 |
Amitabh Bachchan and Javed Akhtar may have been buddies for four decades but it seems there’s little love lost between their sons. A film called Game has come and gone but the blame game is still on. Junior Bachchan has been overheard cribbing that the film was buried even before it got a chance to breathe because Excel Productions’ Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, the producers of the film, just didn’t bother to promote it. If Abhi’s buddies are to be believed, the actor was bewildered because he was all raring to go to build up the film. But his enthusiasm met with no response from Farhan and co. Even director Abhinay Deo, who was making his debut in feature films, was holidaying in Goa just before the release of Game, completely disconnected from the urgent need to make the film sizzle before it reached the theatres. It worried Abhi because he knew that since the rest of the cast was relatively junior, it would be his neck on the guillotine. And after Raavan and Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Se, he just couldn’t afford one more dud against his name. Well, he had to face it, for Game was his third consecutive box-office failure.
If the complete lack of interest in promoting Game befuddled Junior B, the sound from the Excel side is that the film bombed and didn’t stand a chance because Abhishek Bachchan didn’t spare any time to promote it aggressively! Because both camps have powerful names backing them, neither the Akhtars nor the Bachchans are taking a swipe at each other openly. Off-the-record statements are doing the rounds. But the good thing about all this, at least for Abhi’s sake, is that Game entered and exited so unsung that nobody has even noticed he has notched up another dud!
Abhishek may not have had close buddy-buddy chats with Farhan Akhtar right through the making of Game (apparently, the two didn’t even meet during the filming) but he will have no such communication issues with Rohan Sippy who has made his next film, Dum Maro Dum. Rohan and Abhishek go back to chaddi-buddy days and they feed off each other when it comes to planning the marketing strategy of their film. Hmmm, by the end of this month we should know if the Abhi-approved promotion of DMD helps the actor’s ratings at the box-office.
Meanwhile, wife Aishwarya Rai heard a script narration of Heroine from Madhur Bhandarkar in person last week at her place. She has loved the script and is raring to go. But will Madhur and his small budget be able to afford Aishwarya’s fat fee? It’s that question, and not the script, which is confronting Madhur right now.
As everybody knows, Kareena Kapoor (Madhur’s first choice) had issues with the script of Heroine since her character in the film came from a broken family (like her own) and was having an affair with a married man with two kids (Saif, anybody?). Too disturbingly close to her own real life, Kareena backed off. Madhur altered the storyline to suit an older heroine like Aishwarya. So now the ball’s in her court. Will Aishwarya do Heroine at a massive discount?
While there are all these question marks against their career moves, one thing that’s definitely smooth sailing is the Aishwarya-Abhishek marriage. It’s going to be four years of wedded bliss this month but they won’t be going away as they normally do for a private celebration. Abhishek’s Dum Maro Dum is on release the same week and this time the anxiety level is at an all-time high. Making films with buddies is fun but alas, the box office is a different ball Game altogether.
Let’s end with Fair Game Hema Malini who’s been sent by the BJP to the blazing south for the election campaign. Hema, take lots of sunscreen lotion, said I. “I know,” she chirped back. “The problem with me is that when I tan it just doesn’t go away. It takes ages to get rid of a tan from my skin. But what can I do? I have to go where the party sends me and it’s election time.” If you find the lovely Hema Malini in a dark mood next week, you’ll know why.
