Split Down the Middle

It is common knowledge that Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan were once the bestest of buddies. According to the grapevine, however, the two stars...

It is common knowledge that Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan were once the bestest of buddies. According to the grapevine, however, the two stars don’t see eye to eye anymore. During their thick-as-thieves days, Dutt agreed to make a special appearance in two films for Salman’s sake. The first was David Dhawan’s Yeh Hai Jalwa featuring Salman and Amisha Patel in leading roles, and the second is Maine Dil Tujhko Diya, the film in which Salman’s youngest brother Sohail makes his debut as an actor. Now that Sanju has completed his commitments on both films, the former pals have parted ways.

Vivek’s Choice

Even as the womenfolk go weak in the knees over Vivek Oberoi’s raw sex appeal, the young actor has found his biggest admirer in Naseeruddin Shah. On more occasions than one, Shah has publicly declared that he would love to work with Oberoi, who in turn has always stated that he’s been a big fan of Shah himself. The latest, however, is that Shah has offered the Company boy a role in a film that he intends to direct himself. But Oberoi is taking time to decide whether he wants to be part of the project. According to inside sources, Oberoi has suggested that he would rather do a film in which he is acting with Shah, rather than acting in a film that the veteran actor will direct.

Lucky Break Frittered Away

WITH Tips, Venus and T-Series venturing into film production, Universal Music couldn’t possibly be far behind. So it was no surprise when the music giants announced last year that their first in-house production would be directed by music-video specialist Radhika Rao, and the movie would introduce Sanjay Khan’s son Zayed Khan (brother-in-law of Hrithik Roshan) opposite Anita Pradhan (the pretty young girl from Falguni Pathak’s Maine payal hai chankayee video). Titled Lucky, it has been in pre-production stages for the last few months, and is scheduled to begin filming in August. But according to recent information, Zayed has now signed up with Pantaloon Fashions for a film to be directed by Sangeeth Sivan and opposite Esha Deol. Both producers claim theirs will be the first release of the strapping six-footer — who, apparently makes Hrithik look stale — but the boy in question is keeping mum. If the grapevine is to be believed, Sanjay Khan made a prior commitment to Pantaloon, so their’s will be the first release. And if that’s the case, Universal has threatened to replace Zayed in Lucky.

Nagging Doubt

Between Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan, who do you pity more for the way his career is going?

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Vikas Kalantri: ‘‘I pity Hrithik. At this stage of his career he simply can’t get bigger than hype surrounding him. Which I think is undeserving, anyway. As for Abhishek, nobody expects anything from him. So, he still has a chance to spring a surprise.’’

Amar Upadhyaya: ‘‘Hrithik’s films are just flopping left, right and centre. But Abhishek never was a big star.’’

Sajid Khan: ‘‘Hrithik Roshan didn’t deserve to be put on a pedestal after his first film. But he doesn’t deserve the brickbats. As for Abhishek, all his films were terrible. He needs one hit and everyone will stop running him down.’’