BOLLYWOOD BUZZ December 2003
RAVISHING RAVS FINDS MR. RIGHT
After Pooja Bhatt and Karisma Kapoor, it's Raveena Tandon's turn to take the pheras. Yes, it's official now. Ravishing Ravs is single no more. This Diwali, 34-year-old film distributor Anil Thadani added that extra spark in her life by popping the question in front of both the families at the actress' residence. And though we're not sure whether he went down on his knees, Raveena surely went weak in hers, especially when she saw the huge solitaire that he had for her! The two apparently met during the making of Stumped, Raveena's maiden venture as producer, and though the film flopped miserably, it certainly lived up to its name and stumped Raveena for life! Not that it was easy going for Anil ? apparently he pursued her relentlessly till she finally agreed to be his wife.
The marriage will probably take place in early 2004.
IT'S AISHWARYA'S 'TIME' NOW
Aishwarya Rai couldn't have received a better gift on November 1, the day she turned 30. Good friend (or beau?) Vivek Oberoi surprised Ash with no less than 30 presents and carried over the celebrations at a caf� in Mumbai where even Vivek's family was present, among other guests, to wish the birthday girl. Even otherwise, Ash seems to be having the ?time' of her life ? the latest issue of Time magazine has her on its cover, projecting her as Bollywood's 'queen' and as the new face of Hindi cinema. In her professional life too, the hazel-eyed actress continues to go great guns. The buzz is that Ash will probably star along with none other than Meryl Streep, in a movie titled Chaos where she will play a prostitute.
Ms Rai has also replaced Kareena Kapoor in Rituparno Ghosh's debut Hindi film as Bebo couldn't give the required dates. Well, as they say, Kareena's loss is certainly Ash's gain.
TABU CLEAN BOWLED BY GANGULY
After Abar Aranye, Tabu has suddenly developed a fetish for everything that is Bengali. And that includes Indian cricket skipper Saurav Ganguly. Yes, Tabu's growing friendship with Ganguly is the talk of tinseltown. The actress though denies anything of the sort and retorts: "This is ridiculous, I have met him precisely twice in my life". However, she admits that she knows him well enough to have had dinner with his family. Though Ganguly is said to be a great fan of Tabu, he predictably clams up when you question him about her. Well, you can't blame him. The last time that he was linked with an actress ? Nagma ? his seemingly stable marriage almost broke up.
Incidentally, Tabu was a great hit at the Moscow Film Festival where she rubbed shoulders with the likes of Nicholas Cage and George Clooney. Her Mian Maqbool, an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, has already been screened at foreign fests and won her rave reviews.
BIG B REWRITES ABC OF SUCCESS
Amitabh Bachchan gave himself a gift on his 61st birthday on October 11 ? the revival of his company ABCL albeit in a new avatar, AB Corp. "I felt I should pay back all those whom I owed money. Today I have paid back every single penny and am making a small beginning again," said Big B. The occasion was memorable in other ways as well. The re-launched company took off with a mahurat of its first project Ranveer in which the senior Bachchan teams up with son Abhishek. Sanjay Dutt also features in the film to be directed by Raj Kumar Santoshi. The 1000-strong glittering party hosted by the Bachchans at Hotel Intercontinental was predictably a tedious roll call of celebrities where artistes, tycoons, political bigwigs and even wannabe celebs rubbed shoulders with each other.
Meanwhile, Amitabh has joined the distinguished company of Hollywood legends like Roger Moore and Audrey Hepburn becoming the latest Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF.
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