BOLLYWOOD BUZZ November 2004
Ash is now a museum piece!
Aishwarya Rai now has to contend with another beautiful woman, one who is almost if not as bewitching as she is. Only, this lady doesn't ?wax' eloquent. You see, her beauty is etched in wax. Yes, Aishwarya now stands tall as a wax sculpture in London's famous Madame Tussaud's. "It's an overwhelming feeling," said the former Miss World on seeing her replica. Ash is the only female actor to grace the hallowed halls of the world-famous museum. The only other Bollywood star to have made it to Tussaud's is, of course, Amitabh Bachchan.
Meanwhile, Rituparno Ghosh-directed Chokher Bali starring Ash and Ajay Devgan, opened to packed houses in the US. And Gurinder Chadha's Bride and Prejudice premiered in India and the UK simultaneously. Sadly for Aishwarya, her "atrocious" dress sense at the London premiere (Not again! Remember Cannes?) was talked about more than her performance in this "audacious" take on Jane Austen's classic work!
Has Rani found her Raja?
The latest story doing the rounds is that Govinda is all set to leave his wife and marry his ladylove Rani Mukherjee. Shocked? Apparently, it's an open secret that the two have been romantically involved for quite some time now. Govinda claims that it's a conspiracy by his political opponents ? he's an MP now ? to tarnish his image. This rumour has overshadowed the news that Rani has been approached by Mira Nair to play the pivotal role of Ashima in a screen adaptation of Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri's novel The Namesake. "I've been wooing her over the phone ever since I saw her in Yuva," says Mira.
Incidentally, Rani's Hum Tum co-star Saif Ali Khan has reportedly walked out of his marriage with Amrita Singh and into the arms of an Italian stunner called Rosa. The chote nawab plans to move in with his firang girlfriend. There is a strong buzz that Aamir Khan has married Kiran Rao. Headlines also screamed that Akshay Kumar and Twinkle were on the verge of a split. Reason: Akki's secret liaisons with Priyanka Chopra. "Someone is out to destroy my perfectly happy marriage," fumes the khiladi no. 1
Luck By Chance for Tabu
Tabu has got ?lucky by chance'. You see, Madhuri Dixit was the first choice for Zoya Akhtar's directorial debut Luck By Chance. But the negotiations fell through as the former diva wanted a whopping amount for the film. That's how Tabu stepped into the picture. "It's all happened for the best because now Madhuri is pregnant again and I wouldn't have been able to make my film with her. Now that I have got Tabu, I consider myself lucky," says Zoya, who says her first film is an insider's look at Bollywood. Luck By Chance will also have real life cameos by actors and journalists. In that sense, the movie would be like Robert Altman's The Player, admits Zoya.
Meanwhile, Zoya's brother Farhan seems to have changed his lakshya. Giving direction a go-by, he will now be facing the camera in a Rituparno Ghosh-directed Hindi movie. Farhan will be playing Big B's son, no less!
Laloo's ?lathi' hits Bollywood!
Watch out! India's most colourful politician Laloo Prasad Yadav, is all set to storm Bollywood. Yes, the former Bihar Chief Minister and current Union Railway Minister got a chance to flaunt his histrionic talent as he shot for a film named after him, Padmashree Laloo Prasad Yadav. Said director Mahesh Manjrekar about Laloo: "He's so professional and finished his work with expertise, as though he had been doing it all his life!" When the movie releases this Diwali, audiences will see the big man at the end of the film in a very special appearance, when the three protagonists called Laloo, Prasad and Yadav played by Suniel Shetty, Johnny Lever and Mahesh Manjrekar respectively, run into him on a street in Patna. The scene required Laloo to brandish a lathi (stick). Suniel Shetty later said : Lalu is a rock star, he is so entertaining!
By the way, the film has nothing to do with the life of Laloo Prasad Yadav.
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