyst and laced with a good rapport with both of these fraternities and the people associated with these entertainment worlds. He also shares a good rapport with the celebs of these swanky industries. You may contact him at the e-mails: goheriqbal@yahoo.co.uk, goher.punn@yahoo.com and goher.punn@gmail.com

A new wave of different versions of songs in Hindi Film albums

Where Hindi movie is changing and improving every coming day, the music of the film soundtracks is not behind as well. It very aptly follows and hoofs it with the international pattern of the ongoing music scene. There is absolutely no doubt in saying that the actual life of a Bollywood flick is its music. And Bollywood industry is also widely known around the globe due to its mellifluous songs swathed with the astounding ear pleasing-catchy tunes, silken voices of the vocalists, eye candy picturization and breathtaking choreography. The music is what helps the Hindi film industry stands tall amongst the other film industries of the world. Even every Bollywood star from Big B (Amitabh Bachchan) to King Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) to all are found chipping in that our industry is known in the world because of our music (songs in films). Since the popularity of the tracks is very high, the whopping amount is consumed on the making of the songs. The filmmakers specially go to different countries to select the breath-arrestingly gorgeous locales for their films’ songs. And most of the time, one song is picturized on various locations of the world. Since the whole unit is there with the leading stars in outdoor locations, one can imagine the big amount, which is consumed on the making of a number. The big banners’ movies are always laced with the tracks, which are churned out with the huge money ranging from one crore to two crores rupees like Dharma Productions’ films and Yash Raj Films, etc. Lately a song in the film, ‘Bhaagam Bhaag’ (A Shree Astavnaik Films) had been made with the colossal amount of rupees one crore. Thus this does not mean that only the big banners chew up the tracks with big budget, there are other film companies as well that also go to gobble up mammoth money to make a song for their movie. The filmmakers put the massive amount at stake on the songs’ making without any hesitation because they know if the tracks get popular with the listeners, the movie will be a hit automatically. And it’s a fact that the blockbusters are always boot-laced with the hit numbers.

Till some years back, a film album used to carry only five to six songs and sometimes a song used to be repeated on the play list with a different voice (like if a songster sang the original number, the repeat version had been sung by some other singer). This was enough to give the album a distinctive impact on the listener and he was more than happy to buy and listen it with much oomph and pleasure. The rapid progress of the society has an effect on the entertainment world. So has on the Bollywood music. For last few years, Hindi music has changed a lot. Now a film album seems to be incomplete if it does not carry ten or above ten songs. Very rarely, it is seen that a film soundtrack is draped with less than ten tracks. A new wave of carrying different versions of songs has been introduced on Bollywood scene some years back probably after year 2000. But it actually got introduced after the “Remix” was launched in Hindi music. The credit of launching remix in Bollywood goes to the Remix King, Bally Sagoo who brought the remix in Hindi music by the end of last decade (1998/1999). His remixes of old popular numbers got much popular amongst the listeners of all age groups particularly the youth loved to stay with the maestro’s works. Sagoo became more famous when he did albums with the legendary world-renowned Pakistani qawwal late Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. His popularity graph soared sky high when he remixed the very hummable number, ‘Noorie’. The video really caught the viewers’ attention in which the girl (the coveted super model turned actress Maushmi Udeshi who was shown as a ghost) fully clad with white sari walked on the roads holding a candle in hands. After that the music companies reached at the listeners’ pulse as to where their likings exist. The innovations in music were liked by the Hindi music lovers and this helped the music companies and filmmakers to start launching further new items in music. And finally they began to feature the different versions of an original number in a film soundtrack. Today, you may find many versions of an original track such as ‘Remix Version’, ‘Lounge Version’, Repeat Version’, ‘Club Version’, ‘Sad Version of a Romantic Track’ and the likes. As the youth is the big target to sell the album, they simply adore and like to stay with these kinds of versions. So the music and film companies have absolutely no hesitation at all to masticate these kinds of mixes in the soundtracks. Even the mixes are being produced in private albums as well. These mixes (except sad versions) have blood-boiling effect and appear as foot-tapping, fast and peppy, so today’s listener finds them mesmerizing while playing them in the parties to shake the bodies on and while driving to have a joyous journey along. Since the ‘Rap’ portion is added to the mixes mostly, it sends chill through the listener’s body. This all helps the music aficionados become passionate about going for buying these albums. And as a result, a massive sale is witnessed at the music stands.

Although today’s soundtrack is laced with abundant of songs, it does not matter at all whether or not all the tracks on the play list are featured in the movie. You must have observed it that the soundtrack you buy of a Bollywood film carries a long list of songs whereas when you watch the same movie, you do not find all the songs on the movie’s runtime. It is not because of the censor’s scissor rather it is only due to the songs’ different versions churned out to make a full-length album to sell to the listener, which he/she likes a lot.

Does this new trend in today’s music scene fill the bill utterly? Yes, it does! Because eventually the customer is the king and here the customer is a music listener. And he likes this new wave on Hindi music industry, which is not spoiling the music at all rather giving it innovations and innovations are always welcomed.

Written By: Goher Iqbal Punn

Please share your thoughts on this story on the space below. How did you find this piece of writing?

- The writer is a popular and experienced Bollywood and Indian TV Analyst and laced with a good rapport with both of these fraternities and the people associated with these entertainment worlds. He also shares a good rapport with the celebs of these swanky industries. You may contact him at the e-mails: goheriqbal@yahoo.co.uk, goher.punn@yahoo.com and goher.punn@gmail.com

Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh’s Marriage – How it Happened…?

Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh’s marriage was undoubtedly the much-awaited extravaganza of the tinsel town. Finally when both decided to tie the nuptial knot after having a long affair, it was truly a sigh of relief to gossips being churned out in the entire film industry and outside the movie front. Rishi Kapoor (Chintu – pet name given by his family as Kapoors are widely known for giving pet names to their family members) had given his bride to be (Neetu) one month’s notice to complete all her film assignments prior to wedding, saying, ‘once you are a Kapoor, you will not step into the studios’. It was evident that no woman of Kapoors family worked in the movies after getting married to them. This strict rule continued to be obeyed smoothly until Karishma Kapoor took the bold step and rebelled against the family by stepping into the filmdom.

The month prior to the marriage, it was witnessed that every studio in Bombay (later renamed Mumbai) held a set for Neetu Singh to get her tasks completed. She wanted to honour all her commitments. Shooting round the clock, Neetu was doing triple-shifts and then dolling up with the dubbing jobs after that. It was the toughest month for the gorgeous actress. But since she was going to marry her lover and becoming the member of Kapoor family, it gave her the huge courage to cope with the hectic schedules.

