Everyone Watched Jessica, except…

Everyone Watched Jessica, except… • The Unbeliever • The IT Raid Camaraderie

Last Thursday at the IMAX multiplex in Wadala, patrons buying their popcorn and cola were surprised to notice Vidya Balan taking the escalator upstairs to the auditorium screening her latest film No One Killed Jessica. Dressed simply in a white cotton salwar kameez, the actress rushed to the restroom before making her way alone into the hall.

Tied up shooting a film in Kolkata last month when previews of Jessica were being organised for the cast in Mumbai, Vidya hadn’t watched the film even once on screen. Since her family and friends had caught the film already, she couldn’t find any company, but was keen not to miss it in the cinema before it made way for a newer release.

So although she entered five minutes after the lights had dimmed Vidya reportedly stayed till the end, and came out smiling as if relieved to have discovered for herself that the rave reviews she’d received for her performance were justified after all.

On Saturday, Vidya made heads turn when she turned up looking resplendent in an Anarkali outfit for a reception thrown by Aamir Khan in honour of his nephew Imran and his new bride Avantika. The Ishqiya star made a big impression on the normally shy Salman Khan who happily posed for pictures with her and commented on how much he’d enjoyed her recent performances.

At another sorry excuse for a Bollywood awards function on Sunday, when Salman Khan refused to leave his make-up room backstage to collect his Star of the Year Award for Dabangg (he attended the event only because he was getting paid to perform at the show), the organisers had to quickly come up with a Plan B to save face.

Rumour has it that the magazine execs responsible for putting together the show decided on the spot to declare a tie in the Best Actor category, and announced both Salman and Akshay Kumar as winners. That announcement came as a surprise to Akshay who was heading out of the venue at the time, but was hurriedly redirected to the stage. Salman remained backstage, unwilling to take his trophy. The actor has apparently decided he doesn’t believe in awards anymore, and refuses to accept any hereon.

Can’t blame him either. Consider this: at the same awards ceremony, there were 16 different categories of acting awards: [Superstar of Tomorrow Male & Female, Breakthrough Performance Male & Female, Best Actor & Actress, Best Actor & Actress (Comedy/Romance), Best Actor & Actress (Drama), Best Actor & Actress (Thriller/Action), Star of the Year Male & Female, Best Actor & Actress in an Ensemble Cast].

So everyone from Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor to Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh went home rewarded!

It’s true what they say…a tragedy unites you! These two popular leading ladies haven’t exactly been best friends since one of them walked out of two films she was meant to do with the other. But at a party hosted by Bollywood’s ‘socialite director’ last week, the two actresses bonded like old friends.

Having both been at the receiving end of an income tax raid at their homes just a few days ago, they finally had a common subject to talk about. They shared notes on what it was like having their privacy and their homes invaded, and how unprepared both were when the taxmen came calling.

One of the two ladies was rumouredly in her apartment with her actor boyfriend when they were rudely interrupted that early morning by the sleuths. The other, it appears, was at her actor boyfriend’s home not too far away when her domestic help called to inform her she was being raided. Twenty minutes later, her boyfriend had dropped her off at her apartment to deal with the mess.

At the same party, apparently, one of these actresses also came face to face with her current boyfriend’s ex, who hasn’t had very nice things to say about her or the manner in which she discovered her boyfriend had been cheating on her. Both ladies are believed to have mustered a half-hearted smile and avoided each other for the rest of the evening!

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Rajeev Masand

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