The next big dance-song on the horizon has the odd lyrics Fevicol Se. Fevicol happens to be the brand name of a glue and the song in question is an item number in Dabanng 2, the sequel to the Salman Khan blockbuster.
As with many such dance moves which become a rage, this one too is choreographed by Farah Khan. After turning director Farah has put up her boots as a choreographer but, as a favour to old friends, she does choreograph a song once in a while.
But there is a strange thing here. In the original Dabanng, Farah had choreographed the phenomenally popular Munni Badnam Hui song. The actress who danced in it was Malaika Arora, who has a long history of successful collaborations with Farah, starting with the Chaiya Chaiya song (Dil Se) in the late ’90s.
Malaika’s husband was the producer of Dabanng and this time is also the director of Dabanng 2. Despite all that, the woman dancing to Fevicol Se is not Malaika. Instead it is Kareena Kapoor, in a special appearance. Arbaaz was asked about this anomaly and his short answer was that it was a creative decision. Huh? He’s the director, who heads the creative department. That was just another way of saying it was his decision. Obviously they thought Kareena would make a bigger splash. Another strange thing happened with Arbaaz. Recently at a party he came face to face with Abhinav Kashyap who had directed Dabanng and then bowed out of the sequel because he just couldn’t take the interference of Salman and Arbaaz.
At the time Abhinav’s brother Anurag had added some fuel to the fire when he tweeted that the Khans should ask Arbaaz to direct the sequel and then they would find out if the movie would be a hit or not. And Arbaaz had taken up the challenge.
At the party, everyone expected Abhinav and Arbaaz to cold shoulder each other. Instead they spent the whole time together, like they were stuck with Fevicol.
New Year principles
Does anyone refuse half a million dollars for a couple of hours? The answer is a yes but if and only if you are among the top heroines. Normally when actors are starting out and have just made a name, they start getting invites to perform on mammoth New Year’s Eve parties. It’s a lot of money for half a night of intermittent dancing.
For second-rung actresses and starlets like Mallika Sherawat or Rakhi Sawant this is probably the most they earn throughout the year for an appearance. Even actresses like Bipasha Basu jump into the fray.
The only ones who don’t do it, despite being offered phenomenal amounts, are the ones at the top — Kareena Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Katrina Kaif, and their ilk.
This is because money is not a consideration at their level. They already make a lot from films and commercials. Also, the exclusivity of their brand goes down a notch if they do dance shows. There is however one exception.
A Mumbai newspaper recently revealed the rates that actresses charge to put in an appearance at a wedding. Rich parents of the couple equate the presence of stars with prestige and so don’t mind the price. Shah Rukh Khan was a subject of many jokes for his willingness to dance at weddings. Even the top heroines go to weddings for a price.
Aishwarya’s lips are sealed
Aishwarya Rai is the ice maiden. She rarely gives interviews and even then fobs off most of the personal questions. If she were to answer them, then it would sensationally cover many superstars in India.
She is married to the Bachchan family. For a long time she banned Shah Rukh Khan from her sights after he dropped her from a movie. With Salman she had a long relationship which culminated in her writing a litany of his abusive behaviour in a newspaper a long time back.
And then there was Vivek Oberoi, a small and forgettable chapter in her life. But she usually talks about none of that. Even about her recent motherhood, she’s chary of speaking much.
Recently, however she gave an interview to David Frost, the British television journalist. She spoke about the time when she had to kiss Hrithik Roshan on screen for Dhoom 2. She agreed to do it with hesitation and the reaction which followed bore out her reluctance.
She even got legal notices for it and all around her fans couldn’t take it, she said. She maintained that kissing scenes are definitely not her cup of tea.
The double standard
Aamir Khan’s latest film Talaash is, as expected, a bumper hit. It is inching its way to the $20mn revenue yardstick. Talaash is a suspense film which has a little bit of the supernatural in it. But some commentators have pointed out an interesting doublespeak on the part of Aamir.
When his TV talk show, Satyamev Jayate, was being aired, you saw Aamir take on issue after social issue and then look at it from the light of reason.
He exhorted all of India to throw away injustice and nonsense which passes for tradition. But Talaash, as one columnist put it, “endorses the supernatural”. Even off screen Aamir spoke of being interested in haunted places.
He is also planning to visit a village which apparently has ghosts. All this pits Aamir the actor directly in conflict with Aamir the wannabe social reformer. It is odd to ask people to use their brains and then suddenly turn and tell them that ghosts exist.
He will of course take the stand that this is just a movie but then the persona that he’s created is of a man whose movies are more than just a money-spinning enterprise.