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'Not without my son'

In circles where it really matters, the buzz is that Big Bachchan has been recommending son Abhishek to a bunch of filmmakers. The first in the line is director J P Dutta's long planned film Aakhri Moghul, which revolves around Bahadur Shah Zafar...

and his son Mirza Moghul. Last heard was that he had signed Big B. Now comes the news that Abhishek is on board, too.

A source says, 'After the Abhi-Ash wedding, J P Dutta has had a couple of meetings with Big B. Apparently, Big B wants to be part of the film only if Abhishek essays the role of the crown prince Mirza Moghul.'

Even industry sources reveal that along with bahu Aishwarya, the Bachchans are looking at forming a camp of their own when it comes to pitching for films and ad campaigns.

As far as Big B going out of his way to recommend beta and bahu is concerned, Taran Adarsh says, 'Every father wants his son to attain success, and that's a very common practice in the industry.

'It works for them as it ensures a relaxed and healthy work atmosphere on the sets.' It's a lesser-known fact that J P Dutta had plans of launching Abhishek with Aakhri Moghul.

However, he abandoned the project for reasons best known only to him. Back then, he had no plans of casting Big B, but had signed on Bipasha Basu as the lead actress. Recently, when he restored the project he wanted Amitabh Bachchan to essay the role of Bahadur Shah Zafar and was considering a few other actors apart from Abhishek.

Industry insiders also reveal that J P Dutta is in a tearing hurry to hit the floors as Ketan Mehta has plans of doing a period film on Bahadur Shah Zafar. When quizzed about pulling off a casting coup with the Bachchans, J P Dutta's wife Bindya Goswami simply laughed, but refused to say anything more than, 'The cast has not been finalised yet.'

Amitabh in Ravi Chopra's 'Pocket Maar'

AFTER HIS Baabul and Baghban, prolific filmmaker Ravi Chopra has cast superstar Amitabh Bachchan again in his forthcoming Pocket Maar.

'We've so far done Baghban and Baabul. And decades ago I directed him in Zameer. I couldn't plunge into another film with him just because of the rapport we share. The project has to be worthy of his presence. I'm now planning 'Pocket Maar' with Bachchan for early next year,' said Ravi.

Does the Big B play the title role again as he did in his earlier hit films?

'No, this time he plays the victim of a pickpocket's designs. For the man who commits the crime it's just another job done, and finished with. But what about the man who loses, say 10,000 rupees? What repercussions do this loss have on his life? Bachchan will play that man.'