What is Rahul Mahajan, the enfant terrible of the BJP family, doing right now (apart from attending court either for his drugs case or his divorce)? He’s making a Hindi film!

The story goes that Rahul had planned a biggie to be filmed in London when his father Pramod Mahajan passed away. That film was buried before it was shot. Rahul has now decided to make a modest comedy — no, not based on politics, drugs or divorce. It’s an old, immensely successful Marathi play that has inspired Rahul Mahajan. The buzz is that the film will have Jaaved Jaffri in four roles which gives us an idea of what kind of film Rahul is producing. FTII trained cinematographer-turned-director Mahesh Aney who had directed a TV serial for Rahul a few years ago, will be helming this film as well.

Talking of directors, the Munna Bhai man, Rajkumar Hirani, is finally tasting the ‘perks’ of huge success. In the last few weeks, the reserved family man who is married to Manjeet (a tough Sikhni and an Indian Airlines pilot), has been the centre of so many news stories that even mentor Vinod Chopra has started joking that the media never paid him so much attention. Here in Mumbai, on more than one occasion, one particular daily has been mentioning a clandestine romance between Raju and Dia Mirza (the actress who finds a guest role in all recent Vinod Chopra movies, including Lage Raho Munna Bhai in which she was — enviably — cast opposite Abhishek Bachchan). Raju was even tagged Rangeela Rajkumar — a comment that had Vinod pulling his director’s leg and cribbing, arre, nobody has called me rangeela despite three marriages!

After the success of his first film, Munna Bhai MBBS, the self-effacing Hirani didn’t turn a loudmouth. On the contrary, when asked how he hoped to match a fine, wholesome film like Munna Bhai, he had quietly chuckled, “Don’t ask me. Main bahut dara hua insaan hoon (I’m a very scared man)!” He remained so much in the background that few outsiders knew who had directed the film. Of course, the film industry instantly recognised a new money-maker in him and heaped offer after offer on him, all of which he politely declined. He not only went on to make his next film for Vinod Chopra again but also didn’t succumb to Shah Rukh Khan’s overtures to dump his producer and come over to him.

Happily, his wife also continued to fly and the threesome (Raju-Manjeet have one school-going son) steadfastly stayed put in their one-bedroom apartment in Bandra East. It is only now that Rajkumar Hirani has moved — into the spacious house next door in the same building! Raju has called his ageing parents over from Nagpur to stay in his earlier flat as his neighbours.

Over tea at his new place (Raju likes either green or black tea, no sugar, no milk please), one wondered if wife Manjeet was still with him or whether Dia Mirza had, indeed, displaced her in the director’s life. Both husband and wife had a good laugh over that — Manjeet is very much on the scene and it was she who read the Dia-Raju story and called him up. “I was having lunch with Boman Irani and didn’t know anything about this new story about me. It was Manjeet who told me about it and all of us had a huge laugh over it,” grins Raju, going red in the face with embarrassment. “I’m not that sort of guy at all. In fact, it is Manjeet who is friendlier with Dia than me. As for me, the one I’m in touch with the most is Boman Irani. I hope there’s no story about that!”

Apart from the ‘new woman in his life’, Raju Hirani’s next film (inspired by Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone) is also generating a lot of curiosity, especially since Shah Rukh Khan dropped out of it and Aamir came in. A lot of names are being bandied around, including that of John Abraham and Hrithik Roshan. But the fact is, Raju hasn’t met either actor to ever discuss a film.

One thing is for sure — Hirani’s next film will definitely have a role for Boman Irani!

Hey, psst!

Ramola Bachchan stays alone in her new apartment in Versova, Mumbai. Her companion — a huge, ferocious Alsatian who is not allowed in the lift!

When Ashtavinayak, the new producers with deep pockets (they made Jab We Met), tapped Riteish Deshmukh for a role in one of their films, he quoted a price of Rs 2.5 crore!

Bharathi S. Pradhan is managing editor of Movie Mag International