JOIN USFardeen impresses John
John was keen to do Suriya’s role in the Hindi remake of Gautham Menon’s 2003 Tamil blockbuster Kaakha Kaakha, about a cop on a vendetta trail. But the film’s Hindi remake rights were with Fardeen. Film-maker Vipul Shah too saw Kaakha Kaakha and agreed to produce it for director Nishikant Kamat with John in the lead.
Shah personally approached Fardeen and a deal was struck without much delay or ado. “Fardeen was gracious, supportive and generous. I didn’t have to persuade him at all. When he saw how keen we were to remake Kaakha Kaakha in Hindi, he gave over the remake rights to us without hesitation,” said Shah.
“I don’t see why we can’t be more generous in this industry. When Ajay Devgn asked me to give over my title All The Best, I happily did so. It was meant to be the original title of my Aankhen. I didn’t need it because at that time English titles were a taboo,” said Shah.
Did Fardeen ask to be signed as the lead of Kaakha Kaakha in Hindi?
“Fardeen didn’t even suggest I sign him for the remake. It would have been embarrassing for both of us if he had. I don’t think we should ever mix business with pleasure. I’d love to work with Fardeen when I’ve the right project for him. But not be coerced emotionally into signing him,” said Shah.
Though Shah is not divulging the amount he paid Fardeen to acquire the remake rights, it is reliably learnt that the amount was Rs 6 million.
“I gave Fardeen exactly the amount that he had paid for the remake rights of Kaakha Kaakha. He didn’t expect anything more,” he said. Now Kamath is busy rewriting Kaakha Kaakha for a pan-India audience. Though the original Tamil film was shot only in India, the remake will be shot in many countries abroad.
John’s action sequences will be better than Suriya’s in the original. As for Asin signing the role opposite John, Shah clarifies, “Genelia D’Souza was never considered. I don’t know why it was written so. Asin was Nishi(kant)’s choice. He thought she was perfect for the part. The choice had nothing to do with my comfort level with her during the making of London Dreams. I don’t care how many projects she turned down recently or that she was sitting home for eight months. I’m glad she’s doing our film. The film is an acid test for Nishi. So far he has been identified with strong offbeat films. Kaakha Kaakha is his first full-fledged commercial film. And John-Asin is a fresh pair. It’s always exciting for audiences.”
IANS
Blogging his comments
Amitabh Bachchan recently wrote on his blog about his views on Indian Idol 5. Said the superstar, “The hopes and aspirations of the young, their desire and joys at recognition, their expectations and their despondent expressions of defeat and loss, are a sight that would move any human. They did mine tonight as also last night, when I watched the Indian Idol preliminaries on Sony TV.”
He had written further, “We often talk of the power of the youth, the strength and importance of their existence in the making of a nation. We speak thus at times, just to be considered correct, because it is politically correct to say so. But to believe in it, to witness it, be involved in it is an education by itself.”
“As I see contestant upon contestant being judged by a panel of professionals, I feel myself transported into the very moment in the lives of these young. They all come from humble to very humble backgrounds. They come with belief and desire. They carry with them the blessings of their elders. They come with the hope of living up to the expectations with which their family sends them. Almost all of them give the reason for being there to wanting to do something for the family, to prove to them their worth. To have some vehicle by which they could express ambition, future and the eventual victory. Each face among the millions that appear, has but only one determined expression — to be seen, to be heard, to be accepted, to win. Each face among the millions that appear, carries the despair and fear of failure. Not all will succeed they know, yet the wish that they succeed despite, plays prominently.”
Hanging out with prince
Arjun Rampal, Riteish Deshmukh and director Sajid Khan were in for a surprise when a fan they were hanging out with one evening turned out to be the prince! The fan was the prince of a territory in one of the Gulf countries.
Post pack-up one evening during the London schedule of Eros International and Sajid Nadiadwala’s Housefull, Riteish Deshmukh, Arjun Rampal and Sajid Khan went to a club where they met with an avid fan of Arjun’s.
We come to hear that after partying the entire night with Riteish, Arjun and Sajid, the fan gifted Arjun a whole load of high-end fashion clothing worth a whopping amount. Reveals a source, “The fan hung out with Arjun, Riteish and Sajid and even gifted Arjun clothing worth a monstrous amount.”
Funnily enough, the three of them realised later that the fan was a prince of a Gulf territory. “Arjun, Sajid and Riteish had no clue that this fan was a prince. Never even once did it pop up during their conversation that entire night. So it was quite funny when they found out,” adds the source.
No need for speed
If there is one thing that really scares the lovely Shazahn Padamsee, it’s fast bikes and cars and recently, while shooting for her forthcoming Telugu film titled Orange, she was made to face her worse fear — motorbikes.
A particular scene in Orange required the lovely Shazahn Padamsee to sit still on a speeding bike much to her dismay. Reveals a production source, “The sequence was shot on a flyover and Shazahn had to sit on a bike moving at a crazy speed while the director was in a car ahead shooting the scene.”
Adds the source, “Her fear was evident while she got on the bike but being the professional that she is, she managed to put on a brave face and deliver a good performance.”
We come to hear that Shazahn was so paranoid while sitting on the bike that she actually thought she wouldn’t survive to tell the tale!
Jumping to conclusions
Internationally acclaimed Indian film-maker Shekhar Kapur has dismissed reports that Twilight star Kristen Stewart is working on his film Paani. “Kristen Stewart is not aboard Paani. We have just had one conversation. She still needs to read the script. People are jumping to conclusions,” Kapur posted on his Twitter page. Kristen’s spokesperson has also denied her association with the project, saying, “She is not set to star in this movie.”