Tryst with destiny
Pratim D. Gupta
August 15, 1947: As the whole country rejoiced at their newfound independence, one Indian was more interested in the sweets that were being distributed and not the flags with them.
That was the “tryst with destiny” of Harilal Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a streetside beggar by the time Nehru was announcing India’s arrival to the world.
As a father-son story, Feroz Abbas Khan’s Gandhi My Father is not very different from Ramesh Sippy’s Shakti but it is the historical backdrop which turns everything upside down. In fact, there is so much of shock value in the going-ons that Khan (also the writer) has to deliberately jam the brakes on the pace to help the audience soak it all in.
The inner angst of Junior Gandhi — that’s what Harilal was called in Phoenix Settlement in South Africa — was so deep that he would try to change his future by changing religions as fast as he changed his clothes and appearances. But it was the past he couldn’t rid himself of. “Mera itihas lambi hai aur bhugol gol,” he cries in despair.
Thanks to a father who would “define the meaning of independence and then set its parameters”, Harilal was lost in his lineage. As years passed, he kept getting tonked around back and forth from South Africa to India and internally things got so bitter that at one point of time he says: “Whenever I fail, he (Gandhi) succeeds.”
But interestingly, they would both come back to each other from time to time looking for redemption. Harilal would first seek Gandhi’s permission, then his money and then even his identity. He almost tells himself: “I’m Gandhi’s son; how can I cheat?” Gandhi, on the other hand, realises that he could have done so much more for his elder son but cannot take out time to do so. In a telling scene, he asks Harilal to come back to him but, as the train rolls out of the station, he has to leave him there.
Yes, producer Anil Kapoor is right — this is a story that had to be told. And told with the responsibility that Feroz Khan brings on board. You can feel an overtone of Mahatma Gandhi’s insensitivity towards his son but the director never screams it out. Because he comes from a rich background of theatre, Khan’s script tends to become episodic in parts. But the stage-to-screen switch works with the stress on physical acting by the main players. Feroz also uses close-ups of on-lookers to great effect.
Harilal is Akshaye Khanna and not the other way round. Letting go of his familiar dimpled chuckles, Akshaye sinks into the role seamlessly. And the scene when he comes shivering home to his dead wife looks set to become one of the finest pieces of acting in the history of Indian cinema.
Darshan Zariwalla is so effective as Gandhi that you never miss Sir Ben Kingsley, which is quite an achievement. Even Shefali Shah and Bhoomika Chawla are knockouts as the ladies caught in the middle. Another hero of the enterprise is cinematographer David McDonald who uses natural lighting and colour schemes to great effect.
The silhouettes stay with you and so does the lingering question: Was Gandhigiri a fool-proof
formula?
Friday, August 3, 2007
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Interview: Salman Khan
Salman Khan. Shirtless, yet cloaked in mystery. Bad boy, yet a box-office hero. A boy who refuses to grow up, yet a man who looks hopelessly in love. A troublemaker, yet a rockstar. The enfant terrible of Bollywood is both this and that. That’s why he remains such a big draw as Prem in Partner 17 years after he burst on to the scene as Prem in Maine Pyar Kiya.
Director Rajkumar Santoshi once said, “If Salman would have been serious about his career, he would have been the biggest star ever.”
But Salman had other ideas. He chose to live life on his own terms, which meant living on the edge. Constantly. From the jungles of Mawad in Rajasthan to the streets of Mumbai, he would keep doing things that are just not done. And yet, the paying public kept giving him some of the biggest openings in Bolly history.
Why? “The audience also loves bad boys and Salman is an unapologetic bad boy,” says trade analyst Indu Mirani. “His films are always entertaining and he is invariably good in them. Also, Salman chooses roles that take his bad boy image forward.” But always with a seeti-taali twist.
Often it doesn’t matter what role Salman is playing. We have seen girls cosying up to their boyfriends in the darkness of theatres but going “oooh” every time Salman goes topless and “aha re” every time Salman goes teary.
“He is a complete rockstar,” says Partner director David Dhawan, who has worked with Salman on many hits like Judwaa and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi. “He is any director’s dream and he can give you whatever you want. Also no one can improvise as much as him.”
There is another Salman, swear his close friends. The one the outer world will never get to see, they add. The one Govinda had appealed to when the out-of-work minister was desperately seeking a role. He was promptly given Salaam-e-Ishq and Partner. And let’s not forget how Salman Khan was the one who recommended his friend for the role of Prem in Maine Pyar Kiya when he was being offered a career by Sooraj Barjatya.
He is the one so many Bollywood stars turn to in a crisis. “He behaves like a don but is really a darling,” says a leading lady.
With two Salman Khan releases — one with good ol’ David Dhawan and the other his first English movie — within a month, Pratim D. Gupta chats up the man...
A Salman Khan release this Friday after so long… How were your Partner(s) in crime?
Very good… (Brother) Sohail (Khan) as producer, David (Dhawan) as director and my brother Govinda as Partner. It’s the best place to be in — it’s like the extension of my home.
Govinda says his family will always be grateful to you because you gave him work…
Don’t believe him. He had spaced out his film work because he wanted to work on his constitution. When we read the script of Partner, we knew it had to be Govinda. So it’s not like I gave him a new lease of life or anything.
What was it like being in the same frame as Govinda?
Scary… (pause). He is too good. No one will look at me (smiles)… No, we aren’t competing with each other. We are partners… Govinda is just mad. He would not eat anything the whole day and then hog at night. He has the most unhealthy diet in the world.
Why did you sign an English film like Marigold?
Only because of Willard (Carroll)... He is the most genuine and straightforward guy I have met. He wanted to meet me for 15 minutes and he ended up in my house for the next four days. Also, Marigold is a simple love story and I really liked the narration. I play the Prem of Maine Pyar Kiya, 17 years later. If I did it in Hindi, people would have found it unbelievable. So Marigold is the first English film that I have done.
But you, of all the stars around, have never aimed to conquer the west or anything…
(Pause) I still don’t belong to that world… I feel I still have a lot to do in our Hindi film industry. So this is not an act of crossing over at all. Even if the film does very well or becomes a blockbuster I would continue to work here… I have approached the film the way I do my films here. It’s a love story and that too a musical one. It reminds me of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam…
Would you have done the film if it was shot outside India without any Indian connection?
I would do it. But only if it was Willard Carroll… otherwise I am not very sure… Willard wrote the dialogues just like the way I speak in real life. He would even sit with my father (Salim Khan) for suggestions. My dad, you know, is the best scriptwriter ever. So it was like a family thing.
Is there a difference in the working methods of the Hollywood crew as opposed to what you are used to in Bollywood?
Well, they are more organised in their work. They go about film-making as a process. Here the movie is sold even before it is made. So that is the difference. The work gets easier and simpler for them because they go step by step. Otherwise we are all people, human. They speak in English and we speak in English (smiles).
What do you have to say about your first phirang heroine Ali Larter?
When she first came to Mumbai, she hated me. We met at this restaurant called Olive and she hated the way I was being treated as a star. I would enter the place and 10 people would come across and greet me. She sat there and sulked. I told Willard, what perfect casting! Because in the film too her character is arrogant and hates all things Indian initially. But then the ice broke. We got along very well.
You play a choreographer in Marigold. How would you rate yourself as a dancer?
I dance a little better than Ajay Devgan and a little worse than Hrithik Roshan (laughs). But they always create steps for me which are easy enough. If they are complicated my fans can’t copy them, you see. But in Marigold, since I was the dance director, I had to work really hard to know all the steps.
Will you do more Western productions or maybe crossover films like Marigold?
No chance at all. Hindi films rock! First let me capture here, then I will think about Hollywood (smiles).
It’s said that very few people understand Salman Khan. Do you agree?
(Long pause) Whatever the press writes about me is just fine. They can write as many lies as they want. (At the) End of the day they feed their children, take care of their families, educate their children… from the salary they draw. If they are okay about that I am okay with that too. It’s fine. It’s like social work for me. If you are writing shit about me and you are writing something which is not true about me and supporting your families with it, I am fine with that kind of shit written about me. And if they want to do it at my cost, they are more than welcome. (Silence).
Finally, everyone’s talking about you getting married soon. What is the official news?
You tell me, dude! You have got me married so many times. I have no problem, just that my fans get worried every time (smiles).
Director Rajkumar Santoshi once said, “If Salman would have been serious about his career, he would have been the biggest star ever.”
But Salman had other ideas. He chose to live life on his own terms, which meant living on the edge. Constantly. From the jungles of Mawad in Rajasthan to the streets of Mumbai, he would keep doing things that are just not done. And yet, the paying public kept giving him some of the biggest openings in Bolly history.
Why? “The audience also loves bad boys and Salman is an unapologetic bad boy,” says trade analyst Indu Mirani. “His films are always entertaining and he is invariably good in them. Also, Salman chooses roles that take his bad boy image forward.” But always with a seeti-taali twist.
Often it doesn’t matter what role Salman is playing. We have seen girls cosying up to their boyfriends in the darkness of theatres but going “oooh” every time Salman goes topless and “aha re” every time Salman goes teary.
“He is a complete rockstar,” says Partner director David Dhawan, who has worked with Salman on many hits like Judwaa and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi. “He is any director’s dream and he can give you whatever you want. Also no one can improvise as much as him.”
There is another Salman, swear his close friends. The one the outer world will never get to see, they add. The one Govinda had appealed to when the out-of-work minister was desperately seeking a role. He was promptly given Salaam-e-Ishq and Partner. And let’s not forget how Salman Khan was the one who recommended his friend for the role of Prem in Maine Pyar Kiya when he was being offered a career by Sooraj Barjatya.
He is the one so many Bollywood stars turn to in a crisis. “He behaves like a don but is really a darling,” says a leading lady.
With two Salman Khan releases — one with good ol’ David Dhawan and the other his first English movie — within a month, Pratim D. Gupta chats up the man...
A Salman Khan release this Friday after so long… How were your Partner(s) in crime?
Very good… (Brother) Sohail (Khan) as producer, David (Dhawan) as director and my brother Govinda as Partner. It’s the best place to be in — it’s like the extension of my home.
Govinda says his family will always be grateful to you because you gave him work…
Don’t believe him. He had spaced out his film work because he wanted to work on his constitution. When we read the script of Partner, we knew it had to be Govinda. So it’s not like I gave him a new lease of life or anything.
What was it like being in the same frame as Govinda?
Scary… (pause). He is too good. No one will look at me (smiles)… No, we aren’t competing with each other. We are partners… Govinda is just mad. He would not eat anything the whole day and then hog at night. He has the most unhealthy diet in the world.
Why did you sign an English film like Marigold?
Only because of Willard (Carroll)... He is the most genuine and straightforward guy I have met. He wanted to meet me for 15 minutes and he ended up in my house for the next four days. Also, Marigold is a simple love story and I really liked the narration. I play the Prem of Maine Pyar Kiya, 17 years later. If I did it in Hindi, people would have found it unbelievable. So Marigold is the first English film that I have done.
But you, of all the stars around, have never aimed to conquer the west or anything…
(Pause) I still don’t belong to that world… I feel I still have a lot to do in our Hindi film industry. So this is not an act of crossing over at all. Even if the film does very well or becomes a blockbuster I would continue to work here… I have approached the film the way I do my films here. It’s a love story and that too a musical one. It reminds me of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam…
Would you have done the film if it was shot outside India without any Indian connection?
I would do it. But only if it was Willard Carroll… otherwise I am not very sure… Willard wrote the dialogues just like the way I speak in real life. He would even sit with my father (Salim Khan) for suggestions. My dad, you know, is the best scriptwriter ever. So it was like a family thing.
Is there a difference in the working methods of the Hollywood crew as opposed to what you are used to in Bollywood?
Well, they are more organised in their work. They go about film-making as a process. Here the movie is sold even before it is made. So that is the difference. The work gets easier and simpler for them because they go step by step. Otherwise we are all people, human. They speak in English and we speak in English (smiles).
What do you have to say about your first phirang heroine Ali Larter?
When she first came to Mumbai, she hated me. We met at this restaurant called Olive and she hated the way I was being treated as a star. I would enter the place and 10 people would come across and greet me. She sat there and sulked. I told Willard, what perfect casting! Because in the film too her character is arrogant and hates all things Indian initially. But then the ice broke. We got along very well.
You play a choreographer in Marigold. How would you rate yourself as a dancer?
I dance a little better than Ajay Devgan and a little worse than Hrithik Roshan (laughs). But they always create steps for me which are easy enough. If they are complicated my fans can’t copy them, you see. But in Marigold, since I was the dance director, I had to work really hard to know all the steps.
Will you do more Western productions or maybe crossover films like Marigold?
No chance at all. Hindi films rock! First let me capture here, then I will think about Hollywood (smiles).
It’s said that very few people understand Salman Khan. Do you agree?
(Long pause) Whatever the press writes about me is just fine. They can write as many lies as they want. (At the) End of the day they feed their children, take care of their families, educate their children… from the salary they draw. If they are okay about that I am okay with that too. It’s fine. It’s like social work for me. If you are writing shit about me and you are writing something which is not true about me and supporting your families with it, I am fine with that kind of shit written about me. And if they want to do it at my cost, they are more than welcome. (Silence).
Finally, everyone’s talking about you getting married soon. What is the official news?
You tell me, dude! You have got me married so many times. I have no problem, just that my fans get worried every time (smiles).
Interview: Akshaye Khanna
He cried. At a private show of Gandhi My Father, with father Vinod Khanna, Akshaye Khanna cried. A decade after he debuted with Himalay Putra, the son has risen. He was romantic in Taal, endearing in Border, engaging in Dil Chahta Hai and sinister in Humraaz... and yet, as Anil Kapoor puts it, “totally underutilised”.
Gandhi My Father was what the good doctor had ordered for Akshaye. As director Feroz Abbas Khan says, the role of Harilal — estranged son of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi — needed an actor and not a star. “And while Akshaye is definitely a star, we wanted the actor in him to come out,” says Feroz. “Right from the auditions to the sets, we realised that the lesser the star Akshaye became, his character became stronger and stronger.”
While Akshaye has always been promising, his choice of films has been far from satisfactory. Watching him admire Mallika Sherawat’s assets with a wig almost falling over his nose in an inane sex comedy like Shaadi Se Pehle was quite a torture chamber experience — for him and us.
But even in the mediocre material that has come his way, Akshaye has tried to bring a method to the madness. “You can hear his brain ticking all the time,” says Salaam-e-Ishq maker Nikhil Advani. “As an actor, he gives a director so many options in the same scene. He is one of the best we have.”
As Akshaye says in a chat with Pratim D. Gupta, the greatest of actors make mistakes. We hope Akshaye’s made his share and Gandhi My Father proves to be the turning point.
Your producer and your biggest fan Anil Kapoor says that Akshaye Khanna was born to play Harilal. Your comments...
(Laughs) That’s very sweet of him. The way I see it all the casting in the film has been done keeping in mind who suits the characters the best. Not just me, even Gandhi and Kasturba.
But Gandhi My Father is definitely not just another film you have done...
No, definitely. There’s something really special. Something that has exceeded my expectations. I was floored by the script but the film has turned out to be even better. I feel fully charged about Gandhi My Father. It’s really, really something to look forward to.
What made it special? The historical backdrop or the human relationships?
I feel it is the relationship between Harilal Gandhi and Mahatma Gandhi. No one knows about this story, yaar. What a beautiful story! What a moving story! Very few people even know about the existence of Harilal Gandhi.
The general feeling is that Harilal was so overawed by his father that he wasted his own life. How do you look at him?
I know people feel that just because Harilal had a troubled relationship with Mahatma Gandhi, he was weak. No. That’s not true. He was a tremendously intelligent, a man with very strong character. He had a mind of his own. How many people know that Harilal was Mahatma Gandhi’s right-hand man in South Africa? He was the first Satyagrahi. He went to jail so many times. Harilal was the first person to use fasting as a weapon for justice. He was the man who taught Gandhi that fasting can be used to fight against injustice.
Isn’t Gandhi My Father pitched as a family film rather than a historical account?
Yes, because here we are dealing with emotions that can never be dated, can never be irrelevant. What is the essence of the story? As my director (Feroz Abbas Khan) says it beautifully: “Here is a boy looking constantly for Bapu and confronting Mahatma.” Now, those are basic family values.
History is in the background. Freedom struggle, all that, is used as a backdrop. What is in the front is the story of a family. The sacrifices that all the great leaders of that time made was not just about going to jail. Families were ruined, relationships were affected. Now that you and me are talking here in a free country is because of those sacrifices.
You did not do any other film during the making of Gandhi My Father. Did you feel responsible for the job at hand?
Instantly. No two ways about it. I have never ever come across this calibre of writing. It just stunned me. There was no question about not doing it. The entire team just approached this film in such a way... the whole focus came from a place of honesty, of truthfulness. Just tell the story, that was the idea.
