Bebo Begs Bhansali

Bebo Begs Bhansali • All Worth It • Pushing Sympathy

Actress Kareena Kapoor and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali have long expressed interest in making a movie together, but when Bhansali chose his Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam leading lady Aishwarya Rai to play Paro in his Devdas, Kareena famously fell out with him. He approached her again for Ram-Leela, and for a while it seemed they’d finally found a project to work on together. But then Kareena revealed to Bhansali that she wanted to take substantial time off work after her wedding, and asked him to delay the film. The director balked, his elaborate sets already in advanced stages of construction, and replaced her with Deepika Padukone.

Now, sources close to the director reveal that Kareena has been furiously reaching out to him, urging him to cast her in his passion project Bajirao Mastani. This period love story— between Peshwa Baji Rao, an early 18th century Indian general, and Mastani, the brave, beautiful woman who would go on to become his second wife—has long been in development, and everyone from Aishwarya and Kareena to model Shivani Kapur has been attached at some point. But Bhansali is now keen to cast Deepika as his Mastani, after their successful collaboration on Ram-Leela. The director has made it more or less clear to Kareena that it’s unlikely she’ll be Mastani, but he’s open to offering her the supporting role of Kashibai, Bajirao’s first and older wife. For Kareena, it’s Mastani or nothing.

But Bhansali has more pressing matters at hand than pacifying Kareena. Like casting a male lead. Salman Khan, who the director would’ve liked to cast years ago opposite Aishwarya, is no longer being considered. Shah Rukh Khan, too, was keenly pursued by the director, with no success. Hrithik Roshan has expressed interest, Ajay Devgn’s name has cropped up, and his Ram-Leela leading man Ranveer Singh has told Bhansali he expects to be cast. If Hrithik does say ‘yes’, as Bhansali’s desperately hoping he will, it’ll be Deepika playing Mastani, and possibly Priyanka Chopra in the role of Kashibai. PC, after all, owes Bhansali one for giving her the Mary Kom biopic and that item number in Ram-Leela.

The Cannes Film Festival in May could get very chilly this year, especially around the L’Oreal lounge in the Martinez Hotel. The cosmetics brand had better have a solid plan for its Indian ambassadors. Aishwarya Rai, Freida Pinto, and Sonam Kapoor are expected to attend again, of course, but the big question is: will the brand’s latest spokeswoman Katrina Kaif also show up at the Croisette this year?

Aishwarya, who’s been associated with the brand for well over a decade, famously avoids scheduling her appearances in Cannes while Freida and Sonam are still in town. She’ll cleverly commit only to those events that are taking place either before or after the other two have come and left. But with a third rival this year, it may be hard for Ash to completely avoid shared appearances. Apparently, when it was decided that Katrina will be the latest face for the brand, Ash insisted on ‘welcoming’ the actress to the L’Oreal family in the press release that was sent out, so as to avoid any speculation that she was either unaware or unhappy about Katrina being added to the brand’s roster. One Bollywood actress suspects that Kat will not be asked to Cannes this year, just as Sonam wasn’t in her first year with the brand. But then again, ask Sonam why she wasn’t at the Festival that year, and she has an entirely different story to tell.

The industry has a soft spot for this star kid because of his tragic back-story, but his loopy behaviour and less-than-impressive recent performances aren’t doing him any favours. An impulsive romantic gesture for a girlfriend backfired miserably when they broke up only months into the relationship, and now there are stories of tantrums at an awards function.

The actor was committed to present the gongs during the regional awards segment at a major film awards ceremony recently, but turned around to head home moments before reaching the venue. Turns out he hadn’t bothered to hire his own hair-stylist and make-up person to spruce him up before arriving on the red carpet. So he called the organisers minutes before he got there, demanding that in-house staff be sent to the car to “fix him” before he stepped out in front of the shutterbugs.

Too bad for him, the organisers didn’t have hair and make-up people on standby and conveyed this to the actor, who reportedly huffed and puffed, exchanged a few angry words, and U-turned in the direction of his home, leaving the organisers without a presenter for the segment.

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Rajeev Masand

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