Bye Bye Santoshi?
Last year, the entire industry was abuzz with Rajkumar Santoshi making a comeback with Salman Khan after Andaz Apna Apna (1994 - although Salman Khan did a cameo in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani). Atul Agnihotri, the producer, had bought the rights to a Korean film called Ode To My Father. So while discussing it with Khan, he suggested Santoshi's name. And the director was signed on.
Since then, Santoshi and his team started writing and an announcement was made. It seems Khan had asked the director to finish the script by the time he finished Sultan so that he could hear it and juggle Kabir Khan's Tubelight with Santoshi's film. But Santoshi has failed to give the actor a bound script.
In fact, even the first draft is not ready, which hasn't gone down very well with the actor and the producers. So Santoshi has been asked to walk away from the project and a new-age director will be roped in to helm the film. Watch this space for more!
Vicky Kaushal Loses
Actor Vicky Kaushal has become everyone's favourite and the actor is bagging quite a few interesting roles. So it isn't surprising that among the offers was his dream role, which he was finalised for. It was the third lead in Sanjay leela Bhansali's next film Padmavati. The film also features Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh in the lead, with Kaushal playing the role of Padukone's husband.
So what happened how did he lose it? It seems Bhansali was not very happy with Kaushal playing the husband as it didn't match his personality. You see, the actor was also required to play a king. As a result, the director and casting team are now scouting for another actor who will be apt to play the king's role. But it seems Bhansali and Kaushal have parted ways on a good note as the actor agrees with the vision of the director.
Luv Ranjan Signed By T-Series
Director Luv Ranjan made his debut with Pyaar Ka Punchnama, where he launched newcomers. The film went on to become a super hit, especially a blockbuster among young boys. After that, Ranjan directed Akaash Vaani and then the Pyaar Ka Punchnama sequel. He is currently producing a web series and has also been signed by Bhushan Kumar under his banner T-Series to direct his next film.
A source close to the director reveals, "He had been nurturing the idea for a long time but didn't have the time to draft the script. After the success of Pyaar Ka Punchnama, he had many offers but took his own sweet time. After the sequel, he narrated a few of his ideas to the people who had earlier offered him films. When Bhushan Kumar heard this new-age comical love story, he was bowled over as the film also has huge scope for music. Kumar instantly signed him. The film starts rolling by end of this year and the hunt for newcomers is on."
A New Kid
Our industry loves star kids and another one is about to join the bandwagon - Bhagyashree's son Abhimanyu Dasani. The young man has been planning to become an actor for a long time and has been working on it. We hear that Vasan Bala, the writer ofRaman Raghav 2.0, Bombay Velvet and who directed Peddlers (unreleased) is all set to launch the newcomer.
The film, said to be a thriller, starts rolling at the end of this year, and along with the leading man, the director is also looking to launch a new girl. Bala who has been working with Anurag Kashyap for a very long time, narrated his first draft to Kashyap, who suggested that he cast newcomers, who would give their best to the script.
Farzi Back On Track
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK are known for their hatke films, starting with 99, Shor In The City and Go Goa Gone, to name a few. The director-duo is currently shooting with Sidharth Malhotra and Jacqueline Fernandez in Mumbai for their next film, which is using Reloaded as its working title.
Asked for details, Raj revealed, "We finished one schedule in Miami and another is underway in Mumbai. The second schedule will start next month and another overseas schedule will start at the end of the year. It's a totally new genre and, for the first time, we are shooting high-octane action."
The director-duo was also about to start a film called Farzi with Shahid Kapoor as the lead but the movie was shelved as Kapoor chose Rangoon instead. But Raj adds, "Everything happens for a reason. Farzi is very close to our hearts and it's a script that we love. So once this film (Reloaded) is over, we will start working on Farzi as it has an Indian feel."
And It's The Last Schedule
The most talked-about film of the year Ae Dil Hai Mushkil's last schedule will commence in Mumbai from Monday. Director Karan Johar has built an entire palace set, where he will be shooting the remaining songs with the leading cast, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Fawad Khan.
A source close to the director reveals, "The shoot began on July 18 and will be on till August as everyone's dates are not syncing. There's a song that requires all the leading actors to be present together, which can be shot only once Fawad comes back to India."
Akshay Kumar's Cameo
Box Office India was the first to tell you that Neeraj Pandey had signed Shivam Nair to direct a film, which would feature Taapsee Pannu as the leading lady. The film deals with a RAW agent. Now we hear that while the final narration was on, the team was struggling to cast a very important character for a small but strong role. Despite auditioning many actors, Nair was not satisfied with the results. Then, one day, Pandey narrated the script to good friend Akshay Kumar, who loved it and agreed to be part of the film in a cameo. The film starts rolling in August and will wrap by the end of the year.
Guess Who?
Sometimes, success is elusive only because your basic assumption is wrong - even though it may be a perfectly logical assumption.
This reasonably big director, who has a pretty decent track record, has been having a bunch of meetings with writers, asking them to pitch their concepts and scripts. To increase the chances of their scripts being chosen, these writers have quite naturally been presenting concepts that sync with the director's trademark genre and comfort zone. The director gives them a patient hearing and, in the end, usually says that while the script was good, he didn't really like the hero's role.
When the writers try to reason with him, saying their script is well-balanced between characters and why it makes sense for the director to pick this as his next venture, they are surprised to learn that the director's mission in this narration-taking spree is to find a script to play the main lead in, and not direct!
"Next time, even if a studio head asks me for a narration," one miffed writer was overheard muttering, "I will ask him whether he wants to listen to it as a potential producer or as the hero!" Well, better safe than sorry, we say.
Shiv Shakti
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