Ayesha is perfect for Salman!

By Subhash K Jha

It's official. After hunting around for a heroine in every nifty nook and crafty corner of the film industry Boney Kapoor has finally zeroed in on the super-talented Ayesha Takia as Salman Khan's leading lady in the Hindi remake of the Tamil blockbuster Pokhiri.

Many names including Kangana Ranaut and Deepika Padukone were considered.

"But we decided finally on Ayesha. Both Sridevi and I feel she's an under-utilized bundle of talent, just waiting to explode. We saw her in Nagesh Kukunoor's Dor and decided she was it. No two ways about it. The girl will go very far if she watches her steps," says Boney.

However there's a bigger reason that talent that made Ayesha the 'it' girl. "We wanted to pair Salman with a heroine he has never worked with before. I want to create an aura of freshness around Salman through the cast factor," divulges Boney.

"Therefore Ayesha with whom Salman has never been cast before. We've also got Om Puri, Mahesh Manjrekar and Siyaji Shinde to play the other roles."

The crew of Wanted Dead And Alive leaves for Bangkok on July 25 to shoot two songs.

"Interestingly," divulges Boney. "We've got Prabhu Deva who's himself a choreographer, to direct and his brother Raju Sunderam to choreograph. I don't think we've ever had such a combination before."

The music for Wanted Dead & Alive is by Sajid-Wajid whose partnership with Salman goes back a long way to Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya and Tere Naam where they shared the billing with Himesh Reshammiya.

Adds Boney, "Salman is a rare 4- am friend in the industry. If you want he can be there for you at any time. He stood by me when my production house was going through a low and did No Entry without talking about the money. I feel Wanted Dead & Alive couldn't be made without Salman."