Remember the big dramatic sequence in Prakash Mehra’s Zanjeer where the Big B playing the scowling ireful cop Vijay drags Jaya bhaduri, the reluctant eyewitness for the villain Teja’s crime, into the hospital to show her first-hand the mayhem that he has caused? This week director Apoorva Lakhia shot that sequence with Ramcharan Teja and Priyanka Chopra for the neo-<em>Zanjeer</em>. And the venue of the shooting was Ramcharan’s wife Upasana Kamineni’s hospital the massive pride of Hyderabad, the Apollo.

The presence of Priyanka Chopra in Hyderabad and that too to shoot a Telugu film with Ramcharan Teja, has created a mammoth crowd-interest in the city. On Friday evening when Priyanka arrived in the city to shoot for Apoorva Lakhia’s Hindi-Telugu bi-lingual <em>Zanjeer</em>, 3000 youngsters gathered at her hotel (The Park Hotel). Says our eyewitness, “Friday evening is pub and disco time for youngsters in Hyderabad. Not this weekend. As soon as they heard of Priyanka’s arrival they headed towards her hotel.”

Atul Kulkarni, known for his roles in films like Challis Chowrasi, Delhi 6, Rang De Basanti and Page 3, will be seen next in Zanjeer remake. Claims Atul, "I would be working in the Zanjeer remake and the role that I play is completely new and original. It was not there in the 1973 film. Apoorva has written the role and it is really good." However, he doesn’t divulge any thing further. "I am yet to start shooting for the film. It would begin from this month end," he adds.

Priyanka Chopra flew in to Mumbai from the US on Thursday morning for a very special appointment with Kuwait-based international designer Pria Kataria Puri. Known for her international couture which yokes Indian and global designs into one statement of grace, Pria has so far avoided doing up the Bollywood divas in any of their movies, although there’s been no dearth of requests. But when Priyanka wanted Pria Puri for the clothes and styling in Zanjeer the designer couldn’t say no.

On August 28, 2012 this writer had reported in Mumbai Mirror that Sanjay Dutt would be playing the iconic Pathan Sher Khan in Apoorva Lakhia’s remake of Prakash Mehra’s <em>Zanjeer</em>. At that time Dutt and his faithful team stoutly denied the reports and even accused the remakers of cashing in on his name prematurely. Dutt, we hear, was influenced by some of his friends and well-wishers against doing the film. Uncertain about the star’s intentions , the makers of the neo-<em>Zanjeer</em> went and negotiated with Sonu Sood to play Sher Khan.

By now we are all aware of the well-broadcast cast of Apoorva Lakhia’s Zanjeer, the remake of the 1973 Amitabh Bachchan blockbuster featuring Telugu superstar Ramcharan Teja in the lead. What we don’t know is that there was a casting panic in the unit when no actor could be found for one of the key roles. We’re talking about the white stallion that formed a crucial part of the Salim-Javed script.

After Arjun Rampal’s denial, Amit Mehra, the producer of the remake of the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Zanjeer, Sonu Sood has been approached once again for playing the iconic role of Sher Khan in the film. Confirming that he has been approached for the role, Sonu said, "Yes I have been approached for the role of Sher Khan. But nothing has been finalised yet. I have not confirmed the project on paper yet," Sonu told us. It may be remembered that Pran had given a memorable performance as Sher Khan in Prakash Mehra's 1973 hit <em>Zanjeer</em>.

The new-age Zanjeer just got a lot sexier. Mahie Gill who plays the new-age vamp Mona Darling, done to seductive heights by Bindu in the 1973 version of <em>Zanjeer</em>, flew to Bangkok to shoot some of the funniest sex scenes of her life. Apparently Mahie plays an extremely libidinous Mona who has the constant hots for the villain Teja played by Prakash Raj. But somehow, we hear, Mona doesn’t…err get it.

She is currently so much into her singing that Priyanka Chopra could well become a professional singer. A leading filmmaker who has heard portions of the international album that she’s currently working in Los Angeles just can’t stop raving about her singing. Says the filmmaker, “She sounds better than many of the professional playback singers of today. I’ve never heard any actor sing so beautifully. I want her to sing in my film. But she won’t.”

Salman is no longer just the spin-doctor on his own projects. Known to be a very active and dominant force behind his own projects Salman has now taken charge of Ramcharan Teja’s Bollywood debut. Recently, Salman had a meeting at his residence with Ramcharan Teja and the Zanjeer director Apoorva Lakhia where he suggested some radical changes in the Zanjeer remake, including the way Priyanka Chopra’s character was to be packaged and portrayed.