Yesterday’s blind item was about a very interesting upcoming film. Interesting because this one has great performers in it, particularly a very-low profile actor, who does not do that many movies but when he does, it’s a must-watch.

This blind item is not about some interesting scoop behind the film’s story, instead it is about the casting and how the producer was threatened by a politician and asked to cast an actress of his choice. It’s like the 90s all over again when the underworld would do the same thing.

First off, this is quite a serious film and the producer is doing the casting for it? He must be super-involved. The actress of his choice is not that famous, but she has roles in films and a small but memorable part in ‘Sacred Games’ & ‘Angry Indian Goddesses’. She’s a very good actress, very talented. It’s that her parts in these pieces were small, but she gets her moment to shine. It’s like she is there in the background then her moment comes and she shines. Oh and she does a lot of good things for the people too off screen.

Speaking of ‘Sacred Games’, have anyone of you seen it? There’s a Ram Gopal Varma spoof bit in it, which is hilarious because it matches him to the T. The character even says, “Sridevi is Sridevi” when Gaitonde told him Kukoo is Madhuri, Sridevi and some other actress. It’s super funny, that’s the only part that stayed with her this season. Also, which actress made her debut in his film? We don’t want to say this, but ironically Katrina made her debut in RGV’s ‘Sarkar’ playing the role of ABJr’s girlfriend. But that film wasn’t about some goonda, so it must be someone else. Or, it might just be fiction!

Check out the blind item from Rajeev Masand.

Bollywood Blind Item

Political Favourite

A courtroom drama whose trailer has been making waves recently has had its own share of behind-the-scenes drama. Turns out that the makers had originally cast a very talented ‘arthouse’ actress in a crucial role, but promptly replaced the low-profile performer when the producer received a call from an influential political heavyweight who recommended another actress.

A reliable source within the film’s unit says the producer was reminded that the political big shot had sensitive intel on him that could “destroy” him personally and professionally if he did not cast the recommended actress.

The producer decided to replace the arthouse actress with this B-lister, hoping it would not hurt the film much. He did not want to meddle with the leading roles in the film and decided this key supporting role was the only one he was willing to sacrifice.

The actress who lost the part has featured in top Hindi and Marathi films including festival favourites and critically acclaimed darlings. She is not a household name—far from it—but is clearly an artist on the rise and one who has consistently got excellent reviews. She reportedly left the film without much of a fuss, but the crew has not let their producer forget that he revealed a complete absence of spine.

 

OSOP Guesses

B-Lister: Meera Chopra

Arthouse Actress: Rajshri Deshpande

Film: Section 375

Producer: Kumar Mangat