Superstar Shobhaa

When Indian publishing needs a star — no, make that a superstar — guess who it looks up to? Why, Shobhaa Dé, of course! The undisputed diva of Indian masala lit, Dé certainly knows how to rake in the moolah with her pen. Superstar India, Dé’s latest book that sold briskly through the year, crossed the one lakh mark over Christmas. That’s saying a lot, since in Indian publishing even popular books rarely sell beyond 20,000 copies. What’s more, now she’s begun to inspire artistes to lend their weight to her literary effort. Last heard, a music CD titled The Music of Superstar India, which fuses music from across the country with readings from the book by the author, had hit the shelves and was selling like hot cakes. All in a Dé’s work, shall we say?

Model-turned actor Gautam Kapoor, who has flitted in and out of films such as My Brother Nikhil, Life in a Metro and several music videos, will now be seen in a movie opposite Mandira Bedi. Kapoor plays a husband who gets involved in an extra-marital affair. And he seems to be taking his job pretty seriously. “Throughout the shooting I observed a lot of couples around me. I kept thinking how I would react in a situation like that,” he said. Apparently, Kapoor’s character has an affair because he is bored with his marriage. Well, one may be fairly sure that the boredom did not extend to the sets. Not with the beauteous and bubbly Bedi around to liven things up.

Burman biopic

His heavenly melodies inspire music composers to this day. And now the matchless Sachin Dev Burman — the man and his music — will be captured on celluloid. Films Division is finally getting down to making a biopic on the legendary music composer who melded folk and classical, popular and arcane traditions with such telling effect in his musical scores. Born into the Tripura royal family, Burmanda, as he was widely known, wrote the music for such Hindi film classics as Pyasaa, Kagaz Ke Phool, Guide, Aradhana, and a host of others. The biopic, to be directed by film-maker Dilip Roy will, hopefully, shed light on the life and times of this musical genius. Now, how about a biopic on the son as well — the great and inimitable Rahul Dev Burman?

Southern comfort

First it was a reality show. Now it seems to be a case of southern comfort. Ex-Miss Universe and present Bollywood babe Sushmita Sen has decided to shelve her ambitious film on the life of Rani Laxmibai (it was to be her first directorial venture) and go for a role in Kamal Haasan’s Tamil film Marmayogi. Sen’s fans may not be too enthused about her dalliances with reality dance shows — she hosted the show Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena — or with south Indian films, but the cerebral Sush is reportedly going to essay a meaty role in Marmayogi. Grapevine has it that she has been cast as a tough warrior in the big budget historical film, which will come loaded with special effects. One only hopes that Marmayogi does not tank the way Haasan’s earlier film Dasavathara did. That might lead to a slightly Sen-sitive career situation for our gal.

Feet first

Trust a girl to find time for the things that matter in life. Bong bombshell Riya Sen, who has been extremely busy of late shooting for Rituparno Ghosh’s film Nauka Dubi, decided to hoove it to Hong Kong to indulge in a bout of serious retail therapy. Of course, it helped that she was to participate in the Chandni Chowk to China concert that was to be held there. But Sen squeezed some precious time out of her choc-a-block schedule to arrive two days before the concert. All because she wanted to spend some quality time at Hong Kong’s glitzy shopping malls. Pleased with her shopping break, Sen, who reportedly has a major shoe fetish, said, “This is the only holiday I could get, so I decided to go for some shoe shopping!” Clearly, Riya knows the importance of being well-heeled.