As far as research goes, since Harilal is not a known figure, my job became easier than Darshan Zariwala or Shefali Shah. Their responsibility was far greater. Because no one knows how Harilal looked, how Harilal talked, I just had to capture the essence of the man, the spirit of the man. Feroz gave me some material and said, it’s enough, just read it a couple of times and then just go with the script.
It’s said that everyone in Bollywood wanted to do this role, including Aamir Khan. Does that put extra pressure on you?
Why should that put pressure on me? My work is already done. It is canned. It is ready to be shown the world over. I can’t do anything more. And I do not feel that I could have given any more effort. There is no sense of regret or the feeling that I have left one stone unturned. I have really given everything to this role. Now we just want as many people as possible to be aware of the film and, hopefully, like it. Now if someone wanted to do my role, well, I can’t do anything about it.
After doing films like Gandhi My Father, is it difficult to get yourself to do such inane Bollywood romcoms?
Every film requires its own approach. I don’t approach my films as being unimportant or less important. When I am on the sets and doing my work, all the films are same to me. I have to be in the moment and I have to do my job to the best of my ability. To me there is no distinction. But the media and the public have their own point of view and rightly so.
You certainly can do better than Shaadi Se Pehle and Aap Ki Khatir...
All actors make decisions and choices which are part of their work. That does not mean that you choose not to work in certain kinds of movies. I did those films out of choice. Why should I be shy of it? If I made choices which ‘x’ number of people think have been bad choices, I accept it. I embrace it. But I have made that choice and I have gone wrong. And sometimes I have been right.
You pick the greatest actors in the world. They have all gone wrong. They have done films which have not done justice to them, which have disappointed their fans and well-wishers. That is the nature of the business. I am not Einstein. Hopefully those mistakes will become less but I will continue to make my choices. I am not coming from a space where I should be ashamed. I am not trying to run away from my work.
Will you do more Western productions or maybe crossover films?
After this I am not thinking of anything. Three of us — Anil, Feroz and me — are just going mad. It’s like we are delivering a baby. And when delivering you can’t think about anything else apart from the baby.
Gandhi My Father was what the good doctor had ordered for Akshaye. As director Feroz Abbas Khan says, the role of Harilal — estranged son of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi — needed an actor and not a star. “And while Akshaye is definitely a star, we wanted the actor in him to come out,” says Feroz. “Right from the auditions to the sets, we realised that the lesser the star Akshaye became, his character became stronger and stronger.”
While Akshaye has always been promising, his choice of films has been far from satisfactory. Watching him admire Mallika Sherawat’s assets with a wig almost falling over his nose in an inane sex comedy like Shaadi Se Pehle was quite a torture chamber experience — for him and us.
But even in the mediocre material that has come his way, Akshaye has tried to bring a method to the madness. “You can hear his brain ticking all the time,” says Salaam-e-Ishq maker Nikhil Advani. “As an actor, he gives a director so many options in the same scene. He is one of the best we have.”
As Akshaye says in a chat with Pratim D. Gupta, the greatest of actors make mistakes. We hope Akshaye’s made his share and Gandhi My Father proves to be the turning point.
Your producer and your biggest fan Anil Kapoor says that Akshaye Khanna was born to play Harilal. Your comments...
(Laughs) That’s very sweet of him. The way I see it all the casting in the film has been done keeping in mind who suits the characters the best. Not just me, even Gandhi and Kasturba.
But Gandhi My Father is definitely not just another film you have done...
No, definitely. There’s something really special. Something that has exceeded my expectations. I was floored by the script but the film has turned out to be even better. I feel fully charged about Gandhi My Father. It’s really, really something to look forward to.
What made it special? The historical backdrop or the human relationships?
I feel it is the relationship between Harilal Gandhi and Mahatma Gandhi. No one knows about this story, yaar. What a beautiful story! What a moving story! Very few people even know about the existence of Harilal Gandhi.
The general feeling is that Harilal was so overawed by his father that he wasted his own life. How do you look at him?
I know people feel that just because Harilal had a troubled relationship with Mahatma Gandhi, he was weak. No. That’s not true. He was a tremendously intelligent, a man with very strong character. He had a mind of his own. How many people know that Harilal was Mahatma Gandhi’s right-hand man in South Africa? He was the first Satyagrahi. He went to jail so many times. Harilal was the first person to use fasting as a weapon for justice. He was the man who taught Gandhi that fasting can be used to fight against injustice.
Isn’t Gandhi My Father pitched as a family film rather than a historical account?
Yes, because here we are dealing with emotions that can never be dated, can never be irrelevant. What is the essence of the story? As my director (Feroz Abbas Khan) says it beautifully: “Here is a boy looking constantly for Bapu and confronting Mahatma.” Now, those are basic family values.
History is in the background. Freedom struggle, all that, is used as a backdrop. What is in the front is the story of a family. The sacrifices that all the great leaders of that time made was not just about going to jail. Families were ruined, relationships were affected. Now that you and me are talking here in a free country is because of those sacrifices.
You did not do any other film during the making of Gandhi My Father. Did you feel responsible for the job at hand?
Instantly. No two ways about it. I have never ever come across this calibre of writing. It just stunned me. There was no question about not doing it. The entire team just approached this film in such a way... the whole focus came from a place of honesty, of truthfulness. Just tell the story, that was the idea.
As far as research goes, since Harilal is not a known figure, my job became easier than Darshan Zariwala or Shefali Shah. Their responsibility was far greater. Because no one knows how Harilal looked, how Harilal talked, I just had to capture the essence of the man, the spirit of the man. Feroz gave me some material and said, it’s enough, just read it a couple of times and then just go with the script.
It’s said that everyone in Bollywood wanted to do this role, including Aamir Khan. Does that put extra pressure on you?
Why should that put pressure on me? My work is already done. It is canned. It is ready to be shown the world over. I can’t do anything more. And I do not feel that I could have given any more effort. There is no sense of regret or the feeling that I have left one stone unturned. I have really given everything to this role. Now we just want as many people as possible to be aware of the film and, hopefully, like it. Now if someone wanted to do my role, well, I can’t do anything about it.
After doing films like Gandhi My Father, is it difficult to get yourself to do such inane Bollywood romcoms?
Every film requires its own approach. I don’t approach my films as being unimportant or less important. When I am on the sets and doing my work, all the films are same to me. I have to be in the moment and I have to do my job to the best of my ability. To me there is no distinction. But the media and the public have their own point of view and rightly so.
You certainly can do better than Shaadi Se Pehle and Aap Ki Khatir...
All actors make decisions and choices which are part of their work. That does not mean that you choose not to work in certain kinds of movies. I did those films out of choice. Why should I be shy of it? If I made choices which ‘x’ number of people think have been bad choices, I accept it. I embrace it. But I have made that choice and I have gone wrong. And sometimes I have been right.
You pick the greatest actors in the world. They have all gone wrong. They have done films which have not done justice to them, which have disappointed their fans and well-wishers. That is the nature of the business. I am not Einstein. Hopefully those mistakes will become less but I will continue to make my choices. I am not coming from a space where I should be ashamed. I am not trying to run away from my work.
Will you do more Western productions or maybe crossover films?
After this I am not thinking of anything. Three of us — Anil, Feroz and me — are just going mad. It’s like we are delivering a baby. And when delivering you can’t think about anything else apart from the baby.
Feature: Ray music in Wes Anderson film
Pratim D. Gupta
Anu Malik’s Chhamma chhamma was used by Baz Luhrmann in Moulin Rouge. A.R. Rahman’s Chhaiyya chhaiyya was used by Spike Lee in Inside Man. Even Shankar Jaikishen’s Kya mil gaya found its way on to the soundtrack of The Guru. But what Wes Anderson has done for his new film The Darjeeling Limited is sure going to make us a whole lot more proud.
Steely Dan may have openly offered its services for the soundtrack of The Darjeeling Limited but Wes Anderson, the maker of such neo-classics like The Royal Tenenbaums and Bottle Rocket, has gone ahead and used soundtracks from films by Satyajit Ray and Merchant Ivory for the film. This is indeed the first time Ray’s music is being used posthumously by a Hollywood production (Fox Searchlight is backing The Darjeeling Limited).
So, the first trailer of the movie, starring Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman, is out on the Net and the promo takes off with the Charulata theme before going off to songs — Strangers and This time tomorrow — by the British band The Kinks.
In his interviews, Anderson has admitted that he has always been a big Ray fan. “My main knowledge of Indian films is Ray’s films.... Ray’s work has been an enormous influence on the movie I am making in Rajasthan,” he said in an interview. “His films have inspired all my other movies, and I should dedicate the movie to him.”
The Darjeeling Limited, in fact, was shot almost entirely in India — mostly in Rajasthan — although it never quite made it to Darjeeling. The film revolves around three American brothers who take a trip together to India after the death of their father and disappearance of their mom. Mayhem ensues when they get kicked off a train.
While the film releases in the US on September 29, The Darjeeling Limited will first open at the New York Film Festival a day before. That’s often been a good omen for an Oscar takeoff with The Queen, Good Night, and Good Luck and Mystic River all kicking off in the same festival. The movie, which stars Irrfan in a cameo, will also participate in the Venice Film Festival.
Anu Malik’s Chhamma chhamma was used by Baz Luhrmann in Moulin Rouge. A.R. Rahman’s Chhaiyya chhaiyya was used by Spike Lee in Inside Man. Even Shankar Jaikishen’s Kya mil gaya found its way on to the soundtrack of The Guru. But what Wes Anderson has done for his new film The Darjeeling Limited is sure going to make us a whole lot more proud.
Steely Dan may have openly offered its services for the soundtrack of The Darjeeling Limited but Wes Anderson, the maker of such neo-classics like The Royal Tenenbaums and Bottle Rocket, has gone ahead and used soundtracks from films by Satyajit Ray and Merchant Ivory for the film. This is indeed the first time Ray’s music is being used posthumously by a Hollywood production (Fox Searchlight is backing The Darjeeling Limited).
So, the first trailer of the movie, starring Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman, is out on the Net and the promo takes off with the Charulata theme before going off to songs — Strangers and This time tomorrow — by the British band The Kinks.
In his interviews, Anderson has admitted that he has always been a big Ray fan. “My main knowledge of Indian films is Ray’s films.... Ray’s work has been an enormous influence on the movie I am making in Rajasthan,” he said in an interview. “His films have inspired all my other movies, and I should dedicate the movie to him.”
The Darjeeling Limited, in fact, was shot almost entirely in India — mostly in Rajasthan — although it never quite made it to Darjeeling. The film revolves around three American brothers who take a trip together to India after the death of their father and disappearance of their mom. Mayhem ensues when they get kicked off a train.
While the film releases in the US on September 29, The Darjeeling Limited will first open at the New York Film Festival a day before. That’s often been a good omen for an Oscar takeoff with The Queen, Good Night, and Good Luck and Mystic River all kicking off in the same festival. The movie, which stars Irrfan in a cameo, will also participate in the Venice Film Festival.
Interview: Shefali Shah
Rohini Hatangadi won a BAFTA for Best Actress for her performance as Kasturba Gandhi in Sir Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi. Filling the shoes of Ba for the latest Gandhi film — Gandhi My Father — will be Shefali Shah. The actress who was in town earlier this year to shoot for Rituparno Ghosh’s The Last Lear, tells Pratim D. Gupta about the “challenge of a lifetime”.
It’s said that everyone in the cast had to go through many rounds of auditions. What about you?
That was the best thing. (Director) Feroz (Abbas Khan) at the very initial stage of scripting just wanted me to play Ba. It had to be Shefali, he said. Uma Da Cunha, who was casting for the film, told me that I was to do an important film and that it should be exclusive. Meaning I can’t work for any other film at that time.
That initially meant you couldn’t do Waqt opposite Amitabh Bachchan, being directed by your husband Vipul Shah?
Yes, I was asked to choose between Waqt and Gandhi My Father. Eventually things got settled because Vipul and Feroz are good friends. We could work out the dates. I still don’t know which film I would have gone for if I were to make that choice.
What did playing Kasturba Gandhi mean to you?
I was thrilled. It was a role any actor would die to do. I was really honoured to have been offered to play Kasturba Gandhi.
Does it put pressure on you that Rohini Hatangadi is synonymous with Kasturba Gandhi?
No... there’s no pressure. It doesn’t matter if I am better than her or she was better than me. All that matters is whether I have been able to be honest to Ba. There was never any competition. In Gandhi My Father it is finally about what a tragedy Ba went through. As a performance Rohiniji did a very good job.... But the way I see it, I do not want to be appreciated. People have to feel her pain.
Having been Ba, what, according to you, is the real origin of this pain?
The way I see it is that two men chose their own paths and followed them and the only person who got torn in between was Ba. So for Gandhi My Father to work, I believe that the audience must feel the pain that Ba depicts.
Mother to Akshay Kumar in Waqt. Mother to Akshaye Khanna in Gandhi My Father. You are making it a habit to play old women...
It is always difficult to play age. Because there is always a fear of looking caricaturish. What was easy about Waqt was that I had to play a definite age. In Gandhi My Father, I had to play the entire range from 20-25 years till she dies. And that is a very big journey. Any woman in her 30s or 40s is very different when she is in her 50s. Physically you can still adopt certain manners like talking slowly or walking with a hunch. But there are small details like I found out that my grandmother had the same voice when she was younger. You can’t really pinpoint how to go about playing age. If you hit it right, you are lucky. I know people who evaluate and research and do all sorts of homework. As for me, I go by my gut feeling. I can’t enact it, I have to feel it.
Do you think Gandhi My Father will do good things for your career?
The work I am doing now is some of the best work I have done so far. I have never done regular films. You look at Satya and Monsoon Wedding... both are benchmark films. Now, besides Gandhi My Father, there is Rituparno Ghosh’s The Last Lear. All these are incredibly special films. And you can add Subhash Ghai’s Black & White and Rakeysh Mehra’s Dilli 6 to that list.
Why isn’t your husband Vipul Shah writing something for you?
He doesn’t owe it to me (laughs). You probably write films for Amitabh Bachchan. Otherwise it would become self-centred showreels. If there is something worthwhile he will definitely offer it to me. I wouldn’t cast myself if I am making a film.
It’s said that everyone in the cast had to go through many rounds of auditions. What about you?
That was the best thing. (Director) Feroz (Abbas Khan) at the very initial stage of scripting just wanted me to play Ba. It had to be Shefali, he said. Uma Da Cunha, who was casting for the film, told me that I was to do an important film and that it should be exclusive. Meaning I can’t work for any other film at that time.
That initially meant you couldn’t do Waqt opposite Amitabh Bachchan, being directed by your husband Vipul Shah?
Yes, I was asked to choose between Waqt and Gandhi My Father. Eventually things got settled because Vipul and Feroz are good friends. We could work out the dates. I still don’t know which film I would have gone for if I were to make that choice.
What did playing Kasturba Gandhi mean to you?
I was thrilled. It was a role any actor would die to do. I was really honoured to have been offered to play Kasturba Gandhi.
Does it put pressure on you that Rohini Hatangadi is synonymous with Kasturba Gandhi?
No... there’s no pressure. It doesn’t matter if I am better than her or she was better than me. All that matters is whether I have been able to be honest to Ba. There was never any competition. In Gandhi My Father it is finally about what a tragedy Ba went through. As a performance Rohiniji did a very good job.... But the way I see it, I do not want to be appreciated. People have to feel her pain.
Having been Ba, what, according to you, is the real origin of this pain?
The way I see it is that two men chose their own paths and followed them and the only person who got torn in between was Ba. So for Gandhi My Father to work, I believe that the audience must feel the pain that Ba depicts.
Mother to Akshay Kumar in Waqt. Mother to Akshaye Khanna in Gandhi My Father. You are making it a habit to play old women...
It is always difficult to play age. Because there is always a fear of looking caricaturish. What was easy about Waqt was that I had to play a definite age. In Gandhi My Father, I had to play the entire range from 20-25 years till she dies. And that is a very big journey. Any woman in her 30s or 40s is very different when she is in her 50s. Physically you can still adopt certain manners like talking slowly or walking with a hunch. But there are small details like I found out that my grandmother had the same voice when she was younger. You can’t really pinpoint how to go about playing age. If you hit it right, you are lucky. I know people who evaluate and research and do all sorts of homework. As for me, I go by my gut feeling. I can’t enact it, I have to feel it.
Do you think Gandhi My Father will do good things for your career?
The work I am doing now is some of the best work I have done so far. I have never done regular films. You look at Satya and Monsoon Wedding... both are benchmark films. Now, besides Gandhi My Father, there is Rituparno Ghosh’s The Last Lear. All these are incredibly special films. And you can add Subhash Ghai’s Black & White and Rakeysh Mehra’s Dilli 6 to that list.
Why isn’t your husband Vipul Shah writing something for you?
He doesn’t owe it to me (laughs). You probably write films for Amitabh Bachchan. Otherwise it would become self-centred showreels. If there is something worthwhile he will definitely offer it to me. I wouldn’t cast myself if I am making a film.
