Screen siren Bipasha set to star in 'Jism' sequel

Actress turned-filmaker Pooja Bhatt, who received much acclaim for the sexy thriller Jism, has announced a sequel to the hit that had Bipasha Basu in the lead role and marked the arrival of John Abraham.

Bhatt, who's also gearing up for the release of Kajraare, is tight-lipped about the details of the sequel.

• WHILE Salman Khan may be basking in the super success of Dabangg, he is yet to deliver a hit opposite Kareena Kapoor. Now Khan and Kapoor have been signed for the remake of the Malayalam flick Bodyguard, which will be made by Khan's brother-in-law Atul Agnihotri. The talented stars have featured together in two flop movies - Kyon Ki and Main Aur Mrs Khanna.

NOW here's a power- ful combination coming together - Akshay Kumar, Prabhu Deva and the brilliant Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Hot news from Bollywood is that Deva will direct Kumar in a dance flick to be produced by Bhansali. Deva directed last year's super hit Wanted.

• SINCE the success of Oscar winner Slumdog Millionaire, Anil Kapoor has become one of the most-sought-after actors. Besides winning a supporting role in the hit TV series 24, the brilliant actor has been confirmed for a role with Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 4.

RAJNIKANTH'S Endhiran has shaken Bolly-wood as it is the first time that a Tamil film dubbed into Hindi has done so well. More importantly, it has raised the benchmark of Indian filmmaking and has now necessitated major changes to the new films of Shahrukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan in a bid to match the technical excellence of Endhiran. As has been the case with the release of all his films, the superstar will go to a Himalayan retreat to pray and meditate. No announcement about his future plans will be made until he returns next month. Undoubtedly, the most burning question is whether there will be a film that will bring together Rajnikanth and Jackie Chan on screen. That allusion was made by Sun Pictures, the producers of Endhiran, shortly after the explosive release of the film.

• TRISHA'S hope of making it big in Bolly- wood through the Hindi remake of Goutham Vasudeva Menon's Vinaithaandi Varuvaa- ya appear to have been dashed. Reports from Kodambakkam and Bollywood say she has been replaced by Amy Jackson, the Liverpool beauty who captured hearts with her soulful performance of Amy Anderson in the hit film Madrassapattinam. These reports say Menon has changed the script to suit Jackson. Neither Menon nor Trisha has commented on the reports.

COMEDIAN and character artist and a member of the opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, SS Chandhran, died last Saturday at the age of 69. Chandhran was returning from a political rally in Thiruvaaroor when he suffered a heart attack. He was rushed to hospital but declared dead on arrival. He was laid to rest on Sunday. Chandhran's heydays as a comedian was in the 1980s when he had a strong liaison with director Rama Narayanan. His role in Paati Sollai Thataathey was a critically acclaimed one, as were his roles in Engal Kural and Oru Murai Solli Vidu. He also co-starred with Rajnikanth in Maapillai and Uzhaipaalli. Chandhran acted in more than 800 films and was, until his death, a presenter of the popular TV show Vaanga Pesalaam on Vijay TV. He is survived by his wife, a daughter and two sons.

• PRABHU Deva has again said in an inter-view with a Tamil Nadu magazine that he plans to marry Nayanthara in the next two months. This is the second time in a month that the actor-choreographer and director has made such an announcement. This comes a week after Deva's wife, Ramlatha, filed an urgent application in the Chennai Court to compel him to provide a subsistent income for her and her two sons. She maintained in her application that Deva had neglected her children and that even when her eldest child was gravely ill, he had neglected them. This child died shortly before the release of Villu.

IS KAMALHASSAN negotiating a multi-starrer film? There have been reports that Kamalhassan has signed on Suriya, Telugu actor Ravi Theja and Malayalam megastar Mohanlall for his next film in which he will play the lead role. It is a well-known fact that Kamalhassan enjoys an excellent relationship with most actors across the linguistic spectrum and he has been involved in multi-starrers before.