So,What’s NEW?

On being asked who is the current Number 1 in the film industry,actor Abhishek Bachchan yells: “The Number 1 star in the whole world is AMITABH BACHCHAN!” On the other hand,actor Neil Nitin Mukesh reitirates his claim to fame crooning a few lines of the song Zindagi khwab hai,rendered originally by his grandfather,playback singer Mukesh. Both remain unapologetic about the string of flops they have delivered. “Many good films fail and some recent hits have been terrible movies,” both justified,almost in unison. In Lucknow on Monday to promote their film,Neil and Abhishek will be seen in Players,remake of a 1969 Hollywood classic The Italian Job. “The director-duo Abbas-Mastan have only taken the storyline of the Hollywood film,but the screenplay is original,” said Bachchan,in defence of the filmmakers,who have mostly rehashed western thrillers,be it Baazigar (A Kiss Before Dying),Daraar (Sleeping With the Enemy),Ajnabee (Consenting Adults) or Race (Goodbye Lover),money-spinners all. “The film is about crooks getting together to pull a heist involving gold worth Rs 10,000 crore that is being transferred from Russia to Romania. But,hey! we have made an entertainer,no social messages here,” continued Bachchan,brushing off any aspersions cast on the team for glamourising crime.

Amidst banter about no decision yet on the name of his and Aishwarya’s newborn baby girl and his aloofness from politics — “I am just an actor”—Abhishek spoke about his forthcoming projects. “Coming up after Players is a comedy titled Bol Bachchan,an untitled project in which I act with Dad and Dhoom-3,for which I,Uday Chopra and Aamir Khan begin shooting next year.” Neil said he had finished writing a script,but the film has yet to go on floors. “It’s called Payedaar meaning eternal. No decision on cast,yet.”