Rajee Singh (Neetu’s mother) had single-handedly pushed her daughter’s career in films. And with her efforts, the success came in Neetu’s life and then luxuries multiplied. Her philosophy was, ‘to get something in life, you ought to be prepared to give up something’. ‘If my daughter wants marriage, she should be ready to give up her career’, she told to the reporters when they asked about Neetu’s marriage and quitting her successful career. Rajee did not want to be the barrier in between her daughter’s love. Her restraint was unmistakable when Rishi came into her daughter’s life. Initially the two used not to see eye to eye. Rishi would come to their home everyday to meet Neetu but would not greet her mother and disappear straight into her room. The rejection hurt her (Neetu’s mother) a lot, but Rajee swallowed it for the sake of her daughter’s love. On Neetu’s part, she too suffered trying hard to balance the two relationships mattered most to her. Time was running but Rishi did not officially propose to her. Like all men, he was unable to make up his mind and was in a complicated situation to take a decision till the very end. Not because he didn’t love the gal, but because he was frightened of the commitments of marriage.

Their engagement is an interesting story by itself. This is what happened that the entire family of Kapoors was there in Delhi to attend a wedding ceremony in the in-laws of Ritu Nanda, the elder sister of Rishi Kapoor. Neetu was also invited at the function. The whole family decided that there would not be a more appropriate moment for Chintu (Rishi) to announce his engagement because he was in a dilly-dally situation of mind and making silly excuses to his family for the marriage. That’s when the elder brother, Randhir Kapoor (Karishma and Kareena Kapoor’s father) pulled him aside and made him see the reason. Randhir asked Rishi quick questions for which he wanted to have direct answers.

Randhir: ‘Do you want to get married and have the children?’

Rishi: ‘Yes’

Randhir: ‘Do you love Neetu?’

Rishi: ‘Yes’

Randhir: ‘Would you rather marry someone else?’

Rishi: ‘No’

Randhir: ‘So what the hell is your problem?’

Rishi: ‘Nothing’

Randhir took his brother’s hand in his and went out of the room and made the announcement. Rajee Singh was summoned to Delhi by the evening flight.

A week’s later, talking to the media, a restraint Neetu Singh said, ‘I don’t know who ordered my saree and decided upon my jewellery. Somebody was putting on my make-up and somebody was putting on my nail polish. Everybody did what they felt like. I was being overdressed but I was too overwhelmed to protest, so I let people do what they wanted to. I felt it wouldn’t look nice for young fiancée to give so many instructions. I wore a peach chiffon outfit, a colour that doesn’t suit me and was as nervous as hell! Chintu caught me trembling, pulled me into the next room and forced a glass of champagne on me. “Calm down”, he ordered, I don’t want you to make a fool of yourself”. After this I was flying high. Nothing mattered any more.’

Three engagements were announced around the same time. The star daughters – Raj Kapoor’s second girl, Rima Kapoor was engaged to actor Kumar Gourav (actor Rajendra Kumar’s son), Rajendra Kumar’s daughter, Dimple Tuli got engaged to Ritu Nanda’s brother-in-law, and one actress Neetu Singh to Rishi Kapoor. Call it destiny, the first two engagements could not last long and broke off in the following months, only Rishi-Neetu took the pheras round the fire.

The wedding invitation let the entire film industry buzz with gossips since it only carried Neetu’s mother’s name on it. It was the marriage of the decade in every sense of the word – the giant star-studded sparkling extravaganza with the whopping amount of guests from all walks of life – politicians to sportsmen and all that. The wedding ceremonies began days in advance – Sangeet, Dandiya Raas, Akhand Path, Mehndi, etc. Stars of the entertainment industry got their wardrobes specially designed for the swanky event. The entire Hindi cinema fraternity was present to grace the marriage.

At his Deonar bungalow, the showman Raj Kapoor threw a lavish party a few days before the marriage took place. Krishna Kapoor, Raj Kapoor’s better half, as usual showed her much-talked about mehman nawazi (hospitality). Clad in white costume, the graceful lady with her gorgeous smile looked after every guest personally. The woman’s hospitality’s test emerged when around midnight, the beautiful Nargis entered into the RK lawns along with her husband Sunil Dutt and son Sanjay Dutt. Raj Kapoor, who was wearing a black suit and a red muffler, noticed them but took a while to get his act together. The wife (Krishna) had taken the charge in the meanwhile. A perfect blend of warmth and restraint, she escorted her guests to her husband and after a few lingering moments left them alone. Stiffness was the evidence of the atmosphere since everyone present there was conscious of the fifties sensational pair amongst them. It was without any doubt a historic moment. Nargis was entering inside the RK’s bungalow for the first time, meeting her hero after two decades. Even the telephone operator, who had connected Ajanta Arts, Sunil Dutt’s bungalow to invite them on behalf of Raj Kapoor, was pretty much emotional about RK’s old heroine. ‘After 20 years….’, he said mushily. Much later when a close friend asked Nargis, how it felt coming face to face after decades hiatus with the man she had loved on screen? Nargis replied, ‘It was like the climax of a film. We are both old, tired and with our children grown up. How could I feel otherwise when I have two handsome men on either side, my husband and my son?’

A year after Rishi-Neetu’s marriage, Neetu got pregnant and everyone was saying that she would be having a son. Both Rishi and Neetu were not particular about the son. They just wanted baby – whether a daughter or a son.

The strong-headed Neetu vegetated into a humble girlfriend when Rishi came into his life. As the relationship grew, both complimented each other. If during the days of their romance Rishi’s influence on Neetu was strapping, after the engagement she had a stronger hold on him. After marriage, he mellowed considerably. And once he became father, he was utterly besotted with his better half. Contrary to everyone’s expectations that she would be missing the arclights, she didn’t. ‘This is the first time in my life that I am enjoying a super holiday. Why shouldn’t I live it up thoroughly? In fact, some mornings when I see Chintu leave for work, I feel sorry for him. I feel fortunate that I can laze in the house without bothering about shooting. People ask me how I spend my time? I don’t know what I do, but I’m busy the whole day, may be busy doing nothing, but I’m occupied’, Neetu expressed to the media after the marriage.

Although Karishma and Kareena Kapoor broke the Kapoor family’s custom about women’s not entering into the filmdom, Neetu never did after becoming a Kapoor, which is why her marriage is still running smoothly and her bond with in-laws is stronger. But now after a very long hiatus of years and years, she is making a comeback to Bollywood with Saif Ali Khan’s home production, ‘Love Aaj Aur Kal’.

- Written By: Goher Iqbal Punn

We surely like you to let us have your thoughts on this story. How did you find this article?

