Talk of the town

By Ziya Us Salam

He was the Hrithik Roshan of Bollywood before ``Kaho Na Pyaar Hai'' happened to Rakesh Roshan's son. With Ramgopal Verma's ``Mast'' opposite a ravishing Urmila Matondkar, he was the new pin-up guy for girls twice his age. And when ``Mast'' fizzled out at the box office, the sizzling star was sent into cold storage. After all, in Bollywood you are only as good as your last film. And with ``Mast'' failing to give joy to cine-lovers, Aftab Shivdasani, who had not signed many films in the run-up to the release of his debut film, was left twiddling his thumbs.

He was not to blame for the debacle though. And soon Vikram Bhatt's ``Kasoor'' came his way, this time with even more ravishing Lisa Ray. The role of an editor of a newspaper probably came a few years ahead of time for Aftab. And part of the blame for the average collections of ``Kasoor'' came his way. Now, he is desperate. Ready to do anything to notch up one hit which will prove that there is more to him than chocolate boy good looks. He loves his work. He loves cinema. And now claims ``Love Ke Liye Kucch Bhi Karega'' which is, incidentally, his third film, and second multi-hero project -- the first, of course, being ``Kasoor'' where Apoorva Agnihotri played second fiddle to him. Releasing today, this time sharing the spotlight with him are Fardeen, the intoxicating Khan and Saif Ali Khan, who is not quite a safe box office proposition.

Following a couple of weeks later is Aftab's best bet in the dream world of films. Rajiv Rai, who gave ``Yudh'', ``Tridev'' and ``Mohra'' has pinned his hopes on Ramgopal Verma's pin-up boy and cast him alongside Sunil Shetty and debutant Arjun Rampal in ``Pyaar, Ishq Aur Mohabbat''. Now, if the cine-lovers were to answer the ``Mast'' man's call in the affirmative, it will translate into a honeymoon for Aftab, the man who has had to wait for the labour of his love to bear fruit.

* * *

By Bindu Jacob

Apparently taking a cue from what former U.S. President John. F. Kennedy said almost half a century ago -- ``Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country'' -- the Chairman of Tata Sons Limited, Mr.Ratan Tata, has stepped in to do his bit.

Last week while signing the contract with the National Culture Fund and Archaeological Survey of India for adoption of the monument of love, Taj Mahal, for its preservation, restoration and conservation, he clarified: ``This endeavor is not a business activity, but my way of assisting the government to help preserve a world heritage. As an Indian I am proud of the heritage and believe that it is among my responsibilities to preserve it for our future generations.''

``In India," he continued, "we take things for granted. We just let things happen hoping that the government will set things right for us. Thus it isn't surprising that while Singapore attracts seven million tourists annually, India, with all its diversity, gets only two million. I believe that it is about time that we helped the government make India more visible and tourist-friendly.''

He concluded his short presentation stating,``My effort is a tribute to this great nation and to the City of the Taj, to help it grow and flourish.''

* * *

By K.Kannan

Come July and two of the most popular serials on Star Plus -- ``Kaun Banega Crorepati'' and ``Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahun Thi'' -- are scheduled to complete their first year run. To celebrate the occasion, a special episode of KBC has been planned with Amar Upadhyay aka Mihir Virani and Tulsi, the celebrated couple of the popular serial.

``We just completed shooting of a special episode of KBC with Mihir and Tulsi. It is designed as a charity event for CRY,'' says Siddarth Basu, the man behind the success of the stupendous show. ``It has been a wonderful experience working with a diligent person like Amitabh Bachchan,'' he adds, commenting on the one year journey of KBC.

As for Amar Upadhyay, he is still coming to terms with his ``legendary status'' as an ideal man in an non-ideal world, thanks to the Ekta Kapoor produced serial, which has also notched up high TRP ratings. ``The first shocking thing of my life was in Agra. I just walked into the Taj with my family. People virtually mobbed me and within half an hour even my clothes were torn.''

Such has been the popularity of ``Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi'' that in one of the recent episodes in which Mihir aka Amar dies, his mobile phone kept ringing endlessly. ``Mihir Amar Hai'' was the word that went around. ``Sometimes incidents like this scare the wits out of me. I tell myself that I should not be going on outings like this,'' says the popular television actor.

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