Ikka Plot Changed?
Box Office India was the first to report that Akshay Kumar will soon start shooting for Ikka, produced by AR Murugadoss and directed by Murugadoss' associate Jagan. The film is a remake of 2014 Tamil film Kaththi, which was directed by Murugadoss himself. But now that the film has been widely watched by Indian audiences, the makers have decided to change the plot. The Tamil film was based on farmers' suicides but Ikka will be based on the problem of water scarcity. It will focus on how multinational companies are tapping into the water and soft drink business in India. As a result, everyone has to buy water, which no longer flows through taps for free. Akshay Kumar will play the lead. PS: Well, Murugadoss has always surprised us with his stories in the past but the premise of the film does remind us of Shekhar Kapur's Paani. Hain na?
Force 2 Out
On November 25 John Abraham and Sonakshi Sinha starrer Force 2, a sequel to Force, is currently being shot in various parts of the world. The film is based on the intelligence agencies of different countries, including India's RAW. The film will wrap by April and hit cinemas on November 25.
So far, post Rock On 2, which releases on November 11, there appears to be no other release in November. The makers chose November 25 as their release date as the film will get a clear window of two weeks, post which Aditya Chopra's Befikre will hit the screens on December 9.
Aanand L Rai's Grand Plans
After the success of Tanu Weds Manu Returns, Aanand L Rai has stepped up production plans for all three films under his banner, Colour Yellow Production - Happy Bhaag Jayegi, directed by Mudassar Aziz, which is gearing up for its last schedule in Mumbai; Nil Battey Sannata, directed by debutante Ashwini Iyer, which is doing the rounds at festivals; and Nimmo, directed by Rai's associate, Rahul Shanklya, who will also be making his debut as director. Incidentally, even before the release of Nil Battey Sannata, the film has been remade in Tamil as Amma Kannaku, by the same director. Now that all three films are almost ready, Rai has decided to release all of them this year and will go all out to promote them. That will leave him free, from early next year, to start work on his next directorial venture, due for release during Christmas 2017.
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RKM Is In Demand
Airlift has been a super success and director Raja Krishna Menon has been getting phone calls from every corner of India and even from overseas, from people informing him how much they loved the film. The director had made his debut in 2009 with Barah Aana and it took him seven years to make another film and get noticed. Now, with the success of Airlift, many production houses want to sign him and, as we had broken the news, he has been signed to direct the Saif Ali Khan-starrer Chef, as also a film with T-Series. That's what makes our industry full of magic (and sometimes tragic!) - everything can change on a single Friday!umbai Diaries
Salman Khan, who is currently in Dubai vacationing for a week, will be back in town this weekend, after which the actor starts shooting for Yash Raj Films' Sultan. The shooting, which is taking place at Film City in Mumbai, was to conclude by this month end and the unit was to travel to Punjab for another schedule. But we hear the team has decided to conclude the shoot in Mumbai itself.
From March 3, there is a special song shoot at Film City, for which an entire set has been built to look like Punjab. A source close to the film reveals, "The unit wants to finish the schedule in Mumbai as a chunk has been shot already. If they don't move to an outdoor location, the film will wrap by mid-April and then the director can start working on the post-production." Sultan also features Anushka Sharma and is directed by Ali Abbas Zafar. It is all set to release on Eid 2016.
It's Time To Debut
Times are a-changing and a deluge of newcomers are making their debut in various departments of our industry, whether as directors, composers, actors or writers. It is no longer tough for newcomers to survive and release their first film. Things are even easier if you have a big name backing you, or are an industry kid or have been assisting a big name. So after assisting Imtiaz Ali on three to four films, Ali's assistant director Rajesh Tibrewal will soon be making his directorial debut with a film tentatively titled Leader. Tibrewal has also assisted Dibakar Banerjee and Anurag Kashyap on their first films. The film, a coming-of-age love story, is currently being shot in Spiti Valley and features Rajat Barmecha (Udaan) and Shivani Raghuvanshi (Titli). The film will wrap by next month and release by this year end.
Jolly LLB 2 To Start Rolling
After the success of Phas Gaya Re Obama, it was raining offers for Subhash Kapoor. But the director took his own sweet time and worked on his own story, and made Jolly LLB, which became another superhit. The story was loved by all kinds of audiences, who started demanding a sequel to the film. Moreover, the plot lends itself to a sequel. The director, who started scripting the sequel last year, is currently giving it the finishing touches. He reveals, "I am currently in the writing process and, in all probability, we will start shooting from July this year."The sequel will also feature Arshad Warsi in the lead and will probably release in early 2017.
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