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Tough customer

Raveena Tandon. Click for bigger pic!

Raveena Tandon has cleaned up her act. And she's learning that in Bollywood, it's only success that matters.

But recently, she gave back one producer as good as she got.

Actually we learnt about this after the lady refused to shoot a film with producer Kulbhushan Gupta who has just completed Pardesi Babu. Why had she done that, we asked.

"When I was signed for the film, I was told that I would be given a good deal and that I was the second heroine in the project. I signed on the film, knowing very well, that I come in only in the second half. But I was assured I'd be given equal importance with the other heroine, whom I will not name (that's actually Shilpa Shetty).

"But when I saw the promos, I could hardly see myself, and she was all over the place. I realised I was being cheated. So I refused to shoot with him, till he out promos which gave us equal weightage."

And so the promos were shown and, ego soothed, Raveena completed the film.

Feisty lady, eh?

Shashilal the fall guy

Sunil Shetty. Click for bigger pic!

Sunil Shetty likes Hum Panchhi Ek Dal Ke a good deal, and much of it has to do with the Vishal Bharadwaj-Gulzar combo. But even he must be getting a little concerned that the film's taking some time in the making.

Apparently producer Rahul Gupta had a major problem with director Shashilal Nair. Soon the director was out on his ear, but a replacement is yet to be found, though only 20 per cent of the film is to be finished.

Ask Sunil about it and he nods his head. "Yeah, Rahul was having a problem with Shashiji and he's now finalising a new director. I can assure you the new one is also very good and he only has to sign on the dotted line.

We gently inquire about a camera Shashilal allegedly dropped in a river during a shoot abroad. And Sunil leaps to the man's defence:

"See, Shashi is a good director. He finished eighty per cent of the shooting in just six months and the balance 20 per cent has taken more than 10 months. Moreover, the camera fell in when we were doing a difficult rafting scene in turbulent waters. The raft overturned with the camera. And it was the foreign crew that dropped the camera, not the Indian one. It was more important that human lives were saved," says Shetty.

But, we hear, producer Rahul Gupta had other ideas: he just got a new camera. And a new director.

Neena plans a film now

Neena Gupta. Click for bigger pic!

There's this thing about Neena Gupta -- she always keeps popping back in the news. And, for those who follow the adventures of this tough little lady, she's away in Kuala Lumpur with her man, Vivian Richards, who bore the flag aloft for Antigua during the Commonwealth Games inaugural ceremony

And for those into more serious stuff, Neena's allegedly planning a film with Aamir Khan and Naseeruddin Shah.

Since she was away, it was her father who picked up the phone.

Yes, he said, she was indeed directing a film, and she had finalised the cast. But, no, he had no idea who had been picked...

Oh well, and till she returns, we'll never know.

Star, wife

Juhi Chawla. Click for bigger pic!

Marriage needn't be the end of a woman's life, even in Bollywood. That appears to be what Juhi Chawla has shown after admitting to her marriage to Jai Mehta.

The audience hasn't complained, at least they haven't refused to see her films and so a happy Juhi recently signed another film, opposite Sunil Shetty.

This is the first time Juhi's doing a film with Sunil in many years. Ravi Dewan will direct Sunil for the second time since Vinashak.

But unlike Vinashak, he says, "This is not an action film at all. Sunil, as you should know, isn't signing on action films."

Why Juhi?

"Makes for an interesting combination. Well, notice, you asked me about it, didn't you," says Dewan with a cheeky smile.

Anuradha scores

Anuradha Paudwal. Click for bigger pic!

Anuradha Paudwal is back in business again. She had been devastated by the death last year of her mentor Gulshan Kumar. But when we met her the other day, she seemed to have recovered. And it must have been a boost being honoured as India's cultural ambassador by the United Nations.

Ironic indeed, particularly since even Lata Mangeshkar hasn't been thus recognised.

Anuradha Paudwal made her debut in Hindi films with Abhimaan, but after her marriage she had some difficulty making her way up, particularly due to resistance from the old guard.

Frustrated after 15 years of effort, she finally gave up and went back to singing ghazals.

"Now I am back and raring to go. I have some good films on hand," she told us. Good for her.

Rani's raring to go

Rani Mukherjee. Click for bigger pic!

Aamir Khan's made his point again with Ghulam. But heroine Rani Mukherjee hasn't done too badly either. And if she's popular with the public, she's also impressed the people she works with, it appears.

Now her director in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Karan Johar, has recommended her to old buddy Aditya Chopra. Adits wants the right woman to appear with brother Uday in an upcoming venture.

Pa Yash has already signed on Manisha Koirala and Shah Rukh Khan for another film, also to be directed by Aditya. The question now is whether they will quickly launch Uday or go in for a profit-making venture with Manisha and Shah Rukh.

-- V S Srinivasan