We heard it through the GRAPEVINE...



• In daddy’s footsteps

The latest in the line of star sons is Mahakshay — Mithun Chakraborty’s son, better known as Mimo, nicknamed after two of Mithun’s biggest idols, Michael Jackson and Mohammad Ali. “When Mimo first told me he was interested in films, I decided that before I invest any money in him, I wanted to see what he could do, so I asked him to dance for me. Only once I was satisfied that he could compose and execute a dance well, did I send him to New York to learn acting.” A normal enough story until Mithun adds, “He’s so good, he’s actually a better dancer than me.” Pater perfect.

• Dhoom dhamaka

After doing Dhoom, a Yashraj film, both Uday Chopra and Abhishek Bachchan have discovered a new-found fascination for motorbikes. While Uday plans to buy himself a shiny new Yamaha, Abhishek has no such plans. The reason? “My mum and dad won’t let me get one,” he says. Try a tricycle.

• Smells like teen spirit

A bunch of Delhi schoolchildren has released a rock single under Shubha Mudgal and husband Anees Pradhan’s label Underscore Records. Illusions, as the motley gang is called, is billing itself as India’s youngest rock band. A top notch PR agency manned the recent release of their single No Illusions, with RSJ magazine editor Amit Sehgal as the chief guest. Abhinav, Akhil, Shshvat, Tejaswam Vivaan and Prithvi showed off all the tricks in the book — from jumping off stage to the foot-on-the-speaker-guitar-dude routine to lie-on-stage-while-a-TV-camera-focuses-on-you. As Sehgal aptly put it, “Illusions is lucky they have the kind of backing they do.”

• Always a family affair

Sahara chief, Subroto Roy Sahara’s wife Swapna Roy has recently released her debut music album, Kabhi. And you get no points for guessing who released the album. Who else but Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan? When asked whether feature films were his next step, Roy said, “I never want to do this again. We are not prepared for it. There were so many retakes.” Wife Swapna, however, says she might do a similar project in the future.

• Thorn in the side

There’s a rumour in the air. The Sangeet Natak Akademi has apparently decided to create a new award category called ‘Best Contemporary Music’. And in an ‘inspired’ move, the first award is to go to the controversial Kaanta Lagaa remix that had created a stir last year. Shefali Zariwala’s back in the news. However, the officials in Sangeet Natak Akademi say frostily, “There is no such award. This is a rumour that is being spread by the producers of the album itself.” The raunchy pop album was backed by an even hotter music video that was on the verge of being banned. Would a Sangeet Natak Akademi award earn it respectability?

• Dividing a rupee
Shaukat Azmi is back after a long hiatus. She is going to read from her autobiography, Yaad Ki Rahguzar later this month. Azmi says the book is about her days with Kaifi saab. The book includes chapters on how they met, got married and other memories. “He used to earn Rs 45 per month as a party worker. Out of that Rs 30 used to go on his food and then he would spend Rs 15 which would go on Char Minar cigarettes and his bus pass. For my food he used to wake up early morning at 5 am and go sit under a tree and compose a Nazm for which he would get Rs 5 everyday, she says.