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Tinseltown talk - November 30, 2009
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November 30, 2009
Bollywood is notorious for poaching story ideas. And when parallels are drawn between a "new" Hindi film and its Hollywood counterpart, the producers and directors are ever so quick to rubbish the suggestion.
This brings us to Ajay Devgan's Atithi Tum Kab Jaaoge, which is being touted by critics as a remake of License to Wed, with Mandy Moore, John Krasinski and Robin Williams.
On the likeness in the movie's poster, producer Kumar Mangat explained: "The image we have released is not the first look, nor is it a poster from the film. It is just a working still from a song we shot. Moreover, we have only been inspired by the poster of License to Wed. Beyond that, there aren't any similarities."
So just what is the movie about then?
Basically, a recently married couple find their lives thrown into turmoil by the arrival of a guest who simply refuses to leave. Devgan and Konkona Sen Sharma play the couple, while Paresh Rawal revels in making a nuisance of himself in their home. Hmm, it sounds more like the premise of You, Me and Dupree.
According to Mangat, the story was born from a personal experience.
"This happened a year back," he laughed. "We were glad to have this guest at home. However, it became a pain of sorts when he didn't seem to be budging at all. It was amusing to begin with, but it soon became really frustrating.
"Meanwhile, Ashwani (writer and director of the film) also had a similar idea, so we decided to turn it into a feature film."
Aamir Khan may be a perfectionist, but his uncompromising stance is laudable when one looks at Ghajini and Taare Zameen Par.
In fact, newcomers would give anything to work with him. Well, most of them.
Prateik Babbar, son of actor-politician Raj Babbar, seems to be the exception if his recent action is anything to go by.
Having made his debut in Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na, which was the launch vehicle for Khan's nephew Imran, Babbar incurred the wrath of Khan on the set of Dhobi Ghat, which is co-directed by him and his wife Kiran Rao.
Everyone in the industry knows that time equals money for a film-maker. So when Babbar went AWOL and didn't answer his cellphone, Khan was understandably furious.
A source on set told Bollywood Hungama: "Frantic efforts to trace Prateik were made to no avail. Officials at Aamir Khan Productions made numerous calls to his mobile, but he couldn't be traced for the day."
It was later learned that Babbar had gone to Goa. Shooting was subsequently brought to a halt for two days.
Khan, however, wasted little time in giving the actor a piece of his mind when he eventually pitched up on set.
A new trend, which has reportedly been initiated by veteran actor-director-producer Aamir Khan, has emerged in Bollywood whereby one movie is used to promote another at the launch. I guess it makes business sense for production houses to kill two birds with one stone.
The film in question, in this instance, is Veer, which stars Salman Khan and was promoted during the screening of De Dana Dan.
Producer Vijay Gilani told Bollywood Hungama: "No, I am not following him (Aamir). In fact, I don't even know what was done to promote 3 Idiots.
"This concept, I planned a long way back."
Aside from the hype built around Khan's role in Veer, it also highlights another interesting development - the story was penned by the actor.
In fact, Khan called it his "dream project" as it was the culmination of years of research.
The lavishly-budgeted movie is set in 1880. Essentially, it is the love story of a warrior named Veer.
Rensil D'Silva is unimpressed with the UTV Hindi dubbing of a crucial scene in Kurbaan, which stars Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Vivek Oberoi.
The scene in question featured Khan lecturing to a group of US students discussing Islam and the Western world. The debate becomes a bit heated when Oberoi's Muslim character points out the failings of the American people.
In taking such creative liberties, the director felt the co-producers ruined the message and overall effect of the scene.
D'Silva told Bollywood Hungama: "Having white students speaking Hindi sounds artificial. I'm upset in many ways.
"This discussion of Islamic fundamentalism and America is the crux of the story. Dubbing it in Hindi reduces its seriousness.
"They (UTV) assured me that the dubbing was only for a very small number of prints," he added.
He was apparently misled as it was dubbed in 500 prints.
Siddharth Roy Kapoor, UTV's CEO, explained: "It's an important scene for the audience to understand as it details the core debate in the film. To refrain from alienating non-English speaking audience, we've dubbed this scene in certain areas.
D'Silva, however, felt it was too large a compromise.
"Saif, Vivek, Kareena and Divya speak in Hindi and English. Kirron Kher has her own speech pattern. But having the linguistic integrity compromised in such a crucial scene..."
South African audiences will understand his point - a very valid one at that - when they watch Kurbaan.
It would appear that Salman Khan and David Dhawan have had a falling-out.
Given that they make a formidable team, as was witnessed in the box-office winners Biwi No. 1, Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge, Partner and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi they delivered, this is just not good.
What gives, though?
Rumour has it that Khan was keen on a Partner 2, but Dhawan has spared little thought to his suggestion as he was busy working on Hook Ya Crook with John Abraham, whom Khan's isn't particularly fond of.
Determined to make his feelings known, Khan put a spanner in the works of Dhawan directing Sajid Nadiadwala's Sanki, which is a remake of Kick, a South Indian movie.
Nadiadwala, however, denied the allegation, saying that Khan doesn't play any role in deciding who will direct the film. He also denied a rift between the actor and director.
Oh well, time will tell how this rumour will play out.
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