A Hit in the Making

Back in Action

GOOD OL8217; Sunil Shetty has his fingers crossed. The action star has as many as seven films lined up for release at the marquee in coming weeks. It8217;s almost like a festival of Shetty starrers really 8212; first up, Ravi Dewan8217;s Annarth, then another bang-bang flick, Maseeha. Tinnu Anand8217;s long-delayed Ek Hindustani will be followed by the also-very-late Kaante, in which he teams with Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Mahesh Manjrekar, Kumar Gaurav and Lucky Ali. That done, he stars with Sunny Deol for Karz. And finally there will be Tinnu Anand8217;s Baaz. In a year that has looked good only because of the surprise success of Awara Paagal Deewana in which Mr Muscles had precious little to do anyway, a spate of releases can only lower the odds for the hit.

New Age Woman

NEXT up from Tanuja Chandra is a Juhi Chawla starrer. 8216;8216;I8217;ve always wanted to work with her, I think she8217;s a terrific actress who just hasn8217;t been fully exploited,8217;8217; the director says. The film, scheduled to start shooting before the end of the year, is about an ageing actress who8217;s lost her charm at the box-office. Co-starring a bunch of virtual unknowns, it will be a dramatic part for Juhi, who until now has excelled at mostly feelgood roles. Incidentally, Juhi will be in the limelight once again when Sujoy Ghosh8217;s Jhankaar Beats and Nagesh Kukunoor8217;s Teen Deewarein make it to the big screen.

Mantriji Returns

WITH Amitabh Bachchan walking out of Feroz Nadiadwala8217;s Police Force co-starring Akshay Kumar and Tabu 8212; and directed by Madhur Bhandarkar 8212; the other name being tossed around is that of Shatrughan Sinha. Bollywood insiders say the Bihari politician has been approached to step into the Big B8217;s shoes. With Vinod Khanna having signed up for Raveena Tandon8217;s home production, Pehchaan the actor-neta says the minister8217;s salary alone can8217;t keep his home fires burning, perhaps it is only fair that Shatru too take up the occasional acting offer that comes his way.

Priyan8217;s Plans

DESPITE the fact that just about everyone you meet is likely to have loved Hera Pheri, the colossal failure of Yeh Tera Ghar Yeh Mera Ghar has undone everything that director Priyadarshan has done in Bollywood. Nobody remembers Virasat anymore. It8217;s only the duds and there were many: Doli Saja Ke Rakhna, Saat Rang Ke Sapne, Kabhi Na Kabhi they cannot forget. As a result, all those ambitious plans of directing the Big B have remained just that 8212; ambitious plans. Venus Films had signed up the filmmaker to direct a film starring Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai. But that project hasn8217;t materialised either. What he will begin work on next, is a film starring Akshaye Khanna and Aftab Shivdasani. How the mighty are fallen!

Hiatus with Grace

Gracy Singh is working very hard these days. She8217;s shooting back-to-back for Armaan, in which she stars with Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor and Preity Zinta directed by Honey Irani, and another drama with Tusshar Kapoor and Amrita Arora. She stayed home last week to watch Lagaan8217;s television telecast, and cheered dutifully when Aamir and his team beat the English at their game. 8216;8216;I still cannot believe I was part of such a wonderful film,8217;8217; she exclaimed. 8216;8216;But I know I have to prove myself again and again,8217;8217; she added, insisting that she hasn8217;t let her enthusiasm for the movies dip.

Take It Easy

SHE has a lot of time on her hands these days, Manisha Koirala does8230; Laid off from work temporarily because of the injury she suffered on the sets of her home production, Paisa Vasool, the actress is staying home and catching up with all the latest DVD releases. Good friend Deepti Naval drops in every now and then for a meal, and Sushmita Sen calls up every other hour to check if Manisha8217;s been taking her medication. Even as work on Paisa Vasool comes to an end shortly, the Bombay star goes into production with the next film, which will be a launch pad for her brother Siddharth, and will be directed by Makarand Deshpande.

Soliciting Spree

IF the grapevine is to be believed, Aishwarya Rai is on a hush-hush trip to Los Angeles, where she will be spending time nosing through the scripts her agent has found her. With Salman Khan likely to make waves in Hollywood courtesy Marigold, looks like Aishwarya wants her slice of the pie too.