Interview: David Dhawan
With Partner raking in a cool Rs 42 crore in its first weekend, across 900 screens worldwide, director David Dhawan’s off to just chill in Goa. But tell him how the film is doing great business in Calcutta (the eight shows a day in the first week went up to 10 shows a day in Week Two at the plexes) and he warms up to a chat. Here’s what the Baap of Comedy had to say to Pratim D. Gupta on what could well be the biggest Bollywood hit of the year so far.
Did you expect Partner to open so big?
I definitely expected the film to open big, but this big I had no idea. Kab kis film public ko kitna pasand aa jaaye kya pata (smiles)? But you know people were waiting for a while for a film like this. When the promos first came on, one could feel that people were eager to see Partner. But they have totally loved the film in the theatres. Now it’s almost become a family film, which wasn’t the idea initially.
How do you bring out the best in Govinda?
Uska mera toh magic hai. Arrey, we have done 16 films before Partner. Only I know how to use Govinda. I know him that well. Also, he’s performed in the film.
You’ve worked with Govina after so long. Did you find any changes?
I found him to be better. Baat toh wohi hai but he has become a little easy, a little subtle. Woh loudness chala gaya hai. He has got a hang of today’s acting. The best thing is that he stays in character throughout the film.
Judwaa, Biwi No. 1, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya and now Partner... your record with Salman is incredible too...
(Laughs) Yes. Salman is very different from Govinda. He is very good looking and dances superbly. His dancing is more today’s dancing, unlike Govinda’s. That’s why I put that scene where they dance to Just chill and Sarkailo khatiya. Both were from my films.
Were you conscious about who to give more footage?
Nahin, nahin woh scene ke hisaab se... Both are friends of mine. So that was never a problem. Also, Govinda is playing an underdog. That guru-chela thing had to come out.
Why did it take so long to cast them together?
These things happen on their own and they should be allowed to happen like that.
So is the sequel Tom & Jerry really on?
Nothing like that. Abhi toh picture release hua hai. We haven’t really thought about a sequel, to be honest. See, there has to be a script which takes it beyond Partner. Only then will I make another film with them, not for the sake of doing it.
What’s next then?
I have four to five projects in hand but I want to start something with Govinda immediately. I can’t wait to do a solo film with him.
Did you expect Partner to open so big?
I definitely expected the film to open big, but this big I had no idea. Kab kis film public ko kitna pasand aa jaaye kya pata (smiles)? But you know people were waiting for a while for a film like this. When the promos first came on, one could feel that people were eager to see Partner. But they have totally loved the film in the theatres. Now it’s almost become a family film, which wasn’t the idea initially.
How do you bring out the best in Govinda?
Uska mera toh magic hai. Arrey, we have done 16 films before Partner. Only I know how to use Govinda. I know him that well. Also, he’s performed in the film.
You’ve worked with Govina after so long. Did you find any changes?
I found him to be better. Baat toh wohi hai but he has become a little easy, a little subtle. Woh loudness chala gaya hai. He has got a hang of today’s acting. The best thing is that he stays in character throughout the film.
Judwaa, Biwi No. 1, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya and now Partner... your record with Salman is incredible too...
(Laughs) Yes. Salman is very different from Govinda. He is very good looking and dances superbly. His dancing is more today’s dancing, unlike Govinda’s. That’s why I put that scene where they dance to Just chill and Sarkailo khatiya. Both were from my films.
Were you conscious about who to give more footage?
Nahin, nahin woh scene ke hisaab se... Both are friends of mine. So that was never a problem. Also, Govinda is playing an underdog. That guru-chela thing had to come out.
Why did it take so long to cast them together?
These things happen on their own and they should be allowed to happen like that.
So is the sequel Tom & Jerry really on?
Nothing like that. Abhi toh picture release hua hai. We haven’t really thought about a sequel, to be honest. See, there has to be a script which takes it beyond Partner. Only then will I make another film with them, not for the sake of doing it.
What’s next then?
I have four to five projects in hand but I want to start something with Govinda immediately. I can’t wait to do a solo film with him.
Interview: Anubhav Sinha
It was Anubhav Sinha who devised the easiest way to ensure a hit. When Dus released in 2005, it was declared a hit on the first Monday and Sinha was throwing a party on Tuesday night. All it needed were the first three days for the film to rake in the cash. And now with Anubhav’s follow-up flick (Tathastu, released in between, was made years ago) titled Cash, you can expect the man to be counting the crores again. Pratim D. Gupta spoke to the Tum Bin man about his new release, which even has the curiously titled song Mindblowing mahiya.
Dus made the most of the pre-release buzz taking the first weekend by storm. What is the gut feel about Cash?
Well, the buzz is even bigger this time (smiles). Hopefully Cash will open bigger than Dus.
The two films look very similar with the guys walking on the streets all guns blazing and the girls in item-number mode. Will the sense of deja vu affect the movie?
I can understand where that’s coming from. Yes, both the films are action flicks and have a similar style. The music is pulsating. And both are multi-starrers. So the basic elements of both Dus and Cash are same but the subjects are entirely different.
How different?
Well, Dus was about terrorism, Cash is about everyone chasing three diamonds. It’s an out-and-out heist film.
When Cash is almost like a sequel to Dus why not repeat the entire cast?
Well, Zayed, Suniel, Esha and Dia are there. As for Sanju (Sanjay Dutt) and Abhishek, I would love to have them in all my films but I knew they were not available during the period I was
shooting the film. So I didn’t approach them because it would have been difficult for them to say ‘no’ to me.
Doesn’t Ajay Devgan look a bit too old to be part of the brat pack?
Ajay is great fun to work with. It’s a pleasure to work with a man like him. As for his age, well, he is young and very naughty at heart. I don’t know why he has consciously built this serious image around him. We have also tried to make him look like a brooding angry man.
One of the highlights of Dus was its technical finesse. What about Cash?
Cash is a step further in that direction. This time we have added animation to the movie.
Does it come in one segment like Kill Bill or in patches like Hum Tum?
The animation is there throughout the film. It is used very differently from the way we have seen animation being used. For example, in a scene where we see four cars drive away, we show it in animation. It’s a new approach visually.
You are making another action caper after this — Chase. Where do you intend to stop?
That will end my fun trilogy. The adolescence of my career will get over with Chase. Then I will move on to more serious cinema because I do consider myself to be politically conscious.
What films are you planning in that direction?
The adaptation of a play called Accidental Death of an Anarchist, written by Nobel Prize-winning Italian author Dario Fo. I have bought the rights to the play. Then I will be making another film on the investigation of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. Then my company will be co-producing an Italian film.
With Bond babe Caterina Murino?
No. I am in talks with Caterina Murino for a Bollywood film.
Despite Dus and Cash, many still remember you as the maker of Tum Bin?
I know. I myself am itching to do a fantastical love story but there has to be a story. I want to make a film with Tabu or Konkona some day. After Smita Patil, they are the goddesses of acting today.
Where did you get this love for fast action thrillers?
There is no direct inspiration, but I love watching the movies of John Woo, Brian De Palma, Michael Bay and Tony Scott. It was from their movies that I learnt to make these fun, fast thrilling films. I added good music and dance to them. Of course, in my films there is no blood. I have also made sure that there are no emotions in Cash. The one emotional scene in the film lasts for one-and-a-half minutes.
Dus made the most of the pre-release buzz taking the first weekend by storm. What is the gut feel about Cash?
Well, the buzz is even bigger this time (smiles). Hopefully Cash will open bigger than Dus.
The two films look very similar with the guys walking on the streets all guns blazing and the girls in item-number mode. Will the sense of deja vu affect the movie?
I can understand where that’s coming from. Yes, both the films are action flicks and have a similar style. The music is pulsating. And both are multi-starrers. So the basic elements of both Dus and Cash are same but the subjects are entirely different.
How different?
Well, Dus was about terrorism, Cash is about everyone chasing three diamonds. It’s an out-and-out heist film.
When Cash is almost like a sequel to Dus why not repeat the entire cast?
Well, Zayed, Suniel, Esha and Dia are there. As for Sanju (Sanjay Dutt) and Abhishek, I would love to have them in all my films but I knew they were not available during the period I was
shooting the film. So I didn’t approach them because it would have been difficult for them to say ‘no’ to me.
Doesn’t Ajay Devgan look a bit too old to be part of the brat pack?
Ajay is great fun to work with. It’s a pleasure to work with a man like him. As for his age, well, he is young and very naughty at heart. I don’t know why he has consciously built this serious image around him. We have also tried to make him look like a brooding angry man.
One of the highlights of Dus was its technical finesse. What about Cash?
Cash is a step further in that direction. This time we have added animation to the movie.
Does it come in one segment like Kill Bill or in patches like Hum Tum?
The animation is there throughout the film. It is used very differently from the way we have seen animation being used. For example, in a scene where we see four cars drive away, we show it in animation. It’s a new approach visually.
You are making another action caper after this — Chase. Where do you intend to stop?
That will end my fun trilogy. The adolescence of my career will get over with Chase. Then I will move on to more serious cinema because I do consider myself to be politically conscious.
What films are you planning in that direction?
The adaptation of a play called Accidental Death of an Anarchist, written by Nobel Prize-winning Italian author Dario Fo. I have bought the rights to the play. Then I will be making another film on the investigation of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. Then my company will be co-producing an Italian film.
With Bond babe Caterina Murino?
No. I am in talks with Caterina Murino for a Bollywood film.
Despite Dus and Cash, many still remember you as the maker of Tum Bin?
I know. I myself am itching to do a fantastical love story but there has to be a story. I want to make a film with Tabu or Konkona some day. After Smita Patil, they are the goddesses of acting today.
Where did you get this love for fast action thrillers?
There is no direct inspiration, but I love watching the movies of John Woo, Brian De Palma, Michael Bay and Tony Scott. It was from their movies that I learnt to make these fun, fast thrilling films. I added good music and dance to them. Of course, in my films there is no blood. I have also made sure that there are no emotions in Cash. The one emotional scene in the film lasts for one-and-a-half minutes.
Interview: Willard Carroll
From Sean Connery to Salman Khan. Willard Carroll explains the whys and hows to Pratim D. Gupta
You showed the first look of Marigold in June 2005 at the Amsterdam IIFA. The film is releasing in August 2007. What took so long?
It took around two years to get the finances together for the film. Making the movie was more of a breeze. Just getting the money for such an ambitious project took some time. The movie was never made with a certain time period in mind. So there’s no fear of it looking dated.
Why would someone like you, having made Playing By Heart with Sean Connery, Angelina Jolie and Dennis Quaid, want to make a Bollywood film with Salman Khan?
I fell in love with the movies here. All the projects that I have done come from a very personal space. I loved this place and these movies so much that I wanted to find a way to communicate my enthusiasm to an American audience who had never seen a Bollywood movie and would never necessarily come to India.
Which are these Bollywood movies that floored you in the first place?
The first movie that I saw here was actually Chori Chori Chupke Chupke. It was, of course, the first Salman film that I saw. Other movies that I watched were Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, which is probably my favourite because I find the film so beautiful. I find the emotions of the films here so compelling. So I wanted to do that, but I did not want to make an imitation Bollywood movie. Not a parody. I wanted it to be as real as possible. I wasn’t poking fun at it. I wanted to look at Bollywood in an affectionate way.
You making the movie must have automatically given it a very different feel...
Exactly. The first half of the movie is more comic. You know about the making of a film in Bollywood and all that happens behind the screen. The second half is more of a family-oriented comedy drama. The idea was to make it something that all kinds of audiences could follow very easily. I have always found Marigold to be the Indian equivalent of Under The Tuscan Sun. A woman travels and has her life transformed by travelling and finding love. Yes, Bollywood is a big part of it but you don’t have to know Bollywood to appreciate or follow the film.
Besides yourself and Ali Larter, there’s hardly any cast or crew from the West...
That was the idea. Since I am in many ways introducing Bollywood to the West, I wanted to use all the talent from here. I didn’t want to fly down a Hollywood crew to shoot the movie. So the cameraman, the production designer, the dance directors, the music directors are all from here. Because I wanted it to be authentic. Also I could have a short hand with all these people who have done it before. They saved me from potential disasters many times.
What was it like to actually go and shoot a song-and-dance sequence?
(Laughs) It was actually the most fun I have had on the sets of a movie because I have never done anything like that. The first song-and-dance sequence that we shot was only in the third week and it was the finale of the movie, having almost the entire cast. It had horses, elephants... It was this overwhelmingly big thing... And I had an actress (Ali Larter) who has never done this before! It was really invigorating. Yes, I did think: “What have I got myself into?” It was ultimately fun because otherwise it was not worth it.
And the hero just had to be Salman...
Yes it had to be Salman. I mean I wrote it for him. He was part of the project from the very first day. I based the character on his personality. Then I looked for someone who would be visually complimentary and also contrast in terms of personality. Ali really had that.
How did you find the Indian crew?
Oh, wonderful. Besides Salman, who was very generous, Anil Mehta, my cinematographer, was very supportive. Of course I had done my homework. I was not bullshitting people. Come on, I had watched Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam six times! It helped that they could understand I was genuine about my feelings for the industry.
It will be an all-new experience for the West but what is in Marigold for us Bollywood junkies?
For Indian viewers I think it will be fun to see a different take on a movie like this. Because a lot of these cross-cultural movies have taken cheap shots at Bollywood and tried to be kitschy or not tried to be kitschy but ended up looking kitschy. Hopefully the honesty of Marigold will appeal to people.
You showed the first look of Marigold in June 2005 at the Amsterdam IIFA. The film is releasing in August 2007. What took so long?
It took around two years to get the finances together for the film. Making the movie was more of a breeze. Just getting the money for such an ambitious project took some time. The movie was never made with a certain time period in mind. So there’s no fear of it looking dated.
Why would someone like you, having made Playing By Heart with Sean Connery, Angelina Jolie and Dennis Quaid, want to make a Bollywood film with Salman Khan?
I fell in love with the movies here. All the projects that I have done come from a very personal space. I loved this place and these movies so much that I wanted to find a way to communicate my enthusiasm to an American audience who had never seen a Bollywood movie and would never necessarily come to India.
Which are these Bollywood movies that floored you in the first place?
The first movie that I saw here was actually Chori Chori Chupke Chupke. It was, of course, the first Salman film that I saw. Other movies that I watched were Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, which is probably my favourite because I find the film so beautiful. I find the emotions of the films here so compelling. So I wanted to do that, but I did not want to make an imitation Bollywood movie. Not a parody. I wanted it to be as real as possible. I wasn’t poking fun at it. I wanted to look at Bollywood in an affectionate way.
You making the movie must have automatically given it a very different feel...
Exactly. The first half of the movie is more comic. You know about the making of a film in Bollywood and all that happens behind the screen. The second half is more of a family-oriented comedy drama. The idea was to make it something that all kinds of audiences could follow very easily. I have always found Marigold to be the Indian equivalent of Under The Tuscan Sun. A woman travels and has her life transformed by travelling and finding love. Yes, Bollywood is a big part of it but you don’t have to know Bollywood to appreciate or follow the film.
Besides yourself and Ali Larter, there’s hardly any cast or crew from the West...
That was the idea. Since I am in many ways introducing Bollywood to the West, I wanted to use all the talent from here. I didn’t want to fly down a Hollywood crew to shoot the movie. So the cameraman, the production designer, the dance directors, the music directors are all from here. Because I wanted it to be authentic. Also I could have a short hand with all these people who have done it before. They saved me from potential disasters many times.
What was it like to actually go and shoot a song-and-dance sequence?
(Laughs) It was actually the most fun I have had on the sets of a movie because I have never done anything like that. The first song-and-dance sequence that we shot was only in the third week and it was the finale of the movie, having almost the entire cast. It had horses, elephants... It was this overwhelmingly big thing... And I had an actress (Ali Larter) who has never done this before! It was really invigorating. Yes, I did think: “What have I got myself into?” It was ultimately fun because otherwise it was not worth it.
And the hero just had to be Salman...
Yes it had to be Salman. I mean I wrote it for him. He was part of the project from the very first day. I based the character on his personality. Then I looked for someone who would be visually complimentary and also contrast in terms of personality. Ali really had that.
How did you find the Indian crew?
Oh, wonderful. Besides Salman, who was very generous, Anil Mehta, my cinematographer, was very supportive. Of course I had done my homework. I was not bullshitting people. Come on, I had watched Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam six times! It helped that they could understand I was genuine about my feelings for the industry.
It will be an all-new experience for the West but what is in Marigold for us Bollywood junkies?
For Indian viewers I think it will be fun to see a different take on a movie like this. Because a lot of these cross-cultural movies have taken cheap shots at Bollywood and tried to be kitschy or not tried to be kitschy but ended up looking kitschy. Hopefully the honesty of Marigold will appeal to people.
