Dev Anand on a roll

Konkona to play a queen
In her upcoming flick Mirch,Konkona Sen Sharma plays a Rajasthani queen and wife of the popular villain Prem Chopra. She plays two roles in the movie. She explains,“One story is set in the 18th century wherein I play the role of Lavani,a Rajasthani queen who has an affair with a young man. The other story is contemporary. Here I play Anita. Mirch is being touted as India’s first in the erotic genre,” she stated. Quiz her if she was apprehensive about being a part of a movie that focusses on sex,she says that she had faith in the National Award-winning director Vinay Shukla that he would portray it in a sophisticated way. Mirch also stars Raima Sen,Shahana Goswami,Mahie Gill,Shreyas Talpade and Boman Irani and releases on December 10.

Sharman in Vidhu Chopra’s next
The constant speculation of who would be the lead hero of Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s next,Ferrari Ki Sawaari has finally come to rest – Sharman Joshi. Everyone has been raving about Sharman as an actor,which helped Chopra to decide. “We have screen-tested Sharman and strongly felt that he understood the character,” said the filmmaker. Ferrari Ki Sawaari goes on floors in February and releases next year.

Har Pall delayed further
Jahnu Barua’s Har Pall,which was held up for quite a while and was set to release in December,has been further delayed. The Preity Zinta-Shiney Ahuja starrer,which Preity describes as an endearing film and her best role till date,will now release in January. Said Tito Juneja,the producer of the film,“It’s true that due to unforeseen circumstances the film could not be released in December. Now I hope to release it in January,” he said.

Manish Acharya passes away
Actor-director Manish Acharya died in a freak accident on December 4. The 40-year-old filmmaker,who was in Matheran with his family,hit himself on the head after falling off the horse and was rushed to a nearby hospital where the doctors declared him dead. His first film,the critically-acclaimed Loins of Punjab Presents starring Shabana Azmi,released in 2007 and Manish also acted in it. He also worked in Luck By Chance.

Karnad turns down award
Jnanapeeth awardee and well-known theatre personality Girish Karnad said that he would not accept the ‘Puttanna Kanagal Award’ given by the Karnataka government. In a brief press note Karnad said,“I have thanked the Director,Kannada and Culture for awarding the Puttanna Kanagal Award to me and regretted my inability to accept the honour.” Karnad did not cite any reason for his decision.

The state government announced film awards for 2008-’09 and chose Karnad for the award,instituted in the name of veteran film director Puttanna Kanagal.

With inputs by Onkar Kulkarni