- The writer is a popular and experienced Bollywood and Indian TV Analyst and laced with a good rapport with both of these fraternities and the people associated with these entertainment worlds. He also shares a good rapport with the celebs of these swanky industries. You may contact him at the e-mails: goheriqbal@yahoo.co.uk, goher.punn@yahoo.com and goher.punn@gmail.com

Feroz Khan, the very stylish legendary superstar of Bollywood is no more. After fighting with cancer for almost a years, the flamboyant actor, who was a director, producer and an editor as well, breathed his last on Monday, 27^th April at 1.30 a.m. at his farm house located in his home town Bangalore, the city where he was born also.

Khan was born on September 25^th 1939 in Banglaore. Sadiq Ali Khan Tanoli was his father who was a Pathan from Ghazni province in Afghanistan. His mother named Fatima was from Iran. Five children took birth in this family of Sadiq and Fatima. They include four sons (Sanjay Khan, Sameer Khan, Feroze Khan and Akbar Khan) and one daughter named Dishad Begum. Feroze got his early education in Bangalore. Then the drive to make a mark in the entertainment industry brought him to the city of dreams, Mumbai where he struggles hugely and then ended up with a second lead role in the movie, ‘Didi’ in year 1960.

The young enthusiastic Feroze was much passionate about the films, as he could hardly think of any other thing except films. So this drive always pushed him towards filmdom. Thus after doing ‘Didi’, he was coerced to enact the second and last leads in many of the films for the next five years. But this never shaked his courage, which was strong like the guy himself. 1960s to 1970s eras, he appeared in low-budgeted thrillers opposite starlets. Amidst all, Khan worked in an English langauge film titled, ‘Tarzan Goes to India’ in 1962 opposite stylish lass Simi Garewal. ‘Oonche Log’ was the one, which considered to be his first big hit. But the movie failed to get success, he had expected from it. In the same year, there came a mushy musical, ‘Arzoo’ in which he played a sacrificing lover. This flick entered him into the list of A-list second leads.

In 1969, Feroze did a movie titled, ‘Aadmi Aur Insaan’ that conferred him the first Filmfare Award for a Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In 1971 to 1975, he appeared with his real life brother Sanjay Khan and gave a hit titled, ‘Mela’.

Feroze turned into a suucessful producer and director to polish and improve his career opportunities as a leading hero. In 1975, he produced, directed and acted in the movie, ‘Dharmatma’ that appeared to be the fisrt Indian film to be shot in Afghanistan. This also emerged as his first blockbuster film as a producer, director and an actor. In 1976, he did Nagin, in which multi stars appeared. 70s and 80s era belonged to this dashing man, as he directed and acted in many of his films. ‘Qurbani’ (1980) was the biggest hit of his film career. He launched the singing pop icon of Pakistan Nazia Hassan (late), who sung the hit songs of the movie, which are everlasting. In year 1986, he directed and acted in ‘Janbaaz’, which too oozed out a box office hit. Then came ‘Dayavan’ that a remake of the South film titled, ‘Nayagan’. In 1992, he directed and stared in ‘Yalghaar’. The movie hit the jackpot. After this flick, he took a long break of almost 11 years and went to produce, direct and edit the films.

In 1998, he introduced his suave like father son, Fardeen Khan in the movie, ‘Prem Aggan’. But Fardeen had to face a big failure. Then Feroze Khan again took his son in a film, ‘Janasheen’ in 2003. In this movie, he made his comeback to acting. Feroze again shared the screen space with son Fardeen in ‘Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena’ in 2005, which he did not direct and the movie flopped also. His last Bollywood flick was Anees Bazme’s comedy, ‘Welcome’, which proved to be a mega hit and his character of RDX is still loved by all. Not many know that Feroze has also acted in a Punjabi film titled, ‘Bhagat Dhanna Jat’ in 1974.

On personal front, he married to Sundari, who was a famed designer and the part of page 3 circle. Both had two children (born as twins in 1974) Laila and Fardeen Khan. In year 1985, Khan divorced his better half after twenty years of married life. He always shared a very special friendly bond with his kids in particular to Fardeen Khan, who was like a friend to him.

Feroze had announced to remake ‘Qurbani’ but the death did not let him fulfill his wish. The whol film industry included his co-stars are very much sad on his death and expressed that it was a big loss to the film indutsry. Without any doubt, it is…! He had a distinctive style of delivering dialogues and acting, which won accolodes and created a niche is his fans’ souls.

He will be in people’s hearts forever through his acting. May his soul rest in peace.

- Written By: Goher Iqbal Punn

We surely like you to place your comments on this story. You may also put your condolences to his family on the space provided below.

- The writer is a popular and experienced Bollywood and Indian TV Analyst and laced with a good rapport with both of these fraternities and the people associated with these entertainment worlds. He also shares a good rapport with the celebs of these swanky industries. You may contact him at the e-mails: goheriqbal@yahoo.co.uk, goher.punn@yahoo.com and goher.punn@gmail.com

‘Rock on!’ has been quite a path breaking film. Its success had come as quite a pleasant surprise, especially in a nation where non filmi music doesn’t really have a recognized status. The story of four friends reuniting and performing as a band was appreciated by critics and audiences alike. It seemed that singer- producer- actor Farhan Akhtar and his fictional band members  changed quite a few things in the country. Otherwise the Bollywood presence is so all encompassing that music bands in India just have a niche market. Unlike how it works for pop and rock music artists out of the country!

Concerts after that have come as a blessing for the bands. One prominent one was when Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal and Ritesh Sidhwani got together on 31 October 2008 for the ‘Rock On For Humanity’ concert at the MMRDA Ground at Bandra-Kurla. Farhan said that the idea was to raise money for medical assistance for Bihar flood victims. Though this concert had nothing to do with ‘Rock On’, the idea of a rock concert does have a bearing on the way the young responded to the film. It turned out to be a gala rock event as 12 rock bands from all over the country like the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy trio featuring singers Kunal Ganjawala and Shaan, the Raghu Dixit Project, Something Relevant , Dream Out Loud, Them Clones, Shaai’r and Func, Kailasa, Rabbi, the Malayalam band Avial and Parikrama with whom Saif Ali Khan plays the guitar got a chance to get together.

There was more Bollywood presence too with Hrithik Roshan performing as well Shah Rukh Khan, Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan coming on stage to address the crowds. But as a whole this was different event and not really like a true blue Bollywood one. It seemed a new era had heralded. Ritesh Sidhwani explains, "’Rock on’ didn’t really have rock music. It was more of new age melody.  If you listen to hard rock like Deff Lepard, Mettalica, you know rock music is totally different.  I would call it a new age sound."

But he feels that the impact on the bands has been pretty positive. He adds, "Yeah, the bands did get a new lease of life in the process. We had actual bands, and the likes of Monica and Randolp to perform. There were real bands from Bangalore, Delhi, Calcutta for the ‘Rock on for Humanity’ along with our fictitious band.  So we gave them a kind of platform. Even the title of the film helped. So it’s path breaking in a big way."

