…random men everywhere who aren’t Aish/Bips/Shabana-devotees gnash their teeth and shake their fists at the sky impotently. Or not.
Oooooh, DRAMA! An anonymous tipster leaves juicy news on the…well, news tab (via SAWF):
Bollywood star Rani Mukerhee, 29, is all set to marry film maker Aditya Chopra, 36, son of Yash Raj Chopra. A commitment ceremony or “Roka” was held Monday at the Chopra bungalow in Bombay.
A source close to the family told the Hindustan Times: “The roka took place at the same Chopra bungalow where Chandni was shot. Around 60 people (family and friends) attended the ceremony that included Rani’s parents Ram and Krishna Mukherjee, brother Raja and his wife. Present from the Chopra clan were brother Uday, dad Yash Chopra and mum Pamela Chopra.”
Awww, that’s so cute! My last two german shepherds, who were litter-mates, were also named Raja and Rani. And no, I didn’t name them, so shut up.
“Rani wore a maroon saari with silver embroidery and Aditya wore a kurta-pyjama, both designed by designer Pallavi Jaikishan. Pam aunty didn’t seem very happy, as she has a soft corner for Adi’s ex-wife, Payal. Another function will take place at Rani’s house next week,” the source added.
Why do I care, when I am a clue-free Mallu ABCD who has gone on record as not paying attention to Bollywood? Because it’s JUICY. Duh.
Aditya was recently divorced from Payal Chopra, whom he married in 2001.
Ah, so THAT is why anonymous tipster namechecked Angelina Jolie! Apparently, Rani is a homewrecker, but my half- third- quarter-hearted googling found nothing. If the girl Big B got creepy with in KKKG really did break up this guy’s marriage, I’m sure one of you will edify us with confirmation of such sordid details.
According to the Mumbai Mirror, Aditya’s decision to divorce Payal, who is the daughter of a close friend of father Yash Raj, has strained relations between the father and son.
I can’t be the only one thinking…all this would make a great Bollywood movie? Life imitates art…? Annnnnd, I’m bored again. Who wants to talk about Obama, caste or saffron balls? Anyone?
It’s so funny that three friends and myself were discussing some of these things over dinner tonight in NYC (and yes, after that ‘dutch’ thread I made sure to pay extra). Is it true that Amitabh Bachchan is a big womaniser? Because I was commenting that things have changed so much in India, that back when Big B was young (70s/80s), despite being so popular, he had only one well-publicised affair (with Rekha) whereas nowadays, even B and C list stars have numerous well-known affairs…and I chalked that up to changing societal mores. I also said it’s unlikely that the dude is womanising these days since his image and reputation would take a major nose dive if it ever came to light. At the same time, it’s hard to imagine a man restraining himself, with the amount of women who are probably throwing themselves at him daily, and the kinds of opportunities he has.
I loved the sections in Maximum City which talk about Vidhu Vinod Chopra trying to sign BigB for Mission Kashmir. Hilarious how Suketu Mehta gently pricks the Bachchan bubble. That and the section where he completely eviscerates Bal Thackeray were the high points of the book for me.
key phrase is probably well-publicised – today’ media is far more interfering in and less forgiving of celebrities’ personal lives. during WWII, the media largely abided by FDR’s request not to be photographed in his wheelchair. these days, shit like that wouldn;t fly. but just judging by vic’s comment, there is still a lot of stuff on the DL, so it’s plausible that the indian media respects certain boundaries. i have a feeling that desi PR is a lot better at american PR from keeping things private.
sorry, darling, but i assume since it’s not you, this point is rather moot for you?
i am pre-requesting no spoilers here – i just received the book and it’s high on my summer reading list.
I second that! It’s been gathering dust on my bookshelf for far too long, so I’m about to start reading it, too. Perhaps we should start the virtual SM book club, years after it was first requested. 😉
Whatever happened to free speech?
Badava Rascal reporting. I was out drinking beers to salve the wound of Vic #34 demolishing two of my lovelies in one little post. Welcome back, Badava R! So what do you call the tattoo of a tattoo? Here is my latest submission to Urban Dictionary. Yes, I am bent on world domination!
