Saif Ali Khan
“Both Salman and I’ve done good things for people. But no one notices our positive qualities”
It may be disturbing to know that this sweetheart of Bollywood has indulged in some quite disturbing activities in the past. For example did you know that some of his childhood hobbies included throwing cats out of windows and clipping birds’ wings?! Thankfully he hasn’t continued such habits! A shocking incident occurred when fueled by anger over negative publicity over their relationship, Saif and his then wife Amrita physically attacked a journalist Kanan Divech in her office back in ’94. The attack was to such a magnitude that the journos’ furniture was even smashed to pieces! Suspiciously, Divech’s complaint to the Police never made it to their records and even the supervisor at the time did not act. However, stars are not above the law and this proved to be true when she took her case to the High Court in ’99, promptly causing Amrita to give a public apology! Phew! Thankfully Saif has since calmed down and is the picture of composure.
Aamir Khan
On Darr – “I would not have glamorised the role the way it was done in the film if I had done it. The character had a mental problem and it should have been played accordingly.”
Known to be an obsessive perfectionist, this Khan otherwise known as “The Ace” sure knew how to hold his own in disputes! It may be little known to some that he was the original choice for Darr, but why exactly did he turn this dream role down?
“I didn”t do Darr because Yashji was playing games. He was narrating one thing to me and quite another to Sunny Deol, which I got to know. I knew all along that it was Sunny and not me who was being taken for a ride. I didn”t want to be party to the whole thing.”
Yash Chopra had promised Khan that in the dual between Sunny and him, Juhi would be the one to kill him. Satisfied that this would bring justice to the story, he agreed. But unfortunately he discovered that quite the different story was being told to Sunny! Knowing that something was up, the sneaky actor asked for a joint narration, which confirmed his suspicions and he subsequently refused the “generous” offer.
Bitter about this decision, Chopra retaliated that he had second thoughts about Aamir playing a negative character, to which Khan shot back:
“Far from it… in fact, I would not have glamorised the role the way it was done in the film if I had done it. The character had a mental problem and it should have been played accordingly.”
It seems since then things have patched up, seeing as Aamir agreed to do Fanaa which went on to become a super hit!
Hrithik Roshan
“Do I look like a sex-symbol or a pin-up boy? It’s just that my father presented me like a dream.”
After the super success of Kaho Na Pyar Hai, some may know that a certain section of the underworld wanted a cut of the profits too and resorted to underhand tactics such as, death threats. When the Roshan’s refused, the unidentified people were livid and organized to kill Rakesh. The attack came unexpectedly and he just about survived a bullet to the chest! Stunned by what had happened, Hrithik vowed never to act in films again. It was only after staggering encouragement from the film industry and countless requests from fans that he took back his decision. To think that this attractive multi – talented star would have quit for good is just too depressing to think about!
Shahrukh Khan
“I can’t sit with any heroine in her make-up room because I fear that people would think I’m ******* her. Believe me, the day I think of any girl in that sense, I will say it openly. What I don’t understand is that, why can’t I be in love with the girl I’m married to?’
The life of superstar King Khan is probably an open book for the media to comment upon. He is probably one of the more open and talkative stars amongst his colleagues, but sometimes when you talk so much you are bound to slip! Which is exactly what was found when coming across an interview about Darr. Now, Yash Chopra”s trickery was already discussed but when Shahrukh was asked to comment, he denied any knowledge of it:
“I don’t know what Sunny’s problems are with the people he has worked with. It’s not my business and I’m not going to interfere.”
However, he also had stated in another interview that before he signed the role he had a lengthy discussion with Aamir on why he refused the role. Now, I’m sure Aamir must have told him exactly why so that makes one ask, why deny any knowledge on the matter and then report to have lengthy discussion on it to another?!
Amisha Patel
“Films were never on my agenda, may be it was written in my destiny. And since I am here, I would like to give it my best try.”
Amisha is capable of saying nice things about others?! That’s what it seems when stumbling over this discovery!
‘I was hoping to bag Sooraj Barjatya’s next film [“Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon”, in which Kareena will co-star with Hrithik Roshan]. It upsets me when I’m bypassed for all the important assignments with Hrithik, especially because we have the success of Kaho Naa… behind us…’
Amisha also feels that film-makers like Subhash Ghai and Karan Johar haven’t taken notice of her. ‘It’s not because I lack talent’ she says. ‘Maybe it’s because I don’t have a magic surname or a Miss World title. Kareena and Aishwarya are beautiful and talented. I don’t grudge them their success. But it hurts when I lose a project to either of them because I’m equally qualified.’ (Filmfare, Jan 2001)
Now, what happened to this Amisha and how come we haven’t seen more of her?!
Kareena Kapoor
“Yeah, I’m getting my price. Producers are even willing to pay me more than what I ask. But unfortunately, I can’t do every film. So I have to turn down offers. (Laughs) Chalo, at least this way others get work.’
An opinionated actress she definitely is, coming out with classics such as:
“I’m not at all a Salman fan. I don’t like him, he’s a very bad actor.”
“I don’t want to be mediocre in hit films. I’d rather be brilliant in flop movies”
Another note-worthy incident would be when she expressed interest in playing Parvati in Devdas. Bhansali offered to screen test her but warned her that this would not mean she was decided for the role. Later he went on to choose Aishwarya, this did not sit well with Kareena and she lashed out:
“Sanjay Bhansali is a confused director. He is a person who does not stand by his word. He doesn’t have any morals and principles in life.”
The no-nonsense director was quick to fight back and retorted:
“After going through the photographs, I told Kareena that I felt Aishwarya Rai was fabulous and perfect for Paro; she has the aristocratic looks I required. She accused me of backing out after having given her the signing amount and contract. Believe me, this is not true. She also said I didn’t know how to make films. However, I’d like to inform her that I do know how to make films. She has tried to tell me that she was misquoted but I’d like her to know that I’ve heard those tapes. Recently, we met at Sikander Kher’s birthday party. I told her that if I have a suitable role for her, I’ll cast her. Till then, I’ll brush up on film-making.”
At the risk of sounding juvenile … somebody got dissed!
Salman Khan
‘I love Aishwarya. I am not hounding her. It’s not a teenage obsession that I feel for her — it”s pure love. She’s such a traditional Hindustani girl at the bottom of her heart. The fact that she respects her parents so much makes me admire her more.’
The Salman-Aishwarya episode has probably been written, seen and done to death by the media, but there is one small incident that many may not know about…
After Rai (now known as Bachchan) publicly declared that their relationship was over, Salman didn’t seem to think so! On a night partying with Rishi Kapoor’s son, Ranbir Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt, Ranbir made the fatal mistake of commenting on an attractive girl saying “Wow, she’s good. She reminds me of Aishwarya”. This enraged Salman who then proceeded to attack him! It was only after Dutt ended the fight and explained to Salman who’s son Ranbir is, that he became apologetic and gave him a gold watch and many designer shirts as a form of apology!
