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Salman Khan. Click for bigger pic!

Sharmila Taliculam

Manmohan Desai's MKD banner has announced its next venture. Titled Yeh Hai Jalwa, this film's not a comedy, but an 'action entertainer'. And it stars Sanjay Dutt, Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor. The producers are still uncertain of the second heroine.

The film's being produced and directed by Ketan Desai, whose last film was Deewana Mastana starring Govinda, Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawla. That was a hit.

Pretty good show for Ketan, son of Manmohan -- the same director who helped make Amitabh Bachchan a superstar.

Ketan Desai began his career directing Jackie Shroff in Allahrakha, but that failed to make a mark. After that debacle, Ketan Desai retired to lick his wounds and then he came back with Deewana Mastana.

That saw his fortune change and now, batteries recharged, he is ready for another multi-starrer. Yeh Hai Jalwa should go on the floors from the 24^th of this month though it isn't clear how they'll manage if they have to work with a second heroine they still have to locate.

Sanjay Dutt. Click for bigger pic!

Kareena Kapoor is the find of the season. Younger sibling of Karishma and daughter of Randhir and Babita Kapoor, she has already got her launch finalised opposite Abhishek Bachchan in J P Dutta's Refugee.

The lady is reputed to be choosy, having walked out of Rakesh Roshan's film Kaho Na Pyar Hai which stars Hritik Roshan. In Yeh Hai Jalwa, she will star opposite Salman Khan who is currently riding high on a wave of success. His latest film, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, has already been declared a hit.

Sanjay Dutt too has had a hit -- after a long time -- in Haseena Maan Jaayegi. Kartoos and Safari, which star him, did nothing exciting at the box office.

But Haseena... had made people who matter in the industry sit up and take interest. Going by the image he's cultivated, Yeh Hai Jalwa should be right up his alley, wherefrom he usually emerges with cordite drifting from the muzzle, sweat gleaming on the muscles... You get the drift.

Kareena Kapoor. Click for bigger pic!

This is the third time Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan have come together. The first time, in Saajan, they had a hit. The second, Dus, was under production interminably and was shelved after director Mukul Anand's sudden death and the producers' subsequent inability to find a suitable replacement.

And coming back to Yeh Hai Jalwa, Desai still has the second heroine to decide upon. The screen tests are in progress and some of the aspirants are from places as far afield as Norway and Canada.

Executive producer Prakash Pange says, "It's not as if we can't get girls here. There are lots who have come for the screen test. But we liked the girls from Norway and Canada because we found them beautiful. But we haven't decided yet. Let's wait and see who we decide on finally."

According to Pange, this film will have a lot of surprise elements, which will be revealed as shooting progresses. But the climax, he assures us, will be visible only at the theatres.