Interview: Manisha Koirala
Blame it on her latest spiritual trip or the years she has added to her CV, the Manisha Koirala who breezed through Calcutta on Monday for a Ladies Study Group programme was a new woman. The newfound calmness seem to add to her inherent charm. Here’s the beautiful Bombay girl talking to Pratim D. Gupta...
You lost your grandmother a few weeks back. You were very close to her...
I grew up with her. She was the one who taught me Manipuri, Bharatnatyam... My grandfather sent me to Benaras with her. So my childhood, my decision-making years have been with her. So I was extremely attached to her. She was old... A few months back I had met her. She was ready to go.
What are you getting from your spiritual journey?
Free time for myself. I want to go to Paris and learn French cooking. Maybe Bengali cuisine... I love shorshe machh... But seriously, after attaining success and fulfilling your dreams and ambitions, money and glamour, whatever, one has to be a spiritual seeker. I am giving time to that. I want to have a complete balanced life. Films have been one aspect of my life. This is another aspect.
But don’t you miss acting?
I don’t at all. I will be working. It’s not that I will never work. But work very little. So I will be enjoying work and also enjoying other things in my life. Things that make me happy.
You plan to go into production full-time. But your first one, Paisa Vasool bombed badly...
That’s the past. I have already zeroed in on a director and a script. It will be a decent film in Hindi. We should start middle of next year. But I will not act in my own productions. I would not want to combine two things.
What about direction?
That is an ambition. I am not sure I will be able to do it or not. But direction is definitely one of my dreams.
The only film you’ve signed in six months has been Sirf. Why?
Sirf is about people from different classes of society — middle class, upper class, upper middle class... How they think that the other person is happy while their own life is miserable. He’s got a bigger car; he’s got a bigger house. The person who owns all that has his own set of problems. So he thinks that the other person is happy. The grass is always greener on the other side. This aspect of life is shown by focussing on three-four stories.
There’s a spiritual overtone...
Kind of (laughs). That’s why I may have done the film.
How was the Khela experience?
Lovely. I loved playing this nagging Bengali wife. It was a very sweet character. Prosenjit’s a great actor and Rituparno (Ghosh) a fabulous director.
After exploding in Bollywood with Bombay, don’t you feel you have not done justice to your
potential?
Honestly, till the question was asked to me I didn’t feel that. But not just you, others too have asked me this question. I guess, my fans and well-wishers expected me to do a lot more than what I did. Even for me as an artiste when I watch Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean, I want to be an actor like him. So, from my side as well, yes there is a vacuum. But I hope to fill that in the coming years.
Your favourite films?
Bombay, Dil Se, 1942: A Love Story...
You lost your grandmother a few weeks back. You were very close to her...
I grew up with her. She was the one who taught me Manipuri, Bharatnatyam... My grandfather sent me to Benaras with her. So my childhood, my decision-making years have been with her. So I was extremely attached to her. She was old... A few months back I had met her. She was ready to go.
What are you getting from your spiritual journey?
Free time for myself. I want to go to Paris and learn French cooking. Maybe Bengali cuisine... I love shorshe machh... But seriously, after attaining success and fulfilling your dreams and ambitions, money and glamour, whatever, one has to be a spiritual seeker. I am giving time to that. I want to have a complete balanced life. Films have been one aspect of my life. This is another aspect.
But don’t you miss acting?
I don’t at all. I will be working. It’s not that I will never work. But work very little. So I will be enjoying work and also enjoying other things in my life. Things that make me happy.
You plan to go into production full-time. But your first one, Paisa Vasool bombed badly...
That’s the past. I have already zeroed in on a director and a script. It will be a decent film in Hindi. We should start middle of next year. But I will not act in my own productions. I would not want to combine two things.
What about direction?
That is an ambition. I am not sure I will be able to do it or not. But direction is definitely one of my dreams.
The only film you’ve signed in six months has been Sirf. Why?
Sirf is about people from different classes of society — middle class, upper class, upper middle class... How they think that the other person is happy while their own life is miserable. He’s got a bigger car; he’s got a bigger house. The person who owns all that has his own set of problems. So he thinks that the other person is happy. The grass is always greener on the other side. This aspect of life is shown by focussing on three-four stories.
There’s a spiritual overtone...
Kind of (laughs). That’s why I may have done the film.
How was the Khela experience?
Lovely. I loved playing this nagging Bengali wife. It was a very sweet character. Prosenjit’s a great actor and Rituparno (Ghosh) a fabulous director.
After exploding in Bollywood with Bombay, don’t you feel you have not done justice to your
potential?
Honestly, till the question was asked to me I didn’t feel that. But not just you, others too have asked me this question. I guess, my fans and well-wishers expected me to do a lot more than what I did. Even for me as an artiste when I watch Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean, I want to be an actor like him. So, from my side as well, yes there is a vacuum. But I hope to fill that in the coming years.
Your favourite films?
Bombay, Dil Se, 1942: A Love Story...
Interview: Sudhir Mishra
After Bimal Roy and Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Sudhir Mishra and Anurag Kashyap are making their versions of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s classic Devdas. While both the new takes will be set in modern times, Anurag’s version titled Dev D (with Abhay Deol in the title role) will be more like Baz Luhrmann’s approach to Romeo and Juliet and Mishra will use Devdas (with his favourite Shiney Ahuja in the lead) as a take-off point for a modern political fable. Pratim D. Gupta talks to the Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi maker about Aur Devdas.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas was barely six years back. Why make another one so soon?
Devdas is Indian mythology. It is part of our heritage, like Mahabharata. But I am not making Devdas, per se. I am making a political film based on the current Indian political scenario which has got shades of Devdas. It’s also got shades of Hamlet. So it can’t be seen as another version like those made by Bimal Roy and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. I am not stepping into that area.
But you are planning to call it Aur Devdas and you are even having characters named Paro and Chandramukhi...
That’s the point. The title comes from the ethos of Ebong Srikanta. I am admitting an influence from Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Devdas and not the films that have been made on it. That’s the starting point. I am placing Devdas and Paro somewhere else and exploring the presence of Chandramukhi in that area. The essence of the relationships is very much there. It’s quite interesting... So while the characters will be there, the events will be very different and even the ending will be somewhere else.
But don’t you expect the audiences to come in with a preconceived notion?
They may also come in to watch a film made by the guy who made Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. In fact, Aur Devdas is more hard-nosed a political saga than Hazaaron. See, Devdas is very much in the public domain. The character of Devdas itself has so many facets, which have different appeal to different readers and audiences. In the novel, he was a man caught in his lineage, a victim of his heritage. In my film, Devdas is a victim of his political lineage.
But since you are adapting Devdas on celluloid, what is your take on the two most popular screen adaptations, those by Bimal Roy and Bhansali?
Whenever I see a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film, I see him trying to find a language. I am genuinely impressed by the way he shoots his films. He is the true inheritor of the V. Shantaram school of film-making. I found his Devdas interesting in parts but as a whole film I didn’t like it. It’s too excessive for my taste. I can’t enter such films. There is space for melodrama in all films but when everything from the camera to the art direction to music becomes melodramatic, it goes over the top.
Bimal Roy’s Devdas is the truest adaptation of the novel as far as mainstream adaptations are concerned. Although I prefer his Sujata and Bandini, Devdas is definitely one of his good films. It has a structure of its own and a great performance by Dilip Kumar.
Did you plan making Devdas keeping Shiney in mind?
No, I started writing the script first. Shiney being so close to me, he just told me that whatever you are making I am in it. Yes, he will be playing Devdas but he will be very different from Dilip Kumar or Shah Rukh Khan. The actresses I am yet to cast... I have just finished the script.
You must be aware that even Anurag Kashyap is making his version of Devdas...
Fantastic, no? I love Anurag Kashyap. I think he is the best thing to have happened to Indian cinema. He is a great talent. I will be waiting for anything he makes. I am sure his take on Devdas will be unique.
Khoya Khoya Chand was slated to premiere at the IIFA Awards. What is the status with that film and what is its essence?
They wanted an HD (high-definition) version at the last moment but we couldn’t get it ready in time. The film is now ready and we are releasing it on October 26. Through Khoya Khoya Chand, I have tried to understand 1950s’ India. Hope people get it. I have not been governed by the technique or the moralities of that time. I have only dealt with characters of that period. They were wild, romantic... Also, I have used music (Shantanu Moitra) like I have never used music before.
Khoya Khoya Chand is a love story between a film-maker and his heroine. Isn’t it based on Guru Dutt’s life?
My take on life is partially influenced by Guru Dutt. Besides Satyajit Ray and Martin Scorsese, Guru Dutt has been a major influence in my life. Pyaasa and Saheb Biwi Aur Ghulam are great cinema. Kaagaz Ke Phool was also about the romance between a director and an actress. So you can say Khoya Khoya Chand is inspired from Kaagaz Ke Phool. But there is not a single scene from there. Yes, there are oblique tributes, references through style and structure. And so if anyone says that my film is inspired by Guru Dutt or any of his work, I will be most delighted.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas was barely six years back. Why make another one so soon?
Devdas is Indian mythology. It is part of our heritage, like Mahabharata. But I am not making Devdas, per se. I am making a political film based on the current Indian political scenario which has got shades of Devdas. It’s also got shades of Hamlet. So it can’t be seen as another version like those made by Bimal Roy and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. I am not stepping into that area.
But you are planning to call it Aur Devdas and you are even having characters named Paro and Chandramukhi...
That’s the point. The title comes from the ethos of Ebong Srikanta. I am admitting an influence from Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Devdas and not the films that have been made on it. That’s the starting point. I am placing Devdas and Paro somewhere else and exploring the presence of Chandramukhi in that area. The essence of the relationships is very much there. It’s quite interesting... So while the characters will be there, the events will be very different and even the ending will be somewhere else.
But don’t you expect the audiences to come in with a preconceived notion?
They may also come in to watch a film made by the guy who made Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. In fact, Aur Devdas is more hard-nosed a political saga than Hazaaron. See, Devdas is very much in the public domain. The character of Devdas itself has so many facets, which have different appeal to different readers and audiences. In the novel, he was a man caught in his lineage, a victim of his heritage. In my film, Devdas is a victim of his political lineage.
But since you are adapting Devdas on celluloid, what is your take on the two most popular screen adaptations, those by Bimal Roy and Bhansali?
Whenever I see a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film, I see him trying to find a language. I am genuinely impressed by the way he shoots his films. He is the true inheritor of the V. Shantaram school of film-making. I found his Devdas interesting in parts but as a whole film I didn’t like it. It’s too excessive for my taste. I can’t enter such films. There is space for melodrama in all films but when everything from the camera to the art direction to music becomes melodramatic, it goes over the top.
Bimal Roy’s Devdas is the truest adaptation of the novel as far as mainstream adaptations are concerned. Although I prefer his Sujata and Bandini, Devdas is definitely one of his good films. It has a structure of its own and a great performance by Dilip Kumar.
Did you plan making Devdas keeping Shiney in mind?
No, I started writing the script first. Shiney being so close to me, he just told me that whatever you are making I am in it. Yes, he will be playing Devdas but he will be very different from Dilip Kumar or Shah Rukh Khan. The actresses I am yet to cast... I have just finished the script.
You must be aware that even Anurag Kashyap is making his version of Devdas...
Fantastic, no? I love Anurag Kashyap. I think he is the best thing to have happened to Indian cinema. He is a great talent. I will be waiting for anything he makes. I am sure his take on Devdas will be unique.
Khoya Khoya Chand was slated to premiere at the IIFA Awards. What is the status with that film and what is its essence?
They wanted an HD (high-definition) version at the last moment but we couldn’t get it ready in time. The film is now ready and we are releasing it on October 26. Through Khoya Khoya Chand, I have tried to understand 1950s’ India. Hope people get it. I have not been governed by the technique or the moralities of that time. I have only dealt with characters of that period. They were wild, romantic... Also, I have used music (Shantanu Moitra) like I have never used music before.
Khoya Khoya Chand is a love story between a film-maker and his heroine. Isn’t it based on Guru Dutt’s life?
My take on life is partially influenced by Guru Dutt. Besides Satyajit Ray and Martin Scorsese, Guru Dutt has been a major influence in my life. Pyaasa and Saheb Biwi Aur Ghulam are great cinema. Kaagaz Ke Phool was also about the romance between a director and an actress. So you can say Khoya Khoya Chand is inspired from Kaagaz Ke Phool. But there is not a single scene from there. Yes, there are oblique tributes, references through style and structure. And so if anyone says that my film is inspired by Guru Dutt or any of his work, I will be most delighted.
Review: Partner
Kya partnership hai!
Pratim D. Gupta
Partner will ‘hitch’ you. You will roll on the floor laughing and every time you try and get up there’s more madness coming your way. In two-and-a-half hours, you will revisit two of the funniest Bollywood partnerships of the last two decades. Of David Dhawan and Govinda (Raja Babu, Hero No. 1, Saajan Chale Sasural, Deewana Mastana). Of David Dhawan and Salman (Judwaa, Biwi No. 1, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi).
But it is the new partnership of Govinda and Salman that you will take home and hopefully be back for a sequel. Partner, above anything else, is the best cast Hollywood copy in a long time. Kudos to producer Sohail Khan for restricting himself to a photo frame and bringing Bollywood’s two biggest entertainers in the same frame. The script is flung out of the window, the story takes a backseat and the lines go for a toss. And you find yourself on the floor... again.
Forget Will Smith. Kevin James, who? Director Andy Tennant, who loves everything Indian and almost cast Aishwarya Rai in Hitch, would surely love this Bollywood version of his blockbuster rom com. Because Partner does copy Hitch — it’s the same story of a love doctor helping out a hapless lover while struggling to stitch together his own love story — but it also turns the original on its head. Like for the famous kissing scene, our love guru Prem (Salman) doesn’t theorise much and just tells Bhaskar (Govinda): “Ek kiss ke liye kitna sochega.”
The master of matter-of-fact gags, David Dhawan also garnishes his movie with a plethora of in-jokes. So you have someone saying about Salman: “Jodhpur se unka bahut lagao hai.” Or you have Salman pulling off his shirt and announcing: “Main to mauke mein rehta hoon shirt utarne ke liye.” There are digs at everyone from Aamir Khan to Shah Rukh Khan to Karan Johar. While Rajpal Yadav as Chhota Don is bit of a misfit, Suresh Menon as Kiran is a riot.
You don’t expect logic going into a David Dhawan movie but some loopholes are too glaring not to be commented upon. Why would a 1990 IIM Ahmedabad graduate get Rs 30,000 a month in 2007? Why would you keep showing Dubai and calling it Mumbai? Why would a party-beat reporter start dancing in designer clothes at a marriage party she is supposed to cover? How would a toy missile made by a kid set a jet-ski on fire?
It doesn’t matter, really. Neither do the pink blazers and yellow boxers. It all blends into the rangeen razzmatazz that is Partner. All you need is stupid cupid Prem and bloody Bhaskar to be together and make it rock. Watch the scene where Prem tries to teach Bhaskar how to dance. Govinda starts his pelvic thrusts to Sarkailo khatiya even as Salman goes into Just chill mode. The multiplex turns into a muhalla.
And yes, the old Govinda is back. So is the old David Dhawan. And their jugalbandi is as rocking as it always used to be.
His hairstyle may keep changing right through the film, but Salman is quite adorable. Thankfully there’s very little of Lara and Katrina. They are needed to look good and that’s a given with the two.
A couple of songs (Sajid-Wajid) could have been snipped off but the title song and You’re my love are fullto paisa vasool.
And hats off to Sanjay Chhel (screenplay and dialogues) for giving Govinda lines like: “Jahaan guru wahaan chela; aayee milan ki bela.”
Let’s just say this Salman-Govinda partnership is like Sachin-Sourav at their best. Get it?
Pratim D. Gupta
Partner will ‘hitch’ you. You will roll on the floor laughing and every time you try and get up there’s more madness coming your way. In two-and-a-half hours, you will revisit two of the funniest Bollywood partnerships of the last two decades. Of David Dhawan and Govinda (Raja Babu, Hero No. 1, Saajan Chale Sasural, Deewana Mastana). Of David Dhawan and Salman (Judwaa, Biwi No. 1, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi).
But it is the new partnership of Govinda and Salman that you will take home and hopefully be back for a sequel. Partner, above anything else, is the best cast Hollywood copy in a long time. Kudos to producer Sohail Khan for restricting himself to a photo frame and bringing Bollywood’s two biggest entertainers in the same frame. The script is flung out of the window, the story takes a backseat and the lines go for a toss. And you find yourself on the floor... again.
Forget Will Smith. Kevin James, who? Director Andy Tennant, who loves everything Indian and almost cast Aishwarya Rai in Hitch, would surely love this Bollywood version of his blockbuster rom com. Because Partner does copy Hitch — it’s the same story of a love doctor helping out a hapless lover while struggling to stitch together his own love story — but it also turns the original on its head. Like for the famous kissing scene, our love guru Prem (Salman) doesn’t theorise much and just tells Bhaskar (Govinda): “Ek kiss ke liye kitna sochega.”
