By now its common knowledge that Shah Rukh Khan and Arjun Rampal are close friends. The duo have starred together in super-hit films like Don and Om Shanti Om. Shah Rukh even made a fleeting appearance in Arjun's home production I See You that released a few years ago. Now SRK and Arjun Rampal will once again be seen together in Shah Rukh's home production Ra.1 to be directed by Anubhav Sinha. While Shah Rukh plays a super-hero kind of a character in the film, the buzz is that Arjun will be playing his nemesis. The sci-fi film which is expected to go on floors very soon features Kareena Kapoor as the female lead.

Katrina Kaif has a point to prove in Raajneeti. It's not just the National Award that she's aiming to get with her performance. It's the long-winded rhetorical dialogues that she wants to get tone-and-pitch-perfect so that once and for all no one would ever say she can't speak Hindi fluently. Surrounded in the cast with stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah, Manoj Bajpai and Nana Patekar who spoke super-fluent Hindi and Urdu and constantly ribbed about her chee-chee Hindi by her co-stars specially Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina has taken a vow to wow with her command over the desi language. In fact, every time director Prakash Jha wanted to get Katrina's attention on location, he would jokingly threaten to get her lines dubbed by another artiste. Not only did she get herself a private Hindi-Urdu tutor, she also got her director Prakash Jha to work on her dialogues and their delivery for extra hours. And now moving away from conventional dubbing techniques, Katrina is actually doing her lines twice every day, once on her own and then in her director's presence. Confirming this double-delivery duty that Katrina has taken on Prakash Jha says, "She once goes through the lines on her own the entire day. Then in the evening whatever words and lines I feel need improvement, she happily dubs them again. I've never seen such determination in anyone before. On location in Bhopal once when she had to do a sequence with Nana Patekar where she had to repeat the swearing-in oath- ceremony with Nana after winning an election, Katrina panicked about the long words and lines. She pleaded with me to cancel the shooting, prepared the whole day and then delivered perfect dialogues the next day." The dubbing for Raajneeti is also very important for Katrina to be eligible for the National Award next year. When Prakash suggested that he might need to get a dubbing artiste to do Katrina's intricate dubbing she had protested strongly pointing out her chances at the National Awards would be nixed. Predicts Prakash, "After Raajneeti no one would ever accuse of Katrina not knowing Hindi." Adds Katrina, "It was a challenge I set for myself. I've always paid that extra attention to my dubbing. But Raajneeti is really tough. Was I challenged by other actors speaking such fluent Hindi in Raajneeti? No, I always look at only myself as competition." Katrina admits her Hindi has improved considerably after working in Raajneeti. "None of my roles so far required any specific fluency in the way I spoke. When I got a chance I decided to work on it really hard."

Akon is coming to Mumbai on Monday to record a song for composers Vishal- Shekhar in Anubhav Sinha's Ra.1. The controversial singer's arrival is being kept under wraps. He's expected to be whisked away from the airport straight for the recording. Akon will be recording on March 9 and 10 before he quietly slips out of India. But hang on. He's expected to return to India in April for live concerts with Aadesh Shrivastav. Confirming Akon's recording in Mumbai, Ra.1 director Anubhav Sinha says, "Akon will be here for the recording on the dates you've mentioned." However, Anubhav very strongly contradicts conflicting reports in the press stating that Akon would also be acting in Ra.1. Says Anubhav, "Akon is only singing for our film. He is not acting in Ra.1." While Shah Rukh will lip-sync Akon's lines, the song in Hindi and English will also feature a female voice, since Kareena Kapoor will be dancing with SRK in the song. The female voice has not been decided as yet. But Kareena Kapoor giving playback for herself is not ruled out. Music composer Aadesh Shrivastav who's in constant touch with the American super-rapper has been informed of Akon's very hush-hush arrival to an undisclosed part of the country for a two-day visit. Says Aadesh, "Akon is coming to India this month. He'll be here a couple of days. Akon then returns to India in April, this time for concerts with me. We're at the moment working out the details and venues." Last month Aadesh recorded a raga-rap number with Akon in the US. Now in the light of all the brouhaha over Akon's Ra.1 recording, Aadesh will release a music video featuring himself and Akon. "It's basically footage that Akon and I shot while recording our song," says Aadesh. Get ready for an Akon blitzkrieg in Mumbai this month onwards.

