NOW that we8217;re in the throes of the awards season, just about everyone in Bollywood is getting their prettiest outfits ready for the annual tamasha events. One girl not overwhelmed by all the excitement is Rani Mukherjee 8212; odd, considering she8217;s a top contender for the Best Actress statue for her performance in Saathiya. The other leading contender is, of course, Aishwarya Rai for her turn as Paro in Sanjay Leela Bhansali8217;s Devdas. Rani says she doesn8217;t expect to win, and she has no problems with that. Insisting that most awards go to the stars of the year8217;s most popular films, she doesn8217;t think she stands too much of a chance this year either. 8216;8216;In any case, I think that winning an award would please my fans and my well-wishers more than me, because they8217;re the ones more excited about awards,8217;8217; she says. Not that her cynical attitude will come in the way of her participation at these shows. Like the rest, she8217;ll don her finest saree and smile away as the trophies are distributed.
Looking South
IT seems it was only yesterday that she landed all that praise for her performance in Gadar, following which Bollywood was quick to anoint her a top contender for the Number One spot. But after a string of duds last year, Amisha Patel seems to have vanished into oblivion. She looked smashing in Humraaz, but despite that film8217;s moderate popularity, there8217;s no queue of producers waiting to sign her up for their forthcoming films. It8217;s also been learnt that the Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai star has turned her attention to the South film industry, where she8217;s doing two movies currently. Of course she8217;s no stranger to southside cinema, having already worked in a Telugu film two years ago. Back in good ol8217; Bollywood, she8217;s got the Vikram Bhatt-directed film with Arjun Rampal and Bobby Deol, Venus8217; Priyadarshan project with Akshaye Khanna and Aftab Shivdasani, and her secretary Rikku Rakeshnath8217;s home production opposite his son Karan Nath. And then again, if all else fails, there8217;s the successful restaurant business to fall back on!
Jodi Not to Be
LOOKS like Tanuja Chandra and Juhi Chawla aren8217;t destined to work together. The director has been keen to work with the Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak heroine for some years now. They were meant to work together in Zindagi Ka Safar, but Amisha Patel eventually replaced the chirpy Chawla. Then, Tanuja offered Juhi the role of a fading actress who lands the role of her lifetime and leaves everyone spellbound with her performance. Immensely excited about the project, Juhi gave her nod of approval and put the film into motion. It has been learnt now that Mahima Chaudhary has been signed by Tanuja for a film called Vaasta, whose basic story sounds suspiciously similar to the one the director was hoping to make with Juhi. Cast with the Pardes star are hunks Priyanshu Chatterjee and Aryan Vaid.
Seconds, Anyone?
ON the one hand Ramgopal Varma is getting ready to produce a film called Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon, which his editor Chandan Arora will direct with Varma8217;s current favourite Antara Mali in the lead. The story of a small-town girl who arrives in Mumbai with stars in her eyes, you might find that the idea has shades of similarity to Varma8217;s Rangeela and Mast. But all set to steal his thunder is a B-grade film titled Main Ban Na Chahti Hoon Aishwarya, which will feature the look-alikes of every leading Bollywood star from Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Shah Rukh Khan, Sunny Deol, Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai to Saif Ali Khan, Lisa Ray, Antara Mali and Rajpal Yadav. To be produced by a relative nobody whose only claim to fame until now has been through the striking resemblance he bears to actor Anil Kapoor, the latter film is scheduled to go into production shortly. Do we see Ramgopal Varma scurrying around to complete his film sooner?
Esha: Comic Turn
LOVE stories are out for Esha Deol. Having burnt her fingers with Koi Mere Dil Se Pooche, Na Tum Jano Na Hum and Kya Dil Ne Kaha, the actress seems determined to try her luck in other genres. Right now, she has two thrillers lined up for release back-to-back. Coming up is the I Know What You Did Last Summer remake, Kucch To Hai, opposite Tusshar Kapoor, and then the Zayed Khan launch pad Chura Liyaa Hai Tumne. Here8217;s wishing her the best of luck8230; And hell, if these don8217;t do the trick for her, it8217;s probably comedy next!
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Nagging Doubt
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Was it brave or foolhardy of Preity Zinta to stand by her complaint in the underworld case?
Arshad Warsi: 8216;8216;It definitely takes a lot of courage to do something like that. In such cases, there are so many things involved other than the person. So it takes a brave heart to take such a step.8217;8217;
Hrishita Bhatt: 8216;8216;Of course it was brave of her. She came out in the open, despite knowing that the consequences could be dire. What8217;s especially brave is that she stood up when most people didn8217;t.8217;8217;
Feroz Khan: 8216;8216;I can only say one thing to this: 8216;Cowards die many times before their deaths, the brave dies but once.8217;
Seema Biswas: For her or anyone, it8217;s a brave step. Keeping shut about such crucial things would just make her more insecure. At least she came out with the truth. The police should protect her.8217;8217;
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3 min read 
