High five

FIRST IS the much awaited Tashan on April 25, having the biggest star cast ever. The highlight being the hot chemistry between the lovebirds, Saif and Kareena, who started their romance on the sets of this film.
The public thronged to see Jab We Met only to see their favourite couple Kareena and Shahid, even though they had split. Aditya is hoping that now they will throng to the theatres to see the even hotter chemistry between these love birds. Therefore, Aditya decided to only use the steamy twosome in the promos which annoyed Akshay Kumar who has since then refused two films with the Chopras. Kareena on her own is a huge attraction because of her looks and figure. Each star has been differently stylized adding more glamour to the film. The film also has Akshay Kumar who has given hit after hit. Another attraction is of course Anil Kappor who plays a villain after a long time. With all this, trade pundits says it may get the biggest opening of the year, even though the music is not as catchy as the usual Chopra films.
Bhoothnath has the two greats Amitabh and Shah Rukh starring in it. Ravi Chopra hopes that the reports of their enmity will add to the mystery of his film. Ravi had a hard time getting the two to star together. Even at the press meet Shah Rukh was conspicuous by his absence.
Only Amitabh attended with Juhi Chawla and cute Aman Siddiqui. The story revolves around the kid and the ghost played by Amitabh. Says a trade analyst, the film should do well because the script is very different and it has the USP of starring the two super star rivals. Kids seem to attract the audience these days, so little Aman may be the next little star after Darsheel of Taare Zameen Par. Bhoothnath releases on May 9.
Sarkar Raj’s USP are the three Bachchans all in one film. Abhishek and Aishwarya will be seen together for the first time after their marriage.
This time around Amitabh has looked into every scene of the film making sure Ram Gopal has not goofed up after his last flop Ram Gopal Verma Ki Aag. June 20, the first wedding anniversary of Abhishek and Ash was also the Press meet.
Amitabh and Jaya along with Amar Singh attended while the couple is in Miami celebrating their anniversary together. Says a trade pundit the USP is definitely the three Bachchans together. The surprise will be Jaya Bachchan’s appearance in the film! This was a last minute decision. Imagine the entire Bachchan parivaar in one film!
Aashayein has the hot John Abraham and is directed by Nagesh Kukunoor. The story is about John, a good-for-nothing idler. He plays a compulsive gambler who hopes to win huge amount of money some day. That day eventually comes and he becomes rich in a single stroke of fate. But, on the same day he discovers that he has cancer. The film, as its title suggests, is about keeping hope in times of despair. Nagesh had asked John to loose weight for these scenes which John did under the guidance of a dietitian. The film also stars Shreyas Talpade and Prateeksha Lonkar. Says a trade analyst, “Kukunoor has a spate of good films behind him Dor, Bombay to Bangkok, Iqbal and Hyderabad Blues. The combination of John and Kukunoor will be the selling point. Most of Kukunoor’s films have a slow opening but catch up after word of mouth. The film releases on May 23.
Jannat which releases on May 16 has a very current theme about cricket and the bookies. It has Emraan Hashmi in the lead with Sonal Chauhan. The music is already a hit, the film has now to catch on. Says Emraan about the film, “We started with the idea of doing something on cricket as it’s a religion in India. But we wanted to say it in a way that was unusual and not anywhere close to any other sport film that has been made in the country. So we decided to make the protagonist a bookie. We show the entire world of cricket from his point of view. But we have not maligned the game. Yes, I met the bookies! They don’t meet people generally. They are usually anonymous and faceless.” To add to the publicity were the hot rumours about Emraan’s wife kicking up a ruckus about his co star Sonali. She did not like the stories that she was hearing about them. Suddenly we find that Sonali has been left out of the promos of the film! Adds a trade pundit, “All said and done, with the cricket fever at such a high pitch right now, the film should do good business, even though it is releasing a week after Bhoothnath on May 16.”