It’s a dumb question maybe: Do we really make genuine, 100 per cent proof political cinema? After watching Madras Café and Satyagraha, that’s what I asked the stalwart filmmaker Shyam Benegal on the sets of his under-production TV mega-series, Samvidhaan, on the making of the Indian Constitution.

A fortnight ago, I received more SMSes and inbox messages about the quality — or the lack of it — of Chennai Express. As an afterthought the friends, acquaintances and strangers added “Id Mubarak”.

Suddenly, movie star biographies are in. And to think that no one ever thought of chronicling the lives and careers of such greats as Guru Dutt, Nutan (what an amazing actress she was), Madhubala and Kishore Kumar during their lifetimes.

Believe this. The occult, the triumph of faith over evil, rough gangsters, and the scourge of terrorism, are Nollywood’s pet themes. Nollywood? That’s the name associated with Nigeria’s uber-booming movie industry.

I think she deserves a standing ovation. Manisha Koirala — nicknamed Manya — is back where she belongs, having combated a successful war with ovarian cancer.

N ow Ranb-ir Kapo-or may be yapping at their heels — and about time too. Yet, wherever I go (which is not to many places and parties but still), the top three conversation pieces are the Khan trio, followed by Amitabh Bachchan.

Now the last luncheon I relished was at Tabu’s. Never mind the fact that she’s so reclusive that she left me alone at the dining table, with just the spread of Hyderabadi biryani for company. Not the sort to make polite conversation, off she vanished into her chamber — which resembles a college girl’s, complete with a softboard, clothes scattered in helter-skelter heaps, and cola cans (diet) — never to emerge again.

So where’s the birthday party tonight? Now celebrity birthdays can be imaginative. Like in the midst of the shooting of Chennai Express on the far outskirts of Mumbai — according to reports, or rather publicists — Rohit Shetty had retired for the night at 10 pm. Nice... early to bed, early to rise makes a movie director wise.

Sometimes — why sometimes? — very often, I’ve been naïve or idiotic, or both when it comes to interacting with Bollywood’s biggies as well as small fries. Honestly, I should keep my mouth and mind shut.

Now let’s see: Is it possible to admire at first sight? It is, going by the “wow” effect made by at least a handful of newcomers in the past. Shah Rukh Khan in his TV serial Fauji, I could sense, was star material. Kajol jumped out of the screen with her oh-so-natural act in Bekhudi (never mind the quality of the film).