“I cannot even boil water!” megastar Amitabh Bachchan told me on Tuesday at the London West End premiere of his latest film Cheeni Kum in which he plays a chef. Bachchan had flown in from Cannes where the film had its debut on Monday night. He remarked that it was “unheard of ten or fifteen years ago for an Indian film” – Bachchan hates the Bollywood word – to have a Leicester Square premiere. “It is because India and consequently Indian cinema is now becoming noticed,” he added. Bachchan was introduced to his adoring fans at the start of the screening and stayed on to view the film. Pandemonium broke out inside the Empire cinema. The sell out crowd left their seats and refused to pay attention to the film which had begun. “Why look at the Big B on the screen when you can see him in the flesh?” an adoring auntyji told me, as she tried to snap the superstar.

Raging Rawal

Paresh Rawal, one of Bollywood’s leading character actors, was also in London this week. Unlike leading men who tend to play the same type of hero in every film, a supporting actor like Rawal gets the opportunity to experiment with diverse roles. The Hera Pheri actor, who is currently working simultaneously on twenty Bollywood films, expressed “sheer joy” to be in London and to have worked with “Mr Bachchan” in this week’s global release Cheeni Kum. The once rotund actor was looking slim and dashing in his kurta when I met him. He confirmed that he had to lose weight for a forthcoming film role. Move over De Niro!

John goes to Hollywood

When I chatted to current hunk John Abraham at the poolside of the Majestic Beach Hotel in Cannes last Friday, he did not confirm that he had signed his first Hollywood film. It can now be revealed that the Dhoom hunk will act in Luna to be directed by his Water director, Deepa Mehta. The film will be based on the true life fight by American environmentalist Julia Hill to save a famous Californian Redwood landmark tree from destruction. Abraham’s leading lady will be the Oscar winning British actress Rachel Weisz, who was also at Cannes for the opening night gala premiere of her latest film, My Blueberry Nights. Mehta confirmed Abraham’s presence in the film saying that his character will be neither Indian nor American in the film but of ‘unspecified origin’.

Mozart from Madras

The Lord of the Rings musical, currently being previewed in London’s theatreland has music by Bollywood’s biggest film composer, AR Rahman. A former jingle composer, Rahman hit the big league with his Hindi scores for leading Tamilian director Mani Ratnam’s Roja, Bombay and Dil Se. ‘The Mozart from Madras’ as he is popularly known, caught the ear of Andrew Lloyd Webber who signed him up for the musical Bombay Dreams, which ran successfully in London’s West End and New York’s Broadway a few years ago. The press night has not taken place as yet: it remains to be seen if the hobbits in JRR Tolkien’s Middle Earth trilogy will be bopping to the sound of Bollywood.

London’s Indian summer

It promises to be a Bollywood summer in London with a season of Indian blockbusters, shorts and documentaries being screened as part of the ‘India Now’ festival put on by the Mayor of London to celebrate India’s sixtieth anniversary. The line-up of films was released this week and it includes the Oscar nominated cricketing historical epic Lagaan, Bollywood’s version of Othello Omkara and Deepa Mehta’s Water. Somerset House fountain court will host an open air screening on the big screen of a yet to be confirmed classic on August 9. The season ends on September 9 at the Barbican cinema which will show a sing-along version of the classic prostitute with a heart of gold chick flick Pakeezah. All together now: Chalte Chalte!

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