No King Cong

Amitabh Bachchan is often given to stating that he does not wish to get back to politics as he does not deem himself fit for it. Now Shah Rukh Khan, who at one point was almost ready to join the Congress, is telling anyone who cares to listen that he would be a complete misfit in politics. Khan, who has been diligently following in Big B’s footsteps recently (Don, Kaun Banega Crorepati), says, “I have no idea of politics and will not be able to perform well there.” Hey, Shah Rukh, even Amitabh Bachchan had one crack at politics!

Animated Karan

Karan Johar certainly knows how to hit the headlines regularly. After his film Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (the film did dismally at the domestic box office), Johar is now trying his hand at animation. Guess he is getting tired of working with the same actors over and over again. “I don’t know how you will interpret it, but as far as I am concerned, this is a novel idea. It is a new territory for me. But at the same time, it will be a complete film for me… complete as in there will be songs and dances in the film. There will be emotions that people can identify with. Basically, it will be a familiar idea in an alien territory,” says Johar.

Beggar’s opera

Madhur Bhandarkar is hard at work pushing his film Traffic Signal on the press. The film is about the lives of those people, including children, who eke out a living at traffic signals in Mumbai. According to Bhandarkar, the film will make us think about the lives of these children. “After seeing the film people will have a completely different perception about children who beg or hawk at these signals,” says Bhandarkar. Bit of a departure from the glamour of Page 3 and Corporate, what?

Neetu on a high

Talking of Traffic Signal, the heroine of the film, Neetu Chandra, is now on a high. Neetu has been banking a lot on this film. Though her debut film Garam Masala was a hit, it did not get her too many kudos. So Neetu has been trying hard to bag some projects and has been meeting many big film makers to land some plum roles. Clearly, her persistence has paid off as she has bagged a role in Ashok Pandit’s film Homeland. All she needs to do now is to perform well.

Kashmir issues

The film Homeland is close to the heart of not only Ashok Pandit, but of Anupam Kher as well. For both are Kashmiri pandits and both feel deeply about the trauma of Kashmiri pandits who have been displaced from their homeland, which is what the film is all about. After the success of a film like Rang De Basanti which went some way in rekindling interest in the Jessica Lal case, the makers are sure that Homeland will focus attention on the plight of their Kashmiri brethren.

Kim, who?

Where is Kim Sharma now? The actress made a hue and cry about her role having been trimmed in Deepak Tijori’s film Tom, Dick and Harry. And now no one wants to cast her. There is an unwritten rule in Bollywood — don’t criticise anyone if you aren’t Sanjay Leela Bhansali or Yash Chopra who have enough clout to beat the world. If you do, you end up being forgotten like Kim Sharma.