Wardrobe malfunction once more. This time it was the deported ‘item bomb’ Negar Khan. Right now, she can be seen cavorting with hubby Sahil Khan in a music video, Aao huzoor tumko. Soon she’ll be seen opposite hubby dear, playing a stripper in the film, Double Cross ? Ek Dhoka. But what happened last month was wild enough to splinter the glasses. Negar was a part of the ramp walk in her hometown, Oslo, along with other prominent Norwegian models including personalities like Miss Norway. While she was walking the ramp in an itsy-bitsy two-piece outfit for the benefit of glued eyes, her bikini top snapped. Topless almost for 30 seconds was enough for the shutterbug sharks to get click-happy. Not one to be particularly perturbed, Negar recovered, and covered up swiftly. But, think. Could it have been a neat publicity stunt for the film she’s playing a stripper in?

Tulip Joshi and (above) in Matrubhoomi

Story for Tulip?

After her debut as Sanjana in Yash Raj Film’s Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, Tulip Joshi was labelled the pretty-pretty girl next door. After a long wait, and name changed back to her own, she got to play the second or third fiddle to Ayesha Takia and Soha Ali Khan opposite Shahid Kapur in Yeh Dil Maange More!!! But the film flopped with a loud thud and that was almost the end of her promising career. Luckily, meanwhile, she had shifted focus towards more serious films, and Manish Jha’s Matrubhoomi has become the perfect vehicle for her to showcase her talent as an artiste. Matrubhoomi has got a lot of taalis from critics and lesser mortals alike and everyone has taken note of Tulip Joshi, ek naye andaaz mein! But even that has its downside. Now, how long does it take our filmmakers to work out a formula and typecast an artiste? Tulip is now being looked upon as some kind of ‘rape specialist’ just because she essayed this role where she is repeatedly raped in this very serious and searching film. Filmmakers are approaching her with offers like, “There is a rape scene in the movie.’ And Tulip is flabbergasted. “Is there any story along with the rape scene?” is how she hits back. Way to go, girl!

True blue Bhatt

Deepal Shaw

A name like Blue Film is definitely a mistake, and even the crusty Mahesh Bhatt realised it soon after it attracted overreaction. Quite the logical conclusion is that after Jism, Paap and Zeher, this must be porn. So another naamkaran was ordered immediately. An inane title like Nila Zeher nearly went through but since people would think of it as a sequel to Zeher, the think tank came up with Kalyug. Bhatt insists that his Kalyug isn’t porn (nor is it a remake of Shyam Benegal’s film), but will unmask the porn industry and show how they victimise innocent girls and run a multi-billion dollar industry. Directed by Mohit Suri again (of Zeher fame), it’s the not-so-innocent music video girl Deepal Shaw who plays the victim. With webcams fitted in hotel rooms and honeymooners getting caught unknowingly, live and real, Mahesh Bhatt will be the first to zoom in on these (hot) contemporary subjects. And Mallika nahin to Deepal hi sahi, to play ‘victim’.

SPOTLIGHT

Shamita Shetty

Sister sizzle, and all that

Quite a lot has been written about the sizzling sisters in Fareb. Whether or not the film does well, the music video is definitely the talk of the tube town and the only lingering question being ? who’s better?

Shamita herself was expecting this. She had initially turned down the offer since she didn’t want to play second fiddle to Shilpa and the script and her character was much different before. But director Deepak Tijori knew exactly what he wanted ? the two Shetty Sisters together was the glint in his eye. So he changed the character entirely for Shamita’s sake. But still Shamita could not get over her feeling of insecurity simply because she admits that Shilpa has “a great body, better body language and superior dancing skills”. And what was most annoying for baby sis was Shilpa’s constant ‘surveillance’. She kept scanning her makeup, her wardrobe and everything else. Now, now, Shilpa, Shamita isn’t a babe in the woods, yunno.