Tathree (noun) The representation of a tattoo in a tatto. For example, a tattoo of Janis Joplin may show her own tattoo. That makes it a tathree.
Example Oh, that is a nice tathree of Janis Joplin’s heart over your heart.
If we do I strongly recommend using http://www.goodreads.com 🙂
You mean like this?
Yes, because the Big B in compromising positions with “other” women would be such a small and insignificant story. I mean Indians dont really want to read that. Now if they have a B list star like Shakti Kapoor caught in a sting operation, they would be all over it, but Big B scoop is not really a scoop.
Suketu Mehta’s book cant have any embellishments.. C’mon it is not like he gets paid based on number of books he sells and the more controvertial and provocative you are the more books you sell. So there is no reason for Suketu Mehta to embellish any “facts”. None. He is writer and writing is a “higher” profession than these naach-gana walahs.
set it up, ANNA!
you were so apologetic when it was re shawshenk redemption – not so much love for maximum city?
Perhaps we should start the virtual SM book club, years after it was first requested. 😉 I’d love that. Maximum City is a good reason why. I started reading it, but for some reason, I never finished it. Without a book club, I doubt I will pick it up again. Is a book a month a good way to do it?
wasn’t sushmita sen dating randeep “australian idiot” hooda from monsoon wedding. also tanisha mukherjee is dating uday chopra, so i guess the mukherjees hooking up with the chopras is a family business.
Can I join the club of people who fess up to giving up on Maximum City 50 pages from the finish? I tend not to do too well in book clubs because I have a long list of books that I desperately want to read, and reading flavor-of-the-month books takes up too much valuable time 🙂
Shawshank was all hema’s fault, in any case. BTW, ak, Jack Nicholson ordered the Code Red on Santiago.
Maximum City is a great book — though it could have been 50 to 100 pages shorter and still been just as good. Suketu deserved the Pulitzer (he was a finalist) and I hope he eventually wins one.
Jack Nicholson ordered the Code Red on Santiago. Also, Jar-jar Binks is Darth Maul. Don’t click this link.
hema merely pointed out your original transgression. as for AFGM – i still mourn the loss of pvt. santiago.
Speaking of high points in “Maximum City” (I think this is where it came from) I loved it when Shahrukh Khan makes chai in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s kitchen, and of course, the domestic help is stunned that “badshah of bollywood” is so ultra down-to-earth, humility personified etc. How awesome would it be to have SRK bring me my morning cuppa in bed 😉 tres agreable.
This isn’t going to sound too good, and will probably come back to haunt me, but I haven’t actually read an entire book in well over 10 years. Just don’t have the attention span anymore. Which is a shame since I used to enjoy reading when I was a kid. Fiction in particular is something I don’t think I can ever get into again. I did actually buy Maximum City from Borders one day (still like to browse), and like Rahul I barely made it past page 50. But I don’t think that’s any reflection on the book.
Vic, Sushmita Sen and Anil Ambani was two or three years ago. They’ve both moved on, from what one hears (several pieces of jewellry and apartments later, of course).
A “roka” literally means that both families stop “looking” at other prospects. Very Punjabi thing.
And all Bollywood stars lie about their age, always add five years.
AB’s reputation in the business as a womanizer (and harrasser) is indeed awful, and yes, he did seem rather foolish around Aishwarya…in all the publicity photos pre-marriage he was always the one appearing with her with an idiotic grin, not his son. Ugh.
I think you have to be a Bombay person to truly love Maximum City, sorry folks…and Sacred Games is in the same vein.
Maximum City – required reading and requires much patience. Well worth it though.. because in the end…
Amitabh, I made it past page 50, just got stuck at the end. Don’t remember if it was the book that started drifting, or outside circumstances that made me give it up, but it was certainly no “Special Topics in Calamity Physics”. That, I sat up a whole night to finish, once I got to page 200 or so, and a major momentum-shifting event occurs. The book took a little getting used to because it was very show-offy, but I LOVED it.
portmanteau, I can’t think of anything more scary than having to see SRK and his quivering lower lip first thing in the morning. What will he say, k-k-k-koffee? And, where SRK and koffee are, can k-k-karan be far behind? Not a good combination.
