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Udita bags lead in Pooja's film

June 21, 2003 18:22 IST

The long-legged Udita Goswami has been signed on as leading lady in Paap, to be directed and produced by Pooja Bhatt.

Pooja BhattHer costar in the movie is John Abraham. The story revolves around the actor who indulges in violence while the girl believes in non-violence.

Now shooting in Mumbai, Goswami confirmed the news but refuses to divulge more about the film.

The industry buzz is that Goswami is considering four more film offers.

Earlier, Bipasha Basu was being considered for the lead role. Apparently, price considerations were the reason why the actress was not finally signed on.

Basu reportedly quipped that she was never considered for Paap nor had she hiked her price.

Singing for their supper... and location too!

The four-member group of A Band of Boys (Sudhakar Pandey, Karan, Siddharth, Sherry and Chintu Bhosle), who star in Kis Kis Ko, found themselves having to sing in exchange for permission for a location.

When the foursome wanted to shoot in Planet Hollywood in Bali, where their debut film was shot last month, the owners bartered for a performance. The boys were sceptical, but obliged.

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai"The fans," say the foursome, "went crazy. We sang a lot of songs from our album and also from [Karan Johar's] Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which is a very popular movie there. In fact, all Indians are only known as Pooja, Rahul and Anjali!"

Their debut film Kis Kis Ko is about the travails of a rock band and costars models Bhumika Puri and Aparna Kumar. The band has composed and sung their own music in the film.

Vishal-Shekhar roll into Bollywood

Vishal-Shekhar made their debut with Pyaar Mein Kabhie Kabhie (Dino Morea, Rinke Khanna and Sanjay Suri) and Musu musu became the song of the nation. Four years later, they have two films -- Supari and Jhankaar Beats -- which are not just doing well on the charts and in terms of sales, but also have critics appreciating their sound.

Jhankaar BeatsWhat gives them an edge over regular music composers, according to the lead singer of the rock group Pentagram, Vishal Dadlani, is their ability to innovate, use influences and sounds outside the music industry and their professionalism.

Now signed for Sanjay Gupta's Musafir and Raj Kaushal's next venture, the duo says, "A lot of people get their breaks tougher than we did. But we believe if you compose well and are talented, Bollywood will find you."

Dadlani, who sang Tujhe chaand chahiye, says, "I didn't want to playback, but once I sang the scratch, they [Shekhar and director Padam Kumar] refused to let me change or record another voice."

Monika Baldwa