Other Topics : Art Culture - Fashion - Tourism

Latest & Hot Bollywood Film News : * hourly updation

Back to Bollywood Current News Section

Sonali Kulkarni riding high on Italian film
By Saibal Chatterjee, Indo-Asian News Service

Panaji, Nov 30 (IANS) Sonali Kulkarni is thrilled to bits these days. Her Italian film "Fire At My Heart", which features the legendary Omar Sharif and Massimiliano Varrese, has been shown at the 36th International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

"This is probably the first time that an Indian actress has played a European character in a film," says Sonali. "I am really proud of the fact." 

In the film, screened here Tuesday, Sonali is cast as a spiritually inclined Neapolitan girl, Graziella, with whom the film's hero, Eugenio, falls in love. 

"Fire At My Heart" was premiered at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year and is currently being readied for release in Italy. Which explains why its director, Lamberto Lambertini, has had to skip IFFI. 

"Someone had to stay back in Italy to take care of the baby," says producer Sergio Scapagnini. 

*-*

Supari wars in 'Betulnut Warriors' 

Director Shashanka Ghosh, who debuted last year with the interestingly titled and competently scripted "Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part 2", isn't letting the box debacle of the film bog him down. 

Flitting through IFFI Goa, he spoke enthusiastically about the plans for his next film, "Betelnut Warriors". 

"Set entirely in the US, it is about a Gujarati family that decides to take out a 'supari' on a rival family," he reveals. 

The cast of the proposed film is yet to be finalised as scripting is still in progress. 

"The film will roll in May 2006," says Ghosh, who is keen to rope in Bappi Lahiri as the music director. "I am looking for a repeat of the late 1970s, early 1980s kind of retro sound." 

Why did "Waisa Bhi..." fail to click at the box office? "It wasn't promoted well enough in Mumbai. In Delhi, however, the film did run for four weeks," he replies.

*-*

Not so lucky

Over a year or so ago, director Aditya Bhattacharya, whose "Dubai Return" premieres at the 36th IFFI on Dec 3, was all set to start a film "Avtaar" with Lucky Ali. It ran aground at the last minute as the production company wound up its business without warning. 

Bhattacharya has nursed the script with care all these months and is now ready to give the project another shot. Will he cast Lucky Ali again? "No," is his firm reply. "I don't think he will suit the part anymore." 

He reveals that he has Ali Azmat of the Pakistani fusion band Junoon in his mind for the title role. 

Well, even if Lucky doesn't get the role back, he should have no regrets. It was after he was signed for "Avtaar" that he got two acting assignments - the music guru in the Pooja Bhatt production, "Sur - Melody of Love", and as one of the cranky gangsters in Sanjay Gupta's "Kaante".

*-*

Closing day stars

With the closing ceremony of the 36th IFFI just four days away on Dec 4, speculation is rife about who will be the guest of honour at the function to be attended, among others, by the new information and broadcasting minister, Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi. 

Two names are doing the rounds - Malayali superstar Mammootty and Bollywood's Mithun Chakraborty. Both the actors are multiple National Award winners and, therefore, qualified to grace the occasion. 

Chances are that fans will get to see both the actors on the stage when the curtains go down on the latest edition of IFFI. 

Efforts had initially been made to invite veteran Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee to the closing ceremony but he has cried off citing prior engagements.