Eyecatchers


	March 20, 2000

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This boy's toys
Usually, it's pretty women. But in Firoz Nadiadwala's Hera Pheri, Akshay Kumar gets to cavort with a $150,000 SPMV (Special Purpose Military Vehicle) Hummer, a $150,000 Ferrari Spider and a $300,000 Ferrari Modena in the song Chhan chhana chhan jab bhi koi ladki dekhun. The Hummer is a US military vehicle converted into a civilian car, and belongs to a royal family from the Middle East. Says Nadiadwala: "A Merc has become routine and doesn't particularly signify a 'very rich' category. I wanted something strikingly unique to rejuvenate Akki's macho sex appeal." Read: Akki driving the Hummer at a 70-degree angle to sand dunes, fooling around in Ferraris ... That's rich!

Sons and Brothers
They're sarod players with promise. They're also their father's sons. Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan's Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash boys, are taking over from singer Sonu Nigam as anchors of Zee TV's Sa Re Ga Ma. Do they have what it takes? They're photogenic, that's for sure. And Satish Menon, deputy CEO of Zee, says, "The famous brothers of the Ustad Amjad Ali Khan lineage will give the programme a fresh look." Is it just the genes they're counting on?

She's the One
As the media goes agog over Salman Rushdie's latest love, here's the lowdown on the lady. Padma Lakshmi, a.k.a. Padmalakshmi Vaidyanathan, is a 5 ft 9 in Chennai-born Hollywood-based lass. Modelling happened by chance. She was in Spain to study when she landed an assignment, has since been picked by Ford Models agency in New York and worked with Armani, Moschino, Ralph Lauren, Versace and other big names. Padma's also starred in a few films, and authored last year's Easy Exotic: A Model's Low-Fat Recipes. "Modelling," she once said, "is like gambling. If you are winning, you stay at the table. If you're losing, it's time to go home." Go home to whom, dear? Tell us.

Come Again?
It's a repeat performance. Mani Ratnam's latest heroine, Shalini, was the reigning child star in south Indian cinema when she traded films and fame for school and studies at the age of 11. Now a hit as a 19-year-old, with the hotshot director's Shalini Alaipayuthey coming soon, she's doing it again -- giving it up for home, hearth and hubby. Shalini's April 24 marriage to fellow actor Ajith Kumar will be 10 days after the film's release (rumour has it that Mani Ratnam wanted it that way). "I want to be a full-time housewife," says the teen star. "There's no way a man and wife can be juggling dates in this industry." Going by her track record, there could be a third coming.

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