Bollywood Buzz

Mallika's scary movie
Ram Gopal Varma has signed Mallika Sherawat for his under-production film Darna Zaroori Hai, a sequel to Darna Mana Hai. This has shocked movie-goers and critics as Varma and Sherawat come from two different schools of thought.

While Varma enjoys titillating the mind, Sherawat is known by her sex-symbol image. What remains to be seen is whether Varma plans to cash in on Sherawat's super-sensuous image.

Kisna in Korea
Subhash Ghai's Kisna is set to open the prestigious Gwangju International Film Festival (G.I.F.F.) in South Korea.

G.I.F.F., which is one of the most acclaimed film festivals in South Korea, has invited Ghai and lead actor Vivek Oberoi to be present at the opening of the film on August 26.

Incidentally, the screening of Kisna on August 26 at G.I.F.F. coincides with the worldwide release of Ghai's next release, Iqbal.

India's favourite celebrities
A new survey has ranked Amitabh Bachchan the number one celebrity in India, followed by Sachin Tendulkar and Shah Rukh Khan.

Conducted by Hansa Research, the survey ranked celebrities on the basis of their recognisability and likeability.

The survey, titled Celebrity Track, has indicated a distinct liking for six Bollywood actors – Bachchan, Khan, Aamir Khan, Kajol, Aishwarya Rai and Hema Malini.

Like father, like son
Audiences have always enjoyed watching real life father-son duos perform together onscreen.

Dharmendra and Sunny Deol have featured together in a number of films including Suny, Sultanat, Vardi and Kaise Kahoon Ke Pyaar Hai. Sunil and Sanjay Dutt have been paired together in three films: Rocky, Kshatirya and Munnabhai M.B.B.S. Rajendra Kumar and Kumar Gaurav shared screen time in Love Story. More recently, Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan starred together in Bunty Aur Babli and Sarkar.

Now, watch out for father-son duo Feroz and Fardeen Khan in Pritish Nandy's Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena, directed by Suparn Verma.

Ash goes to Disney
Aishwarya Rai has almost finalised a deal with Disney to star in their upcoming movie, Rearranged, the shooting for which will begin in April 2006.

Directed by Audrey Wells (Under The Tuscan Sun), the story is about a single girl who consents to a marriage arranged by her friends. The rest of the cast is in the process of being finalised.

Quick takes

• New kids on the block Following the footsteps of father Pankaj and big brother Shahid, the young Ishaan Kapur will soon make his Bollywood debut with Mahesh Manjrekar's Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi. In the film Ishaan will play one of Shahid's nephews who comes to live with him after his parents die in the film. Accompanying him in the movie is Manjrekar's son Satya.
• I for support An extra "I" has been added to Bunty and Jaspreet Singh Walia's upcoming release, Ek Ajnabii. The film is currently in its post-production stages, with special effects work being carried out. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Arjun Rampal, Perizaad Zorabian and Kelly Dorji.
• Lucky three After a long break, filmmaker Ramesh Sippy is producing three films at one go. First up is scheduled to be Bluffmaster, directed by son Rohan Sippy and starring Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh and Priyanka Chopra. Following that will be Taxi No. 9211, directed by Milan Luthra and starring Nana Patekar, John Abraham and Sameera Reddy. Sippy's third film will be Fear, directed by Vikram Bhatt and featuring an all-new cast.
• Another one bitten by the Bollywood bug Although Meera's Bollywood debut, Nazar, didn't create box-office history, the movie was successful enough to encourage the actress to get younger sister Aqsa the lead in Mahesh Bhatt's next release.