Kiran says no to peekay
She’s always been known to do things her own way and Kiran Rao has lived up to that reputation yet again.
Aamir Khan’s wife and a filmmaker in her own right, Kiran has just refused a plum offer to act in her husband’s film Peekay.
According to reports, director Rajkumar Hirani had offered the role of a nautch girl — yes, you read that right! — to the Dhobi Ghat maker and had even narrated the part to her, but Kiran turned it down. Reason: unknown.
Sources close to the couple insist that Aamir has always felt that Kiran would make a good actress and even wanted her to play a key role in her own film Dhobi Ghat. However, the Loreto House girl is content directing films, bringing up their two-year-old son Azad and occasionally throwing her weight behind niche films like Ship of Theseus.
Kher the TV host
Anupam Kher is all set to do a Koffee with Karan. But minus the gossip. The actor-director-author will take the hot seat to play a role of a
different kind — that of host on the Colors show The Anupam Kher Show — Kucch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai. The man, who is the central actor in a popular play also called Kucch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai and has written a motivational bestseller called The Best Thing About You Is You, will not only share stories of his own failures and struggles and his
subsequent rise to stardom but also invite some of Bollywood’s biggest to share their inspirational stories. “The show is my foray into television production and it’s my belief that sharing stories of struggles, self-motivation and success of achievers from different walks of life will be the perfect onset of my journey into this unexplored territory,” says Kher. The Anupam Kher Show — Kucch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai goes on the floors in end-May.
STARS & SWIPES-Karishma Upadhyay
The backstory
Tennis champ Leander Paes and his partner Rhea Pillai’s (in picture) bitter custody battle over their eight-year-old daughter Aiyana keeps getting messier by the day. And there is a third party who is lapping up all this ‘he-said-she-said’ with glee. Maanyata Dutt, one hears, can’t stop telling people around her that she is glad the truth is finally out. Remember in 2008, Maanyata had gone to town talking about how Rhea was still legally married to Sanjay Dutt, while she had had a baby with Leander? According to Maanyata, Sanjay continued to pay Rhea’s car loan instalments along with mobile phone and credit card bills, even after she had moved on.
At that point, both Leander and Rhea preferred to stay mum about the controversy. In 2009, Leander, in an interview with me for People magazine, had categorically said: “She (Rhea) is my wife.” As for Sanjay paying Rhea’s bills, Leander told me: “I know that Rhea has been standing on her own feet and living the life that she’s built for herself. I also know that Rhea and I are both providing for our family.” The fact that Leander and Rhea never married is now public knowledge, thanks to the custody battle. And Maanyata feels vindicated.
While Leander has already left for the US to focus on his tennis career, Rhea is leaning on her close friends for comfort. The first person Rhea called when she decided to file a case in Bandra police station against Leander evicting her out of their Carter Road home was former-lawyer-and-now-businesswoman Kajal Anand. It was Kajal, in turn, who is said to have roped in their common friend Gauri Khan to accompany Rhea to the cop station. Kajal also called Karan Johar and got someone to inform the media. With Leander out of the country for the next month, here’s hoping this controversy dies a quiet death.
All in the family
When you have two directors and an actor in the house, the next logical step would be to also turn producer. And this is exactly what the Dhawan boys Rohit and Varun are planning. “The idea is to start a David Dhawan Productions. David has had such amazing career but he was happy with just directing films. He was never interested in producing. His sons, Rohit and Varun, want to establish a production banner in his name, like Dharma or Yash Raj,” says a source close to the Dhawans. They are still working on the modalities, but in all probability, the production house will be named after the Main Tera Hero director. The production house’s first film will be the action-comedy Rohit plans to direct with Varun.
Step mom’s peeve
It’s been over a month since the National Awards were announced. Earlier this month, the President of India even distributed the awards in a glittering ceremony in New Delhi. One would presume that a month would be long enough for someone to get over the disappointment of not winning. But it seems like there is no time limit for how long it takes a relative to get over a performance being overlooked. A legendary actress still hasn’t come to terms with her stepson not winning for what she insists was the “best performance Indian cinema has seen in years”. At a recent family lunch, the actress was overheard saying that “This year’s jury for the National Awards didn’t understand good cinema”. According to her, juries these days aren’t as “knowledgeable” as they used to be in her time or they would have recognised the A-list actor’s performance. Did someone say “sour grapes”?