Luke Kenny who starred in the film and who also has been part of a creative team of Channel V prefers to analyse. He says, "In a way yes. It showed the human side of music and not just the glamourous side.  We featured Shair N Func and other real bands and it helps their cause. But I don’t really see Bollywood helping out any industry. No industry is there to help any other industry. But yeah, we featured ‘Shair N Func’ in the movie as part of the competition."

But now does he see bands making an entry into Bollywood? He says, "Siddharth and Suhas were part of a rock band and then they started doing Bollywood music. Naresh-Paresh form a part of the band of Kailash Kher and they have scored for some films.  ‘Rock on’ was a one of a kind film, I wonder if there will be more movies of that kind. But it would be interesting to know what they can deal with the subject." Front man of Pentagram Vishal Dadlani is a very successful Bollywood composer. He makes sure he uses rock sounds for many of his ventures. Vishal says, "Both Bollywood music and Rock music has its own place but it’s a pleasure to mix both."

Let’s hear what the others who have only recently entered Bollywood have to say. Siddarth Couto who’s been a part of Zero band says, "It’s great. I’ve been in the rock scene for almost 12 years and suddenly rock’s gotten cool.  I’ve done background score for three films and the latest is ‘Mere Khwabon mein jo aaye’. I’m happy to do music for Bollywood my way.  It’s good. ‘Rock On’ has opened quite a few doors. We feel grateful to Farhan Akhtar. He adds, "I’ve a movie called ‘Raat Gayi Baat Gayi’ which has a complete jazz background. I’m happy I’m doing music my way."

Composer Sandeep Chowta states, "’Rock On’ wasn’t about rock. It was a great, great film though.  But normal people here can’t differentiate between pop music, rock and so on. Bollywood is the biggest here. Nothing is beyond Bollywood unlike abroad where there’s rock culture, pop culture, Hollywood etc. But people are now recognizing a new type of music." He adds, "Bands like Shair +Func did get coverage.  But we still have to wait for a movie which has a band composing the complete music and I think someone like Farhan with great knowledge of music can help to do something like that."

Indian Ocean had composed for ‘Black Friday’. Dhruv, manager of the band says, "It has brought about a change no doubt. But we already had Shankar- Ehsaan-Loy who has played in bands and we have Vishal Dadlani who plays for Pentagram. As for us, we have two songs for the next film with Aamir Khan and a film called ‘Bhoomi’."

Though sources from Planet M have said that the sale of western and contemporary music from India has increased by at least 10 percent over the last two years, the general viewpoint about music sales is not so convincing. According to him, the sales haven’t changed as such though. Sid Couto says, "But I don’t think music sales haven’t gone up actually.  It’s the live jigs which make money and but it’s good if more people are finding live jigs cooler now." However Dhruv adds, "Because of the recession, sadly there are hardly any jigs happening anywhere"

Sandeep Chowta says,"As far as music sales are concerned,  there are no music sales these days because of free downloads, and things like that. But looks like the interest in live jigs have also gone up." But will there be more path breaking movies like ‘Rock On’ in the future? There was ‘Jhankaar Beats’ long before ‘Rock On’ but it didn’t quite bring about a change. As Sid Couto likes to put it, "Though Vishal Shekhar experimented, it  wasn’t cool enough to bring a change."
Vipul Shah is now making ‘London Dreams’ with Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan and Asin in the lead. It is based on a ‘rock band’.

The movie is a story of a rock band from England and is a story of two childhood friends played by Ajay Devgan and Salman Khan, who are rock musicians. The female lead Asin will be playing the guitar in the movie. Vipul Shah says, "Well, I can’t really tell you if the movie is exactly about rock music or not. But it’s a different story and the hopes are high." Luke Kenny adds, "Now ‘Rock on’ was a one of a kind film, I wonder if there will be more movies of that kind. But it would be interesting to know what they can do with a  subject like that."

Well, many feel that people will only know when ‘London Dreams’ comes out!

Now even the not so known bands like Jalebee Cartel a group of former DJs, Advaita, Mumbai-based Scribe and Delhi-based heavy metal band Undying Inc are experimenting a lot too.

Most of them now plan to not just play covers but make fresh compositions as well and concentrate on lyrics. Musicians say that they are trying to make rock music from India universal. There’s a lot of experimentation with softer sounds and moving away from hard rock, because that’s what the most people identify with.

All in all, it looks as if a big change is around the corner!
–
Sneha Hazarika

The 81^st Annual Academy Awards were held at Kodak Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday night on 22^nd February? The complete list of the winners is as follows:

BEST PICTURE
Slumdog Millionaire
BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ACTOR
Sean Penn, Milk
BEST ACTRESS
Kate Winslet, The Reader
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Dustin Lance Black, Milk
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
WALL-E
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
La Maison en Petits Cubes
BEST ART DIRECTION
Donald Graham Burt and Victor J. Zolfo, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Michael O’ Connor, The Duchess
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Man on Wire
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Smile Pinki
BEST EDITING
Chris Dickens, Slumdog Millionaire
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Departures (Japan)
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
Spielzeugland (Toyland)
BEST MAKEUP
Greg Cannom, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Slumdog Millionaire, A R Rahman
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Jai Ho,” Slumdog Millionaire
BEST SOUND EDITING
Richard King, The Dark Knight
BEST SOUND MIXING
Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty, Slumdog Millionaire
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Written By: Goher Iqbal Punn

We like you to place your views on this story.

- The writer is a popular and experienced Bollywood and Indian TV Analyst and laced with a good rapport with both of these fraternities and the people associated with these entertainment worlds. He also shares a good rapport with the celebs of these swanky industries. You may contact him at the e-mails: goheriqbal@yahoo.co.uk, goher.punn@yahoo.com and goher.punn@gmail.com

All Bollywood movies haven’t had great styling. And the one that have had great styling have always stood out.

On of the recent ones is the youth movie ‘Jaane Tu…yaa Jaane naa’

It looked as if no particular attention has been paid to the styling. And the whole thing just fit really well.

Genelia D Souza’s Aditi dressed like the tomboy she’s in the film in capris and jeans and Imran sported the jeans, tee and shirt on top look well.

Manjari unlike Genelia is girl like and sports dresses.

The Gujarati boy dresses a little over the top, the fat friend more casually and the cool girl has coloured hair.

Prateik Babbar who played the carefree brother dressed in painted t shirts and shorts.

They blend in properly and people can identify with the charcters.

In the past the same has happened with ‘Dil Chahta Hai’.

There was great hair styling and dress designing by the first time director Farhan Akhtar and his wife Adhuna.

Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna and Aamir Khan played rich brats who dressed accordingly in silver pants, shorts, cool drawstring pyjamas, and lovely hair cuts that suited their personalities.

