who146;s who?

But others find more parallels. Filmmaker Ashok Pandit says, 8220;Like Benegal8217;s films, Bhandarkar8217;s cinema has been able to cultivate an audience of its own.8221; Director Sanjay Jha, however, feels it is too early to compare. 8220;You need a body of work to build a perspective. By concentrating on his Mumbai trilogy, Bhandarkar has wavered from his forte which he needs to rediscover, unlike Shyamji who always stuck to his.8221;

Bhandarkar on being the new Shyam Benegal: 8220;I have enjoyed Shyamji8217;s masterpieces like Ankur, Bhumika, Mandi and Kalyug and have been inspired by their narrative structure. As with Shyamji, all my lead actors from commercial cinema 8212; from Raveena Tandon to Bipasha Basu 8212; have cut down their rates to work in my films.8221;

Benegal on Bhandarkar: 8220;His work is interesting and he has chosen to deal with contemporary urban life. At a time when most films 8212; like the ones Karan Johar makes 8212; are about people we want to be, Bhandarkar focuses on lives we tend to avoid. Regarding comparison with my films, it is flattering but Bhandarkar has a distinct stamp of his own and that8217;s how it should be.8221; nbsp;

Soap Czarina
Rajashree Thakur: New Smriti Iraani

Both hit the big league with their debut telly soaps, but while Smriti 8216;Tulsi8217; Iraani remains the nation8217;s favourite bahu, Rajashree 8216;Saloni8217; Thakur is within striking distance.

While Iraani8217;s six-year-old Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi success story, along with KBC, helped to consolidate Star Plus8217;s leader status in the satellite scene today, Thakur8217;s Saat Phere, along with Zee TV8217;s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa contests, helped propel the channel to No 2. But while Iraani8217;s public outings include political rallies, and home productions, Thakur seems happy campaigning for Zee TV8217;s every new offering.

Zee TV8217;s programming head Ashwini Yardi says, 8220;Saloni is the face of Zee TV today. Just as it happened with Tulsi, we have viewers approaching Saloni at outdoor shoots, thinking she has a solution for every problem.8221; Star Plus8217;s senior creative director Shailaja Kejriwal, however, maintains that 8220;though Saloni is an interesting character, icons are made over the years and it needs to be seen whether she lives up to the iconic longevity of Tulsi8221;.

Thakur on being the new Smriti Iraani: 8220;Like Smriti, I believe in being a responsible celebrity. The popularity of our shows indicates that our bahu acts aren8217;t regressive, absurd or superficial.

Crooner Under the Cap
Himesh Reshammiya: New Anu Malik

One may wonder if Anu Malik did away with his trademark cap to discourage further comparison with Bollywood8217;s latest success story, Himesh Reshammiya. And though Malik has also turned a tad tamer with his quotes, both music composers can still vie for the prize in the 8216;I, me, myself8217; department. While Reshammiya says, 8220;My being shy is often assumed as arrogance,8221; Malik warns, 8220;Don8217;t let such comparisons make you conclude that Anu Malik is over.8221;

One can love or hate them, but one can8217;t ignore them. Just as Malik can give a chartbusting Jaaneman and yet singe his reputation with an Umrao Jaan, for every Aap Ka Suroor and a successful Wembley concert, Reshammiya has had to face allegations of manufactured popularity and ridicule for his nasal twang. But irrespective of oscillating fortunes, they have been in a reinvention mode, and are undoubtedly Indian TV8217;s first celebrity judges to make the maximum personal brand enhancement through their reality shows Malik through his shayaris and mentoring on Indian Idol, and Reshammiya through his claims of giving breaks to participants on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge.

Reshammiya on being the new Anu Malik: 8220;My success, especially the extent I have achieved in such a short time, cannot be compared with any other.8221; He adds on a more cautious note: 8220;After the RD Burman controversy Asha Bhosle had said Himesh should be slapped for claiming that Burman was a nasal singer I have stopped commenting on comparisons.8221;

Malik on Reshammiya: 8220;I don8217;t mind the comparison but did he really agree to it? Reshammiya8217;s success doesn8217;t imply Anu Malik is over. Let8217;s talk after surviving three decades.8221;

Kissing Queens
Sherlyn Chopra: New Mallika Sherawat

Their common highpoint is not just the kiss or the number of kisses, though Chopra in her forthcoming, 8220;20-kiss8221; Red Swastik outnumbers Sherawat8217;s Khwahish act by a count of three. Just as the garrulous Sherawat would go tongue-tied at any mention of her Reema Lamba past, Mona nee Sherlyn Chopra, a half-Christian, half-Muslim with Persian origins, says, 8220;I killed Mona to become Sherlyn. Mona was down-market, Sherlyn is up-market and there8217;s more to her than nudes, showers and kisses.8221;

That8217;s a reference to her skin flicks like Time Pass and Naughty Boy and other forgettable cameos that she did a la Sherawat.