The master of matter-of-fact gags, David Dhawan also garnishes his movie with a plethora of in-jokes. So you have someone saying about Salman: “Jodhpur se unka bahut lagao hai.” Or you have Salman pulling off his shirt and announcing: “Main to mauke mein rehta hoon shirt utarne ke liye.” There are digs at everyone from Aamir Khan to Shah Rukh Khan to Karan Johar. While Rajpal Yadav as Chhota Don is bit of a misfit, Suresh Menon as Kiran is a riot.
You don’t expect logic going into a David Dhawan movie but some loopholes are too glaring not to be commented upon. Why would a 1990 IIM Ahmedabad graduate get Rs 30,000 a month in 2007? Why would you keep showing Dubai and calling it Mumbai? Why would a party-beat reporter start dancing in designer clothes at a marriage party she is supposed to cover? How would a toy missile made by a kid set a jet-ski on fire?
It doesn’t matter, really. Neither do the pink blazers and yellow boxers. It all blends into the rangeen razzmatazz that is Partner. All you need is stupid cupid Prem and bloody Bhaskar to be together and make it rock. Watch the scene where Prem tries to teach Bhaskar how to dance. Govinda starts his pelvic thrusts to Sarkailo khatiya even as Salman goes into Just chill mode. The multiplex turns into a muhalla.
And yes, the old Govinda is back. So is the old David Dhawan. And their jugalbandi is as rocking as it always used to be.
His hairstyle may keep changing right through the film, but Salman is quite adorable. Thankfully there’s very little of Lara and Katrina. They are needed to look good and that’s a given with the two.
A couple of songs (Sajid-Wajid) could have been snipped off but the title song and You’re my love are fullto paisa vasool.
And hats off to Sanjay Chhel (screenplay and dialogues) for giving Govinda lines like: “Jahaan guru wahaan chela; aayee milan ki bela.”
Let’s just say this Salman-Govinda partnership is like Sachin-Sourav at their best. Get it?
Interview: Lara Dutta
Lara Dutta is having the time of her life — juggling Aishwarya Rai’s men past and present, on-screen of course! First the former Miss Universe did the Jhoom with Abhishek Bachchan. And now she’s busy playing Partner to Salman Khan. Lara, who till the other day was best known for her item number Aisa jadoo (in Khakee), has hit the groove. And she knows it as Pratim D. Gupta found out
Back-to-back films opposite Abhishek Bachchan and Salman Khan. This must be your best phase in Bollywood...
(Smiles) Oh yes, and I am very excited. You know, I wanted this to happen for a really long time. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom didn’t do that well at the box office but I personally got a lot of acclaim from the industry and outside. Now, I am getting much better work than I have in the past.
Why did it take you so long to establish yourself as compared to say Priyanka Chopra, who started with you in Andaaz...
It took me time to learn what works for me. I started out doing everything that a Bollywood heroine does, and then I did No Entry. After that film I realised that comedy was my forte. I don’t know of any actress in India who has better comic timing. It’s a lot about fate, what clicks for whom and when. But now I enjoy doing my movies and I have won a lot of appreciation from different quarters.
What does a David Dhawan movie mean to you?
I always wanted to work with David. I have loved his cinema. It’s a unique school of movies. Very spontaneous, very high energy... Someone like Govinda brings so much to a scene. Very impromptu... You have to be on your toes all the time because you never know what he is throwing at you next. It also helps you hone your craft.
No Entry was by Anees Bazmee while Partner is by David. What is different in their approach to comedy?
Anees pretty much works out of a script. So for No Entry, we adhered to the script. And then most of my scenes were with Anil Kapoor who rehearses a scene many times before going for the take. When it comes to David Dhawan, the script is there but it is a lot free flow. The actors, whether it’s Govinda or Salman, bring a lot of themselves to the scene.
Salman is your man in the movie. What did you think of him?
Oh, he’s great. I have only known Salman at a social level rather than on the sets. In Partner, I met Salman the actor for the first time. I found him to be a secure actor. He is happy and really helpful. I was very comfortable with him.
Between Salman and Govinda, where do you and Katrina figure?
Well, since Salman plays the love doctor and I am the only case he cannot solve, I am important (smiles). In fact, my character of the nosey, snoopy journalist is the turning point in his life because I am responsible for the change in him. It’s a really cute role and the prize was getting to work with David Dhawan. And watching Salman and Govinda together was such a treat. It was difficult to keep a straight face (laughs). There’s fabulous chemistry between them. The scene would happen right there as they kept feeding off each other. I didn’t even feel that I was working.
So will things continue to be ‘queen size’ from now on?
Yes, yes, yes! I am getting better everyday and I am signing some very good projects. I am sorry I can’t announce them because it is the producers’ prerogative to talk about them first. But they are substantial roles which audiences will surely appreciate on screen. Most importantly, it’s no longer about three scenes and two songs.
Back-to-back films opposite Abhishek Bachchan and Salman Khan. This must be your best phase in Bollywood...
(Smiles) Oh yes, and I am very excited. You know, I wanted this to happen for a really long time. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom didn’t do that well at the box office but I personally got a lot of acclaim from the industry and outside. Now, I am getting much better work than I have in the past.
Why did it take you so long to establish yourself as compared to say Priyanka Chopra, who started with you in Andaaz...
It took me time to learn what works for me. I started out doing everything that a Bollywood heroine does, and then I did No Entry. After that film I realised that comedy was my forte. I don’t know of any actress in India who has better comic timing. It’s a lot about fate, what clicks for whom and when. But now I enjoy doing my movies and I have won a lot of appreciation from different quarters.
What does a David Dhawan movie mean to you?
I always wanted to work with David. I have loved his cinema. It’s a unique school of movies. Very spontaneous, very high energy... Someone like Govinda brings so much to a scene. Very impromptu... You have to be on your toes all the time because you never know what he is throwing at you next. It also helps you hone your craft.
No Entry was by Anees Bazmee while Partner is by David. What is different in their approach to comedy?
Anees pretty much works out of a script. So for No Entry, we adhered to the script. And then most of my scenes were with Anil Kapoor who rehearses a scene many times before going for the take. When it comes to David Dhawan, the script is there but it is a lot free flow. The actors, whether it’s Govinda or Salman, bring a lot of themselves to the scene.
Salman is your man in the movie. What did you think of him?
Oh, he’s great. I have only known Salman at a social level rather than on the sets. In Partner, I met Salman the actor for the first time. I found him to be a secure actor. He is happy and really helpful. I was very comfortable with him.
Between Salman and Govinda, where do you and Katrina figure?
Well, since Salman plays the love doctor and I am the only case he cannot solve, I am important (smiles). In fact, my character of the nosey, snoopy journalist is the turning point in his life because I am responsible for the change in him. It’s a really cute role and the prize was getting to work with David Dhawan. And watching Salman and Govinda together was such a treat. It was difficult to keep a straight face (laughs). There’s fabulous chemistry between them. The scene would happen right there as they kept feeding off each other. I didn’t even feel that I was working.
So will things continue to be ‘queen size’ from now on?
Yes, yes, yes! I am getting better everyday and I am signing some very good projects. I am sorry I can’t announce them because it is the producers’ prerogative to talk about them first. But they are substantial roles which audiences will surely appreciate on screen. Most importantly, it’s no longer about three scenes and two songs.
Interview: Shriram Raghavan
To Shriram Raghavan goes the credit of changing the filmography of Saif Ali Khan. The director changed how audiences perceived the Chhote Nawab by turning him into a ruthless baddie in Ek Hasina Thi. No wonder Saif has asked Shriram to direct his first home production. But before that there’s another Shriram Raghavan film. Johnny Gadar has been waiting in the wings for quite some time, and now it’s ready to be unveiled. Pratim D. Gupta spoke to the director about the Septe mber 14 release and more.
Ek Hasina Thi released on February 24, 2004. What have you been doing all this while?
I have been writing, mostly. But the gap was not intended. Johnny Gadar, my second film, got delayed. Jhamu Sugandh was producing the film but he encountered some financial problems. The film was only 60 per cent complete. It was after a few months that Adlabs took over the film. The legal process took ages. Anyway, the negative was transferred, the edit was all done and the film is now ready for release. I promise to make up for the lost time in my filmography (smiles).
Won’t the film look dated since you have been making it for the past three years?
No. Thankfully the leading man in my film is a newcomer named Neil. So people haven’t really seen him. And he has been keeping a low profile anyway. Also, it’s a thriller. So it shouldn’t be a problem.
After working with big stars Saif and Urmila, why make a film with a newcomer and Dharmendra?
That’s one of the few good things I learnt from Ramu (Ram Gopal Varma produced Ek Hasina Thi). You do not choose the actors and then look for a subject. You find a subject and then look for actors who fit those roles. I couldn’t wait for one-and-a-half years for the dates of my stars. My film needed one man past his prime and another man around 20-22. In our industry there is no star in that age group. So we opted for a new face in Neil. As for Dharmendraji, now Apne is doing well. Then there’s Vinay Pathak whom people now know after Bheja Fry. So I am kind of lucky that the film got delayed!
Where did you find Neil (singer Mukesh’s grandson)?
I met him by chance. Then I made him read the script. He was getting the right points. We had a screen test done and then an acting workshop for three months. I believe he is good. Since he is a newcomer, he has no image and that can be a good thing.
So what is Johnny Gadar and why is it called that?
Well, Johnny Gadar is about a bunch of guys who get together for a heist. Then one small mistake by one of the guys makes it all wrong. And then the rest of the guys chase him down. The title is a tribute to Vijay Anand’s Johnny Mera Naam and also it has some connection in the film which I can’t reveal at this stage.
The plot sounds very Kaante, er, Reservoir Dogs...
Not really. Here the audience knows right from the start who’s the wrong guy. It’s just that the other characters in the film have no idea. It’s more Hitchcockian in that way. I am a lover of the thriller genre, especially movies made by the Coen Brothers, films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, The Asphalt Jungle and Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing.
Everyone wants to sign you on...
(Laughs) I am making a film for Rohan Sippy next. It is an adventure thriller with John Abraham. Then I am making a film for Saif. It will be an espionage thriller with Saif in the lead as a secret agent.
Ek Hasina Thi released on February 24, 2004. What have you been doing all this while?
I have been writing, mostly. But the gap was not intended. Johnny Gadar, my second film, got delayed. Jhamu Sugandh was producing the film but he encountered some financial problems. The film was only 60 per cent complete. It was after a few months that Adlabs took over the film. The legal process took ages. Anyway, the negative was transferred, the edit was all done and the film is now ready for release. I promise to make up for the lost time in my filmography (smiles).
Won’t the film look dated since you have been making it for the past three years?
No. Thankfully the leading man in my film is a newcomer named Neil. So people haven’t really seen him. And he has been keeping a low profile anyway. Also, it’s a thriller. So it shouldn’t be a problem.
After working with big stars Saif and Urmila, why make a film with a newcomer and Dharmendra?
That’s one of the few good things I learnt from Ramu (Ram Gopal Varma produced Ek Hasina Thi). You do not choose the actors and then look for a subject. You find a subject and then look for actors who fit those roles. I couldn’t wait for one-and-a-half years for the dates of my stars. My film needed one man past his prime and another man around 20-22. In our industry there is no star in that age group. So we opted for a new face in Neil. As for Dharmendraji, now Apne is doing well. Then there’s Vinay Pathak whom people now know after Bheja Fry. So I am kind of lucky that the film got delayed!
Where did you find Neil (singer Mukesh’s grandson)?
I met him by chance. Then I made him read the script. He was getting the right points. We had a screen test done and then an acting workshop for three months. I believe he is good. Since he is a newcomer, he has no image and that can be a good thing.
So what is Johnny Gadar and why is it called that?
Well, Johnny Gadar is about a bunch of guys who get together for a heist. Then one small mistake by one of the guys makes it all wrong. And then the rest of the guys chase him down. The title is a tribute to Vijay Anand’s Johnny Mera Naam and also it has some connection in the film which I can’t reveal at this stage.
The plot sounds very Kaante, er, Reservoir Dogs...
Not really. Here the audience knows right from the start who’s the wrong guy. It’s just that the other characters in the film have no idea. It’s more Hitchcockian in that way. I am a lover of the thriller genre, especially movies made by the Coen Brothers, films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, The Asphalt Jungle and Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing.
Everyone wants to sign you on...
(Laughs) I am making a film for Rohan Sippy next. It is an adventure thriller with John Abraham. Then I am making a film for Saif. It will be an espionage thriller with Saif in the lead as a secret agent.
Interview: Suparn Verma
It is not a sequel. It is not a prequel. It is not even a remake. EKEH 2.0 is the animated version of Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena. It will be India’s first adult animated film, a complete departure from the Hanumans and Ganeshas of the world. Pratim D. Gupta spoke to an excited Suparn Verma, who direct]ed the “beta version” and is now helming the animated version...
Did Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena do well enough to merit an animated version?
You have to remember that it was a very low-budget film even though we made sure it looked like a big-budget one. So my producers, Pritish Nandy Communications, made a lot of money and even the distributors made a few bucks.
What is the idea behind EKEH 2.0?
We were all sitting and discussing ideas about sequels and prequels and then we thought why not better Ek Khiladi... Take the same film, rework the characters, the plot and the locales and make a different visual experience altogether.
So it is not a sequel as is being perceived?
Not at all. It’s Version 2.0 and not Part 2. We have taken the same characters but it is a completely new film which can stand on its own. Yes, some plots are similar but the story then takes a different turn.
Did the animated version help you do things you could not do in live action?
Had I made EKEH 2.0 live action, it would have cost me Rs 60-70 crore. It is that big in scope. The characters are bigger and have more edge. Like Fardeen’s character is a master of heist capers and not just a conman. Overall the stakes are higher. Let’s say we are doing animation at the level of a James Bond film. Motion Pixel Corporation, Florida, is working with us on this.
Will audiences take to a new concept like this?
We have to try and find out. EKEH is a first in many ways. Till now, in India, we have had animation films only for children, like Hanuman and My Friend Ganesha. This one’s the first made with adults in mind. Yes, we do love Lion King but we wouldn’t mind something which is not as cute. The two minutes of animation in Kill Bill had all of us jumping. So why not make a full film out of that.
Is there a Hollywood counterpart for something like this?
No. But in Japan they have the tradition of Hentai films. Usually they are not more than 30 seconds but they have made a couple of full-fledged films too. Those are full of sex and violence and are in the samurai and yakuza mode. That’s not the case with EKEH. It is probably the first of its kind in the whole world.
What is the process being followed to turn a feature film into an animation film?
Firstly we are trying to take the essence of the original character. Then a 2-D artist is drawing the character. After we have approved the look, we are giving it costumes and props before sending it to the 3D artist. Once the characters are ready and the script is in place, we are getting the dubbing done. Then the film is storyboarded totally. Then the animation process begins where three levels of animators — primary, secondary and background — work simultaneously to achieve the end result. Then some background music and some DI (digital intermediate), and we are ready to release.
What about your next live action film?
Well, I will be making a thriller for Sanjay Gupta. So, that’s next.
Did Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena do well enough to merit an animated version?
You have to remember that it was a very low-budget film even though we made sure it looked like a big-budget one. So my producers, Pritish Nandy Communications, made a lot of money and even the distributors made a few bucks.
What is the idea behind EKEH 2.0?
We were all sitting and discussing ideas about sequels and prequels and then we thought why not better Ek Khiladi... Take the same film, rework the characters, the plot and the locales and make a different visual experience altogether.
So it is not a sequel as is being perceived?
Not at all. It’s Version 2.0 and not Part 2. We have taken the same characters but it is a completely new film which can stand on its own. Yes, some plots are similar but the story then takes a different turn.
Did the animated version help you do things you could not do in live action?
Had I made EKEH 2.0 live action, it would have cost me Rs 60-70 crore. It is that big in scope. The characters are bigger and have more edge. Like Fardeen’s character is a master of heist capers and not just a conman. Overall the stakes are higher. Let’s say we are doing animation at the level of a James Bond film. Motion Pixel Corporation, Florida, is working with us on this.
Will audiences take to a new concept like this?
We have to try and find out. EKEH is a first in many ways. Till now, in India, we have had animation films only for children, like Hanuman and My Friend Ganesha. This one’s the first made with adults in mind. Yes, we do love Lion King but we wouldn’t mind something which is not as cute. The two minutes of animation in Kill Bill had all of us jumping. So why not make a full film out of that.
Is there a Hollywood counterpart for something like this?
No. But in Japan they have the tradition of Hentai films. Usually they are not more than 30 seconds but they have made a couple of full-fledged films too. Those are full of sex and violence and are in the samurai and yakuza mode. That’s not the case with EKEH. It is probably the first of its kind in the whole world.
What is the process being followed to turn a feature film into an animation film?