People could easily identify themselves with characters like them.

Another movie with great styling was ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’. The characters were so distinct and they dressed according to their personalities-Kajol in her sports gear, Rani in those short little dresses and Shahrukh who wore very tight t-shirts even though he didn’t sport six packs then.

They were garish and different and still they stood out.

There was ‘Rang De De Basanti’ and ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar’ before that.

Even in the early 90s, ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar’ got the whole styling thing right.

Pooja Bedi’s tried to recreate Marliyn Monroe’s flying frock act well.

Ayesha Jhulka in her loose pants, shirt, waistcoat and cap looked cute and adorable. So did Aamir Khan.

In RDB, Soha Ali Khan wore smart salwar kurtas and the Brit actress wore jeans with India batik or chikan work tops. Kunal Kapoor dressed-with the long kurtas and Sharman Joshi dressed like the brat he’s.

Except for pilot Madhavan who was a little older than the rest, all of them dressed casually.

This unlike movies like ‘Kabhi Khushi, Kabhi Gham’ etc where the whole styling thing went wrong! So styling in a movie is of utmost importance.

–
Sneha Hazarika

With her debut release Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi only two weeks away, we thought it would be best if we told you a little more about Anushka Sharma – Shah Rukh Khan’s hot new girl.

As you all know, she is a model from Bangalore but were you aware of the fact that she too has a father in the army, just like many other Bollywood actresses. Mr. Sharma is a high ranking officer with the Indian Army and Mrs. Sharma is a housewife. Now back to Anushka. Well, as expected she spent most of her childhood shifted from pillar to post because of her father’s work. Anushka then completed her higher studies in Bangalore, at the Mount Carmel College. At college, Anushka was renowned for her athleticism, and that is how she got her super figure – it was all because of her being an all-rounder in sports.

Unlike many other parents, Anushka’s mother and father supported her when she decided to go into the modelling profession as a career. Papa and Mama Sharma had no objections to it. Anushka joined a Bangalore based modelling agency and was groomed in style and image by consultant Prasad Bidapa. Bidapa first saw Anushka when she was just a mere teenager and was immediately taken in by her innocent charm and personified beauty. He immediately termed her as being a superstar one day in the future. He recalls, “At the age of thirteen she used to walk the ramp like a seasoned model.”

Her cool and confident attitude is what got her signed up by Aditya Chopra, head of Yash Raj Films, for his third directorial Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Aditya came across Anushka’s portfolio after it was left on his desk by a member of his team. Soon after seeing the pictures of this gleaming beauty, Aditya decided that she would indeed enact the role of Taani opposite seasoned veteran, and a much older, Shah Rukh Khan.

And that is the story so far of Anushka Sharma. The next chapter in her life will unfold in front of your eyes on 12^th December 2008, when Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi releases worldwide.

Add to that, her ambitious take on Mahabharat on 9X which didn’t exactly set the TRP charts on fire and her lackluster attempt at reality TV, Ticket To Bollywood (again on 9x) despite some really desperate attempts to be ‘controversial’; with other producers closing in on the competition (read: Bidaai, Balika Vadhu, Shri Krishna) and last but not the least, with Star TV — which wouldn’t have been what it is today if it wasn’t partly for Ekta — distancing itself slowly from the soap queen begs a few questions: is the Ekta Kapoor/ Balaji Telefilms’ monopoly coming to an end? Is Ekta losing the formula? Is it time to tread newer grounds for one of the biggest success stories of the Indian TV industry?

"It’s not about her as a person, but yes, one feels her kind of storytelling has lived it’s life. Any story, if told well, gets the initial attention. But gradually, over the years, it loses its creative sheen," says Sanjay Upadhyay, creative director, fiction, Sony Entertainment Limited.
Shailja Kejriwal, EVP, content, NDTV Imagine, who has known Ekta since the former’s Star TV days, says, "It’s not fair to single out Ekta. She’s a talent and it needs to be nurtured. For anything creative to grow and flower, especially in TV and cinema, it’s the collaborative effort between the broadcaster and the producer. When it works, it becomes a win-win situation which it was all these years but for the past one or two years. If it’s not worked, it’s a lose-lose situation for everyone concerned. If Ekta’s failed, it also means those who benefited from her in the past have also failed her."

However, Kartik Suri (name changed on request), a former Star TV employee says the monopoly has clearly broken. "I don’t think her shows would fetch the same numbers or enjoy the same ad revenue for the channels as a Kyunki or a Kahani did. Times have changed. The market has become more fragmented. Today there is a variety of programming on offer and viewers are looking elsewhere. But it’s not yet time to write off Ekta."

Aatish Kapadia, writer-co-producer of shows like Sarabhai V/s Sarabhai and Baa, Bahoo Aur Baby doesn’t really think that Ekta ever monopolised the industry. "Yes, she had the most number of shows on air but there were others too who were and are doing well. I’d say Ekta had created a trademark for her shows, they reflected her own unique style and creativity. She had made her template which worked beautifully for her. I think we are wont to writing premature obituaries, instead we should be magnanimous enough to acknowledge her contribution."

Her competitors do believe that she did try to break the mould with shows like Kehna Hai Kuch Mujhko about an extra marital affair and Kuchh Iss Tarah about a girl with a split personality but didn’t find favour with the audiences. "And when your ‘experiments’ fail, you do tend to go back to what you know best and what works," observes Upadhyay.

Says Kapadia, "It’s a trap most creative people fall into. In the entertainment industry, you are known by your last success, so you keep yourself safe."

Anil Wanvari, founder and CEO, indiantelevision.com feels that at the end of the day it’s pure business. "She runs a public limited company and so she has to deliver shows and answer her investors. In the process, there may be times when she may not be on target but let’s not take away from her many accomplishments."

Smriti Iraani, who owes her success to Ekta and who also runs a production house, feels that three of her big shows being pulled off air means nothing.

"One has to take into account what Ekta has given to Indian television. It’s not a joke to sustain these shows over seven and eight years with so much competition around. Today, if a channel takes a certain decision, that’s purely business-driven. We actors are emotional people but now being a producer myself, I realise we are mere service providers and we have to deliver numbers. That’s the game. It’s business. We are living in difficult economic times. The world over, every industry is going through a crisis. I know Ekta will come out of this, my main concern is the 300-odd crew of these shows which have lost their jobs."

The Star TV-Ekta Kapoor combine was a formidable team. But with the new management, things seem to have changed. Samir Nair and Kejriwal, who were on the same page as Kapoor, moved out of Star and with that the distance between the producer and the new bosses seemed to grow.