Oh, and one story (no way of confirming accuracy) I heard from a family friend in the bidness about Junior AB’s broken engagement with Karisma Kapoor was that someone told Big B that “this girl is not OK” (i.e. like many actresses she had to sleep her way to jobs) and so he got someone through someone to offer her Rs 1 crore to sleep with some guy, and when she showed up in the hotel, he was there with his son, and that was that.
it was like that one time at band camp…
SP, I am a Bombay person. I think Bombay is far and away the most wonderful city in India. That is what kept me chugging through Maximum City.
Sorry to unSuketu the thread.
What’s with all the player hating on Rani? she’s a great actress, (Black) and she’s hot and classy. Also, perhaps Payal wasn’t keeping her man satisfied, not Rani fault!
i’m reading sacred games right now and really loving it. i’m by no means a native of bombay, but i do like how vikram chandra treats the city in his books. but, yes, i’m sure that fondness for the city plays into the appreciation.
SP – that is some crazy story re karisma…
I haven’t read Sacred Games yet (it’s holding down my bedside table right now), but I really liked Love and Longing in Bombay. With a TamBram author ex machina and such exquisite descriptions of Marine Drive, who wouldn’t?
I loved it and I’ve never lived in Mumbai. Having grown up outside India, it opened my eyes to a lot of what’s going on there. The police brutality was particularly shocking to me. (Not that it doesn’t happen elsewhere.)
And Mr. Aditya Chopra, producer/director/writer of “Dilwale Dulhaniya Lejayenge”, longest running film in history in India since “Sholay”. Who hasn’t succumbed to the hype, a la “Kofee with Karan”. Very humble and accomplished guy, built a $20 million modern studio and has launched so many directors with him simply as producer. Rani went for the creative guy instead of the glam factor. But now the Bachchan’s work for her new family, very well played indeed.
Daahlings, the story I’d heard about Baby AB and Karishma was that Babita wasn’t impressed with Baby AB’s prospects and that’s what eventually put the kibbosh on the proceedings. That’s all, kitty kats.
Raul, Babita must have been spinning cartwheels when Karishma and Mr.Karishma were estranged after their child was born and she was stopped from getting a passport for said offspring…
Hehe – I did think that AB-Karisma story sounded like the product of a rather active imagination, and Karisma had the family backing to not have to sleep around, but who knows? Perhaps that was the story the ABs spread around to get their own back.
I’m about 350 pages through Sacred Games right now and LOVE it. Could definitely have used some editing, and at some points I found myself snorting at the intellectualised first-person narration by Gaitonde, but it’s really gripping and you can practically feel the car swerving down the road towards Haji Ali sometimes.
Rani was supposed to have been dating Govinda at some point (ewww) but she denied it vociferously. I think that’s what got her the homebreaker rep. She was definitely going after junior AB, what’s the story on why AB opposed it? I heard Jaya was in favour (of course, as Rani’s her mini-me).
The story I had heard was that it was Reagan’s military build-up. But apparently, it was a liquidity crunch due to oil that eventually put the kibbosh on the proceedings. Marc Andressen of Netscape reports.
I think Rani is overrated!. She is not as talented as Sridevi or Madhuri Dixit. I’ve heard that she started getting good roles after she started dating Aditya Chopra.
Jaya did not want another Bengali in the family… this is all publicity… AB jr and Ash have made films before, no buzz.. they are “hinted” at dating and “Umrao Jaan” did pretty well. Rumors of engagement and “Guru” did extremely well (despite it being a Mani Ratnam fillum, which needed no such assistance). Lest us forget, AB Sr, was “actor of the millenium” in the BBC poll. He’s trying to make sure his legacy survives at least beyond the immediate generation at hand.
ok, confession, as far as SRK is concerned, I belong to the cohort that was 10 when DDLJ came out. He’s playing rugby or soccer or whatever uber-masculine sport in the rain (the wet sari scene for XYs), and I, being a very-very impressionable ten year old just lapped up the cheesiness and adored the his rakish charms in the movie. Yeah, I’m a sucker for rogues. Ever since then, I haven’t seen many of his movies (and I bet he was really annoying in Darr), but have enjoyed his wit and candor in interviews. My apologies littering this thread with personal history. But you all will remember that DDLJ was Aditya Chopra’s claim to fame and possibly a seminal film for its time. Perhaps, Anupama Chandra (again featured in the ensemble cast of characters in MC) will attest to that.
