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Kiran Rao’s Dhobi Ghaat
THE quiet,bespectacled girl made geeky fashionable when she came under the spotlight for marrying superstar Aamir Khan. Ever since,we have spotted her at social and film dos as the actor’s trophy wife. But the once assistant director to Ashutosh Gowarikar,Rao’s directorial venture Dhobi Ghaat will release this year. Those who know her vouch for talent as does her doting husband at every possible opportunity. Given Khan’s reputation as a marketing guru,we’re guessing Rao will pull it off in her very first film but it remains to be seen if the young director can emerge from the shadow of her husband’s fame. The film,starring Prateik Babbar,has been shot and is now in post-production stages. Rao says she can’t comment on her film yet but did reveal that “if all goes well,the film will release in the first half of 2010”.

Naseeruddin Shah,a romantic hero
TRUST Naseeruddin Shah to surprise the audience every time he takes on the big screen. This time,the genius actor has tuned into his softer side to romance Vidya Balan in Ishqiya. What we have seen of him in the promos looks extremely promising — a 40-something Shah narrating couplets to the young sensuous diva and blushing as he does so. Contrary to what one would presume,it was not tough to convince the veteran actor to play such a role,reveals the director,Abhishek Chaubey. “It has been some time since we saw him do that. When we thought of him for this role,his character in Gulzar’s Ijaazat (1987) was a sort of reference. Naseer and I had worked together in Maqbool and Omkara so I just had to slip my script through and he agreed.”

A R Rahman and Mani Ratnam’s team for Raavan
MANI Ratnam gave A R Rahman a break in the movies and it seems,in return,the music maestro has given him a commitment to make music for each of his movies. They’ve inarguably made magic every time they have teamed up in the past,be it Roja,Yuva,Dil Se or,recently,Guru. To the musician,it’s about the way the filmmaker inspires him that makes all the difference to the music: “Mani Ratnam is very special; it’s a challenge to make the music at par with his work and vision.” Rahman’s music post-Oscars may have failed to stir our souls,but we look forward to being swept away by his work in Raavan.

Animation comes to Bollywood
TOONPUR Ka Superhero,starring Ajay Devgn and Kajol,Tarun Mansukhani’s Koochie Koochie Hota Hai with best pals Shah Rukh Khan,Rani Mukerji and Kajol,and UTV’s Alibaba aur 41 Chor that will bring back together the Dostana trio Priyanka Chopra,Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham—2010 will see some of the biggest names of the film industry turn into toons. At the same time,we hope,these films will give the animation industry the much-needed boost to push it into the mainstream a la Hollywood. The biggest challenge we face,says Devgn,is the extensive post-production work involved in making animations. Mansukhani seconds this: “Indian film industry considers two years of post-production too long as that blocks one’s investments. Besides,most people here consider animations as a genre for children.” Hopefully,India will change its view in 2010.

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