Firstly we are trying to take the essence of the original character. Then a 2-D artist is drawing the character. After we have approved the look, we are giving it costumes and props before sending it to the 3D artist. Once the characters are ready and the script is in place, we are getting the dubbing done. Then the film is storyboarded totally. Then the animation process begins where three levels of animators — primary, secondary and background — work simultaneously to achieve the end result. Then some background music and some DI (digital intermediate), and we are ready to release.
What about your next live action film?
Well, I will be making a thriller for Sanjay Gupta. So, that’s next.
Interview: Feroz Abbas Khan
Feroz Abbas Khan talks to Pratim D. Gupta about how Tapas Sen helped him switch from stage to screen
You are dealing with a very controversial subject in Gandhi My Father. What are your source materials?
What had really got me going was an incident that someone narrated to me. At a station called Katni, when a train came in, there was a huge crowd and everybody was shouting “Mahatma Gandhi ki jai”, there was one man shouting “Mata Kasturba ki jai”. Then this man comes up and gives an orange to Kasturba Gandhi and tells her: “I’ve got this for you.” That was my first introduction to Harilal Gandhi.
Thereafter the play Mahatma Vs Gandhi came up but I continued to read more about the subject. And I finally came across the biography of Harilal Gandhi by Gandhian scholar Chandulal Shah, first published in 1977 by the Sabarmati Trust. There were lots of unpublished letters in it. There was a book by Neelamben Parekh, Harilal Gandhi’s granddaughter. And then there was another book by Lily Pollock, wife of Henry Pollock, Gandhi’s associate in South Africa. There was more material coming in from Harilal’s family.
So you were planning a movie even while you were travelling with your play…
No, not at all. I never wanted to make a movie, forget this movie. I was happy directing plays for the stage. It is where I have spent almost all my life and I have always found theatre very satisfying. It’s just that when you live with a subject for so long, it becomes a personal thing. How deep can I go for a better understanding of the subject, of the milieu, of the moderation? For explanation, black-and-white is fine. For experience, you have to understand all the shades in between.
Why not a documentary then?
Exactly. One doesn’t make a fiction film if it was just about laying down facts. It is about updating the subject and making it contemporary. It must have something for today. Then there were other themes I wanted to explore. Particularly the dilemma of the mother, Kasturba. Hers was a very difficult task. And perhaps what was most fascinating to me was how the public life and personal life of one man were the same. There was only one face to Mahatma Gandhi. The principles he would preach in public would be the same ones he would follow in his own family. It is these values that built a nation and it is these values that hurt a family. And when you see the politicians of today, everything is about perpetrating the welfare of their kids. Even if their children would commit a crime, they would support it and hide it. Politician’s children’s birthdays are being celebrated in public spaces. Such values will never make the nation.
Does the film take sides with father or son?
Not at all. When you have the right to express, it entails huge responsibility. I am not here to give you value judgment. It’s there for you to decide. Destiny is a bigger reality than psychology. And you don’t have control over that. Harilal had a Midas touch in reverse. He was marked for misfortune and was a victim to the pace at which the political and social scene of India was changing and the speed at which Gandhi wanted things to change. What Gandhi had done for humanity or the nation was much greater than what he did or did not do for his family.
Why didn’t you take actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Boman Irani and Kay Kay Menon, who had done the play?
Mind you, all the actors were auditioned. Darshan Zariwala is one of the finest actors on stage and he was always my first choice for Gandhi but he couldn’t do the play initially because he had some other commitments. Also the very recognisable Gandhi that we know, Darshan has done it beautifully. Akshaye (Khanna) was never cast for his star status. In fact, the lesser the star in him, the more the character came out. Akshaye understood the discipline required for the film and he didn’t take up any other project.
How was the switch from stage to screen?
I spent many sleepless nights. I realised very early that it shouldn’t look like a film made by a theatre director. So I did a lot of homework. I took a handycam, took dummy actors and just built up the locations. That’s where my experience from stage helped me. I compose scenes while starting out with a new play. And this is something I learnt from the maestro from Calcutta, Tapasda (Sen) who did lighting for all my plays. He gave my plays a great visual sense. I put all that in this new grammar called cinema. But let me tell you Hindi cinema is more theatrical than the theatre we do anyway (laughs).
Finally, why would someone like you change his name?
This is not numerology. This is for distinction of identity. As long as I did theatre there was no confusion because the other Feroze Khan did not do theatre. But when Arthur Miller passed away, a major newspaper took my interview and then they printed the other Feroze Khan’s picture. And now things have got so bad that his son has cocaine and I get calls! Feroz Abbas Khan is my full name anyway.
You are dealing with a very controversial subject in Gandhi My Father. What are your source materials?
What had really got me going was an incident that someone narrated to me. At a station called Katni, when a train came in, there was a huge crowd and everybody was shouting “Mahatma Gandhi ki jai”, there was one man shouting “Mata Kasturba ki jai”. Then this man comes up and gives an orange to Kasturba Gandhi and tells her: “I’ve got this for you.” That was my first introduction to Harilal Gandhi.
Thereafter the play Mahatma Vs Gandhi came up but I continued to read more about the subject. And I finally came across the biography of Harilal Gandhi by Gandhian scholar Chandulal Shah, first published in 1977 by the Sabarmati Trust. There were lots of unpublished letters in it. There was a book by Neelamben Parekh, Harilal Gandhi’s granddaughter. And then there was another book by Lily Pollock, wife of Henry Pollock, Gandhi’s associate in South Africa. There was more material coming in from Harilal’s family.
So you were planning a movie even while you were travelling with your play…
No, not at all. I never wanted to make a movie, forget this movie. I was happy directing plays for the stage. It is where I have spent almost all my life and I have always found theatre very satisfying. It’s just that when you live with a subject for so long, it becomes a personal thing. How deep can I go for a better understanding of the subject, of the milieu, of the moderation? For explanation, black-and-white is fine. For experience, you have to understand all the shades in between.
Why not a documentary then?
Exactly. One doesn’t make a fiction film if it was just about laying down facts. It is about updating the subject and making it contemporary. It must have something for today. Then there were other themes I wanted to explore. Particularly the dilemma of the mother, Kasturba. Hers was a very difficult task. And perhaps what was most fascinating to me was how the public life and personal life of one man were the same. There was only one face to Mahatma Gandhi. The principles he would preach in public would be the same ones he would follow in his own family. It is these values that built a nation and it is these values that hurt a family. And when you see the politicians of today, everything is about perpetrating the welfare of their kids. Even if their children would commit a crime, they would support it and hide it. Politician’s children’s birthdays are being celebrated in public spaces. Such values will never make the nation.
Does the film take sides with father or son?
Not at all. When you have the right to express, it entails huge responsibility. I am not here to give you value judgment. It’s there for you to decide. Destiny is a bigger reality than psychology. And you don’t have control over that. Harilal had a Midas touch in reverse. He was marked for misfortune and was a victim to the pace at which the political and social scene of India was changing and the speed at which Gandhi wanted things to change. What Gandhi had done for humanity or the nation was much greater than what he did or did not do for his family.
Why didn’t you take actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Boman Irani and Kay Kay Menon, who had done the play?
Mind you, all the actors were auditioned. Darshan Zariwala is one of the finest actors on stage and he was always my first choice for Gandhi but he couldn’t do the play initially because he had some other commitments. Also the very recognisable Gandhi that we know, Darshan has done it beautifully. Akshaye (Khanna) was never cast for his star status. In fact, the lesser the star in him, the more the character came out. Akshaye understood the discipline required for the film and he didn’t take up any other project.
How was the switch from stage to screen?
I spent many sleepless nights. I realised very early that it shouldn’t look like a film made by a theatre director. So I did a lot of homework. I took a handycam, took dummy actors and just built up the locations. That’s where my experience from stage helped me. I compose scenes while starting out with a new play. And this is something I learnt from the maestro from Calcutta, Tapasda (Sen) who did lighting for all my plays. He gave my plays a great visual sense. I put all that in this new grammar called cinema. But let me tell you Hindi cinema is more theatrical than the theatre we do anyway (laughs).
Finally, why would someone like you change his name?
This is not numerology. This is for distinction of identity. As long as I did theatre there was no confusion because the other Feroze Khan did not do theatre. But when Arthur Miller passed away, a major newspaper took my interview and then they printed the other Feroze Khan’s picture. And now things have got so bad that his son has cocaine and I get calls! Feroz Abbas Khan is my full name anyway.
Interview: Koena Mitra
Koena Mitra is the new Rebecca. Yes, she plays the complex leading lady of Ananth Mahadevan’s adaptation of the Daphne du Maurier classic taken to celluloid by Alfred Hitchcock. No wonder it was Anamika that Koena spoke to Pratim D. Gupta about the most during her two-day trip to Calcutta for the STAR Ananda Shera Bangali Award Ceremony. Highlights from the chat...
You flew in a day early for the function...
I came home (smiles). I had to spend a day with my greater family. You know, my mom and dad, they keep coming to Mumbai, but my cousins and uncles and aunts, I don’t get to spend any time with them. So, I came in on Friday, had a great Bengali lunch and spent the entire day at home. Darun laglo!
You don’t perform that much in Calcutta...
Call it my bad luck, but for the last three years I have performed so many times in so many places in India but in Calcutta I just did the one show — Grasim Mr India. So the STAR Ananda performance was my second one here and I really loved it.
You are all keyed up about Anamika...
It is the best role of my career. It’s not about 15 minutes there somewhere. This time I don’t have to say that my dress designer did a great job. This is the first time someone has cast me completely on the basis of performance. And that’s what makes me so excited.
But isn’t Anamika a complete copy of Rebecca?
Yes, the basic idea is Rebecca. Anamika does talk about a dead wife and a romantic story revolving around three characters (others being Dino Morea and Minissha Lamba). But it’s not really shaped as a thriller. There is a lot of suspense but it is also about the romance, with some great music by Anu Malik. I have two superhit songs — one a situational one, the other that will be used as the promotional video.
What else is on your plate?
I am not allowed to give out details but I can tell you that I am doing a film with Pritish Nandy Communications, one with Subhash Ghai, one with Sanjay Gupta, and two others with two newcomers, Purnima and Sameer.
You are also getting an animation avatar in EKEH 2.0?
Yes, my character in Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina will be made into an animated figure. It must be quite cute looking at my own cartoon avatar! But that will take some time.
What about TV actress Dolly Bindra accusing you of cheating?
It is a sub judice case. Let me say that if somebody comes tomorrow and claims to be my daughter or father, it will be difficult to just prove that person wrong. It’s just that when you are a celebrity, people take advantage of you.
You flew in a day early for the function...
I came home (smiles). I had to spend a day with my greater family. You know, my mom and dad, they keep coming to Mumbai, but my cousins and uncles and aunts, I don’t get to spend any time with them. So, I came in on Friday, had a great Bengali lunch and spent the entire day at home. Darun laglo!
You don’t perform that much in Calcutta...
Call it my bad luck, but for the last three years I have performed so many times in so many places in India but in Calcutta I just did the one show — Grasim Mr India. So the STAR Ananda performance was my second one here and I really loved it.
You are all keyed up about Anamika...
It is the best role of my career. It’s not about 15 minutes there somewhere. This time I don’t have to say that my dress designer did a great job. This is the first time someone has cast me completely on the basis of performance. And that’s what makes me so excited.
But isn’t Anamika a complete copy of Rebecca?
Yes, the basic idea is Rebecca. Anamika does talk about a dead wife and a romantic story revolving around three characters (others being Dino Morea and Minissha Lamba). But it’s not really shaped as a thriller. There is a lot of suspense but it is also about the romance, with some great music by Anu Malik. I have two superhit songs — one a situational one, the other that will be used as the promotional video.
What else is on your plate?
I am not allowed to give out details but I can tell you that I am doing a film with Pritish Nandy Communications, one with Subhash Ghai, one with Sanjay Gupta, and two others with two newcomers, Purnima and Sameer.
You are also getting an animation avatar in EKEH 2.0?
Yes, my character in Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina will be made into an animated figure. It must be quite cute looking at my own cartoon avatar! But that will take some time.
What about TV actress Dolly Bindra accusing you of cheating?
It is a sub judice case. Let me say that if somebody comes tomorrow and claims to be my daughter or father, it will be difficult to just prove that person wrong. It’s just that when you are a celebrity, people take advantage of you.
Review: Naqaab
Sex, lies and videotape
Pratim D. Gupta
Sex, lies and videotape. That’s Naqaab. Not in that order. And it’s not exactly Steven Soderbergh’s groundbreaking 1989 indie film, but has more to do with his freaky Full Frontal. But as far as Bollywood thrillers go, Naqaab pushes the envelope far enough to make it entertaining and also toss up a question at the tail: In today’s world of reality television, what’s really real?
We won’t spoil the movie for you. What you need to know: Multi-millionaire Karan (Bobby Deol) and Burger King babe Sophia (Urvashi Sharma) are living together in Karan’s Dubai mansion. He pops the question with a capsicum ring, she says yes and then, as per an Egyptian custom, does a salsa with a stranger named Vicky (Akshaye Khanna) as the last tango before marriage. That’s obviously the start, the start of a doomed romance between the struggling actor and a simple girl yearning for some real romance.
Before you fear that it’s yet another hackneyed masala mush, remember it’s an Abbas-Mustan film, who besides rehashing Hollywood thrillers, have explored virgin territories in Bollywood like wife-swapping (Ajnabee) and sexual harassment (Aitraaz). And in whose films nothing happens by chance. That’s all we can say. The rest, go discover. A tip: Don’t get put off by every character in the film carrying a handycam and the sound effects track going beep, beep, beep…
At two hours (and just three songs), Naqaab is a watchable thriller. The only problem with Abbas-Mustan is that they don’t know where to stop. The Coen Brothers — the original thriller masters and obviously infinitely better film-makers than the Burmawalla brothers will ever be — keep spinning yarns but as their twists unfold — from Miller’s Crossing to The Man Who Wasn’t There — it keeps getting better.
Not so with their Indian counterparts. In an obvious bid to make the good guy laugh last, the plot spirals way off the plausibility path. But that takes little away from the sweeping tagline — “the year’s most shocking thriller”. The revelation in Naqaab does make you sit up and ponder over the 90 minutes gone by.
And making each of those tantalising something’s-not-right moments work are the three main players. Akshaye Khanna. You now expect him to chuckle his way through this stuff, and indeed he does it without working up much of a sweat. Bobby Deol. Watchable after quite a while. No Boom, no Jhoom… good ol’ earnest Bobby. And there’s not even a Humraaz hangover between the two men.
But the clincher is Urvashi. A cross between Sushmita Sen and Isha Sharvani, the debutante is the best find in tinseltown in years (with only Kangana Ranaut as competition). She not only looks beautiful, but holds her own against Akshaye, from the dance floor to bed. No wonder Tips had signed her up for seven more films even before Naqaab hit theatres.
Technically, it’s as slick as any Abbas-Mustan film with the digital video and 35mm images blended beautifully. And then there’s Pritam, who gives his customary hit track of the movie (Ek din teri raahon...).
Naqaab is definitely worth the unveiling and if you do catch the movie, watch out for the scene where Bobby admires a Karuna Banerjee scene in Pather Panchali, played on Angel DVD on a big calendar TV, and says: “Satyajit Ray... man, he changed Indian cinema.”
Hic!
Pratim D. Gupta
Sex, lies and videotape. That’s Naqaab. Not in that order. And it’s not exactly Steven Soderbergh’s groundbreaking 1989 indie film, but has more to do with his freaky Full Frontal. But as far as Bollywood thrillers go, Naqaab pushes the envelope far enough to make it entertaining and also toss up a question at the tail: In today’s world of reality television, what’s really real?
We won’t spoil the movie for you. What you need to know: Multi-millionaire Karan (Bobby Deol) and Burger King babe Sophia (Urvashi Sharma) are living together in Karan’s Dubai mansion. He pops the question with a capsicum ring, she says yes and then, as per an Egyptian custom, does a salsa with a stranger named Vicky (Akshaye Khanna) as the last tango before marriage. That’s obviously the start, the start of a doomed romance between the struggling actor and a simple girl yearning for some real romance.
Before you fear that it’s yet another hackneyed masala mush, remember it’s an Abbas-Mustan film, who besides rehashing Hollywood thrillers, have explored virgin territories in Bollywood like wife-swapping (Ajnabee) and sexual harassment (Aitraaz). And in whose films nothing happens by chance. That’s all we can say. The rest, go discover. A tip: Don’t get put off by every character in the film carrying a handycam and the sound effects track going beep, beep, beep…
At two hours (and just three songs), Naqaab is a watchable thriller. The only problem with Abbas-Mustan is that they don’t know where to stop. The Coen Brothers — the original thriller masters and obviously infinitely better film-makers than the Burmawalla brothers will ever be — keep spinning yarns but as their twists unfold — from Miller’s Crossing to The Man Who Wasn’t There — it keeps getting better.
