5 QUESTIONS
BILLBOARD
BOX OFFICE
MAKING WAVES
MEMORIES
MOVIES CHAT
QUOTE MARTIAL
REVIEWS
ROUGH CUTS
SHORT TAKES
SOUTHERN SPICE
THE LIST
WISH THE STARS
ARCHIVES

Tabu: No compromise on price

Rajkumar Santoshi is a dukhi man. Not with the world, but with Tabu, an actress for whom he conceived the pivotal role of the heroine in Lajjya. While most of the other heroines just went up to the director and expressed their desire to be cast in the film, without as much as discussing the remuneration, Tabu was the only one who set her terms and conditions.

And the amount she asked for made the director ghayal. Santoshi, who is used to having heroines chase him for roles, could not believe that an actress could make such demands. But then Tabu too has a clear logic -- "This is my price. He has never done me a favour, so there is nothing that I owe him. Why should I make concessions?" Besides, she knows that Santoshi's films take so long in the making that it is often not worth the effort.

Kundan brings Karisma to book

If Karisma Kapoor thought she could act high and mighty and get away with it she has probably realised that, after all, she cannot. Karisma is known to play favourite, giving second class treatment to the earlier lot of films once she signs a new film with a top banner and a more saleable hero. Karisma did it again with Kundan Shah's new film, Hum To Mohabbat Karega, which has Bobby Deol as her co-star.

For three whole days, Karisma kept the unit waiting, canceling dates on the pretext of being unwell while she was busy attending parties and shooting for other films which she wanted to. So an angry Kundan and producer Ashish Singh gave her a piece of their mind. Mincing no words, they told her they did not require her services any more and that they would complete the film without her and even dub her voice. But then they could afford to do so, since there is hardly a day's shooting left which they intend to complete with a duplicate. Kudos to Kundan Shah! May his tribe increase and put and end to the star system and tantrums!

What's the truth, Ash?

How did Aishwarya Rai get injured? While the lady and her parents insist she fell down the stairs in the building where she lives, others believe this is a cover up. There are some who claim her injuries resulted from the stinging slap Ash is supposed to have got from her father who is rumoured to oppose her alliance with Salman Khan. There are others who allege that Salman is responsible for this.

Salman's violent streak is well known (former girlfriends, Somy Ali and Sangeeta Bijlani would vouch for that). So in a fit of rage, over an issue only Ash or Salman can enlighten us about, the macho star is alleged to have struck at his current ladylove. But all this is still in the realm of speculation.

Poor Akshay!

Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das and Deepa Mehta look positively dejected. But the one who looks most depressed is Akshay Kumar. And for him the anxieties are two fold: One, of course, is because the film he was banking on -- for critical acclaim, of course! -- is in troubled waters. Second, one of the co-producers is a buddy of his. Akshay is said to have introduced this gent to Deepa and got him to invest in the film. With Water in trouble, the kind-hearted Akshay feels responsible for the agony he is causing his pal.

Namrata takes over from Ravs

Been seeing Raveena Tandon swinging her hips and doing a jig once too often in films? Getting bored of her? Well there is a replacement ready -- it's former Miss India, Namrata Shirodkar, currently being appreciated in some quarters for her appearance in Pukar. Namrata has none to thank but Raveena herself for this.

It began when Raveena, after promising to make a guest appearance in Hera Pheri, played hookey with producer Firoz Nadiadwala. She had not bargained for what was to follow. Instead of chasing her around for dates, Firoz walked up to her, gave her a piece of his mind, headed straight for Namrata and signed her up to do the sizzling dance number. The results are said to be terrific! Namrata had better send Raveena a big bouquet with a thank you note attached to it!

Happy days are here again for Poonam

Never seen a chirpier and happier Poonam Dhillon! It is not her career, which is on the upswing, but her personal life. Whether or not the man in her life -- an NRI from Hong Kong -- was responsible for the break-up of her marriage to producer Ashok Thakeria, or whether it was she who disrupted the NRI's marriage is a debatable issue.

The point is that both Poonam and her NRI friend have managed to get clean divorces from their respective spouses. Which leaves the field clear for them to make a clean breast of their love and relationship. Poonam is not too sure if she wants to go in for a quick wedding. She is enjoying her freedom and basking in the attention the NRI is showering on her to think about anything else at the moment.

-- The Insider