one two ka four

For every director who makes one film at a time, there are countless others who bite off more than they can chew. If we look back at 2005, there were many directors who were working on more than one project at a time. Some cases in point were Priyadarshan, whose Garam Masala and Kyon Ki, released on the same day, Vikram Bhatt with Elaan, Jurm and Deewane Huye Paagal and Mahesh Manjrekar with Padmashree Laloo Prasad Yadav, Viruddh and Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi.

In the coming year as well, there are quite a few directors who have more than one film to offer. Priyadarshan repeats the same trend that he followed last year. His Malamaal Weekly has already hit the theatres. The film has an ensemble cast of actors like Paresh Rawal, Om Puri, Arbaaz Khan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Reema Sen and Rajpal Yadav. Along with Malamaal Weekly, he is also readying for the release of Chup Chup Ke, which stars real life lovers, Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapur. Incidentally, both are comedies. Then there is Bhagam Bhaag, a movie with Govinda and Akshay Kumar and another one with Percept Picture Company titled 'Pirate' about a dedicated music band who are trying to survive in a tough and competitive world. Pirate is scheduled for a September release.

The other comedy king Satish Kaushik has Shaadi Se Pehle and MilengeMilenge lined up for this year. Another director, known for his comic timing, David Dhawan, has been a busy man lately. The films in his kitty include the ambitious remake of Amar Akbar Anthony as well as Partner, which will be Govinda's comeback vehicle. After completing their final schedule of 36, China Town for Mukta Arts, director duo Abbas Mustan will soon gear up for another thriller for Ashtavinayak and K. Sera Sera starring Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgan and Bipasha Basu in the lead.

Vikram Bhatt has been simultaneously working on two projects. The first one to see the light of the day will be 'Ankahee'. What's interesting about this project is that apparently, it is based on Bhatt's own life. The Sushmita Sen phase of his life, to be precise. Esha Deol will be seen essaying the role of Sushmita. Vikram and his wife will be played by Aftab Shivadasani and Amisha Patel, respectively. The other project is the Ramesh Sippy produced 'Rooh' which was earlier titled Fear. Apart from these, three more of his films have recently gone on floors. The first is titled 'Cellphone'. The second is an untitled venture which was announced recently. A thriller, it will star Aftab Shivdasani, Celina Jaitley, Amrita Arora and Jackie Shroff in pivotal roles. Lastly, there were talks about him making a film on the recent case of the rape of a South African model in Mumbai, in December.

Ram Gopal Varma has been in the news not only for whether he's remaking Sholay or not. Expected from the factory this year are films like Ram Gopal Varma Ke Sholay (tentatively) , the Sarkar Sequel, Boo - Darna Zaroori Hai (where he directs the Amitabh - Riteish Deshmukh episode) and Shiva. And we are not even mentioning here the projects where he is just associated as a producer.

Just like Priyadarshan, Mahesh Manjrekar too is following last year's trend. He will start the year with Deha that has an unusual pairing of Dino Morea and yesteryear actress Jaya Prada. However his other films Pyaar Kiya Nahin Jaata, Tere Pyaar Ki Kasam and An Unusual Love Story are as good as shelved by now. After basking in the success of Iqbal, Nagesh Kukunoor has not exactly been taking it easy. He recently announced Dor starring Ayesha Takia and Gul Panag. Along with that, he is slated to direct, Mukta Arts next project.