Like Sherawat, Chopra too goes for an occasional item-number outing for big banners. If Sherawat belly-danced in Guru, Chopra will dance to Alisha Chinai8217;s item song in Raj Kanwar8217;s Raqeeb. Of course, Chopra8217;s penchant for shocking quotes isn8217;t any different from Sherawat8217;s. 8220;I don8217;t mind people calling me a sex bomb as it8217;s no child8217;s play,8221; says Chopra. Ad man Prahlad Kakkar, who is directing Chopra for a song album, says, 8220;She sounds like she could outdo Mallika but playing the sex-kitten won8217;t take her far. She has to play down her image to make a mark.8221;

Chopra on being the new Mallika Sherawat: Saying Sherawat is no less than Britney Spears, Chopra says she doesn8217;t mind 8220;being Madonna and locking lips with her8221;. On the comparisons, she says, 8220;Mallika is a fighter who speaks her mind, whether she is understood or not. And that, for sure, is worth looking up to.8221;

Ms Perfect
Konkona Sen Sharma: New Smita Patil

If, at 22, Smita Patil bagged her first Best Actress National Award for Bhumika, Konkona Sen Sharma got hers at 23 for Mr and Mrs Iyer. Both of them frequently flirted with regional cinema to satiate their need for good roles.

But while Patil made a successful go at the song-and-dance-round-the-trees genre, Kon-kona is yet to make a mark in out-and-out commercial roles. 8220;That8217;s the edge Smita had even over her competitor from parallel films, Shabana Azmi. She could sing and dance and do Manthan and Mirch Masala,8221; says journalist Rauf Ahmed. 8220;If Smita had Shyam Benegal to nurture her talent, Konkona has the genes and her mother Aparna Sen8217;s films for starters.8221; But can Konkona do an Aaj rapat as Patil did and with equal eacute;lan? And, more importantly, will she ever do one?

Konkona on being the new Smita Patil: 8220;It8217;s very flattering but I have a long way to go to make a mark like her.8221;

The Causerati
Rahul Bose: New Shabana Azmi

He is currently on the Andaman Islands with an NGO working for children. He endorses four social organisations, has organised relief for tsunami victims; is part of every march for any cause in Mumbai; has spoken for the victims of slum demolition and volunteered support in the fight for bar dancers. And yet Rahul Bose gets time to make an occasional Pyaar Ke Side Effects. Detractors may argue that he gets to juggle the myriad causes because of limited acting offers, but Bose couldn8217;t care less. Shabana Azmi revisited? Former ad man and script writer Kamlesh Pandey says, 8220;While it was natural for Shabana to be attracted to social work as she comes from a family with a strong orientation towards causes, Rahul had always shown a genuine empathy for humanitarian issues.8221; Bose still has to learn a few acts, especially in creating the Azmi ripples. His individual takes, however controversial, still remain a personal call, while Azmi8217;s tamest personal opinions and public acts of courtesy the Nelson Mandela kiss create a tremor. nbsp;

Bose on being the new Shabana Azmi: 8220;It will be unfair to compare me with Shabana as her body of social work is at least thrice more than what I have done and she8217;s been a great ambassador for India. But then Shabana can8217;t play rugby either.8221;

Bollywood Badshah
Yash Chopra: New Yash Chopra

He8217;s not only the king of romances, but also the badshah of Bollywood8217;s biggest empire. Naturally, Big B and King Khan are happy courtiers in his camp and leading heroines like Rani Mukerji, Aishwarya Rai and Preity Zinta dance to its tunes. Yash Chopra has always had Bollywood8217;s biggest stars in his films, right from Hindi cinema8217;s first multi-starrer Waqt to Kabhi Kabhie, Trishul and Dil To Pagal Hain. Even his box-office no-shows like Silsila, Parampara and Lamhe were star-packed.nbsp;Commercially, his banner is at an all-time high, with 10 super hits out of its 12 releases since 2000, and distribution successes like Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Krrish.nbsp;Only Yashraj can have a Fanaa boycotted in Gujarat one of Bollywood8217;s biggest territories and yet turn the film into a super hit.

And it is true that Amitabh Bachchan did go to Chopra, asking for a role in Mohabbatein to revive his career; that Shah Rukh never bargains with the Chopras; and that super-selective Aamir Khan, who once refused the negative lead in Chopra8217;s Darr, may end up playing one in Dhoom: 3.

The Bhatts and the Akbar Khans of the industry may call the Chopra juggernaut 8220;self serving and monopolistic8221; but Chopra tops annual power lists with no other filmmaker or production house in striking distance. Film critic-turned-director Kunal Kohli, who directed Yashraj8217;s Fanaa, says, 8220;Unlike other people who get stuck to their success, Yashji has been reinventing himself. All those who say Yashraj films are only romantic are wrong. Which banner has made such diverse offerings like Kabul Express, Dhoom and Veer-Zaara? About the banner being a bully, you can become the most powerful person only when you don8217;t misuse your power.8221;

Yash Chopra on being the New Yash Chopra: Chopra8217;s PR cell says, 8220;People can call us the most powerful, on the basis of various polls, but it is just a perception. We aren8217;t ecstatic about it and are not working to be on the top of any list, rather to be the best in our calling.8221; Chopra8217;s take on his indispensability: 8220;What keeps me going is my belief that the Hindi film industry is a powerful cultural force and we need to raise its standing across the world. But I don8217;t believe in words like indispensable. There were great filmmakers and great production houses before me, and there will be after me.8221;