Will the stars shine on Taare Zameen Par at the Oscars?
Will the stars shine on Taare Zameen Par at the Oscars?
Rain Man, starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman as his autistic savant brother, won four Oscars in 1989. Later in 1995, Forrest Gump, in which Tom Hanks plays a man with a low IQ, bagged four Oscars. Will Aamir’s directorial debut about a dyslexic child, Taare Zameen Par, do the trick for India this time? The film, which moved audiences to tears last year, is India’s official entry to the Oscars this year, and Aamir is hoping that TZP’s emotional appeal will work its magic on the Academy members. Aamir also knows that awareness in the U.S. about learning disabilities like dyslexia is high. “My fingers are crossed,” he says. Indeed, everyone in India echoes Aamir’s sentiments.
Aamir’s Lagaan had missed the Oscar by a whisker in 2007 (it made it to the top five in the Best Foreign Language Film category) and later in 2006, Rang De Basanti was sent as India’s official entry to the Oscars but failed to make it to the top five. Will Taare Zameen Par break the jinx? We pray that it does.
Shah Rukh bonds with the Bachchans
The fabled cold war between two of Hindi cinema’s greatest superstars, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, seems to have come to an end with their recent public display of friendship. It was SRK who broke the ice—he arrived with wife Gauri and both his kids at the star-studded premiere of Abhishek Bachchan-starrer Drona. Abhishek had his entire family by his side and very soon Big B and Shah Rukh were bonding like never before. Even Gauri was spotted giving Abhishek a warm hug. The shutterbugs had a field day clicking both the star families, including Ash and Abhishek, as they posed together as one big happy family.
Incidentally, Goldie Behl is determined to make a sequel to Drona irrespective of its fate at the box office. He says he will dedicate it to Shah Rukh’s son Aryan and his own son Ranvir. “Both the boys loved the movie,” gushes Goldie.
Saif Ali Khan is a Roadside Romeo!
Smart, popular and a total flirt?. That’s Saif Ali Khan for you. But hey, we’re talking about Saif here in his canine avatar! Yes, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor are coming together again after Tashan, but not in a regular Bollywood movie. The story of two dogs, Jugal Hansraj’s Roadside Romeo is Walt Disney’s first Indian venture in association with Yash Raj Films. Saif lends voice to Romeo, a small cute dog who belongs to a rich family while Laila aka Kareena sings at a club in this animation film. There’s also Jaaved Jaffrey dubbing for the villainous dog, Charlie Anna.
Incidentally, Kareena has been invited by Saif’s parents to be a part of the family’s annual reunion at their ancestral home in Pataudi, Haryana, in December. Bebo by the way is the only girlfriend of Saif who has been accorded this honor—an indication that she has been accepted with open arms by the senior nawab and his wife Sharmila. “Yes, of course she’s a part of the family now and my parents are extremely fond of her,” avers the chote nawab.
Sushmita ko Dulha Mil Gaya?on screen!
It’s been long in the making but it’s finally all set to see the light of day. We’re talking of the “warm and witty” romantic comedy Dulha Mil Gaya starring Shah Rukh Khan and Sushmita Sen. SRK plays a Trinidadian millionaire in it (DMG is the first Hindi film to be shot in Trinidad). The movie has also been in the news because it might feature ace cricketer Brian Lara in a cameo.
Incidentally, Mudassar Aziz, the director of the film, is rumored to be the latest fancy of our Bengali SEN-sensation. But question Sush about the special man in her life and the lady is uncharacteristically non-committal. “Let’s just say I’m superstitious,” says she. Ask her if she is ready for marriage and the actress says a candid No! The man himself is more forthcoming, he admits he’s been in love with Sushmita ever since he met her on the sets of Zindaggi Rocks, the Tanuja Chandra-directed movie that was written by Mudassar.
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