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Kirti, Rishita demand special attention

The brave new breed of actresses may be more educated, more intelligent, more organised and more professional -- but they are more of a handful with their airs and graces and tantrums, say film-makers, who find themselves sighing for the good old days.

Take the case of Rishita Thakkar. Rishita who? Rishita, the Liril model, who has been signed opposite Abhishek Bachchan in Gurudev Bhalla's film and also as second female lead opposite Shah Rukh Khan in the latter's home production, Ashoka The Great, is who.

Apparently, the lass handed a prospective film-maker a heart attack when she quoted a price that was pretty much unheard of thus far in the industry. And why not, she asks, am I not the heroine for both Bachchan Junior and Shah Rukh Khan?!

Then there's Kirti Reddy, who's leading the female cast in Vashu Bhagnani's Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya. She may be a fledgling in the industry, but the lady wants a special suite, a posh car at her disposal and suchlike facilities if she is to oblige her producers and shoot in Bombay.

Someone needs to remind these girls that good lookers are more plentiful these days than cakes of, um, Liril soap. And that if they continue in this vein, they might find themselves at the exit before they have really walked through the entry.

Salman refuses to act with Ash

What, for an actor in love, is paradise? To be signed on for the same film as the object of his affection, of course. And hell? To be asked to play her sister, not her boyfriend.

Which is why Salman Khan turned down the starring role in Josh, which then went to Shah Rukh Khan. Interestingly, the third Khan, Aamir, was equally interested and had the inside track since Josh was being made by his cousin, Mansoor Khan.

But Mansoor felt Salman would suit the role best -- presumably, the director felt Salman had the necessary musculature to bring to the role of a gang leader. But Salman himself wasn't having any, because no way he wanted to be Aishwarya Rai's twin brother. That kind of casting, Salman probably felt, was to add incest to injury.

So Salman backed out. Shah Rukh walked in. And the rest, as they say....

Amitabh's the crorepati

Kaun Banega Crorepati? Judging by the way people have been struggling with some of the most inane of questions, not anyone, not in the conceivable future.

But hey, there's a silver lining for at least one participant -- Amitabh Bachchan, the show's host, to name a name. The small screen might be almost too small for his towering presence, but who the heck cares? The money he is being paid for hosting the show is, we are told, not to be spoken aloud in the vicinity of people with heart problems. And, thanks to this, he is in a fair way to solving his financial woes.

Not that anyone will grudge it to him, I suppose -- if you've got to sit there, all suited out, saying Tala laga diya jaye? ad nauseam, you are entitled to your compensation.

Meanwhile, word is that Amitabh was hoping to launch his son Abhishek in an ABCL production, but there wasn't enough coin in his pockets to pull it off. Hence he opted for J P Dutta, who in any case was keen to be the one to launch Junior B. Now, with his debts mostly paid off, and his financial footing sounder than at any time these past few months, Amitabh is believed to be putting together a project to showcase his son and heir apparent.

Two hits in a row and yet...

If success is its own father, as they say, then Chandrachur Singh should around now be hiring a private security outfit to keep producers from pestering him with offers -- after all, the man's had two hits in a row with Kya Kehna! and Josh. But no such luck -- the actor is sitting at home, cooling his heels and hoping the knock on the door heralds a producer with an offer, and not the postman with bills.

For no producer is making a beeline to Chandrachur's door, leaving the actor to amuse himself in learning music and suchlike pursuits. And if his career doesn't take an upturn, and right quick at that, Chandrachur might chuck it all up and head back to his hometown, to start the business his in-laws have promised to set up for him.

Kaka eats humble pie

Rajesh Khanna finally decided to cut his coat to suit the available cloth and act in a small screen serial. But then, what is Kaka without the odd tantrum or three? Predictably, on the sets of the serial, he indulged in his passion for tantrum-throwing with a vengeance.

The director gave in to every whim and passing fancy and shot the stuff the way the one-time superstar wanted.

Thing being, neither director nor star figured on the fact that the small screen is a different ball game from the movies. The channel in question, which believes in quality control, took one horrified look, then demanded that several episodes be reshot altogether, or the serial could stay in the cans.

What to do? The time when the Khanna could do what he liked is in a distant, barely-remembered, past. So, tying on his bib, Kaka sat down to a meal of very humble pie, an experience that sobered him considerably. Now, on the sets for the reshoot, Rajesh Khanna is docility itself, obeying instructions as meekly as the freshest debutant.

Someone should make a video of this -- Rajesh Khanna as lamb is not a sight you see too often.

Deepa scraps Water

So Deepa Mehta has finally decided to wash her hands off Water.

She recently called a meeting of the principal artistes of the film and made known her decision to shelve the project, which was rapidly deteriorating into a battle she just couldn't win.

The lady members of the cast -- Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das, for those who came in late -- were in agreement, but Akshay Kumar got quite agitated and goaded Deepa into persisting. Don't give up, Akshay kept insisting, sounding very much like the dialogues of one of his own one-man-against-the-odds potboilers.

Meanwhile, one wonders if Manisha Koirala is having a quiet chuckle or two? You remember, of course, how she was reprimanded by Deepa for refusing to shave her head for the role?

-- The Insider