Eyecatchers

India Today, March 8, 1999
March 8, 1999

Just Married ...
Kajol with Ajay Devgun

The deed is done. Last week, superstar Kajol married her beau Ajay Devgan in a strictly private affair. After a comic attempt at misleading the press with a last-minute change of venue, the bride-in a traditional green Maharashtrian saree-arrived at Devgan's residence with mum Tanuja and grandmom Shobhna Samarth. Guests included Karan and Yash Johar, Amitabh Bachchan and director Rahul Rawail who gave Kajol her first break in Bekhudi. But here's the good news: Devgan says his lady "will continue to act in films as her career is entirely her decision". Thank goodness.

Just Split
Ganesan and Juliana Andrews Another personality splits up with his wife. Thespian Gemini Ganesan, 79 (superstar Rekha's father), is rumoured to have fled the country to escape his fourth find, Juliana Andrews, 35. "He's ill and gone to the US for treatment," insists a family member. Rubbish, snorts Juliana, who sees this as a ploy to isolate her and force her into a financial settlement. She's been accused by Gemini's family of eyeing his wealth, and a young man in the neighbourhood. "I was a well-employed NRI," she rages in response, "but I gave it all up when Gemini's first wife (who's still alive) called me saying if I didn't come to Chennai, he'd die of a broken heart. I agreed to marry him on humanitarian grounds." No comments from the hero of this plot. Yet.

The Price of a Dream
The Pandal "Our wish was to make it a dream marriage," says Manmohan Bhadana, teenaged brother of the brides. Dreams don't come cheap, do they? When Haryana Vikas Party MLA Kartar Singh Bhadana's daughters-Sangeeta, 21, and Sarita, 19-were married last week, 20,000 people were invited, each guest got a Raymond suit length, each groom got two cars, and the brides wore gold weighing half a kg each apart from diamonds and other trifles, or so Manmohan tells us. "Not true," says Bhadana senior, a mine contractor. "The tent house wanted some publicity, so they made this lavish pandal (an attempted replica of Rashtrapati Bhavan), but I couldn't have spent more than Rs 3-4 lakh." C'mon daddy, sell us another line. Shilpa Navalkar

Next in the News
Her father's been making news so far. It's her turn now. Shilpa Navalkar, 27, daughter of Maharashtra Culture Minister Pramod Navalkar, is acting in an Amol Palekar production. It's called Kairi (Green Mango), it's in Hindi, and though Shilpa has acted on television before, this is her first feature film. "She is a mature person and a good actress," says papa. Which prompted a wag to smirk: The pop is Mumbai's culture cop, she's the one with the culture.

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