Add to that shows like Bidaai (Star), Balika Vadhu and Shri Krishna (Colors) which toppled the big Ks. Says Kejriwal, "I wouldn’t know the relationship she shared with the new Star bosses though as I said earlier, in TV, it’s a two-way street, a producer and a broadcaster need to work together, move together. It’s the channel’s prerogative to encourage talent and take it forward. That I think didn’t happen. As for the successful shows, let’s not compare single hits with Ekta’s contributions. Earlier too serials like Saans, Kora Kaagaz and Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin were popular but Ekta is in a different league altogether." Yes, but none of these shows made a dent in the TRP charts as a Bidaai or a Balika Vadhu.

Iraani agrees with Kejriwal, "Let’s do a fair comparison. Agreed a Balika Vadhu is a well made show but if you are talking of a Kyunki or a Kahani, compare it with shows that have lasted seven and eight years."

Says Upadhyay, "While I don’t know the inner dynamics between Star and Ekta, it’s true Star has found an alternate leader who is getting them the numbers."
Wanwari says, "I don’t think channels or production houses work on emotions and relationships. It works on a purely, mutually beneficial business relationship. And Ekta being into this for so long knows that as well."

Suri observes: "Well, it’s a brave decision for Star to have belled the cat. Look, it’s simple. If you get me the numbers, I may love you or I may hate you but I will live with you."

Finally, is it time for Ms Kapoor to reinvent? Is it time to create a new template? Says Upadhyay, "Yes, it is. I feel being a market leader and the position she enjoyed, she should have been the factor of change long time ago. Instead she kept capitalising on her own assets, milking them to its last drop. May be if her Mahabharat had worked, it would have been a different story today. She will now reinvent, for sure. She has it in her."

Kejriwal smiles, "But she’s only 32 and people want to pull her down and comment on whether she should do this or do that. Every creative person — Ramesh Sippy, Ram Gopal Varma — goes through the pinnacles of success and then they reach a point where they have to reinvent, say ‘what next’. Ekta will too."
Wanwari says, dramatically, "Has Ekta lost her formula? It’s the same as saying, M F Husain forgot to paint." Kapadia adds: "She’s still the most sought out producer. She’s too wise to not do it. She’s cracked the code once, she will crack it again."

Well, we hope so too, not as much for the viewers but for the hundreds of her employees who have been hit badly as Iraani puts it. Even as we write this, we hear whispers of Ekta taking the next phase of Kyunki to another channel. Ho-hum.

Mid-Day

ALOK NATH:
No doubt Buniyaad had many actors who contributed to the success of the serial, but it’s Alok Nath, who played Haveliram in the serial who comes to mind when one mentions this serial. The actor even today continues to play the muchloved dad or uncle in films and TV serials and has been seen in serials like Thoda Hai Thode Ki Zaroorat Hai, Tara, Imtihaan and more recently Astitva — Ek Prem Kahani and Piya Ka Ghar.

DILIP DHAWAN:
Late Dilip Dhawan, who played the lovable Guru in Nukkad, left a mark with the serial. The serial was about a set of people living in an ordinary middle-class area, highlighting the various problems they faced in their day-to-day lives. After playing the character, Dhawan came to be known as Guru long after the serial ended. That was also probably the reason why he couldn’t get away from the character. The actor was seen in many movies and serials after Nukkad, but none got him the popularity that this bittersweet serial did.

KAVITA CHOUDHURY:
Better known to many as ASP Kalyani Singh of the serial Udaan, Kavita Choudhury made everyone sit up and take notice of her. The actress carried the woman-oriented serial on her shoulders. It was story of a woman’s struggle to achieve her dreams.

RAGHUVEER YADAV:
Raghuveer Yadav played Mungerilal in Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne, who day-dreams. The common thing in all his dreams was a heroine who was always a part of his dreams. His dream always started with the twitching of his eye. A hilarious serial had Yadav at his funniest best.

PRIYA TENDULKAR:
In 1985 when Priya Tendulkar played the role of Rajni in the serial of the same name, no one thought it would be such a huge success. She portrayed the role of a housewife who shuns injustice, fights against the corrupt social system and solves social issues. People loved the character and her spunk and to her fans she was always Rajni right till her end.

PANKAJ KAPOOR:
The carrot-chewing Pankaj Kapoor, who played the title role had the audience hooked on Karamchand through the entire run of the show. In fact after many years the serial was revived, but even though the same magic couldn’t be recreated, his genius character is still among the most-remembered.

SUSHMITA MUKHERJEE:
As the bumbling secretary of Karamchand, Sushmita Mukherjee who played Kitty was loved by all. So, strong was the impact of the role that till date people remember Sushmita as Kitty.

JASPAL BHATTI:
Jaspal Bhatti’s Flop Show gave him the licence to make a satirical remark on the system. He and his cronies put together a hilarious fare every week.

ARUN GOVIL:
So, convincing was Arun Govil as Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan that people used to touch his feet when he walked on the road. But like many other TV actors, Govil too couldn’t break out of this image.

NITISH BHARADWAJ:
There have been many serials on the life of Lord Krishna, but the only actor whom people associate with the role is Nitish Bharadwaj in BR Chopra’s Mahabharat.

MUKESH KHANNA:
Be it playing Pitamah Bheeshma in Mahabharat or Shaktimaan, Mukesh Khanna was rightly called the ‘Bachchan of small screen’. The actor stuck to doing few serials and it worked for him. He was probably one of the few actors who managed to break the image that people had of him after he played Bheeshma.

PUNEET ISSAR:
No one can beat this Duryodhan of Mahabharat. Bhim may have killed Duryodhan in the battle, but the actor lived on in people’s memory. Puneet went on to play the bad guy in many Bollywood flicks and was last seen as Minissha Lamba’s father in Bachna Ae Haseeno.

RAJIT KAPOOR:
As the Bengali detective Byomkesh Bakshi, Rajit Kapoor took people on an adventurous trail every week. Rajit Kapoor, who’s known for his performances, had another winner up his sleeve with this serial.

SHAH RUKH KHAN:
The King of Bollywood made a humble beginning with TV serials like Fauji, Circus and Doosra Keval. Among all the serials, he is still remembered as Abhimanyu of Fauji.

NAVNEET NISHAN:
It was in the 90s that viewers saw a pathbreaking serial called Tara. Navneet Nishan essayed the lead role and with growing popularity, she became a household name. Both the actor and the serial dominated the television industry for a very long time. With characteristics like being mean, bitchy, she shattered the ‘good girl’ image. With Tara, India got its first taste of a long-running unconventional soap.

SHEFALI SHAH:
A story which revolved around extra-marital affairs, Shefali played the lead called Savi. Shefali’s histrionics were applauded and Hasratein owed a lot of its success to her inputs.

MANDIRA BEDI:
With Shanti, TV began to take a turn towards women-oriented serial. With 804 ongoing episodes, Mandira Bedi was an incredible success story in the history of Indian television. Post the show Mandira went on to do many shows, but is still remembered for Shanti.