Not so with their Indian counterparts. In an obvious bid to make the good guy laugh last, the plot spirals way off the plausibility path. But that takes little away from the sweeping tagline — “the year’s most shocking thriller”. The revelation in Naqaab does make you sit up and ponder over the 90 minutes gone by.
And making each of those tantalising something’s-not-right moments work are the three main players. Akshaye Khanna. You now expect him to chuckle his way through this stuff, and indeed he does it without working up much of a sweat. Bobby Deol. Watchable after quite a while. No Boom, no Jhoom… good ol’ earnest Bobby. And there’s not even a Humraaz hangover between the two men.
But the clincher is Urvashi. A cross between Sushmita Sen and Isha Sharvani, the debutante is the best find in tinseltown in years (with only Kangana Ranaut as competition). She not only looks beautiful, but holds her own against Akshaye, from the dance floor to bed. No wonder Tips had signed her up for seven more films even before Naqaab hit theatres.
Technically, it’s as slick as any Abbas-Mustan film with the digital video and 35mm images blended beautifully. And then there’s Pritam, who gives his customary hit track of the movie (Ek din teri raahon...).
Naqaab is definitely worth the unveiling and if you do catch the movie, watch out for the scene where Bobby admires a Karuna Banerjee scene in Pather Panchali, played on Angel DVD on a big calendar TV, and says: “Satyajit Ray... man, he changed Indian cinema.”
Hic!
Interview: Urvashi Sharma
After a whole lot of advertisements and music videos (for Mika and Atif), Urvashi Sharma is getting her big break today in Abbas-Mustan’s Naqaab. Pratim D. Gupta chats up the new hot bod in tinseltown.
Did you always want to get into movies? How did it all begin?
I come from a middle-class Punjabi family in Delhi. We are three sisters, with me being the middle one. My dad was a government employee. Modelling is where I started and Bollywood was where I always wanted to be. My first few campaigns were for Ponds, Garnier, Kit Kat, Monte Carlo... Since I was also doing well in the modelling circuit in Delhi, the shift to Mumbai was easier. It helped me survive here. I just had dreams in my eyes...
I had no background or support that would take me to my dreams. I signed up with Elite Modelling Agency, who professionally managed my modelling career.
Why did you agree to do the raunchy music video for Mika?
I am contracted to Tips Talent division. They are charting out my career in a very professional manner. In Mika’s video Something something they have presented me very sensually, while in Atif’s Doorie I’m a very sweet simple Indian girl. In Naqaab, they have given me a complex character. In my debut, I am getting an opportunity to showcase my versatility. What else can a debutante ask for?
How did you bag Naqaab? What was the screen test like?
My ad campaigns, which were simultaneously being splashed across all media, caught the attention of the producers at Tips Film. They then signed me on for an eight-film contract with their talent division. When I was asked to do a screen test for Naqaab, I felt as any newcomer would — a bit nervous. But I was confident too as I had been a successful model and had a basic understanding of camera angles.
How did you feel when they signed you on?
It was a moment of truth, because Bollywood was where I had always aspired to be. It was a realisation of my dreams.
Was Bollywood as you imagined it? How were your co-stars Bobby Deol and Akshaye Khanna?
With such a huge set-up of Abbas-Mustan, the masters in this genre at the helm, and with Bobby Deol and Akshaye Khanna you couldn’t ask for more. It’s such a dream come true. It revolves around the three protagonists and how the mask is slowly unveiled, that will destroy their future.
Bobby Deol is such a nice human being and a good actor. He made me so comfortable on the sets, though I was making my debut. Also the fact that I am a Punjabi, added to the comfort level on the sets.
Akshaye Khanna was very sweet. In fact, whenever I got stuck doing a difficult scene he would help me with my lines and show me how to enact it.
You are being called the hottest newcomer of the year. How would you rate yourself?
I would prefer the audience to be the judge. I have given my best in my debut film and would hope the audience would appreciate the hard work. The eight-film contract is the best thing to have happened to me. It’s a first for a newcomer in Bollywood. I am very comfortable with the contract. And though I am on contract with Tips, I can do films with other banners too. I am living my dreams.
Did you always want to get into movies? How did it all begin?
I come from a middle-class Punjabi family in Delhi. We are three sisters, with me being the middle one. My dad was a government employee. Modelling is where I started and Bollywood was where I always wanted to be. My first few campaigns were for Ponds, Garnier, Kit Kat, Monte Carlo... Since I was also doing well in the modelling circuit in Delhi, the shift to Mumbai was easier. It helped me survive here. I just had dreams in my eyes...
I had no background or support that would take me to my dreams. I signed up with Elite Modelling Agency, who professionally managed my modelling career.
Why did you agree to do the raunchy music video for Mika?
I am contracted to Tips Talent division. They are charting out my career in a very professional manner. In Mika’s video Something something they have presented me very sensually, while in Atif’s Doorie I’m a very sweet simple Indian girl. In Naqaab, they have given me a complex character. In my debut, I am getting an opportunity to showcase my versatility. What else can a debutante ask for?
How did you bag Naqaab? What was the screen test like?
My ad campaigns, which were simultaneously being splashed across all media, caught the attention of the producers at Tips Film. They then signed me on for an eight-film contract with their talent division. When I was asked to do a screen test for Naqaab, I felt as any newcomer would — a bit nervous. But I was confident too as I had been a successful model and had a basic understanding of camera angles.
How did you feel when they signed you on?
It was a moment of truth, because Bollywood was where I had always aspired to be. It was a realisation of my dreams.
Was Bollywood as you imagined it? How were your co-stars Bobby Deol and Akshaye Khanna?
With such a huge set-up of Abbas-Mustan, the masters in this genre at the helm, and with Bobby Deol and Akshaye Khanna you couldn’t ask for more. It’s such a dream come true. It revolves around the three protagonists and how the mask is slowly unveiled, that will destroy their future.
Bobby Deol is such a nice human being and a good actor. He made me so comfortable on the sets, though I was making my debut. Also the fact that I am a Punjabi, added to the comfort level on the sets.
Akshaye Khanna was very sweet. In fact, whenever I got stuck doing a difficult scene he would help me with my lines and show me how to enact it.
You are being called the hottest newcomer of the year. How would you rate yourself?
I would prefer the audience to be the judge. I have given my best in my debut film and would hope the audience would appreciate the hard work. The eight-film contract is the best thing to have happened to me. It’s a first for a newcomer in Bollywood. I am very comfortable with the contract. And though I am on contract with Tips, I can do films with other banners too. I am living my dreams.
Interview: Nisha Kothari
Nisha Kothari is Ram Gopal Varma’s Basanti. But in the trademark Mumbaiyya tapori style. Even as Ram Gopal Varma Ke Aag braves one storm after another from the original Sholay camp, here’s what Ghungroo — Basanti’s new avatar — has to say about Sholay 2007 to Pratim D. Gupta.
What was your first reaction when you were offered the role of Basanti in the new Sholay?
I felt happy because I was getting to be part of such a big movie. So above anything else it was about getting the opportunity to work with big stars. I had not worked with such big stars before.
Are you a big Sholay fan?
No. It’s not that I don’t like it. Come on, nobody can hate Sholay. But I am no die-hard fan.
So you don’t feel any pressure of playing Basanti, one of the cult characters of Indian cinema?
See, there can only be one Basanti. Nobody can imitate Hema Malini. She is just mindblowing. But Ghungroo, my character, is very different from Basanti. I know people will compare because Ghungroo is a replacement for Basanti.
And how is Ghungroo different from Basanti?
The earlier film had a village atmosphere. This one is set in a town. She drives an auto-rickshaw. So, she is carrying a very different attitude. Right from the way she speaks. And, of course, the way she looks.
Was Ghungroo entirely conceived by Ram Gopal Varma or did you provide inputs?
It was a mutual thing. Ramuji gives a lot of freedom to actors to improvise and come up with ideas. He just told me: “I want a tapori.” Then we had a couple of photoshoots. Once the look was decided things became easy. I mostly wear jeans and colourful ganjees in the film. And there’s almost always a beedi on my lips.
lYou play an auto-rickshaw driver in the film. Did you do any homework for that?
No, I did not do much homework. There was more of spontaneous action. As long as the director liked it, I was fine.
So how were your big co-stars — Ajay Devgan and Sushmita Sen?
Ajay Devgan was very professional. Whenever I would not understand a particular scene, he would help me out. As for Sushmita, she is stunningly beautiful. Unlike the first Sholay, here I do have some scenes with her character and even a song. I don’t know many film people but I found Sushmita to be a great human being. The way she made me feel comfortable on the sets...
Everyone is shouting out his or her view. What is your take on Sholay being remade?
My point is if somebody is remaking a blockbuster like Sholay, he must be having tremendous guts. And Ramuji has shown that. He is a very talented film-maker. Whenever I asked him why he is making this film, he would say that since he loves the film so much he wants to do it his own way. He also believes that today’s generation would want to see a new Sholay.
You are doing a Telugu film. So it’s ok to do a film outside the Varma camp?
I have proved that earlier with The Killer. I can do any film I want. There’s no problem with him or from anybody.
What was your first reaction when you were offered the role of Basanti in the new Sholay?
I felt happy because I was getting to be part of such a big movie. So above anything else it was about getting the opportunity to work with big stars. I had not worked with such big stars before.
Are you a big Sholay fan?
No. It’s not that I don’t like it. Come on, nobody can hate Sholay. But I am no die-hard fan.
So you don’t feel any pressure of playing Basanti, one of the cult characters of Indian cinema?
See, there can only be one Basanti. Nobody can imitate Hema Malini. She is just mindblowing. But Ghungroo, my character, is very different from Basanti. I know people will compare because Ghungroo is a replacement for Basanti.
And how is Ghungroo different from Basanti?
The earlier film had a village atmosphere. This one is set in a town. She drives an auto-rickshaw. So, she is carrying a very different attitude. Right from the way she speaks. And, of course, the way she looks.
Was Ghungroo entirely conceived by Ram Gopal Varma or did you provide inputs?
It was a mutual thing. Ramuji gives a lot of freedom to actors to improvise and come up with ideas. He just told me: “I want a tapori.” Then we had a couple of photoshoots. Once the look was decided things became easy. I mostly wear jeans and colourful ganjees in the film. And there’s almost always a beedi on my lips.
lYou play an auto-rickshaw driver in the film. Did you do any homework for that?
No, I did not do much homework. There was more of spontaneous action. As long as the director liked it, I was fine.
So how were your big co-stars — Ajay Devgan and Sushmita Sen?
Ajay Devgan was very professional. Whenever I would not understand a particular scene, he would help me out. As for Sushmita, she is stunningly beautiful. Unlike the first Sholay, here I do have some scenes with her character and even a song. I don’t know many film people but I found Sushmita to be a great human being. The way she made me feel comfortable on the sets...
Everyone is shouting out his or her view. What is your take on Sholay being remade?
My point is if somebody is remaking a blockbuster like Sholay, he must be having tremendous guts. And Ramuji has shown that. He is a very talented film-maker. Whenever I asked him why he is making this film, he would say that since he loves the film so much he wants to do it his own way. He also believes that today’s generation would want to see a new Sholay.
You are doing a Telugu film. So it’s ok to do a film outside the Varma camp?
I have proved that earlier with The Killer. I can do any film I want. There’s no problem with him or from anybody.
Interview: Sangeeth Sivan
After two back-to-back comic blockbusters Kyaa Kool Hai Hum and Apna Sapna Money Money..?, you would expect director Sangeeth Sivan to make another comedy. And that’s where the man stumps you. Ek — The Power of One is an action film set in Punjab... Sivan talks to Pratim D. Gupta about what he calls “Die Hard meets Yash Chopra”.
You had so many offers to make a comedy, why did you not make one?
I did not want to get myself branded. So I was very clear that I wouldn’t make a comedy after Apna Sapna Money Money..?.
The story of Ek about a man entering a household under a false identity and then falling in love sounds very Kati Patang...
Now, what was the story of Kati Patang? I have seen it but I can’t remember. Ek for me is the official remake of a Telugu film I saw called Athadu, starring Mahesh Babu and Trisha. It was a huge success there and I felt there was a lot of potential in it to make a Hindi film. Of course, we have made a few changes.
And what are those changes?
When you change the setting everything automatically changes. We have placed Ek in Punjab. So it was a challenge for me as a man from the south shooting in Punjab. You will see a fresh perspective for sure. Also, we have tried to give every character a well-defined role. We have changed the climax too. Around 20 to 25 per cent from the original was kept unchanged.
Isn’t the story of mistaken identity passe?
It is a very Indian story. There’s nothing noble about it. But we have given it the styling required for today. People talk about style without substance and substance but no style. It is a double-edged sword but we have tried to strike a balance. Also, you will see some great performances. If you look back my movies are remembered for good performances. Whether it’s Ishaa Koppikar and Tusshar Kapoor in Kyaa Kool Hai Hum or Riteish in Apna Sapna Money Money..?.
But there is so much of Bobby Deol this year?
That’s true but there will be a gap after Naqaab, with Ek not releasing before September. Also you will see a new Bobby. Now that I think of it, nobody barring maybe Sunny Deol 10 years back could have played this role. You need that power, that look which can hit you without action. Bobby has that intensity with the build. He hardly has 20 to 25 lines in the whole film. It’s like the Bobby Deol of Soldier whom everyone misses.
lAnd what have you done with Nana Patekar?
He is usually this angry middle-class rebel. In Ek, he is an upmarket full-on cop. His character is a little eccentric, a little Nana Patekar. His is more of an audience’s character.
Shriya hasn’t got favourable reviews for Awarapan...
She has not been seen that much. So that freshness is still there. Also, there is an innocence in her. See, everybody is striving for some kind of change because the big heroines are always busy. So you have to make do with what you get.
What next?
I have this huge grief of my first film Sandhya never releasing. So I want to get that out of the way by producing a horror film from my own company.
You had so many offers to make a comedy, why did you not make one?
I did not want to get myself branded. So I was very clear that I wouldn’t make a comedy after Apna Sapna Money Money..?.
The story of Ek about a man entering a household under a false identity and then falling in love sounds very Kati Patang...
Now, what was the story of Kati Patang? I have seen it but I can’t remember. Ek for me is the official remake of a Telugu film I saw called Athadu, starring Mahesh Babu and Trisha. It was a huge success there and I felt there was a lot of potential in it to make a Hindi film. Of course, we have made a few changes.
And what are those changes?
When you change the setting everything automatically changes. We have placed Ek in Punjab. So it was a challenge for me as a man from the south shooting in Punjab. You will see a fresh perspective for sure. Also, we have tried to give every character a well-defined role. We have changed the climax too. Around 20 to 25 per cent from the original was kept unchanged.
Isn’t the story of mistaken identity passe?
It is a very Indian story. There’s nothing noble about it. But we have given it the styling required for today. People talk about style without substance and substance but no style. It is a double-edged sword but we have tried to strike a balance. Also, you will see some great performances. If you look back my movies are remembered for good performances. Whether it’s Ishaa Koppikar and Tusshar Kapoor in Kyaa Kool Hai Hum or Riteish in Apna Sapna Money Money..?.
But there is so much of Bobby Deol this year?
That’s true but there will be a gap after Naqaab, with Ek not releasing before September. Also you will see a new Bobby. Now that I think of it, nobody barring maybe Sunny Deol 10 years back could have played this role. You need that power, that look which can hit you without action. Bobby has that intensity with the build. He hardly has 20 to 25 lines in the whole film. It’s like the Bobby Deol of Soldier whom everyone misses.
lAnd what have you done with Nana Patekar?
He is usually this angry middle-class rebel. In Ek, he is an upmarket full-on cop. His character is a little eccentric, a little Nana Patekar. His is more of an audience’s character.
Shriya hasn’t got favourable reviews for Awarapan...
She has not been seen that much. So that freshness is still there. Also, there is an innocence in her. See, everybody is striving for some kind of change because the big heroines are always busy. So you have to make do with what you get.
What next?
I have this huge grief of my first film Sandhya never releasing. So I want to get that out of the way by producing a horror film from my own company.
Feature: Larger than life
Hero no more, post-Krrish, everyone wants to be a superhero. After Abhishek’s Drona, now Shah Rukh is the Joker, writes Pratim D. Gupta
Friendship can take you a long way in Bollywood. In an industry where one big flop means a new director is dead and buried and may never be reincarnated, Shirish Kunder has got the biggest lifeline a director can dream of.
After his debacle debut Jaan-e-Mann, which came in with Don last Diwali and sank despite its super soundtrack and stylised ways, Shirish has managed to convince Shah Rukh Khan to produce his next film. Shirish, of course, is the husband of Shah Rukh’s best friend Farah Khan. Shirish and Farah spent weeks in Melbourne during the shooting of SRK’s Chak De India to make King Khan see money in their movie.
SRK has bitten the bait, even while pumping more and more money into Farah’s own film Om Shanti Om, to release in the last quarter of 2007. Friendship apart, the project has one big thing going for it — SRK’s first superhero film.
