66 5 august 2019RAJEEV MASAND
NOT PEOPLE
LIKE USFamily at Work
By the time you read this they might be heading back home to
Mumbai, but for over a week the Bhatts have been breaking
bread in Ooty. Mahesh Bhatt, Soni Razdan, Alia Bhatt
and Pooja Bhatt were photographed together, but don’t
be mistaken—they weren’t on a family holiday. Mahesh
was shooting a schedule of Sadak 2, which stars both Pooja
and Alia in key roles. Soni was accompanying Alia for the
schedule, and elder sister Shaheen dropped in for a few days
to hang with the family.
While Pooja will be paired opposite Sanjay Dutt, her co-
star from the original 1991 Sadak, younger sister Alia will
star with her Kalank colleague Aditya Roy Kapur. This
belated sequel sees Mahesh return to the director’s
chair 20 years after he gave it up—he has said the
prospect of working with Alia was a big clincher.
His daughter, however, has revealed she’s terrified
to be directed by her father. “He’s very exacting. But
also, he knows me so well he’ll see through any
shortcuts that I might take or any moments
that I fake,” she said.
You may be aware Alia starred in a
‘home production’ at the age of six, when
she was roped in to play the younger
version of Preity Zinta’s character
in Sangharsh (1999), which Mahesh
wrote. There’s been some talk that uncle
Mukesh Bhatt is keen to remake Dil
Hai Ke Manta Nahin (1991) with Alia and
Ranbir Kapoor in the roles that Aamir Khan
and Pooja played, but with Alia’s choc-a-bloc
schedule it seems unlikely the project will
fructify anytime soon.
Farah’s Bet
Farah Khan isn’t confirming it yet because
the paperwork is still in the process but
it’s no secret in Bollywood that Hrithik
Roshan has confirmed he will star in her
Satte Pe Satta remake that Rohit Shetty
will produce. The choreographer-director
recently threw a party to celebrate the
success of Hrithik’s most recent film Super
30 that was attended by a mini galaxy of film folk, including
a clutch of young actors and actresses, presumably because
they know there’s a slew of roles she’ll soon be casting in
the film.
Hrithik was originally supposed to star as Shah Rukh
Khan’s younger brother in Farah’s Main Hoon Na (2004), but
passed when his debut film Kaho Na... Pyaar Hai (2000) made
him an overnight sensation. Reportedly, his father Rakesh
Roshan told him he should focus on solo-starrers instead of
doing another multi-hero project after Kabhi Khushi Kabhie
Gham... (2001). Farah and SRK totally understood where
Roshan Sr’s logic was coming from, and amicably allowed
him to exit the film, eventually casting his then
brother-in-law Zayed Khan for the part.She Who Cannot, Marries
Rumour has it that this actress (who has seldom
made news for her performances, her choice
of films or the characters she plays) may be
looking to settle down. The tabloids have
been insisting for some time that her
(former actor) parents are keen that she
find the right guy and move on to ‘the next
phase’ of her life.
While she still lands the occasional
‘big film’ it’s clear to anyone who cares to
notice that she hasn’t been able to dazzle
either fans or critics. For the bulk of her
career she’s chosen to piggyback on the
shoulders of A-list male superstars in films
that have offered her little to do. You can count
on her to shimmy and shake to remix tracks,
but let’s just say that for the most part her acting
has all the depth of a potted plant.
According to the grapevine, she’s currently
seeing a young actor who’s just starting out in
the business. He’s only one film old, younger
than her and not at all ready for marriage. She
knows him through her superstar co-star
who gave him a break in the movies. The
awkward thing is she was dating another
young man in the same superstar’s family
circle until recently. n