Siren's Song

Rekha's tendency to break into song at the drop of a hat is earning her attention from unlikely quarters. After we were subjected to her crooning on the Simi Garewal show, we will hear her sing in Govind Menon's Bachke Rehna Re Baba. Apparently music director Anu Malik heard Rekha humming on the sets and was impressed with her husky voice. He penned the lyrics for a sequence where the star has to sing her way out of trouble in a nightclub. "If this song clicks she might end up singing more often," says Malik. Oh dear. Yeh kahan aa gaye hum?

Father Figure

It is getting to be second nature. He played her father in Bend It Like Beckham and her father's friend in the mini-series Second Generation. Now, Anupam Kher is playing Parminder Nagra's father in the medical soap ER. Nagra plays Neela Rasgotra, a third year medical student. Kher and wife Kirron went to Los Angeles to film three days of work as Nagra's parents.

So what was it like working with Nagra again? "It became quite a media event because we were re-united after Bend It..., which was a huge hit in the US," says Kher. Talk about being a sugar daddy.

Fiery Tale

Italians can conquer India, but can Indians take over Italy? Actor Sonali Kulkarni is all set for mama mia land with a Lamberto Lambertini-directed Italian film, loosely translated as Fire and Flames, also starring the legendary Omar Sharif. The starlet, also to be seen in Gurinder Chadha's Bride and Prejudice, plays "a fisherman's daughter who falls in love with a prince" and reveals there will be a lot of "hot scenes". But not with the once dishy Sharif-he plays the grandfather of Kulkarni's lover.

Surprise Serve

After the dismal showing at the Olympics, it was heartening to see that Indian sports still has a fan following. A motley tennis fan club turned up at the US Open draped in the Indian tricolour. They had cause to cheer. Not just for Leander Paes but also for a surprise challenge in the women's main draw in Shikha Uberoi. Considering that there is a Bollywood connection here-Uberoi's cousin is Vivek Oberoi-can we expect an inspired screenplay?

-Compiled by Kanika Gahlaut