Is Laloo Prasad Yadav a hero or a villain? Bollywood, it seems, has decided. Dand-nayak,
a film starring Paresh Rawal as a Bihari don called Bhaiyaji, is a rather
blatant take-off on Laloo. Bhaiyaji dresses like Laloo, talks like him, wonders why pager
messages can't be sent in the local lingo, tries to pick up English from a frustrated
teacher, there is even a sly reference to a chara ghotala (fodder scam). As Laloo himself
might have said, Bhaiyaji is walking Laloo, talking Laloo, eating, sleeping, doing Laloo.
"I wanted to use the get-up in a film. But we kept one loophole," director
Sikandar Bharti gurgles gleefully. "He's not a politician, so that should save our
skins." Strange part is that it's not Laloo who's irked, at least not yet. Bharti and
producer Sanjay Bali have apparently received threatening phone calls from folks who think
they're giving Laloo positive publicity at poll time. "Bhaiyaji is not a
villain," insists Bali, adding insult to their injury. "He's just a first-class
character. He's got the main role like a hero." Or at least he thinks he does.
Little Miss Mink
Careers rarely move this way:
debut at 13, stardom beckoning at 19. But that's how it's been for Mink Singh.
Six years after her first movie -- Dev Anand's Pyar ka Tarana -- the industry is
taking notice of her in ABCL's Saat Rang ke Sapne. "I've been waiting so
long for it to happen," she says. It finally has. The teen who reportedly had a milk
tooth missing when Dev first met her, has landed roles opposite Anil Kapoor and Jackie
Shroff, and a couple more are in the pipeline. "Mink is a cute little girl with a
peculiar charm," says Devsaab. And now for some tall talk from the buxom belle
herself. Mink will have you know that she is a "born artist" who can pull off
any role "from a beggar to a princess". Good for you, kid. Modesty doth rarely a
movie star make.
Fame to Fortune
What do you do when the arc
lights fade, and fame is a distant memory? Start an acting school, pipes up Padmini
Kolhapure. Having played full-time wife and mom for a decade, the former actress
is starting the Padmini Kolhapure School of Acting, Modelling and Grooming in Delhi (she
has one in London, another in Kathmandu). The curriculum is all hers, she says. And the
cash? A three-month acting course will cost Rs 29,000 and one month's training in
modelling and grooming comes for Rs 15,000. Well ... There will be guest lectures, she
lets on, by film and theatre bigwigs. "I don't want to disclose their names yet
because they are all well-known people." Like whom? Her former co-star Rishi Kapoor
or big bad brother-in-law Shakti Kapoor? Oooh, the suspense!
The Ash Bash
Some girls have all the luck. Aishwarya
Rai -- megamodel, Miss World -- has had only two films released so far. Both
flopped, but does anybody care? No ma'am. Rai has been picked by none other than Subhash
Ghai -- still basking in the success of Pardes -- for his next film, Taal.
"I'm not asking any 'why me' questions," she gushes. "I'm ecstatic."
She ought to be. We're talking about the man whom many give the credit for taking Madhuri
Dixit, Manisha Koirala and Jackie Shroff where they are. "I knew I was in the
running," Ash recalls, "then he called me and said, there is a Valentine's gift
for you." If it works, make that a gift of a lifetime.
Is Laloo Prasad Yadav a hero or a villain? Bollywood, it seems, has decided. Dand-nayak,
a film starring Paresh Rawal as a Bihari don called Bhaiyaji, is a rather
blatant take-off on Laloo. Bhaiyaji dresses like Laloo, talks like him, wonders why pager
messages can't be sent in the local lingo, tries to pick up English from a frustrated
teacher, there is even a sly reference to a chara ghotala (fodder scam). As Laloo himself
might have said, Bhaiyaji is walking Laloo, talking Laloo, eating, sleeping, doing Laloo.
"I wanted to use the get-up in a film. But we kept one loophole," director
Sikandar Bharti gurgles gleefully. "He's not a politician, so that should save our
skins." Strange part is that it's not Laloo who's irked, at least not yet. Bharti and
producer Sanjay Bali have apparently received threatening phone calls from folks who think
they're giving Laloo positive publicity at poll time. "Bhaiyaji is not a
villain," insists Bali, adding insult to their injury. "He's just a first-class
character. He's got the main role like a hero." Or at least he thinks he does. 
Careers rarely move this way:
debut at 13, stardom beckoning at 19. But that's how it's been for Mink Singh.
Six years after her first movie -- Dev Anand's Pyar ka Tarana -- the industry is
taking notice of her in ABCL's Saat Rang ke Sapne. "I've been waiting so
long for it to happen," she says. It finally has. The teen who reportedly had a milk
tooth missing when Dev first met her, has landed roles opposite Anil Kapoor and Jackie
Shroff, and a couple more are in the pipeline. "Mink is a cute little girl with a
peculiar charm," says Devsaab. And now for some tall talk from the buxom belle
herself. Mink will have you know that she is a "born artist" who can pull off
any role "from a beggar to a princess". Good for you, kid. Modesty doth rarely a
movie star make. 
What do you do when the arc
lights fade, and fame is a distant memory? Start an acting school, pipes up Padmini
Kolhapure. Having played full-time wife and mom for a decade, the former actress
is starting the Padmini Kolhapure School of Acting, Modelling and Grooming in Delhi (she
has one in London, another in Kathmandu). The curriculum is all hers, she says. And the
cash? A three-month acting course will cost Rs 29,000 and one month's training in
modelling and grooming comes for Rs 15,000. Well ... There will be guest lectures, she
lets on, by film and theatre bigwigs. "I don't want to disclose their names yet
because they are all well-known people." Like whom? Her former co-star Rishi Kapoor
or big bad brother-in-law Shakti Kapoor? Oooh, the suspense! 
Some girls have all the luck. Aishwarya
Rai -- megamodel, Miss World -- has had only two films released so far. Both
flopped, but does anybody care? No ma'am. Rai has been picked by none other than Subhash
Ghai -- still basking in the success of Pardes -- for his next film, Taal.
"I'm not asking any 'why me' questions," she gushes. "I'm ecstatic."
She ought to be. We're talking about the man whom many give the credit for taking Madhuri
Dixit, Manisha Koirala and Jackie Shroff where they are. "I knew I was in the
running," Ash recalls, "then he called me and said, there is a Valentine's gift
for you." If it works, make that a gift of a lifetime. 
