PARTNERS IN CRIME, GOVINDA AND SALMAN KHAN, TAKE A DIG AT EACH OTHER

Govinda and Salman Khan are the latest victims of the promotion bugs unleashed these days by film producers in the name of getting eyeballs and innovation. After having seen Amitabh Bachchan interviewed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra for Eklavya - The Royal Guard, and Bachchan yet again in an interview format with Tabu for Cheeni Kum, now we have Govinda and Salman Khan quizzing each other for their forthcoming film Partner.


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EXCEPT FOR HER REPORTED SMOOCHES WITH UPEN PATEL, WE DON'T HEAR ABOUT TABU AT ALL. WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?

Ever wondered why we see so little of this talented actress? She has been so selective about her film roles that it's only rarely that one gets to see a Tabu film. But whenever she does, it's usually an award winning film that she agrees to do. Tabu's stance is simple: "I do films which move me and most of all, the unit and the director should appeal to me."

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KARAN JOHAR BOWLED OVER BY TABU'S PERFORMANCE IN THE NAMESAKE
Bollywood ace filmmaker Karan Johar is so impressed with Tabu's performance in Mira Nair's The Namesake that he is eager to work with her. "I saw Mira Nair's brilliant film The Namesake in Toronto. Tabu is superb in it. I'll work with her at the earliest opportunity," says Johar.

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KISS KISS KI KISMAT: TABU AND UPEN PATEL GO KISSING ALL THE WAY IN MUMBAI CLUB

Tabu has the whole of Bollywood and Mumbai agog with rumours with her romantic escapades. We hear that she was in this club, Poison, in Bandra, Mumbai, to do what else, have a gala time. She is in her thirties and single, and wouldn't anyone want to mingle with the right company? And so she did too. We hear she stumbled upon the hunk Upen Patel, and both of them instantly got hooked to each other: that is they got talking. And talking and talking and talking. After a while, they got bored with talking and wanted to do something exciting. Tabu too was in high spirits and with your spirits roaring, can you stop yourself from having a ball? Definitely not. So, one thing led to another and, both of them, we hear, got into a marathon kissing spree. So much so, that they forgot about their other friends and had a gala night together. We hear that they have put the serial kisser Emraan Hashmi to shame with their passionate kiss.

Wow! Tabu you look gorgeous!!

Recently, Tabu made a rare public appearance for the first trial show of Anurag Basu's Metro. And, we must say she was looking gorgeous. And she has wowed everyone around her with her sensuous dressing. People around her must have gone googey-eyed having a dekko at her beauty. As for brains, she has them in plenty and her films are ample proof of it. We hear that she is planning to move with bag and baggage to Hyderabad and right now busy with doing up her home in the city of the Nizams. The news doing the rounds is that a superstar's wife is worried with Tabu's Hyderabad sojourn. She is thinking of ways and means to rein him in. You know who we are talking about!

Double treat for Amitabh Bachchan fans

It will be a double Bachchan treat for cinegoers this week with two releases featuring the superstar of the millennium hitting screens today. Releasing in cinema screens across the world are Apoorva Lakhia's Shootout At Lokhandwala and R Balakrishnan's Cheeni Kum, both of them featuring Big B in key roles.

What comes as an added attraction for the cinebuffs is the fact that both films belong to different genres and thus bring into focus the tremendous versatility of the Big B as an actor. While Shootout at Lokhandwala is a realistic action drama based on a true incident, Cheeni kum is a comedy dealing with the love affair between a 64-year-old played by Amitabh Bachchan, and a 34-year-old played by Tabu.

Shootout at Lokhandwala is inspired by a real life encounter between the police and the Mumbai underworld. In the 1991 incident, the bustling Lokhandwala Complex in Mumbai became a virtual war zone, when ACP A A Khan opened fire on five underworld gangsters residing in a building in the area. This daylight encounter lasted six hours and ended with the five gangsters being killed.

The film has evoked tremendous excitement in film circles because of the presence of a ensemble cast comprising Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Vivek Oberoi, Suneil Shetty, Tushar Kapoor, Arbaaz Khan, Rohit Roy, Shabbir Ahluwalia and Abhishek Bachchan in a guest appearance.

