KattiBatti updates thread - releasing on 18th September - Page 13

	NIKHIL ADVANI AND KANGANA RANAUT

Said Nikhil, "Kangana Ranaut will take her performance of QUEEN & TANU WEDS MANU one step ahead with KATTI BATTI. She'll kill you; you'll die in the last 20 minutes of KATTI BATTI."

The makers have not yet revealed what the film has to offer to us. "We haven't even shown what KATTI BATTI is about. We've just shown people masti & fun," said Nikhil.

When questioned why they haven't shown what exactly the film is about, he said, "We cannot show it because that is the script. I can't give away the script. When you see it, you'll know. It will shock you."

He further said, "Where other love story ends, KATTI BATTI begins. It's true. It's a story about two people, who love each other so much that they can't be with each other."

Sharing the feedback KATTI BATTI has got from Ehsaan (Noorani), he said, "Ehsaan just called me up and said that you should give tissue boxes with one ticket of KATTI BATTI. He said people will not be able to stop crying."

Only after watching the movie, we will be able to say what kind of shock we get. Let's wait for the 18th of this month. Let's hope we don't die of shock. Well, it can be a pleasant shock too!

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Nikhil Advani, 44, has already had an exhausting day when we meet around 5 pm at Yashraj Studios in Mumbai's Andheri (West), where he is completing the mix for his upcoming film Katti Batti, an "edgy, Dharma Production vibe" rom-com starring Kangana Ranaut and Imran Khan. Before that film releases on September 18, he hasHero, a remake of Subhash Ghai's 1983 action drama starring newcomers Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty, releasing on Friday.

This is a rare occurrence, given that it's uncommon for filmmakers to have more than one release per year anywhere in the world, much less over two consecutive Fridays.

Hero has been delivered, seal and all, and Advani doesn't find the prospect of back-to-back releases all that overwhelming. "Hero was supposed to release in July," he says, taking a sip of black coffee. "But then Arbaaz, Sohail, and Salim [Khan] saw the film and really liked how the film had been mounted and how well Sooraj and Athiya had done. So it was Arbaaz who suggested that it should piggyback on the success ofBajrangi Bhaijaan and release it soon after. Meanwhile, Katti Batti was always scheduled for a September 18 release. It was just a coincidence that Hero ended up coming one week before." Salman Khan Films, the actor's home banner that madeBajrangi Bhaijaan, has also produced Hero.

Advani's last release was the well-received spy thriller D-Day (2013), which he says was the film he made when he realised, after the critical and commercial failure ofChandni Chowk To China (2009), that he was going about things the wrong way. "When people asked me about that film, I would say, I was trying to make an Akshay Kumar film.' And they would reply, But why? We came to watch your film.'"

Before D-Day, he'd made the ambitious, bilingual animated film Delhi Safari (2012), which was rejected by critics and audiences everywhere but went on to win a National Award for Best Animated Film the following year nevertheless. "I spent seven years on that film, whilst making two other films on the side," he says. "So I didn't really have the time to ghusao my insecurities into it, which is why I think it turned out to be the most honest film I've ever made."

At the same time, he has this firm belief that Indian audiences are generally only aware of the names of perhaps five directors at any given point of time. "Only Bandra-to-Andheri crowd knows the names of filmmakers," he says, with a grin. "For the rest of the country, it's Salman ki film', or Kangana ki nayi film aa rahi hai'."

(From left) Athiya Shetty, Nikhil Advani, and Sooraj Pancholi at a promotional event for 'Hero'

These parallel convictions are evident in the differences between his two upcoming films. Hero features two newbie star kids (Sooraj is actor Aditya Pancholi's son; Athiya is Suniel Shetty's daughter) who "didn't know how to stand in front of a camera" when they began shooting the film. Katti Batti, on the other hand, features two-time National Award winner Kangana Ranaut, on whose performance(s) Tanu Weds Manu Returns banked upon to become one of the biggest hits of this year, as well as Imran Khan.

He did Hero for two reasons, he says: one, because Salman Khan asked him to ("I cannot say no to him," he says); and two, because it was a remake of a film he loves. "Will it match up to the original? Of course not. You can't reinvent the wheel," he says. "But yes, we've tried to make it look glossy and cool... basically, we've updated it for a whole new generation who've never seen the original. For them, Jackie [Shroff, who debuted with the '83 film] is Tiger Shroff's dad."

Katti Batti, on the other hand, is more of a director's piece. "It's a very honest film and we've tried to keep it as real as possible," he says. "It's also a very Bombay film and I'm a South Bombay guy myself. So I really didn't have to do much preparation for it. All the situations shown in the film... I have been part of them, I've seen them."

(From left) Kangana Ranaut, Imran Khan, Siddharth Roy Kapur, and Nikhil Advani at the trailer launch of 'Katti Batti'

Despite Hero having all the elements of a typical star kid launch film', Advani says that they've tried to break the template at places. "I believe that if you have the resources, as a filmmaker and an artiste, you must try and do something, even if it's just one scene, that pushes existing boundaries," he says. "If you aren't doing that much and just sticking to the formula, you're being lazy."

He's trying to do the same and more with Katti Batti as well his other upcoming films:Airlift, which he is producing; Bazaar, a film centered on the world of stock markets, and an as-yet-untitled murder mystery.

But for now, after two years, he's looking forward to having not one but two releases and is eager to see how the audience reacts. "I think the line I'll be looking for in the reviews for Hero is that it doesn't look like it's their [Pancholi's and Shetty's] first film," he says. "For Katti Batti, I'm hoping that Imran Khan's performance gets noticed. I think he's done a fabulous job."

One should not misinterpret love with lust'

Arundhuti Banerjeeconnect@absoluteindianews.comComing from a small town of Madhya Pradesh, singer Ritu Pathak struggled for quite some time to make her mark in the Hindi film industry. Thankfully, she managed to meet some big name of the industry. While she considers herself lucky to work with Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy for the song Lip To Lip, she also shares her journey in the playback scenario. ExcerptHow did the song Lip To Lip happen to you?One fine morning, I got a call from SEL's office and went to the Yashraj studio. I sang the number and they told me that I had done well. I am very happy that they remembered me from my past song, Volume Kam Kar from Housefull 2 and repeated me for Lip To Lip. It's great to team with them. Considering the lyrics of the song, do you think that theintensity of a romantic act like 'a kiss' hasvanished?The intensity of a romantic act like "a kiss" will never fade away. It its love, then the intensity of a kiss will remain the same for ages, but yes one should not misinterpret love with lust. So, how was theexperience?This is the second time, I am working with the trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and the experience was amazing. The tune of Lip To Lip' is so unique that I can't stop humming this song. Another reason for my excitement about the song is that the lyrics of the song is very young'. It has a youth connect and both Kangana Ranaut and Imran Khan represents today's generation. The picturisation of the song is so beautiful; stop-motion technology has been used for this song, so it looks super cool. Nikhil D'Souza has sung the male part and both of us have a different voice texture. SEL has utilised our textures beautifully for this song.How has your musical journey been from Gandi Baat (R Rajkumar) to Lip To Lip...?The journey has been very musical, I must say. For a singer, getting opportunities to sing and try out different genres matters a lot. I am blessed that I have got so many opportunities to work with the brilliant music directors starting from Papa Jag Jayega, Jalebi Bai, Razia Gundo mein Phass Gayee, Gandi Baat, Radha Nachegi , Lip to Lip Kisiya to O Mumma from Singh Is Bling for Sajid-Wajid. It has been very fulfilling.

Ritu Pathak