Tentatively titled Joker, the Shirish Kunder film will be a lavish sci-fi epic with the Shah Rukh playing a comic superhero.
Call it the Krrish effect or the reaction to Hrithik. Shah Rukh, recount sources, first got jittery about the Roshan rage after Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai. Then the challenger hit a rough patch and the champ breathed easy. But now with Don not a patch on the popularity of Krrish and Dhoom:2 vaulting Hrithik into envy league, Shah Rukh has decided to take a superheroic leap.
Joker is also being seen as an attempt to showcase the state-of-the-art visual effects wing of SRK’s Red Chillies Entertainment. “I want to do films which push the limits of Indian cinema in terms of special effects and animation,” Shah Rukh had told t2 in a recent interview.
The Hrithik ripple has, of course, touched the Khan camp as much as it has the Bachchan bastion. For first in line to slip into superhero robes is Abhishek Bachchan. Before Joker, Goldie Behl’s Drona will hit theatres with Beta B playing a superhero.
While the plot of the film is being closely guarded by the cast and crew of the movie, what is known is that Drona is set in a futuristic world where Abhishek is the title character — superhero Drona, with superheroine Priyanka Chopra by his side and engaged in a fight to the finish with supervillain Kay Kay Menon.
“I do play a larger-than-life figure but that’s all I can tell you now,” said Abhishek, but Kay Kay was more forthcoming: “Yes, it is about an imaginary world where we wear these lavish costumes and have our own kingdoms to defend.”
Huge budgets — Goldie has in fact run out of money with lots left to be shot — big co-stars and eye-grabbing visual effects, no super prop is being left unturned to steal the Krrish thunder.
That possibly explains why despite having a sureshot winner in a sequel to Krrish, Rakesh Roshan is taking it slow. With Abhishek and Shah Rukh both going the superhero way, Papa Roshan is playing the waiting game and producing a small comedy without Hrithik before conjuring up Krrish 2. He would rather have Hrithik doing some serious contemporary cinema with Anurag Basu while SRK and Abhi get their superhero act together. “Krrish worked because he is the Indian screen’s first original superhero,” Rakesh Roshan said recently.
What he left unsaid was, however good or bad, Drona and Joker will bear the ‘me too’ mark.
Friendship can take you a long way in Bollywood. In an industry where one big flop means a new director is dead and buried and may never be reincarnated, Shirish Kunder has got the biggest lifeline a director can dream of.
After his debacle debut Jaan-e-Mann, which came in with Don last Diwali and sank despite its super soundtrack and stylised ways, Shirish has managed to convince Shah Rukh Khan to produce his next film. Shirish, of course, is the husband of Shah Rukh’s best friend Farah Khan. Shirish and Farah spent weeks in Melbourne during the shooting of SRK’s Chak De India to make King Khan see money in their movie.
SRK has bitten the bait, even while pumping more and more money into Farah’s own film Om Shanti Om, to release in the last quarter of 2007. Friendship apart, the project has one big thing going for it — SRK’s first superhero film.
Tentatively titled Joker, the Shirish Kunder film will be a lavish sci-fi epic with the Shah Rukh playing a comic superhero.
Call it the Krrish effect or the reaction to Hrithik. Shah Rukh, recount sources, first got jittery about the Roshan rage after Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai. Then the challenger hit a rough patch and the champ breathed easy. But now with Don not a patch on the popularity of Krrish and Dhoom:2 vaulting Hrithik into envy league, Shah Rukh has decided to take a superheroic leap.
Joker is also being seen as an attempt to showcase the state-of-the-art visual effects wing of SRK’s Red Chillies Entertainment. “I want to do films which push the limits of Indian cinema in terms of special effects and animation,” Shah Rukh had told t2 in a recent interview.
The Hrithik ripple has, of course, touched the Khan camp as much as it has the Bachchan bastion. For first in line to slip into superhero robes is Abhishek Bachchan. Before Joker, Goldie Behl’s Drona will hit theatres with Beta B playing a superhero.
While the plot of the film is being closely guarded by the cast and crew of the movie, what is known is that Drona is set in a futuristic world where Abhishek is the title character — superhero Drona, with superheroine Priyanka Chopra by his side and engaged in a fight to the finish with supervillain Kay Kay Menon.
“I do play a larger-than-life figure but that’s all I can tell you now,” said Abhishek, but Kay Kay was more forthcoming: “Yes, it is about an imaginary world where we wear these lavish costumes and have our own kingdoms to defend.”
Huge budgets — Goldie has in fact run out of money with lots left to be shot — big co-stars and eye-grabbing visual effects, no super prop is being left unturned to steal the Krrish thunder.
That possibly explains why despite having a sureshot winner in a sequel to Krrish, Rakesh Roshan is taking it slow. With Abhishek and Shah Rukh both going the superhero way, Papa Roshan is playing the waiting game and producing a small comedy without Hrithik before conjuring up Krrish 2. He would rather have Hrithik doing some serious contemporary cinema with Anurag Basu while SRK and Abhi get their superhero act together. “Krrish worked because he is the Indian screen’s first original superhero,” Rakesh Roshan said recently.
What he left unsaid was, however good or bad, Drona and Joker will bear the ‘me too’ mark.
Interview: Anil Kapoor
After sharing the producer’s credit line with Ram Gopal Varma for My Wife’s Murder, Anil Kapoor turns full-time producer with Gandhi My Father. Pratim D. Gupta quizzed the actor about the August 3 release and more.
Why would a busy actor like you decide to turn full-time producer?
I just felt that the story of Gandhi My Father had to be told to the world. It was an untold story and had the markings of good cinema. I listened to the script as a cinegoer first and was totally moved by it. I knew that I had to bear the brunt of being an actor and producer at the same time. But I wanted to spend all my free time on production. Finally, I ended up focussing so much on this that I didn’t take up any acting assignment.
So it was the film that dictated your decision of turning producer rather than the other way round?
Also because of the director. I have known Feroze (Abbas Khan) for 12 years now. So I knew I wasn’t working with a stranger. I was venturing into an area not completely alien to me.
Did you see Feroze’s play Mahatma Vs Gandhi?
The film is not based on the play. It is based on the biography of Harilal written by Chandulal Dalal. But yes, it’s on the same subject. And I did watch the play and was completely dumbfounded by it.
What was one aspect of the story that touched you most?
That the sacrifice Mahatma Gandhi made for the country was much bigger as a father. I could understand that because I am a father myself. What we know of Mahatma Gandhi is just one per cent of what he actually achieved. He was almost like Jesus Christ, yet very human.
You are the first to be cast in your brother Boney Kapoor’s production. Why are you not acting in Gandhi My Father?
I wanted to be true to the script. I wanted to give complete focus to the making of the film. I don’t have that structure where I can be an actor and producer at the same time. Had the film been produced by someone else, I might have played some role.
Everyone from Naseeruddin Shah to Boman Irani played Gandhi in the stage version. Why did you opt for the little-known Darshan Zariwalla?
Cinema and stage are completely different mediums. We wanted to make the best choice, cinematically. Darshan too had done Feroze’s play. And he being a Gujarati helped. Gandhiji was also a Gujarati. Also, if you notice all the actors who played Gandhi became famous after playing Gandhi. Ben Kingsley was Ben Kingsley after playing Gandhi. So, we thought a new person could be a good idea. In the film he is shown growing from young to old. Some of the senior actors you mentioned have crossed that age where they can still look young.
You insist that Akshaye Khanna was born to play Harilal...
I believe not much has been seen of Akshaye. He has been working for over a decade now but has been thoroughly underutilised. I told him you don’t know how good you are. Now the time has come. After Gandhi My Father, he will definitely be among the top three stars around.
Why did you hold back the ready film for so long?
The nature of the film is such that it has to be released at the right time. Also, I wanted there to be a gap after Lage Raho Munnabhai. I had no sword hanging over my head and I was not answerable to anyone. So I waited. I wanted the film to be marketed globally. Little information about the product rather than a lot of nonsense. I am trying my best to get a global audience.
There are already protests in Bihar on how Gandhi has been portrayed in the film...
I just came to know about that. We have been careful about that since it is indeed a very sensitive subject. So we took the entire Gandhi family into confidence. After Tushar Gandhi (great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi) saw the film, he felt that some member of the Gandhi family had made the film. We have also received a ‘U’ certificate with no cuts.
What are you producing next?
An entertainer called Shortcut directed by Neeraj Vohra, starring Akshaye, Arshad Warsi and Amrita Rao.
Why would a busy actor like you decide to turn full-time producer?
I just felt that the story of Gandhi My Father had to be told to the world. It was an untold story and had the markings of good cinema. I listened to the script as a cinegoer first and was totally moved by it. I knew that I had to bear the brunt of being an actor and producer at the same time. But I wanted to spend all my free time on production. Finally, I ended up focussing so much on this that I didn’t take up any acting assignment.
So it was the film that dictated your decision of turning producer rather than the other way round?
Also because of the director. I have known Feroze (Abbas Khan) for 12 years now. So I knew I wasn’t working with a stranger. I was venturing into an area not completely alien to me.
Did you see Feroze’s play Mahatma Vs Gandhi?
The film is not based on the play. It is based on the biography of Harilal written by Chandulal Dalal. But yes, it’s on the same subject. And I did watch the play and was completely dumbfounded by it.
What was one aspect of the story that touched you most?
That the sacrifice Mahatma Gandhi made for the country was much bigger as a father. I could understand that because I am a father myself. What we know of Mahatma Gandhi is just one per cent of what he actually achieved. He was almost like Jesus Christ, yet very human.
You are the first to be cast in your brother Boney Kapoor’s production. Why are you not acting in Gandhi My Father?
I wanted to be true to the script. I wanted to give complete focus to the making of the film. I don’t have that structure where I can be an actor and producer at the same time. Had the film been produced by someone else, I might have played some role.
Everyone from Naseeruddin Shah to Boman Irani played Gandhi in the stage version. Why did you opt for the little-known Darshan Zariwalla?
Cinema and stage are completely different mediums. We wanted to make the best choice, cinematically. Darshan too had done Feroze’s play. And he being a Gujarati helped. Gandhiji was also a Gujarati. Also, if you notice all the actors who played Gandhi became famous after playing Gandhi. Ben Kingsley was Ben Kingsley after playing Gandhi. So, we thought a new person could be a good idea. In the film he is shown growing from young to old. Some of the senior actors you mentioned have crossed that age where they can still look young.
You insist that Akshaye Khanna was born to play Harilal...
I believe not much has been seen of Akshaye. He has been working for over a decade now but has been thoroughly underutilised. I told him you don’t know how good you are. Now the time has come. After Gandhi My Father, he will definitely be among the top three stars around.
Why did you hold back the ready film for so long?
The nature of the film is such that it has to be released at the right time. Also, I wanted there to be a gap after Lage Raho Munnabhai. I had no sword hanging over my head and I was not answerable to anyone. So I waited. I wanted the film to be marketed globally. Little information about the product rather than a lot of nonsense. I am trying my best to get a global audience.
There are already protests in Bihar on how Gandhi has been portrayed in the film...
I just came to know about that. We have been careful about that since it is indeed a very sensitive subject. So we took the entire Gandhi family into confidence. After Tushar Gandhi (great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi) saw the film, he felt that some member of the Gandhi family had made the film. We have also received a ‘U’ certificate with no cuts.
What are you producing next?
An entertainer called Shortcut directed by Neeraj Vohra, starring Akshaye, Arshad Warsi and Amrita Rao.
Feature: Lone rangers
Three of the most successful film-makers this year are now planning to do it their own way, writes Pratim D. Gupta
They are the only three directors to have hit Bollywood bull’s eye this year and yet Mani Ratnam, Vipul Shah and Anurag Basu are all thinking beyond their immediate success stories. None of the three makers of Guru, Namastey London and Life in a… Metro has a film in hand even as you read this. Why? They all want to turn full-time producers first before wielding the megaphones again.
Mani Ratnam, of course, has no choice. He has had a huge fallout with producer Bobby Bedi which means that the two are not making Lajjo together. Yes, the much-awaited Aamir Khan-Kareena Kapoor starrer based on Ismat Chugtai’s novel has been scrapped for good. And because Bedi holds the rights, Mani Sir can’t even make Lajjo with another producer. So, Mani Ratnam is poised to strike out on his own and make another film with Aamir in the lead. “It will be interesting to work with an actor like him,” he had said on a recent trip to Calcutta.
For Vipul Shah, it’s choice rather than compulsion. Before he sits in the director’s chair again he will be producing movies for other makers under the Blockbuster Movie Entertainers banner. For Namastey London, Vipul had co-produced the film with Nitin Manmohan’s Adlabs banner. But from now he wants to be on his own. “I am producing Anees Bazmee’s next film called Singh is King starring Akshay Kumar in the lead,” reveals Vipul. “Even as I script my next directorial venture I want Anees’s film to go on the floors immediately where I will only be involved as a creative producer.”
With Life in a...Metro emerging as the most talked about Bollywood film this quarter, director Anurag Basu plans to turn full-time producer. “I did production for Metro but at the end of the day it was a UTV film,” he says. “Now, I want to start my own banner. Shob korbo aami aar credit dite hobe anyader… I have already started TV production and now I want to produce my own films.”
It won’t be that easy for the director in demand. While UTV insists that Anurag is scripting the sequel to Metro for them, Mahesh Bhatt’s Vishesh Films wants him to make Suicide Bomber for them and Subhash Ghai’s Mukta Arts wants him to make “something like Gangster” for them. “I really don’t know what I will be making next; I am writing four scripts — a thriller, a love story, an action film and a horror movie. The only thing he is sure about is that this one will be for his own banner.
So why this sudden urge of young directors to turn producers? While Anurag feels he should get his due for all the hours of hard work he puts in, Vipul feels it is the logical back-up option for a creative mind. “Every director wears out or burns out or just goes out of fashion, so he should have his second line of work ready. Also, a director does not always have scripts ready to direct. So, if you are producing the activity does not stop. And finally, there are commercial benefits also,” smiles the Namastey London maker.
The kind of benefits being reaped by Bollywood honchos like Yash Chopra, Aditya Chopra, Subhash Ghai, Ram Gopal Varma.
Pratim D. Gupta
They are the only three directors to have hit Bollywood bull’s eye this year and yet Mani Ratnam, Vipul Shah and Anurag Basu are all thinking beyond their immediate success stories. None of the three makers of Guru, Namastey London and Life in a… Metro has a film in hand even as you read this. Why? They all want to turn full-time producers first before wielding the megaphones again.
Mani Ratnam, of course, has no choice. He has had a huge fallout with producer Bobby Bedi which means that the two are not making Lajjo together. Yes, the much-awaited Aamir Khan-Kareena Kapoor starrer based on Ismat Chugtai’s novel has been scrapped for good. And because Bedi holds the rights, Mani Sir can’t even make Lajjo with another producer. So, Mani Ratnam is poised to strike out on his own and make another film with Aamir in the lead. “It will be interesting to work with an actor like him,” he had said on a recent trip to Calcutta.
For Vipul Shah, it’s choice rather than compulsion. Before he sits in the director’s chair again he will be producing movies for other makers under the Blockbuster Movie Entertainers banner. For Namastey London, Vipul had co-produced the film with Nitin Manmohan’s Adlabs banner. But from now he wants to be on his own. “I am producing Anees Bazmee’s next film called Singh is King starring Akshay Kumar in the lead,” reveals Vipul. “Even as I script my next directorial venture I want Anees’s film to go on the floors immediately where I will only be involved as a creative producer.”
With Life in a...Metro emerging as the most talked about Bollywood film this quarter, director Anurag Basu plans to turn full-time producer. “I did production for Metro but at the end of the day it was a UTV film,” he says. “Now, I want to start my own banner. Shob korbo aami aar credit dite hobe anyader… I have already started TV production and now I want to produce my own films.”
It won’t be that easy for the director in demand. While UTV insists that Anurag is scripting the sequel to Metro for them, Mahesh Bhatt’s Vishesh Films wants him to make Suicide Bomber for them and Subhash Ghai’s Mukta Arts wants him to make “something like Gangster” for them. “I really don’t know what I will be making next; I am writing four scripts — a thriller, a love story, an action film and a horror movie. The only thing he is sure about is that this one will be for his own banner.
So why this sudden urge of young directors to turn producers? While Anurag feels he should get his due for all the hours of hard work he puts in, Vipul feels it is the logical back-up option for a creative mind. “Every director wears out or burns out or just goes out of fashion, so he should have his second line of work ready. Also, a director does not always have scripts ready to direct. So, if you are producing the activity does not stop. And finally, there are commercial benefits also,” smiles the Namastey London maker.
The kind of benefits being reaped by Bollywood honchos like Yash Chopra, Aditya Chopra, Subhash Ghai, Ram Gopal Varma.
Pratim D. Gupta
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