Bollywood's Rani Mukerji might star with Ben Affleck in avant garde director Dev Benegal's California-Mumbai love story. "JLo [Jennifer Lopez, whose marriage to Affleck was postponed recently] had better watch out," declares Benegal.
After his well-received documentary on actress Shabana Azmi, Benegal's Bombay California will be a romantic comedy with three characters: a man, woman and an Ambassador car. It will feature Rani Mukerji with either Ben Affleck or Ethan Hawke.
Both Hollywood actors have consented to act in the film, but it is Affleck who is more likely to star with Rani.
The actress, who is fresh from the success of Chalte Chalte, says, "She [JLo] can keep Ben. I only want one thing from him [Affleck]. I want to meet JLo. I am a big fan."
Rani will be the third Bollywood actress to team up with a foreign actor in the last one year. While Aishwarya Rai is doing Gurinder Chadha's Bride And Prejudice with Martin Henderson, the Chupke Se girl Masumi has completed German director Veit Halmer's Gate To Heaven with Russian actor Valery Nikolaev.
Meanwhile, other Hollywood stars will soon be seen in Hindi films.
Bo Derek makes a fleeting appearance in Kaizad Gustad's Boom, which releases this week.
Baywatch's Brande Rodericks plays the American lead opposite Ritesh Deshmukh in Vashu Bhagnani's ready-for-release Out Of Control. Shot entirely in the US, the film is about a desi guy caught between an Indian and an American bride.
"Rodericks, of course, plays the American bride," laughs Bhagnani as he supervises the finishing touches to his 'most unusual film to date.' He says, "Out Of Control looks young and trendy. I want to target it at the hip city crowds. My son Jackie, whom I will launch as an actor in the next two years, loves the film. And he knows what the youth like."
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