Akshay-Raveena on stage together 
The audience in Muscat were in for a surprise when Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon -- once engaged to each other -- came together on January 19 for a show. The Mast mast pair's performance was a roaring hit.
"And so was our colleague Isha Koppikar," Akshay says. "I haven't slept a wink for almost 24 hours." He rushed back to Mumbai the next day to pay his last respects to Amitabh Bachchan's father Harivansh Rai Bachchan who passed away on January 18.
Ujjal Chattopadhyay's worry
Ujjal Chattopadhyay, director of Escape From Taliban, was recently targeted by Islamic militant organisations for making a film on the Taliban. He says, "I fail to understand how I have offended any individual or organisation. My film has nothing with any schisms or isms."
This is the second Manisha Koirala starrer in recent months to come under controversy. The first was the duel with Shashilal Nair and his film Ek Chhotisi Love Story.
Controversies have been known to fuel interest in the projects. Will Escape to Taliban benefit from the death threat to the director? Chuckles a star who did not wish to be named, "If a death threat made a film into a hit, every filmmaker would commit suicide."
Anil Kapoor to do a Kalicharan
Years ago, Subhash Ghai made Kalicharan, starring Shatrughan Sinha. Now it is Anil Kapoor's turn to star in a film called Kalicharan. "Not quite. The title is AK, short for Allwyn Kalicharan," corrects Kapoor.
Allwyn Kalicharan will be one of a spate of cop films in 2003. The first one to release is E Niwas' Dum, where Vivek Oberoi plays a middleclass boy desperate to join the police force.
Kapoor has got himself the correct haircut for the role. "Last week Anurag Kashyap narrated the script to me. It's a knock-out subject and I cannot wait to get to work on it," he says.
The actor also plays Kareena Kapoor's husband in Boney Kapoor-Dharmesh Darshan's Bewafaa.
Ekta Kapoor mein kucch toh hai
Final work on Ekta Kapoor's Kucch To Hai, which opens on January 24, is on in full swing. "I don't have to time to eat or sleep," she sighs.
"We had to rush with the release so that we could beat World Cup 2003. But I am really proud of what we have achieved in Kucch To Hai. It has turned into a really scary film, just as I had hoped."
Budgeted at Rs 14 crore, the film boasts of many firsts -- it is the first campus horror tale in Indian cinema. For the first time, two unconnected directors -- Anurag Basu (who directed 30 per cent of the film) and Anil V Kumar (who completed the rest) -- are jointly credited in the titles. Jeetendra plays his son Tusshar's father in the film as well.
Now Ekta wants to make another horror movie, this time with Aftab Shivdasani in the lead. She also plans to remake the Brad Pitt hit Sleepers, with five Bollywood actors. She is keen to sign Priyanshu Chatterjee for one of them. "He's really hot," she enthuses.
Any plans for another film with her brother Tusshar? "Yes, to be directed by Abbas-Mustan. And if he gives me date problems after Kucch To Hai, I'll drag him out of the house. And it's okay if he complains to his mother. She is my co-producer!" laughs Ekta.
Rahul Bose triumphs at Palm Springs Festival
Rahul Bose's directorial debut Everybody Says I'm Fine triumphed at the Palm Springs Festival on January 19. "My film is the first runner-up in category for the John Schlesinger Award for the Best Debut Feature Film!" he exclaims happily. "It's beyond anything I had expected. The first person I called was my father in Kasauli. He broke down on the phone. I cried too."
While an Israeli film won the top honour, Everybody Says I'm Fine bagged the first of the two honorary awards for Best Directorial Debut. The film wangled this prestigious honour out of 41 films by first-time directors.
Incidentally, Aparna Sen's Mr & Mrs Iyer, starring Bose, has been chosen the sixth most popular film in the Viewers' Choice category at the Palm Springs Festival.
