Friday Film Festival

With two superhits behind her, Amisha Patel is a star to watch out for in the Hindi film industry.

Her latest Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar readies for release this week. Not only Amisha but entire filmdom is waiting with baited breath to see whether she is on to a Bollywood hat-trick.

Though Amisha -- who has also starred in a Telugu blockbuster --Badri has given last year and this year's biggest hits, her co-stars walked away with all the laurels.

While in Kaho Naa...Pyaar HaiHrithik Roshan stole the thunder, in Gadar-Ek Prem Katha the limelight was solely on Sunny Deol.

Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar will be a trial by fire for Amisha and its success at the box-office will establish her star status beyond any shade of doubt. The film is also crucial for director Tanuja Chandra, who is among a handful of women directors in this male-dominated industry.

Tanuja, who has earlier made critically acclaimed films like Dushman and Sangharsh with strong women protagonists, is yet to taste commercial success.

The fate of Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar is also being keenly anticipated by film industry trade observers, who are predicting return of women-oriented films following the success of the Tabu-starrer Chandini Bar

Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar tells the story of a pop singer (Amisha), who suffers from identity crisis when she learns that she is adopted and goes looking for her mother.

The film is also important for male lead Jimmy Shergill, who also starred in the successful films likeMohabbatein and Maachis.

But Yeh Zindagi Ka Safarfaces tough competition from a film starring Kamal Haasan, who is considered one of India's finest actors. After much delay, his 201st film, Abhay, will see the light of the day Friday.

Abhay is a thriller about twin brothers who, although identical in appearance, are poles apart. It has Kamal doing a double role -- he has played at least 20 dual roles in films so far -- and ravishing Raveena Tandon as a suave newsreader. Manisha Koirala does a glamourous cameo in the film.

Based on the novel Dayam written by Haasan 17 years ago, Abhayis directed by Suresh Krissna, whose association with Haasan began as assistant director for his 101st film.

Abhay is a path-breaker in terms of the special effects used as a motion picture camera has been used to shoot the stunts instead of a still.

The special effects are said to have amounted to a whopping 13 million. While some special effects are by Grant Page of Mad Max fame, the rest are by an Australian firm, The Cutting Edge.

Abhay and Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar also clash with Mahesh Manjerekar's touching tale of filial relationships Tera Mera Saath Rahen November 16.

Known for his gritty gangster movie Vaastav and delving into the complexities of human relationships in Astitva Manjerekar returns with a saga of complex human relationships between two brothers.

Ajay Devgan, Sonali Bendre and Namrata Shirodkar come together in this film. Ajay plays older brother to child actor Dushyant Wagh who plays a boy suffering from cerebral palsy.

Tera Mera Saath Rahen is one among the long list of films Manjerekar is working on. His other Sunil Shetty-starrer Ehsaas will release later in November. Whereas the Sanjay Datt-starrer Pitaah is slated for a December release. He is also acting in Sanjay Gupta's Kaante.

After a disastrous attempt at a comedy in Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hai with Govinda, Mahesh explores the question of whether being handicapped is a dependency or dependency itself is a handicap with Tera Mera....

Tera Mera Saath Rahenis about a 14-year-old boy and his relationship with Ajay.

The film was earlier slated to clash with Ehsaas that too has been declared as an emotional film. Ehsaas is a father-son story wherein Sunil Shetty plays an ambitious daddy to son (Mayank Tandon) and wishes to make a top sportsman out of him.

Yet another release this Friday is the Vashu Bhagnani production Deewaanapan starring model-turned-actor Arjun Rampal and beauty queen Diya Mirza. Ashu Trikha has directed the romance.

Deewaanapan is Arjun's first project where he is the only hero after his much-appreciated debut in an otherwise average multi starrer Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat

It is Diya's second film too. Her debut Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein was a washout in its second week of release itself. Also produced by Bhagnani, RHTDM introduced R. Madhavan to Hindi film audiences.

India News Features Service