The time difference between India and America is so confusing.  Yesterday was Friday there, I think?  And there was no news.  And now it is Saturday and there is a lot?  I don’t know if that is because people are issuing statements/rumors on the weekend hoping they will be hidden, or if they put it out now hoping people will pay more attention since they have more leisure time.  In any case, my Friday news round-ups are always bigger than my Thursday ones.

(Also, I love the header image and have no explanation for it.  And I don’t know if I even want one)

Salman news!  Of several varieties.  First, he is back in court in Jodhpur on the Black Buck shooting case.  Now he is claiming that his statement was taken under duress and he was framed by the forest officials.  I don’t know if that is true or not, but I bet he is willing to push harder on a defense this case now that the much worse murder case isn’t hanging over him anymore.  Both because he doesn’t have to worry about how more coverage of the Jodhpur case might affect public perception back in Bombay, and because he and his legal team probably just have more time and energy to spend on the lesser charge now.  Oh, and only his sister Alvira and his bodyguard Shera went to Jodhpur to watch him in court.  So I think it’s not just Salman and his lawyers who are getting tired, I think his family is getting pretty sick of flying all over India ever time there is a hearing.  But it’s nice that Alvira came!  And Shera, of course.  But Shera goes everywhere.

In other news, Salman has announced that he won’t drink until the Sultan shoot is over.  This confuses me a little, because I thought he was already alcohol-free because of the Trigeminal Neuralgia.  But apparently he has only been mostly alcohol free for the past few years, no more constant drinking, but still an occasional glass of wine at a party.  But now he will be completely alcohol free until Sultan is done, as part of his fitness regime in order to play a wrestler romancing a 27 year old when he is 50 in real life.

(This condition.  Apparently, a variety of factors can make the nerves go off without warning, giving the sensation of being punched repeatedly in the face.  Or, to put it another way, “ow ow ow ow ow!”)

A while ago I put up a post about Krishna Kapoor’s illness and how the Indian press/public really does respect the privacy of relatives of stars, even if we think the lives of the stars themselves are completely fair game?  Well, here’s another example of that!  Emraan Hashmi’s mother apparently had cancer for a while and died yesterday.  And this is the first I am hearing of it!  Not only was she the mother of one of the biggest male stars in India, she was the wife of the cousin-brother of Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt, and the aunt of Alia and Pooja Bhatt.  And apparently she was staying across the street from Sanjay Dutt.  I am sure every reporter on the Indian film beat knew she was sick, and so did everyone in the industry.  But it wouldn’t have been right to publicize it, and the public wouldn’t have felt right knowing about it.  But now she is dead, and we all have permission to extend our sympathies to Emraan Hashmi and support him as needed.  Which, really, the poor guy!  Onscreen, he is the “serial kisser” and all that.  But off-screen, he married his high school sweetheart, works harder than anyone else except Akshay Kumar, already went through his 4 year old son battling cancer, and now has lost his mother to it.  I was already planning to see Azhar opening weekend, but if it would make him feel better, I’d be willing to watch Raaz 4 too.

(Also, I think he is a legitimately great actor.  Not when he started out, I’ve seen Tumse Nahin Dekha and he was pretty terrible in that, but in the past 5 years or so, when he tries, he can really really act!)

And in slightly less depressing news, Shirish Kundar is making another movie!  Shirish, NO!  Why do you keep doing this to yourself/us?  To be fair, I love love love Jaan-E-Mann, but I really don’t think there was any need for the world to see Tees Maar Khan or Joker.  And now there’s going to be another one?  At least it sounds fairly low-budget (maybe Farah has finally stopped writing him blank checks).  They are throwing out all this words that just translate to “cheap”.  Like, “set at a hill station” (no need to pay for studio space, just film in and around the hotel where the crew stays), “tense thriller” (simple plot, small cast, no fantasy scenes or songs), and “female role” (don’t have to pay a male star).

(Okay, there’s one reason we needed Tees Maar Khan.  Although this song lifts right out, if Farah wanted to, she could have slotted it into any other film she was working on.  So we still don’t really “need” Tees Maar Khan)