Devdas is being remade again — this time, in Pakistan, by producer Nadeem Sha and veteran Pakistani director, Iqbal Kashmiri. Music is by Vajahat Atrye and is arranged by Uttam Singh.

The songs for the film will be sung by Indian singers, including Asha Bhosle, Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal, Kavita Krishnamurthy and Alka Yagnik. The film will star Nadeem as Devdas and Reema as Chandramukhi. The role of Paro is yet to be finalized.

Says Sonu, who was about to start Riyaaz for the song recording when we called him; “Uttamji asked me to sing a song”.

Zubeidaa’s all-star cast for both screen and soundtrack brings together some of the biggest names in modern day Indian entertainment.

THIS is the tragic story of a princess (Karisma Kapoor in the title role), narrated through the eyes of Riyaz, the son who never knew her.

Directed by 66 year old Shyam Benegal and set in the backdrop of the formation of the republic of India, Zubeidaa is the daughter of Suleman Seth (Amrish Puri), who secretly takes part in the shooting of a film. Her father is horrified and hastily arranges for her to be married to Mehboob Alam. However, circumstances after the birth of her son mean the poor girl faces a bleak future.

It is music composer duo Nadeem-Shravan’s forte to churn out the romantic melodies. Their music score for Tusshar–Kareena starrer Jeena Sirf Merre Liye is medley of catchy and trite numbers.

The album opens to the romantic mood with the title song Jeena Sirf Merre Liye which bears a stark resemblance to SRK-Kajol number Tujhe Dekha To Yeh Jaana Sanam. Yet, a commendable effort is made by female singers Alka Yagnik and Kavita Krishnamurthy to bring some freshness to the track, while the vocal rendition by Babul Supriyo is plain mediocre.

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MUMBAI: Devdas, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Rs 50-crore magnum opus about the unrequited love of an alcoholic may not have won an Oscar nomination, but it swept the 48th Manikchand Filmfare awards 2002 ceremony on Friday night.

It won 11 awards, including best film, director (Sanjay Leela Bhansali), actor (Shah Rukh Khan), actress (Aishwarya Rai) and best actress in a supporting role (Madhuri Dixit).

“Everyone asked me why I put in so much money into the story of a loser, but it turned out to be a winner,” said Bhansali.