Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi star in �Lage Raho Munnabhai.�

�Lage Raho Munnabhai�: Starring Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Boman Irani, Vidya Balan, Jimmy Shergill, Dia Mirza; directed by Rajkumar Hirani; music by Shantanu Moitra.

The loveable hero Munnabhai played by Sanjay Dutt is back with his trusty sidekick Circuit, played by Arshad Warsi. This sequel to �Munnabhai MBBS� promises to be a heart-warming entertainer full of laughs. Vidya Balan joins the cast as Jhanvi, a radio jockey with a daily show, who Munna falls for before even meeting. Of course, nothing is simple, Jhanvi believes Munna to be a history professor. A situation arises where Munna must deliver a history lecture and the unexpected happens. Munna comes face to face with Gandhiji! What happens when a bhai meets a reformer � they work together for a common goal, that�s what. Booman Irani plays Lucky Singh, the adversary, who is a rich builder and Dia Mirza plays his daughter who favors values over wealth. Jimmy Shergill is Victor D�Souza, a young man trying to make it big fighting a losing battle.

	Sanjay Suri and Urmila Matondkar party in �Bas Ek Pal.�

�Bas Ek Pal�: Starring Sanjay Suri, Urmila Matondkar, Juhi Chawla, Jimmy Shergill, Rehaan Engineer; directed by Onir; music by Vivek Phillip, Mithoon, and Pritam.

By the director of �My Brother Nikhil,� this film explores modern relationships. Set in Mumbai, it tells the story of five people tied by an irrevocable incident. Sanjay Suri plays Nikhil Kapoor, a flamboyant, witty, single guy. Among his friends is Rahul, played by Jimmy Shergill, a sensitive introvert in charge of the family business. Juhi Chawla, portrays Ira Malhotra, a former Miss India who gave up the life of glamour to marry the man she loves and now finds herself wanting out. Urmila Matondkar is Anamika, an ambitious engineer who is aware of her good looks and believes in having fun. One night, Anamika meets Nikhil at a club, the attraction is instant but she disappears without telling her name. Nikhil frequents the place hoping to meet her again. Days later, he returns with friends when Anamika appears. A dispute occurs, which leads to a scuffle and a shot is fired. Suddenly, Nikhil realizes he is holding the gun. Everyone has a secret that changes everything. Watch out for the refreshing contemporary soundtrack.

	Anupam Kher plays a father of three grown children in the comedy/drama �Khosla Ka Ghosla.�

�Khosla Ka Ghosla�: Starring Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Parvin Dabbas, Tara Sharma; directed by Dibakar Banerjee; music by Bapi-Tutul, Druv Dhalla.

Filmed in Delhi, this comedy/drama focuses on relationships and has Anupam Kher playing Kamal Khosla, a father of three grown children, a simple man with simple desires. His life�s dream is build his own house on a plot of land he intends to buy for his family�s �ghosla.� He spends years saving up for this land. Unfortunately, that very plot has been reserved by a land shark played by Boman Irani who is willing to part with it only for a very large sum. Khosla tries various ploys to regain the plot and his colleagues also try to help him. Khosla sees his dream destroyed even further when his computer whiz son wants to settle abroad to pursue his career. Will Khosla ever be able to build his dream home and live with his family intact? Debutante director Dibakar Banerjee�s film was screened at this year�s Cannes Film Festival, where it was appreciated by audiences.

Though critics have been going over board that Karan Johar's forthcoming ambitious flick �Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna� is an unabashed remake of Yash Johar's �Silsila,� Johar asserts that �Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna� is his original idea and he refutes the claims that his story and screenplay is similar to Yash Chopra's �Silsila� or the Hollywoood Closer (film). On the contrary, Johar says that it was Sanjay Leela Bhansali's �Black� that inspired him to make �Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna.� The story revolves around the budding romance between Dev, played by Shahrukh Shah, and Maya, portrayed by Rani Mukerji. They are both married to different people and think they are content with their marriages. Dev is married to Priya (Preity Zinta) and Maya is married to Rishi (Abhishek Bachchan). However, when Dev and Maya meet, they realize that they are perfect for each other and thus they begin to question the validity of their respective married lives. The film explores how the strong feelings that Dev and Maya have for each other affect not only their lives but also of those around them.

RANI�S ROLE

In �Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna,� it is now Rani Mukerji who plays the role that was originally written with Kajol in mind. Mukerji was to play Preity Zinta's role before Kajol declined to do the film. Kajol declined the offer though she is close to Karan because she wanted to spend more quality time with her daughter Nysa and husband Ajay Devgan and was ready to act in the film only if Johar could shoot it in Mumbai. When Kajol declined, Rani Mukerji got her role and Preity Zinta signed up for Mukerji's former role. The original cast Johar had in mind was, Shahrukh Khan, Kajol Devgan and Mukerji.

GUEST STAR

Though John Abraham had been approached by Johar to act in one of the key cameo roles in the film, Abraham was not comfortable to play the fourth fiddle to Shahrukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Abhsihek Bachchan and hence refused to accept the offer politely, citing dates� problem as an excuse. Arjun Rampal, who has now come closer to Shahrukh Khan after doing a cameo role in Farhan Akhtar's �Don,� was more than eager to replace John Abraham.

NEW YORK-BOUND

Johar has written the story and screenplay of this movie along with Shibani Bathija, who incidentally also was the writer of �Fanaa.� Like all previous movies written by Johar (�Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,� �Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham,� �Kal Ho Naa Ho� and �Kaal�), this one also has a four-word-title and starts with a "K". This movie was shot in New York City, Westchester, New Jersey, New Haven, Philadelphia and East Hartford, Connecticut from September through December 2005 and the remaining shoots were completed in Mumbai from January 2006 onward. It is Johar's second production after �Kal Ho Naa Ho� to be shot extensively in the United States.

BACK TO MUMBAI

Though the movie was originally slated for release in May-June 2006, the release date was pushed to August 2006 because of Amitabh Bachchan's illness. Johar has stated that for the first time, the film explores the darker side of human relationships, and each of his characters has grey shades, unlike the previous goody-two-shoes characters in previous feature films. Johar has added one more song and filmed it with the entire cast in July and added to the film. The shoot was held when it was raining cats and dogs in Mumbai at the newly constructed state-of-the-art Yashraj Studio.

KAJOL SIGHTING!

Dharma Productions showed a two-minute trailer with the film �Fanaa� when it was released in May 2006. Sony has acquired the rights for the music. Though she could not oblige Johar when he had asked her to do a full-fledged role in �Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna,� Kajol will be seen in a guest appearance in a song involving the entire cast. Can you beat it? In the song, which was filmed in July, Kajol will be seen for four seconds.

Jyothi Venkatesh is a veteran film journalist, friend and former colleague of Khaas Baat. He is based in Mumbai, the cradle of Bollywood.