Laaga Chunari Mein Daag

Cast : Jaya Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Konkona Sen Sharma, Kunal Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Anupam Kher
Producer : Aditya Chopra, Pradeep Sarkar
Director : Pradeep Sarkar
Music Director : Shantanu Moitra
Release Date : 12 October 2007

After the classical romance Parineeta, Pradeep Sarkar returns to the marquee with the socially relevant Laaga Chunari Mein Daag - Journey of a Woman, which releases Friday.

Starring Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Kunal Kapoor, Jaya Bachchan and Anupam Kher, the film is about a woman who willingly chooses prostitution as a profession to support her family.

Rani plays the central character of Badki who lives with her parents (Anupam Kher and Jaya Bachchan) and younger sister Chutki (Konkona Sen Sharma) in Varanasi. On the surface, life is fun. The sisters enjoy playing pranks, sneaking off to see a forbidden mujra, and soaking up life on the banks of the Ganges.

But a financial crisis is brewing and Badki is fully aware of it. It gets worse when Badki's father falls ill. The family is in dire straits and Badki decides to go to Mumbai to seek a living to support her mother and sister.

Alone in Mumbai, she battles with dark forces, keeping her focus on her purpose to support her family and continue Chutki's education. She deliberately morphs into someone else, leading a secret life full of murky compromises.

As luck would have it, Chutki too comes to Mumbai to work. After her arrival, Badki's life turns into a minefield because she has to hide her secrets from her younger sister.

Chutki finds success at work and also meets Vivaan (Kunal Kapoor). They eventually fall in love.

While supporting her family and battling with blackmail, Badki gets attracted to Rohan (Abhishek Bachchan) but she lets him go, as she believes he is not meant for her.

After a sequence of events, Badki's dual life is revealed, and the two sisters find themselves face to face in a confrontation neither had expected. When love beckons Badki again, the whole family is thrown in a tumultuous storm.

Everything threatens to explode in their faces, destroying all of them.

Rani is pinning her hopes on the film because her last three films - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, Baabul and Ta Ra Rum Pum - bombed at the box office.

The subject is relevant as thousands of young girls are either forced into prostitution or willingly they get into it to earn their livelihood. Films like Chandni Bar, Chameli and Julie, which probed prostitution, were received well. Trade pundits predict a good response to Sarkar's film as well.

Chak De India enters Curriculum of business schools

Chak De India team gets another reason to smile. The word Chak De India not only drove them to win the world Cup in the film but now, has created its magic on MBA students as well. Chak De India will make its entry in textbooks of Business schools as a case study. The subject dealt in Chak De India and Curriculum of business schools might be poles apart. However, Chak De India boasts about a magnificent inspiration taken by management schools from various places in India, says YRF spokesperson, Monika Bhattacharya, “We have been getting mails from institutes in Chandigarh and Bhopal saying that they are including the film into their curriculum.” Chak De team, especially SRK and the director Shimit Amin have felt extremely proud to make such an inspirational film, says Monika,” It’s feels great as it is a matter of honour. We didn’t probably expect that the film would have such kind of effect on the youth and inspire people in such a way. I think it’s very heartening.” Before Chak De India, Lagaan and Corporate were included in management syllabus.

Saif to be Desi James Bond!

It has been a childhood fantasy for Saif…. To play a secret agent,a la James Bond or Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible.

Ever since the Rajshris made the low-budget espionage thriller Agent Vinod in 1977 featuring the then-rising Mahendra Sandhu (whatever happened to Sandhu?!) as the spy who loved girls gadgets and stunts, Saif has been fascinated by the thought of doing a take on the title.

Director Sriram Raghavan who did a career-turning film Ek Haseena Thi with Saif, is all set to make Saif's dream come true.

Says Sriram, "Though our Agent Vinod will have nothing to do with the old Rajshri film of that name it would be exploring the same espionage territory, albeit in an entirely new idiom. Saif and I had been brainstorming over this project for a long time and yes, now it's on."

Saif currently sporting a moustache for his role in Yashraj Films' Tashan is all set to lose weight to look lean mean and macho to play Agent Vinod.

Says Saif, "I looked sinewy for Ek Hasina Thi. I can do the same again."

Apparently it would be a full-on take on the James Bond-Tom Cruise genre of sensuous spying with Saif dressed in the best, wooing and bedding some of the most glamorous women in the industry.

To ensure Saif's Agent Vinod turns out just so, the star-on-the-rise would be producing the film under a banner he's starting with his friend and business associate.

Says Saif, "I want to produce anything from an espionage thriller to a period murder mystery which might not make too much money, to an off-the-wall romantic comedy, any slice-of-life film…. I'm not looking at making money here, though it'd be nice if my productions do make money.

But my partner and close friend Dinesh Vijen and I are making films that other people wouldn't want to make with me. "