The old order changeth
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DTPH: Where Kapoor ruled over Dixit. Click for bigger pic!
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Times, they are a-changing. And with it Madhuri Dixit inexorably slides down the slopes of fame. The audience, it appears, is done with her. And is demanding a fresher, younger lady to queen over the marquee. Someone, maybe, like Karisma Kapoor.
La Dixit has suffered a string of flops, Koyla, Mrityudand and Mohabbat. She had pinned all her hopes on Dil To Pagal Hai, but it is only a moderate hit, not a superhit. Unlike Yash Chopra's last humdinger, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge.
While Madhuri copes with fadeout, Karisma's going from strength to strength, no matter what judgment the box office passed on DTPH. She has laurels from Judwaa and Hero No 1 this year to rest on.
The latest buzz is that she has even slashed her price to a mere Rs 10 million, exactly what Dixit demands.
Incredible how time flies. Just a few years ago Karisma used to slink out of home to watch Madhuri's films on the sly. And now...
A change of screen
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Sridevi Click for bigger pic!
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Another former number one will appear on television shortly. That, by Bollywood standards, is like King Midas being ordered to shack up at the poorhouse. The lady we speak of is Sridevi.
The serial in which Sri will make her television debut revolves around the same theme of that film that escaped our time -- Time Machine. Now the same story is squirreling its way to the tube.
Shekhar Kapur had begun Time Machine with Aamir Khan as the hero. But Khan was never around when the others stars were, bunging the proverbial spanner in the works. He claimed he had no time for time travel.
But Sri does. The only hassle is that interested producers have to secure Boney Kapoor's okay if they want her to star in their projects. The serial's producers trudged the same route and got BK's clearance. So now, you can tune into Sridevi on the tube. If you're on time, that is.
Proud dad. Won't work
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Shah Rukh Khan. Click for bigger pic!
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Shah Rukh Khan's baby Aryan was born. And there was great cheer and joy throughout the Khan khandaan. But till that happy hour and that happy day, Shah Rukh's producers were a mighty gloomy lot.
Happens that so overjoyed was our hero with impending parenthood that he decided he couldn't let mere work mar his happiness. So while the doting father-to-be kept watch on mummy's tummy, the producers lost a lot of money.
It was only when Aryan was safely slapped into the world did Shah Rukh concede to return to the sets.
He still doesn't seem affected by his producers's sombre mood. At least when Gauri and he turned up at a party the other day to announce a television channel's awards, both looked in fine fettle and great spirits.
Shah Rukh dear, when are you going to earn your hefty paycheck?
Aamir plays coy
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Aamir Khan. Click for bigger pic!
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Aamir Khan has no clear reason to play truant. But what is known is that he did. At the receiving end was director Mahesh Bhatt.
When Khan's absences at the shooting of Ghulam began pinching, Bhatt confronted the actor. Aamir told him he was caught up with shooting for cousin Mansoor Khan's film which had to be completed very soon.
Having little choice, Bhatt let Khan off. He's now keeping his fingers crossed, hoping the actor will deign to complete his film. Mahesh hopes it won't be a recap of Time Machine all over again.
Did you know how cagey Aamir is about accepting prizes? So much so that when his brother Faisal Khan accepted an award from a popular film glossy on his behalf, Aamir chewed Faisal's ear and then refused to speak to him for a week.
What a drag
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Saif Ali Khan. Click for bigger pic!
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Don't ask how he gets into these scrapes, but Saif Khan unfailingly does. Pataudi Jr went for a five-star party in New Delhi dressed, for some very odd reason, in drag.
It was pretty late in the night when Saif popped out. People outside the hotel recognised him beneath all the paint and foliage, and began chasing him. Saif set off at a fast trot and decidedly unfeminine haste, showed them a clean pair of heels and hid away till he thought the field was clear. Then he sidled up to his car and was just about in when the crowd, who were lying in wait, came for him. They even went to the extent of breaking the windshield and all the windows of Khan's car.
Poor Saif, he ought to keep clear of those dangerous Delhi dos. The last time, if memory serves one well, he was paffed into jelly by the jealous boyfriend of a girl who wanted to dance with him.
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