Moutho: Doing Punjab proud!
By Madhur Mittal

INDEED, he has come a long, long way from the days, when he used to scramble to catch the bus or hitch a ride to get to Chandigarh’s PU campus in time. After all, as the ‘star’ student at the renowned Department of Indian Theatre, he very well couldn’t afford to let his ‘rating’ drop by being a latecomer, right? Well, all that rushing around and hard work has paid rich (literally) dividends for the young man who was forever worried about his hair loss!

Because, today, he keeps his shining pate shaved clean and moves around (conspicuously) in his souped up, maroon Ford. The gentleman-villain’s name? Pramod Moutho!!!

Basically from Kapurthala in the Punjab, Pramod was always an (over) active participant in school and college plays... walking off with the coveted "Best Actor" award time and again, much to the chagrin of the rivals at youth fests! He was, very simply, the unbeatable best.

And so it continued. "I realised I would be a misfit in the family business and, since I obviously had a feel for acting, why not take it up as a profession?" Pramod lets loose one of his typical, devilish grins. "So I made my way to Chandigarh and, besides learning a lot there, I also bagged the highly prestigious Mohan Rakesh Gold Medal. Landmark reviews came my way at NSD (National School of Drama), New Delhi, in spite of Anupam Kher and Satish Kaushik as costars. That’s when I said to myself:

"Get ready for me, Bombay, here I come!"

The rest is truly history. With the mega teleserial, Chanakya, making title-role performer Pramod Moutho a household name, movie offers just deluged him. Daddy, Karishma Kali Ka, and then, he did Khalnayak, a movie milestone in menace! Since then, it’s just been the best of banners, films and roles for Pramod Moutho.

Drooling Devgun

Hey! Don’t get me wrong. Ajay Devgun is drooling alright, but not over his recent honeymoon with comely wife Kajol. No, the guy is anticipating a terrific public as well as box office response to "his dream" — the Devguns’ home production, Hindustan Ki Kasam, with Amitabh Bachchan in a "sensational role".

Well, it’s a fact that the movie has truly turned out tops... and there can be little doubt that it will be one of the genuine "biggies" of 1999. Stay tuned to this column, folks — you’ll soon be getting the inside dope on Devgun Ki Kasam!

Bicycle Rani!

Hindi film heroines have been cast as Nadia Hunterwali, Jungle Ke Beti, Jhansi Ki Rani etc etc. And now, we have "Rani Cyclewali"!!!

Believe me, the industry wags are clutching on to their bellies and guffawing away to glory, over the recent ad that Rani Mukherji has done for Hero Cycles. And, very honestly, I don’t blame them: I’ve been laughing with them, too! I mean, to start with, the basic concept of the ad is inanely incredible. And the ridiculous manner in which it has been presented is the utterly crazy clincher. Like, when a group of media persons chasing Rani finally catch up with her and demand to know where on earth she had suddenly disappeared, Rani says seductively: "I was with my real hero"... and the camera frame freezes on a cycle named "Hero Jet"!!!

Good God! Is money, money, money all that matters to today’s (materialistic) film stars of Bollywood? At this rate, we could soon see them doing ads for a particular brand of a hot water bag or, maybe, a toilet flush.

Anil in the box

So film-maker David Dhawan has pocketed a superhit once more with Biwi No.I. In many ways, it was expected to happen, because the trial shows and previews of the movie had clearly showcased its box office potential aplenty.

Now Karisma Kapoor and Sushmita Sen were emphatically marked out for some rave reviews... but the big surprise has been Anil Kapoor! Viewers have really flipped over his portrayal (the "Mirchee" song being quite a highlight) and a whole lot of cine-goers have repeated the film just for Anil, imagine!

I guess it just goes to prove the general public’s totally unpredictable likes or dislikes, right? In any case, for the success of the film, Anil has literally proved to be a (delightful) Jack In The Box!