“Only sex and Shah Rukh Khan sells!” starlet Neha Dhupia once famously declared. Last Sunday, the former Miss India and skin-flick queen (Julie, Sheesha) was forced to re-assess her opinion when she encountered Sir Richard Branson in north Mumbai.

Dhupia and Branson came together for the launch of Sir Richard’s Virgin mobile phones in India and to work on a short Bollywood film, Andaaz Apna Very Hatke.

Branson literally swept the sexy actress off her feet as he lifted her in his arms and gave her a 360 degree twirl. Was that a gun in his pocket or was Branson simply excited to meet the sex symbol? Sporting his trademark grin, Sir Richard was dressed in what looked like a cowboy outfit and he brandished two pistols in his hands for the shoot.

Co-hosted by the popular satellite station, Channel V, the event attracted Bollywood’s B list: Aftab Shivdasani, Kim Sharma, Amrita Arora, and Scottish-born model turned actor Milind Soman.

Branson joins the elite club of international celebrities who have accepted minor parts in Bollywood. Remember Samantha Fox in Rock Dancer, pop star Brandy in Out of Control and Emma ‘Baby Spice’ Bunton in Pyar Mein Twist?

Secular Showman

“No way is my film anti-Muslim, it is not talking about any religion,” self-styled showman director Subhash Ghai explained last Saturday when questioned about this week’s release, Black and White. While I remain unconvinced, the film is a worthy attempt to break away from his commercial formula films such as Hero, Karz, Khalnayak and Taal. Ghai admits that his latest film is unlike his earlier hits: “It is not larger than life. All my other films were colourful; this is black and white.”

Tongues on Fire

Two film festivals hit London this weekend in order to celebrate the excellence, performance and achievements of South Asian women in cinema. The 10th annual Tongues of Fire Film Festival opens on Saturday at Bafta in Piccadilly with a Q&A session with director Tanuja Chandra. The female director of Bollywood’s version of The Silence of the Lambs will be joined by the Pardes actress Mahima Chaudhry. A celebration of the works of British comedienne Meera Syal concludes the events on March 19th.

Raising awareness

The Happy Soul Festival intends to raise awareness of mental health problems in the British Asian community. Respected actress Konkona Sen Sharma will be present to answer questions following the screening of her film 15 Park Avenue in which she plays a young woman suffering from schizophrenia. Why is the condition such a stigma in some sections of the Asian community? “It’s not just the Asian community; many people across communities are awkward and embarrassed about talking about mental health issues.” The free event takes place at the Wimbledon Odeon in south London on 13 March.

Akshay’s Pop Princess

Akshay Kumar, star of the upcoming Race, has been busy launching a new singing protégé. Kumar discovered Tejasawani on a recent trip to Chandigargh where he was amazed to discover that despite having a mind of a three year old, the 21 year old singer knew over 200 Lata Mangeshkar songs by heart. “Parents of these special children should not be ashamed as these children are as normal as my own child,” the hit action hero stated. Thankfully, Kumar will not be dueting with his new discovery. Remember his disastrous singing debut with a Punjabi devotional CD?

Bollywood goes West

India’s most talented music composer AR Rahman continues to make waves internationally. After providing the music for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Bombay Dreams, Rahman’s latest The Lord of the Rings musical is currently enjoying a sell-out London West End spell. Hollywood is also taking notice: his Bollywood songs are increasingly being included on mainstream soundtracks. After Nicholas Cage’s Lord of War and Denzel Washington’s Inside Man, the Mozart from Madras’s music can currently be heard on the end credits of the current Uma Thurman release, The Accidental Husband. Rahman tells me: “It’s great to go from brand Bollywood to international composer.”

Who is John Abraham?

Thanks to reader John Abraham from Mumbai who emailed to point out an error in last week’s report on the Filmfare awards. Whether or not he is THE John Abraham remains a mystery.

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