Rani’s a good actor by Bollywood standards…Sridevi over-acted terribly, and Madhuri did the same three roles in the same cliched style her entire career. Rani probably gets stock roles too but she doesn’t over-act, thank goodness.
And I’m of the generation that remembers Shahrukh in the TV show Fauji (anyone?) When he had awful floppy hair and I couldn’t understand why the other girls cooed over him like he was Tom Cruise.
oh, and some insight about the reclusive Mr. Chopra, via Google: “Adi is actually very conservative. His idea that the two lovers must not rebel against the parents but must ask for their permission is very conservative. For a second-generation film person who went to [Mumbai’s] Bombay Scottish School and Sydenham College to be so conservative, was very interesting.” from: http://www.rediff.com/movies/2003/oct/08anu.htm
Apparently, things have changed. And I am surprised by my own avid interest in Bollywood drama.
I actually really like Rani as far as Bollywood actresses go. That said, I hated Black! (watch that statement come around and bite me in the ass).
What I like best about SRK is his overexaggerated facial expressions and his crazy eyebrows! I’m so serious.
I’d be down!
Maximum City? blink blink Just kidding! Have never read sacred games, though. I’m beginning to feel un(desi)-cultured, kind of like the opposite of paneer.
portmanteau very observant – that was exactly the premise for DDLJ “two lovers must not rebel against the parents but must ask for their permission is very conservative”
he just happened to dramatize the process of exactly that process.
If the stories about Chopra Pere threatening to cut off Aditya over the divorce are true, then that would certainly be a nice ironic twist on the family and duty-worshipping films that lot have always made.
Does anyone else think Aditya’s moustache looks like something out of the Mangal Pandey set leftovers?
I can’t believe I’m gossipping about Bollywood.
please tell me that you have read a suitable boy?
portmanteau, i understand : i recently caught an episode of KBC and SRK, much to my surprise, rocked! i’ve never seen it before, so no clue how AB was, but it became quite clear as to why this man is a superstar (of course, with no relevance to his acting skills).
the idea in bollywood of “producer” is a relatively new phenomenon. Sanjay Gupta, Vinod Chopra, Aditya Chopra (do not vilify me for omissions), is refreshing. Then you have the-over South Directors (which I have no exposure to so don’t lambast me) but who crossed over like (Mani-ji) and made enoyable and memorable films. Indian filmmakers just recently got status from the government as a legitimate industry (which means bank loans)>
i think its about time for some entertaining dish. too much politics can cause cancer, as my parents would say. 😉
I haven’t. I know, someone should just revoke my brown card right now 😉 I just haven’t had the time/energy/focus to start hacking into A Suitable Boy… it’s so long!
ak, AB sr, was the actor of the millenium in the BBC forum. He ruled bollywood, got hurt cuz of bollywood, came cuz of bollywood, became a produer, lost money, and now has beenworking hard. (Kudos to good work). He also tried to secure a spot for his son, Abishekh. His son faced tons of criticism because he’s trying to emulate his fatherer. Genetics is such a bad thing. Then there was “Yuva”…
SP
Nahi! Nahi ! Nahi ! Please no hating on Ms Dixit .What’s with all you people? First its “Oh we don’t do Bollywood, we find Bollywood boring ” – then its 95+ comments of hating on Rani and putting Stardust to shame !
Also – sorry to disappoint all you closet Bollywood fans but this may be much ado about nothing
Runa, I really liked Madhuri, it’s just a shame that she wasn’t given any really meaty roles till perhaps Devdas…and she got away with flashing her famous smile and doing her little ada and that was it.
The one role I had hopes for her in was Mrityudand, but that was so ridiculously full of cliches too, and they just had her do the classic Good Indian Woman Driven to Kali-like Outrage part.