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EYECATCHERS
On the
Beaten Track
 She's
being hailed as the "next big thing" in Bollywood, with a face
and track record a la screen-queen Aishwarya Rai. When Diya Mirza,
19, won the Femina Miss India Asia-Pacific 2000 crown, stargazers raved
about her uncanny likeness to the porcelain Rai. With her debut film Rehna
Hai Tere Dil Mein opposite R. Madhavan already in theatres, the reigning
Miss Asia-Pacific has a slew of projects to ensure her date diary is blocked
for the next two years at least. Before the year-end, Mirza will be seen
in more big productions-Deewanapan, Tumko Na Bhula Paayenge Hum and Om
Jai Jagdish. Word is that directors are falling over each other to sign
her on just like they did for Rai some months ago. Says Mirza: "I
only hope audiences don't get tired of me." Rai?
Simply
Simmerin'
 Simran,
numero uno southern sizzler till Jyothika came along, is back grabbing
headlines in the Tamil film press. Just when the industry thought she
had split with choreographer and long-time beau Raju Sundaram (Prabhu
Deva's brother), the dusky actress has said they will be engaged soon.
She has also said yes to a role in an untitled English "period film"
on devdasis, to be shot in Thanjavur. But jubilant one moment-"it
is another opportunity to prove my talent"-Simran is sheepish the
next: "Let's talk about it in January." Time now to keep the
interest simmering.
Brand
Names
Fit will be the First time the two Bs will come
together. Maruti Udyog has roped in Amitabh Bachchan and son Abhishek
to play brand ambassadors for Versa, its new luxury MPV, "a mix
of stature and youth", like the two stars. Maruti MD Jagdish Khattar
lets on a secret: there will also be a mention of Jaya Bachchan in the
commercial. Smooth drive.
Who's
Who?
 Bollywood
director Kundan Shah must have liberally dug into his book of jokes
for this one. For a particular sequence in his crime caper Kasam Se, releasing
mid-December, he got the nine-member cast to don an assortment of Sikh
disguises. During filming, when the cast-Asrani, Shakti Kapoor, Sadashiv
Amrapurkar, Sunil Shetty, Raveena Tandon, Shekhar Suman, Isha Koppikar,
Gulshan Grover and Deepak Shirke-emerged from their dressing rooms in
turbans, faux beards and twirling moustaches, it had them rolling with
laughter. The unit was foxed too. "It was tough shooting the four-day
sequence," recalls producer Pammi Sandhu. "We couldn't tell
one actor from another." No telling Tandon from Suman.
—Compiled by Methil Renuka
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