While the film has Sanjay Dutt playing the role of ACP Khan, it has Vivek Oberoi playing Maya Dolas, the gangster who was shot dead in the encounter, Tushar Kapoor in the role of Maya Dolas's right hand Dilip Buwa. Sunil Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan and Arbaaz Khan play policemen who were part of the team which surrounded the Lokhandwala Building during the encounter. Amitabh Bachchan plays a lawyer Dhingra in the film.

Shootout At Lokhandwala marks a comeback attempt for actor Vivek Oberoi after many of his films in recent years, barring Omkara have met with a lukewarm response at the box office.

Cheeni Kum, the second film this week featuring Amitabh Bachchan in a romantic musical comedy dealing with the love afair between a 64-year-old man Budhadev Gupta and a 34-year-old woman Nina Verma, played by Tabu.

According to the filmmakers, Cheeni Kum is in all respects an unconventional love story, as it is a love story between two people contrastingly different from one another in terms of age, character and attitude. So, while Buddhadev, chef-cum-owner of London's top Indian restaurant, is an arrogant, pompuous and egoistic man with a singular ambition in life -- cooking, Nina is a beautiful, charming Indian woman who is cool, clam and quiet and always smiling.

It is the falling in love of these two persons against all odds. They decide to get married. Like every true Indian, Buddhadev respectifully comes to Nina's father, a true Gandhian living in Delhi, for her hand. There is just one problem. Om Prakash Verma, Nina's father is 58-year-old, six years younger than Buddhadev, his would be son-in-law.

Even before its release, Cheeni kum has created tremendous buzz in films circles. Infact, the film had its world premiere at the 60th edition of the Cannes film festival earlier this week with Big B himself attending the premiere. The bittersweet romantic comedy struck an instant chord with the audience at Cannes.

The film has been directed by Ad guru R Balakrishnan, who makes his directorial debut with this film. According to Balakrishnan, he scripted it with the one and only Big B and Tabu in mind. ''From the very first day I wanted to make this film with him and Tabu. I felt they were absolutely perfect to play the characters of Buddhadev and Nina,'' Balakrishnan said.

The films has evoked comparisons with Ram Gopal Verma's Nishabd, which shows a 60-year-old man -- played by Amitabh Bachchan -- falling in love with a teenaged girl. Balakrishnan, however, denies any similarity between Nishabd and Cheeni Kum. ''There is no similarity between the two films. Cheeni Kum is an out and out comedy.''

Trade analysts say that Cheeni kum is yet another example of Amitabh Bachchan's amazing versatility which has witnessed the actor comfortably slip into roles that are widely diverse from one another -- whether it be a strict disciplinarian father, a 60-year-old who likes to enjoy life to the fullest, a soldier, a flamboyant father or a 60 plus photographer in love with a teenager.

Soon to follow in the coming weeks is another Big B-starrer Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, whose trailers featuring the superstar have already created tremendous buzz in film circles. Produced by Yashraj films, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom has been directed by Shaad Ali.

Charmi wilts under the weight of new heroines

How do you know that an actor/actress is out of work? Of course, if you are a regular cinegoer, it would be easy to discern because they fade away from the screen right in front of your eyes or relegate themselves to itsy-bitsy roles. But, even if you are not a cinephile, it is easy to make out from the statements they make to the journalists. Look for example, Charmi. Everyone knows that Charmi has been swept away by the onslaught of the new heroines that have entered Tollywood. But she will make us believe that she is flooded with offers, and that she is taking her time to select 'good' roles. Remember the emphasis here is on 'good' roles and 'quality' work. Recently, when a scribe interviewed her, for no other reason than she was available, she said: "I want to do quality work." But what quality work were you doing all along, Charmi? You mean to say that singing with heroes like Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Venkatesh, Balakrishna, around the trees and bushes in exotic locales quality work? And she also says: "I'll do films at my own pace." We agree to the second part, Ms Charmi. Because the pace at which filmmakers are approaching you can be compared to that of a mule's or a donkey's. The days of producers lining up at your front door are over. And stop conning to people. I know, I know, you are not the only one to say that. I've read about Tabu too. She too made the same statement recently. "I want to do good cinema." The point I want to make here is: How come you talk about 'good' cinema and 'quality' cinema only when you are out of work? What happens to it when you are at the peak of your career? Doesn't good cinema interest you? Are are you only interested in counting the big bucks you get acting opposite big actors? We know your plight and we sympathise with you, but stop from making statements like this. Silence is the best solution. Understand?