ROHIT ROY:
Rohit Roy, as the suave Rishabh Bajaj of Swabhiman was quite a rage among girls who would religiously switch on their TV sets every afternoon. The show had him playing a character which had both black and white shades to it.

SHEKHAR SUMAN:
What began with Dekh Bhai Dekh, reached its pinnacle with Movers and Shakers. Shekhar’s comic-timing and fast dialogue-delivery got the audiences’ vote. The actor was loved for his imitation of various politicians and actors.

NEENA GUPTA:
Neena Gupta, produced, directed and acted in Saans and did a fab job too. Neena played a woman whose husband is involved with another woman. It portrayed the declining phase of a husband-wife relationship. Neena and Kanwaljeet Singh played the central characters in this serial that boasted of high TRPs.

SMRITI IRAANI:
This was when the saas-bahu sagas had just begun. Indian television got its most-loved bahu with Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. It’s been almost eight years since and the show is still among the highest TRP garnering shows on Indian television.

RONIT ROY:
Ronit Roy managed to carve a niche for himself as Mr Rishabh Bajaj of Kasautii Zindagi Kay and Mihir Virani of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Playing Mihir was probably more of a challenge, because Amarr Upadhyay who had quit the show was on people’s minds. But Ronit managed to make a place for himself and now people seem to have forgotten Amarr. Ronit continues to be among the busiest guys on TV. He is currently seen playing Pitamah Bheeshma in Kahaani Hamaray Mahabharat Ki.

SUDHA SHIVPURI:
The much-loved grandmother that Sudha Shivpuri portrays has been around despite many generation leaps in KSBKBT. Well it looks like this grandmother is blessed with a very long life. How old is Baa? Never mind!

CEZANNE KHAN:
Cezanne Khan who became popular as Anurag Basu in Kasautii Zindagii Kay, had done a few small roles in serials earlier. But it was his role as Anurag that got him maximum accolades and fan mail.

SHWETA TIWARI:
It would be tough for everyone to believe that Shweta Tiwari wasn’t on talking terms with co-star Cezanne during the making of Kasautii Zindagi Kay. Shweta was immensely popular as Prerna and was acting in the soap for almost five years before it wrapped up.

SAKSHI TANWAR:
The second most loved bahu on television, Sakshi Tanwar did a great job of shedding loads of tears in Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki. Though Tulsi was the more popular bahu, Sakshi’s character Parvati too had her share of fans.

KIRAN KARMARKAR:
If Parvati was the second most loved bahu, Om was the second most loved son on TV. Second only to Mihir of KSBKBT. Kiran Karmarkar saw himself at his popular best thanks to this show.

IQBAL KHAN:
Iqbal Khan played rockstar Angad in Kaisa Yeh Pyaar Hai and built a huge fan following for himself. His USP besides his well-toned bod, was his sexy voice. The actor had girls swooning over him, not only in India, but also on foreign shores.

RAJSHREE THAKUR:
Out of nowhere came this dusky beauty and began giving the Tulsis and Parvatis stiff competition. Rajshree Thakur became popular overnight. Her USP probably lies in the fact that she has stuck to Saat Phere: Saloni Ka Safar and hasn’t done far too many shows.

RAJEEV KHANDELWAL:
Rajeev has finally managed to stop people from referring to him as Sujal. The actor became very popular as Sujal of Kahin To Hoga and probably received a lot of hate mail when he quit the show. After his debut film Aamir did well at the box-office, the actor is now a Bollywood citizen.

PRACHI DESAI:
Nineteen-yearold Prachi Desai did something that none of the actresses have managed to do — find a place in Bollywood. Prachi, who played Bani in Kasamh Se, was immensely popular, but she chose to take a risk and quit the serial to try her hand in Bollywood. Luckily for her, the gamble paid off and her movie Rock On ensured she made a successful debut in Bollywood as well.

TOI

   It’s a show ab o u t wo m e n that created a lot of buzz. It has all the makings of a masaledar serial. It’s about women living in a seemingly respectable up-market neighbourhood, but there’s nothing normal about them. The secrets tumble out of their respective closet as the show progresses. Sounds good, doesn’t it? It’s all about affairs, fights, romance, passion, lust… all that and much more. Definitely this could be one show that could give the saas-bahu sagas a run for their money. So, we thought if this show was to be made in India, who would step into the shoes of the gorgeous women who form the core cast. And here’s our wish list…

Teri Hatcher as Susan Mayer:

Who’s Susan: Susan Mayer marries Karl Mayer and they have a daughter, Julie, but they divorce on grounds of infidelity. Julie was then her only shoulder to cry on, leading to a strong bond between them and also a role reversal. Susan is naturally inquisitive and is perhaps the driving force behind the housewives’ efforts to discover the truth about Mary Alice Young’s suicide which hit her hard.
We recomm e n d : G a u t a m i K ap o o r.
Gautami was assigned to play Tulsi when Smriti Irani quit
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and she did a decent job of it. But let’s not get carried away with the whitener that she had to don to play the grandmother or was it great grandmother? But the lady is in great shape and perfect to play the slightly bumbling Miss Mayer.

Felicity Huffman as Lynette Scavo

W h o ’s Ly n e t t e :
Lynette used to be a highp owe re d advertising executive, but now her h u s b a n d Tom travels almost all the time and her ADHD afflicted boys and infant daughter are driving her crazy. It is as though she took a new job she thought she would love, and now she desperately misses her old one, but she is so driven that she tries to apply the same go-getter attitude used at work to being a mom. A strong woman, Lynette does not only return to work when her husband decides to be a stay-at-home dad, but she also manages to fight breast cancer bravely.
We recommend: Manasi Joshi-Roy.
Manasi may not have been in far too many serials, but right from Saaya to Kkusum, her performances have been liked by all. The actress has stayed away from the small screen and has even turned producer. But we are sure she can handle the complex character of Felicity with much aplomb.

Marcia Cross as Bree Van de Kamp
Who’s Bree: Bree is introduced in season one as the perfect wife and mother, however, it becomes apparent that her emotional coldness and obsession with appearance causes the rest of her family to resent her. She is forced to take part in marr i a g e c o u n –
   selling
   wh e n
   h e r
   husband Rex asks for a divorce and her son Andrew’s rebellious behaviour leads her to cover up a hitand-run accident to protect him. Bree’s home seems perfect to everyone, but there are secrets that Bree does her best to hide.
We recommend: Kitu Gidwani. An actress who can carry off any role, Kitu’s perfect to play a character that has so many layers to it. From Junoon to Swabhimaan to her most recent Kulvadhu, people have seen her in varied roles. Kitu seems the perfect and obvious choice for the role.

