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In search of ?sabse bada deewana?

HE HAS been wearing for the last 10 years the same brand/ model of watch James Bond sports. His room has a huge high-fidelity screen and a sound system that is constantly upgraded. He flies across the seas to check out newly released Hollywood films. His secretary hits the latest flick every Friday. He was also the inspiration for that episode of Darna Zaroori Hai that shows Manoj Pahwa defying death to check out the latest Ram Gopal Varma movie .

Published on: Jun 8, 2006, 24:19:00 IST
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HE HAS been wearing for the last 10 years the same brand/ model of watch James Bond sports. His room has a huge high-fidelity screen and a sound system that is constantly upgraded. He flies across the seas to check out newly released Hollywood films. His secretary hits the latest flick every Friday. He was also the inspiration for that episode of Darna Zaroori Hai that shows Manoj Pahwa defying death to check out the latest Ram Gopal Varma movie.

HT Image
HT Image

Anchor, actor and director Sajid Khan shared such personal trivia in context of the purpose for which he was in town—to pick ‘sabse bade deewana’ as part of the eponymous contest run by Set Max to crown the greatest movie buff of them all.

“My secretary is known to have hit the first show despite jaundice,” said Sajid, adding, “He has an uncanny gut feeling that never goes wrong. When Baghban was dismissed after bleak initials it was this guy who declared it would pick up and make the box office jingle.” Sajid will launch his next directorial venture in August. Titled Hey Baby!, the film would star Fardeen, Riteish, Akshaye and Vidya Balan.

Ironical as it may seem, though cinema has taken a beating from TV, it is the latter that has stood up to resuscitate the sagging celluloid fortunes. “Not cricket, or anything else, it is cinema and cinema alone that forms the sub-culture of our country that produces the maximum number of films in the world,” said Sajid, presenting a case in point that asked to sing a song, any Indian young or old would hum a film melody.

“A joke is a joke and at the end of the day everyone takes it with a pinch of salt,” he said about the wicked gags he pulls on the highest and mightiest of the industry in the TV spots and spoofs. “Every joke has someone at the receiving end, after all,” he justifies.

He interviewed Lucknow’s film buffs at Nehru Scientific Centre and would declare the names of who impressed him most on Thursday. Watch this space.

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