Kunal Deshmukh, debutant director of Jannat, may not have imagined that he would have to shell out Rs. 5000 from his own pocket just to schedule an interview with a bookie. Since it was essentially for him to be interacting with a real life bookie in order to get his research right for his film which deals with the nexus of cricketers, bookies, match fixers, umpires and referees, he had no other option but to agree to the proposal and pay the ‘signing amount’!

The Bhatts — Mahesh and Mukesh — have always encouraged talents from across the border. In fact, in almost every film produced by them, a Pakistani composer or singer has always been associated with it. Besides, their last few films have had a theatrical release in Pakistan too. The latest is that JANNAT, their new film, will be premiered in Pakistan.

“Yes, there should be two premieres, in Mumbai and Pakistan, respectively. The Pakistani premiere is scheduled exactly a day before its release since we are planning a simultaneous release there,” Emraan Hashmi confirms, adding in the same breath, “It’s a love story primarily, with cricket and match fixing being the wallpaper — a subject both Indian and Pakistani audiences haven’t witnessed on the big screen yet.”

This incident happened just recently, during the final exam of English Literature. The question paper had the question as “Write the synonym of the words like ‘Eternally Natural Beauty”. All the scholarly people wrote more or less the following (since they had by-hearted from the Dictionary), “Eternally Natural Beauty is an adjective, which signifies in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest).” Phew! Too much of gyaan that!

More more more…The motto of motorized materialism seems to have overtaken contemporary life. Everyone wants the good things of life in the shortest time possible. The acquisitive spirit has seldom been defined with such economy of storytelling. Not surprisingly, a lot of Jannat, Mahesh Bhatt’s latest exposition on the excesses of materialism, is shot in shopping malls, expensive restaurants, and posh stadiums where money flows like unadulterated honey. And when our hero of the ‘modem’ times sees the love of his life staring at a diamond ring he walks into the showroom and breaks the show -window glass.

Jannat has enjoyed a fantastic first week in India as well as overseas which has confirmed it’s HIT status in a matter of days.

While next few days would decide the quantum of the film’s success, producer Mukesh Bhatt is leaving no stone unturned to make sure that the momentum doesn’t show a dip for this Kunal Deshmukh directed flick. Looking at the kind of success this Emraan Hashmi-Sonal Chauhan film is enjoying, the film’s prints have been increased all over.

The bollywood’s newly acquired beauty, Sonal Chauhan seems to be getting in news faster than any newbie. After the success of her debut movie Jannat, while the bollywood and fans seem to start loving her, there are few people who didn’t much like her success. A recent proof was the slap placed at her at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport, Mumbai by Sahil Zaroo, who was one of the accused in the drug case which involved Rahul Mahajan.