Arguments, blessings and some overtures of peace
A wave of unfriending
FILMMAKER Sajid Khan seems to be annoying more and more of his Bollywood friends. Actor Ajay Devgn was upset by the flop that was Himmatwala last year — and Sajid Khan’s latest comedy caper, Humshakals , has cost him a few more friends. Bipasha Basu distanced herself from the promotion of the movie, claiming her role was slashed, and Saif Ali Khan labelled the film a “mistake”. He has also vowed never to work with Sajid Khan again.
Ali Khan said: “The film was very regressive. In fact, while watching it, I asked myself what I was doing in it. I knew I had let my fans down and underestimated their intelligence. I’ve been introspecting a lot and will never repeat a mistake that was Humshakals .”
Sajid Khan also had a bust-up with Akshay Kumar last year after claiming he had revived the actor’s career with the Housefull movies.
Actions speak louder than words
REGARDLESS of Sajid’s Khan’s comments, Kumar is one of the busiest stars in the industry. He is getting ready for the release of the comedy caper Entertainment , which will open next week, and has given the green light to the sequel to Rowdy Rathore. Kumar has also been signed by Karan Johar for the remake of the Hollywood flick Warriors , which tells the story of two brothers who are rivals in the boxing ring. Sidharth Malhotra will be performing as Kumar’s sibling and Jackie Shroff as the father.
This weekend’s Tamil releases
TWO Tamil films were released in South Africa this weekend. The first was the world premiere of Karthik Subbaraj’s second film, Jigarthanda, which has Siddharth and Lakshmi Menon in the lead roles. Subbaraj is best known for Pizza. The other film is actor Jai’s comedy Vadacurry, which also stars Swathi Reddy, Venkat Prabhu and RJ Balaje.
Fearlessly predicting hits
SURYA’S Anjaan album was released this week, and three of the songs are certain to become hits. Surya makes his debut as a playback singer in the catchy Ek Dho Theen Char. Anjaan the movie will open in South Africa on August 15.
Sony sees movie money
AFTER the runaway success of the Anjaan album, Sony Music India has acquired the rights to some major films. These include Dhanush’s Anegan, Aishwarya Dhanush’s next film, Vai Raja Vai, and Kamalhassan’s Uthama Villain.
Another cutie on the way
AJITHKUMAR and Shalini are expecting their second child, six years after the birth of their daughter, Anoushka. The two met and fell in love on the set of Amarkallam and were married in 2000. Shalini, an avid badminton player, has had to stop competing as a precautionary measure.
Trying to end the discord
COMPOSER Ilaiyaraja and lyricist Vairamuthu are notorious for their longstanding feud. They produced some of the best songs of the ’80s, but then had a disagreement and have not worked together since. Now Ilaiyaraja’s son seems to have managed to break the ice. Yuvan has scored the music for a Vairamuthu lyric for his next film, which will be sung by Ilaiyaraja. Does this mean an end to the years of tension? If so, music fans will be rejoicing.
Scaling a musical peak
KAMALHASSAN will officially launch the album DC for Vikram Prabhu’s Sigaram Thodu, another film that will soon be seen on South Africa’s big screens. The actor’s most recent film, Arima Nambi, has been enjoying a successful run in cinemas for the past month. — Shalandra Bunseelal and Devan Nair