Just a thought before I review this film... When you saunter in for the screening of a movie directed by a celebrated film-maker, a movie which has had a good run at film festivals, a movie which tilts towards art house cinema, it is expected that the critic shower the film with lavish praises and speak of it in glowing terms. If you don't, get ready to be ostracized by pseudos masquerading as messiahs of parallel cinema, get ready to be labelled a nincompoop by netizens, get ready to face the constant bitching and loose talk by the 'Balcony Class' presswalas. Believe me, a few people are in awe of such cinema and feel they need to prove how cerebral they are by praising such films. Now to the review! Either the film works or it doesn't. It's all about the story and how convincingly the storyteller narrates it. If the story is absorbing, you can't take your eyes off screen.

If it isn't, you break into a yawn, you fidget with your cell phone, you start looking at all places, except the screen. What you're attempting to say, is important. But how many people actually follow what you're saying, is even more important. ROAD, MOVIE narrates the journey of a young man and the people he encounters on his way. But the problem is, what is ROAD, MOVIE trying to say? You're clueless! Is it about the water mafia? Is it about a touring cinema? Is it a love story between an educated youth and a gypsy? Is it a road movie? The sole factor that stands out in this film is its breath-taking locations/visuals. They are more striking than the story. And that's the sad truth! Also, why is it that India is often projected as a land of snake charmers, as a poverty-stricken, hunger-stricken, drought-stricken country with beggars and slums all around? Is that what India is, in their eyes? Is this what we are trying to sell to the West and the world in general? That's really sad! Final word? ROAD, MOVIE caters to a very, very, very, very tiny section of movie-going audience, who have an appetite for 'festival films'. Vishnu [Abhay Deol], a restless young man, itches to escape his father's faltering hair oil business. An old truck beckons, which Vishnu sees as his ticket to freedom. As he sets off across the harsh terrain of desert India, he discovers he's not merely transporting a battered vehicle, but an old touring cinema. Along the way, Vishnu reluctantly picks up a young runaway [Mohammed Faizal Usmani], a wandering old entertainer [Satish Kaushik] and a gypsy woman [Tannishtha Chatterjee]. Together they roam in the barren land, searching for water and an elusive fair. The journey turns dire when they are waylaid by corrupt cops and a notorious water lord. ROAD, MOVIE starts off very well, but loses focus midway. Abhay's interaction with the kid and also Satish Kaushik is thoroughly enjoyable. But as the story unfolds, the movie loses its grip and starts going in circles. The plot works till Abhay and Satish screen the movie for the cop, but the portions thereafter aren't engaging, except for a sequence or two in between. The portions depicting the fair leaves you confused. Was it for real or a dream sequence? Also, the sequence with the water mafia [Yashpal Sharma] is absurd. This sequence - when Abhay trades off water for hair oil - doesn't gel well with the mood of the film. Even the romantic track between Abhay and Tannishtha looks far from convincing. The finale too lacks clarity and the remix version of 'Tel Maalish' is hardly there. Director Dev Benegal seems to have concentrated more on visuals than narrating a gripping story. Frankly, the story is so fragile that it's difficult to hold your attention in those 90 odd minutes. The screenplay is bland and what makes it worse is the fact that the plot unravels at a lethargic pace. Dialogues are well worded at places. Abhay Deol is a complete natural and this film proves it yet again. Satish Kaushik is first-rate. Mohammed Faizal Usmani impresses. Tannishtha Chatterjee does well. Yashpal Sharma is wasted. Virendra Saxena is efficient.

On the whole, ROAD, MOVIE is more for the festival circuit and some connoisseurs of art house cinema, who may savour it. That's about it!