Sangeeth Sivan is busy with Subhash Ghai's Apna Sapna Money Money and Balaji Telefilms next venture. One would have thought that after the disaster that was Girlfriend, Karan Razdan would be lying low. However, that is far from the truth. The director has not only one or two, but four films on hand. The first of his films will be Umar which will release in the forthcoming weeks. His other projects include Eight-Shani (earlier Junoon - The Obsession), Souten - The Other Woman and the long-delayed and perhaps now shelved Rakhail - The Mistress. Just like Razdan, another director who has been famous for his so called 'bold' films is T L V Prasad. His recent works include films like Tauba Tauba and Mazaa Mazaa apart from directing the major chunk of the low-budget Mithun movies in the last decade. This year his line up of films includes Ek Se Mera Kya Hoga and Naughty Boy. Another director who has turned to the sleazy genre is Partho Ghosh. The man who once gave us interesting films like 100 Days, Agni Sakshi and Yugpurush is now busy making Meri Life Mein Uski Wife, Kaanch - The Broken Glass and Kahin Aag Na Lag Jaaye while his other films Panchhi, Surya and Mastana are still in limbo.

But the man who takes the cake when it comes to working on multiple projects is none other than the director who delivered one of 2005's biggest hits, No Entry. The man we're talking about is Anees Bazmee. Now his projects are definitely something to talk about. He has been on a signing spree post No Entry. He tops this list with an astounding 10 projects. While his long delayed films like Sandwich (earlier titled Hum Do Hamara Ek), Radheshyam Seetaram and Dil Dhadke Baar Baar almost seem to be shelved now, he is through with the Ajay Devgan starrer Benaam. Apart from that he is working with Rajkumar Santoshi on the remake of the Telugu hit Autograph, Firoz Nadiadwala's Welcome, a film with UTV and Ekta Kapoor each and finally on the sequels of No Entry and Mr. India.

Those who have been in Bollywood, know how uncertain a career here is. And these makers sure don't want to take a chance by putting all their eggs in one basket.

Anees Bazmee Film Producer/Banner Cast Status
1 Benaam Snigdha Patel Ajay Devgan, Bhumika Chawla, Sameera Reddy Delayed
2 Autograph remake Rajkumar Santoshi Akshaye Khanna Under-production
3 Welcome Firoz Nadiadwala Akshay Kumar, Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Firoz Khan, Katrina Kaif Under-production
4 A film with UTV UTV Ajay Devgan Pre-production
5 A film with Ekta Kapoor Balaji Telefilms Tusshar Kapoor Pre-production
6 No Entry sequel Boney Kapoor Anil Kapoor, Fardeen Khan, Salman Khan Pre-production
7 Mr. India sequel Boney Kapoor Anil Kapoor Pre-production
8 Sandwich (earlier titled Hum Do Hamara Ek) Smita Thackeray Govinda, Raveena Tandon, Mahima Chaudhary Shelved
9 Radheshyam Seetaram N Kumar Aishwarya Rai, Suniel Shetty Shelved
10 Dil Dhadke Baar Baar Dashaka Films Karan Nath, Gracy Singh, Amisha Patel Shelved


Priyadarshan Film Producer/Banner Cast Status
1 Malamaal Weekly Sahara Paresh Rawal, Riteish Deshmukh Releasing soon
2 Chup Chup Ke UTV Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor Releasing soon
3 Pirate Percept Picture Company Under-production
4 Bhagam Bhaag Asthavinayak, K Sera Sera Govinda, Akshay Kumar Under-production


Vikram Bhatt Film Producer/Banner Cast Status
1 Ankahee Pritish Nandy Communications Aftab Shivdasani, Esha Deol, Amisha Patel Releasing soon
2 Rooh (earlier titled Fear) Ramesh Sippy newcomers Releasing soon
3 Cellphone Pammi Baweja Zayed Khan, Sohail Khan Under-production
4 Untitled thriller Horse Shoe Pictures Aftab Shivdasani, Celina Jaitley, Amrita Arora and Jackie Shroff Under-production


Ram Gopal Varma Film Producer/Banner Cast Status
1 Darna Zaroori Hai Factory Amitabh Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh Releasing soon
2 Shiv Factory Mohit Alawat, Nisha Kothari Under-production
3 Sarkar sequel Factory Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan Pre-Production
4 Ram Gopal Varma Ke Sholay Factory Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Mohit Alawat, Mohan Lal Pre-