Lajja -- The Real Shame

Though the fate of Lajja is still undecided, for the villagers of Bhavanipur it's a farce.

For it was here that on July 6, 1999, that half a dozen Yadavs first raped Siyadulari and then burnt her alive in her own courtyard. Her fault -- her teenage son Surendra dared to elope with his sweetheart, Usha, of the Yadav community.

Siyadulari's husband, Rajendra has 24-hour police protection today but says the killers still roam free.

He says that director Rajkumar Santoshi made the film only to earn money. He didn't even have money to watch the film, he said.

The dominant Yadav community has panned the film saying that the director is misleading the people. They allege that Siyadulari was killed by her brother-in-law Santosh, who was murdered recently.

Meanwhile in Bombay actress Hema Malini said that she was first offered the role in Lajja which ultimately went to Rekha. Rehka plays Ramdulari, the character based on Siyadulari.

Madame Dixit as Santoshi Maa

Madhuri Dixit has doled out dates to a Kannada film producer for an upcoming film Jagajjanani where she plays Santoshi Maa. The Rs 80 million film produced under the Chinni Films banner is to be dubbed in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil simultaneously.

Aishwarya Rai was first offered the role of Santoshi Maa, but she turned it down. The film also stars Tabu who plays Mayadevi in the film.

Asoka -- Raring to go

Santosh Sivan's, Asoka will premiere at the 26th Toronto International Film Festival.

The festival, which opens on September 6, will also feature screenings of Aamir Khan's blockbuster Lagaan, Murali Nair's A Dog's Day, Rahul Bose's Everybody Says I'm Fine, and Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding.

Asoka, is Sivan's third feature film after The Terrorist and Malli.

With Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Hrishtaa Bhatt, Danny Denzongpa and Rahul Dev in the leads and with music by Anu Malik, the film has generated a lot of excitement.

With the launch of the Asoka official website, the film is one everybody is looking forward to.

AB, SRK and Hrithik have equal footage in K3G

Sections of the press had reported that Hrithik Roshan was to stage his entry in the forthcoming Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham only after the interval.

But producer Yash Johar has quashed these rumours saying that Hrithik had an extensive role in the first half and that Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan had equal footage in the film.

Two theatrical trailers of the film have already been censored and will be released in cinema halls across the country.

The music will be released in October, while the film will hit the theatres on December 14.

Compiled by Vivek Fernandes
Design: Imran Shaikh