Nicollette Sheridan plays Edie Britt
Who’s Edie: Edie is a serial divorcée, having already two marriages behind her at the beginning of the show. She is the maneater of Wisteria Lane. Woman living in the lane hate her, while their husbands lust after the sexy Edie. She proves to be tough competition to all the other housewives. Unfortunately luck doesn’t favour her much and the prize catch always seems to slip from between her fingers.
W e rec ommend: Dipsshikha Dipsshikha has done many negative roles and this would be an interesting one for her. Her serial Kittie Party brought her in limelight. The Parveen Babi-look alike can definitely play the scheming, yet sexy Edie. Plus the actress can carry of any kind of outfit. With a hottie like Deepshikha on the prowl, woman on the block will definitely have a difficult time keeping an eye on their husbands!

Eva Longoria Parker as Gabrielle Solis
Who’s Gabrielle: Gabrielle, a retired model in her late 20’s, married Carlos Solis for love, but found satisfaction with John Rowland, her teenage gardener. She questions her relationship with Carlos, commenting once that she loved him and all h e r teenage f a n – tasies had been fulfilled, yet she still wasn’t happy. The sexiest of ‘em all Gabrielle often gives in to temptation and she isn’t apologetic about it.
We recommend: Shveta Salve. Now this would be perfect casting. Shveta even resembles Eva to some extent we feel. The dusky beauty is known for her good sense of fashion. And we can’t think of anyone better to carry off those sexy clothes. Not to mention the fact that Shveta is one of the few actresses who have chosen to keep away from saas-bahu serials and has
   preferred roles in
   serials like
   Lipstick. We think this hotstepper could d e f i n i t e ly heat up things.

TOI

She’s quite a flame; Shama Sikander is her name. You may have seen her here and there and that glimpse rare, but now’s the time she is about to arrive.

Starting out with some movies and TV shows, the actress has even made her presence felt when she’s walked the ramp for Ritu Kumar, Shaina NA, Nisha Jamwal and Neeta Lulla.

Born in the small town of Makrana in Rajasthan, Shama is a Leo with varied interests like swimming, dancing, gyming and hold your breath… kick boxing. And before you think she’s all physical, let us tell you that she’s learning to play the Violin, simply because she believes “it’s sexy for a girl to play it”.

It doesn’t stop here! In her quest for knowledge, the actress has picked up more than six languages including Hindi, English, Urdu, Gujarati, Marathi and Marwadi. And if you still aren’t impressed, we can let out a little secret! On the sets of the latest reality show ‘Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena’ on Colors where she participates with the flamboyant Vinod Kambli as her partner, its judge Sushmita Sen has showered praises on her saying, “Shama, you are wonderful with expressions and one of the most fabulous dancers I’ve ever seen”.

No wonder the girl has even managed to amaze the renowned short film writer-director Kamlesh Kunti, who plans to sign her for both of his feature films starting in December this year. Way to go.

Sonam Kapoor stood out in Saawariya in spite of her not getting the privilege of playing an author backed role! All eyes are on Sonam yet again as the talented girl will be seen opposite Abhishek Bachchan in Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra’s forthcoming film Delli 6. However, it is not just films that are keeping Sonam busy these days. Where aspiring actresses make their debut as a model to get into Bollywood, our Kapoor girl has gone the other way round!

Sonam is the new sensation of Bollywood to make a foray into the modelling world as she has flanked the cover of almost all the international fashion magazines in India! Elle, Grazia, Verve, LOfficiel…Sonam has been on the cover of all which prompted us to interview this gorgeous young actress.

Since the November of 2007, when Sonam shot for her first cover for LOfficiel magazine, she has been gracing the covers of various magazines non-stop! “I might be the only actor who has had her face on some or the other magazine since the last November”, says Sonam excitedly. “I am really into fashion”, says she stating the reason for those shoots.

She further elaborates, “I understand fashion and all these young girls working in these magazines are my age and I like to work with them as they are kicked about doing new things just like me! Their idea of fashion is not jaded and I too have no particular agendas when I do a cover shoot for a magazine. I am open to different things and experimenting with my look. I tell them I am fine with a buffon, sober Indian look, boho, grunge… etc and they love to play around with my look.”

Soon to grace the cover of Elle magazine for their August issue, where Sonam will be seen sporting a green Rohit Bal creation, we ask her to give us a lowdown on her hottest covers so far.

1. LOfficiel
Looking stunning as an Indian bride, Sonam flanked the cover of the magazine’s Bridal special issue. Looking drop dead gorgeous in a stunning bridal trousseau, Sonam has posed as if she were a renowned model! “I have been lucky to have been part of the special issues and I very well remember shooting for the cover of LOfficiel’s bridal special. Atul Kasbekar did the shoot and at the end of it I was stunned by the results”, said Sonam recounting the cover. Shy yet seductive… Sonam has perfectly epitomised the Indian bride. If we were to rate this cover we’d give Sonam a nine on ten.

2. Cosmopolitan
Cosmo covers are extremely hot and keeping with the tradition Sonam too revealed her ‘dark’ side sporting a stunning black outfit for her Cosmo cover. “Daboo Ratnani shot me for Cosmo and it is one of my favourite covers”, said Sonam. We’d give a seven on ten for Sonam’s Cosmo cover.

3. Verve
Flashing a million dollar smile which reminds us of Madhuri Dixit, Sonam sizzled on the cover of Verve. “I have worn a Christian Dior outfit for the cover of Verve as the issue was all about high fashion. Photographer Vishesh Verma did the shoot and I was told to look innocent and glamorous at the same time.” Sonam’s enigmatic smile wins an eight on ten for her Verve cover.

4. Grazia
Sonam’s latest cover is for British fashion magazine Grazia. Looking smashing in a blue Drashta outfit Sonam proves how she can look sexy without needing extra efforts. “Grazia cover needed subtle sex appeal. It was not about looking sluty. I am happy that I was able to do justice to it. I have minimal makeup in it but it is the attitude that mattered”, said Sonal about the cover. Sonam has never looked hotter and her Grazia cover gets a full ten on ten from us!

Sonam has also been featured on the cover of Femina for their special Valentine’s Day issue, Filmfare and on Rouge, TOI’s special supplement for women. So what is that makes this young woman a cover girl material?

Presenting Sonam’s fashion tips –
- I wear what comes to my mind.
- Wear things that make you feel comfortable.
- Never try too hard to look stylish. Style is not about pleasing other people!
- Don’t stick to conventional. I like to experiment when it comes to fashion.
- Don’t be a designer whore. You can always mix n match. I buy stuff from Linking Road Bandra as well stuff
from high end stores
- Accessorize your wardrobe.
- Wear Kajal. It looks fantastic on Indian women, given their whitish complexion.

Times Of India