Emraan Hashmi is the nephew of Mahesh Bhatt and it is no secret that the uncle had a large part to play in building up his career. Hashmi has since moved out of being exclusively in the Bhatt camp and also does movies for other production houses. But his last two movies away from the Bhatts have let him down. Both Ghanchakkar and Ek Thi Daayan were resounding flops.
He therefore has much riding on his next movie Raja Natwarlal, which is again a non-Bhatt production. But he is also shooting for the Bhatts for a movie called Mr X. And here there seems to have been an odd falling out between him and them. A gossip item reported that Emraan had been ignoring the shooting of Mr X in his zeal to promote Raja Natwarlal.
It was said that he gave 10 days for the promotions and that came out of his shooting schedule for Mr X leaving producers of Raja Natwarlal to shuffle around the dates of the other crew. The same news item had Bhatt taunting Emraan and the latter replying that he had learnt from his mentor that success is above everything else and he had only been following this lesson.
Bhatt also took to twitter to say, ‘Gratitude is the life blood of any meaningful relationship. I am grateful to Emraan for giving his best to us. But is his (sic) grateful to us?’, ‘Brand Emraan stands on the bedrock of Vishesh Films. We have huge emotional investment in him. He can run from this fact but not hide from it’ and ‘Charity begins at home.
Emraan Hashmi can’t ‘steal’ from Peter & gift it to Paul. He can’t cancel MR X’s shooting & do PR for Raja Natwarlal!’.
But while all this might sound like bitterness it is quite possible that it is a publicity stunt cooked up by them. Because in between Bhatt also tweeted how Raja Natwarlal is the best film of director Kunal Deshmukh and posted a photo of Emraan and the director grinning. Deshmukh incidentally is also a Bhatt camp regular. Emraan denied the whole spat later but by then they had got ample free media space.
Bald is courageous
When Ranveer Singh first burst on the scene, few thought that there was anything more to him than the usual brawny good looking hero who will stick to tried and tested entertainment roles. And he did remain true to that template for a while until in Lootera he showed that there could be a dimension to him which might be more than just the stereotype. In that period movie, he played a thief who betrays the woman he loves and then redeems himself.
It had none of the usual action or dances but Ranveer still pulled off the performance with elan. He has since then switched back to the norm but now comes news that he is going in for another experiment. Sanjay Leela Bhansali had signed him on for ambitious project Bajirao Mastani but there are a few surprises in store.
Ranveer has apparently agreed to go bald for the movie. Experimenting with their look is something Bollywood stars do with trepidation and going bald would be an extreme example of this. But that is not all. Ranveer has also agreed to give Bhansali one full year of his dates and that is extraordinary because an actor who is in so much demand will be missing out on at least two or three mega projects with such a gambit.
Ranveer, however, feels that the risk he is taking would be worth it when the movie comes out. It will certainly take him to another league if it delivers what it is promising.
Lead character
Vinay Pathak is that odd actor who, despite not exactly having the looks of a typical Bollywood hero, has managed to get solo lead roles. His change in fortune began with Bheja Fry in 2007 which was a decent commercial and critical hit. He was always known to be good in comic roles and in that movie his role as a bungling simpleton hit all the buttons right.
The sequel Bheja Fry 2, that came out in 2011, didn’t do as well but Pathak continued to be seen in character roles. But now another movie with him in the lead role is being talked about and it is miles away from comedy. In Gour Hari Dastaan, Pathak plays a freedom fighter, who is denied his pension and struggles for over 30 years to get his claim passed.
Gour Hari Dastaan is sometime away from being released—it will do the rounds of film festivals first—but those who have seen the preview screening have been raving about the movie and Pathak’s understated performance.
The big remake
Sonam Kapoor should be on tenterhooks — the trailer of Khoobsurat has been released and come September, the movie will hit the screens. It is a remake of the old superhit of 1980 that was recognised as one of Rekha’s best performances and she is still remembered for it.
Sonam therefore has big boots to fill in the acting department and inevitably there will be comparisons. The new Khoobsurat is produced by Sonam’s sister and that also makes it a family affair. Sonam therefore is personally invested in it. She is going all out to promote the movie and recently despite being unwell refused to take a break.
The trailer itself doesn’t really tell you whether the movie has managed to do justice to the original. While the 1980 Khoobsurat was set in an average middle class home and let the characters in it build the story, in the sequel the sets are much more opulent and that itself might be sign that the tone of the original is lost.
Meanwhile, at the personal front Sonam might be going through some upheavals. She was reportedly in a relationship with a businessman that has only started recently but it was not working and two amicably decided to call it quits.
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