Mookhey Makeover

Flop Movie, Hit Jodi

THE fact that the first time they worked together 8212; in Dharmesh Darshan8217;s mega-flop Haan Maine Bhi Pyaar Kiya 8212; they were unable to strike up any great screen chemistry hasn8217;t stopped filmmakers from wanting to sign up Abhishek Bachchan and Karisma Kapoor together, reveals the actress herself. She says they have received at least a handful of offers, and although some of them aren8217;t too bad, it8217;s unlikely that a project of this nature will materialise anytime soon. 8216;8216;Problem is, neither of us have dates for the next six months. Anything we decide to do together will have to wait until both of us have finished all our other commitments,8217;8217; she says.

And Karisma insists that, contrary to rumours, the couple hasn8217;t fixed on a marriage date yet. 8216;8216;We8217;re just so busy, we don8217;t think it8217;s fair to tie the knot before we8217;ve honoured all our pending work commitments,8217;8217; she says in that typical professional voice. And even if we don8217;t get to see Abhishek and Karisma on screen together, like it or not, we will see Abhishek and Kareena together in Sooraj Barjatya8217;s Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon, which sees Kareena sandwiched between Hrithik Roshan and the Junior AB.

Waiting in the Wings

WE8217;VE been hearing for some time about Sridevi8217;s big television debut on the Sahara channel. And we also reported that Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru would be creating the perfect television vehicle for the Chandni star to make her big bow with. Alas, it wasn8217;t meant to be. The show was deemed 8216;8216;too wild8217;8217; by the channel, and has been shot down completely. Apparently a novel concept involving drama and reality-television, the theme has been shot down by Sahara, which has also suggested that Boney Kapoor look for another idea. So it8217;s back to friend-of-the-family Satish Kaushik. Under the banner that Satish Kaushik and Anil Kapoor created 8212; Kapoor and Kaushik Limited they produced the ill-fated Badhai Ho Badhai 8212; a new concept, probably a more conventional one, will be put together for Sridevi to greenlight. So don8217;t expect to see the former superstar on television anytime before March or April next year. And that too, only if Satish Kaushik can take some time off from the half-dozen film projects he8217;s attached to, and spend some energy on the TV show.

Out in the Cold

THE failure of his acting debut which he also directed Maine Dil Tujhko Diya notwithstanding, Sohail Khan seems to have found himself at least a few acting jobs in Bollywood. Apart from the film Talat Jani will direct him in for his own production company, G S Entertainment, there is choreographer Ahmed Khan8217;s directorial debut in which Sohail will star with Sunny Deol, Sunil Shetty and John Abraham, and also one project Satish Kaushik is reportedly developing. From the look of it, he8217;s been kicked out of Shah Rukh Khan8217;s home production to be directed by Farah Khan after bada bhai Salman roughed up the Devdas star some weeks ago, and has been replaced by Hrithik Roshan8217;s hottie brother-in-law Zayed Khan. Sohail shouldn8217;t feel too low really 8212; at least he has a handful of films lined up. His poor co-debutante from Maine Dil Tujhko Diya, Sameera Reddy, is less fortunate. Not only has she received a cold shoulder from Bollywood she has no films on the cards, even modelling assignments are fast drying up. No wonder the dusky damsel can often be spotted whiling away her time at Bandra8217;s Otter8217;s Club.

Lara8217;s Theme

THE makers of the Akshay Kumar-Priyanka Chopra-Lara Dutta starrer Andaz can8217;t stop raving about former Miss Universe Lara Dutta who, they say, has surprised them with her latent acting talent. The film8217;s producer Suneel Darshan and director Raj Kanwar weren8217;t particularly sure whether they should risk their money on Lara who, they suspected, like many models before her, wouldn8217;t be able to pull off the acting gig. But both have been jumping with joy ever since they saw the film8217;s rushes, amazed at the scenes she8217;s delivered.

The film8217;s other actress, Priyanka Chopra, too, has been generating some positive buzz in Bollywood at long last. She8217;s apparently top-of-the-pops in the Sunny Deol starrer, The Hero, and has now landed a starring role opposite Sanjay Dutt in Plan. With all these former beauty queens and models grabbing the big projects, wonder what will happen to our original Bollywood babes. Urmila Matondkar has already been forced into semi-retirement, Sonali Bendre tied the knot earlier this week, Raveena Tandon has no choice but to take up every B-grade offer coming her way, and Shilpa Shetty is happily doing second leads in Karisma Kapoor starrers8230;