Rani Mukherjee remains uncharacteristically aloof in Varanasi. That's the buzz from the Holy city where she
has been shooting for Pradeep Sarkar's film for the last month.
"Rani has her entire family of mother, father, brother and bhabhi with her in Varanasi. All the time off camera
is spent with them. In the evening when she packs up she prefers to be with her family rather than the unit
members.
After all the rumours and speculation, not to mention the recent run-in with the local
press in Varanasi, Rani has become wary of outside company. She's becoming increasingly
family-oriented," says a source from location.
Is Pradeep Sarkar's much-discussed Jaya-Rani-Konkona-Abhishek-Kunal Kapoor starrer actually called
Choodiyan?
"No!" protests Rani Mukherjee from the city of protests Varanasi. "I don't know where that started from.
Earlier some Hindi newspapers mentioned it was anaam, meaning untitled. The newspapers started calling
it Anaam.
Now they've very helpfully named our film Choodiyan. That probably started when some
people saw Konkona and me dancing to a song wearing lots of bangles. "
As of now the film has no title. What it does have is a unit working on tenterhooks in Varanasi. Almost
everyone has a stomach infection, and it has nothing to do with the unit's food or the water. Even those who
are eating from their own dabba and drinking mineral water are suffering from a tummy bug!
Luckily for them the month-long Varanasi stint is about to end. The unit returns to Mumbai where Abhishek
Bachchan will now make himself a part of the plot.
Though it's largely believed that Abhishek has a supporting role in this ladies picture, the truth is to the
contrary.
"Abhishek has a full-length role opposite Rani. He plays a leading catalyst. His role is of a very noble and
heroic character, even more so than the one he played in KANK," says a source.
But at the sets of her 'untitiled film' there is whole new story cooking up as well. According to sources in the
unit, the actress has been acting very high and mighty. From ill-treating the hired help to making sarcastic
remarks, Rani has taken to her Queenbee image a bit too seriously.
To make matters worse, Rani even refused to mingle with her co-stars. A crewmember reveals, "Rani got
her entire family here, including her infant niece. After wrapping up shooting for the day, she would
immediately rush to the hotel to be with her family.
Everyone on the sets is shocked to see this kind of behaviour from Rani. An otherwise jolly girl, she is making life difficult by yelling at people and throwing temper tantrums. She's been acting like a real maharani!"
Friday, December 08, 2006 17:33 IST