Meet Casper, the friendly dog

Subhash Ghai's comic caper, Apna Sapna Money Money, boasts a cast of 15 actors, including Koena Mitra, Celina Jaitley and Riteish Deshmukh.
But on the sets of the film, the cynosure of all eyes is Casper, a yellow Labrador, who plays a pivotal role in the flick.

Says director Sangeeth Sivan, "It has been a good experience so far. I'll be shooting the climax with the dog — he has every character in the film on their toes — in the coming weeks."

The plot has the pooch, which is named Badshah in the film, living in a chawl with his master, played by Shreyas Talpade. Badshah has a nasty habit of picking up unattended objects and hiding them. The conflict arises when he hides a briefcase containing valuables, and every character tries petting him, to get their hands on the loot.

Needed big jaw

While finalising the cast, the director looked at many dog breeds. "My only concern was the breed, as the dog needed to carry a briefcase," explains Sivan. "That's how we decided on the Labrador. Mr Shankar, from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, agreed to give us his dog for the shoot. Knowing that animals are moody, we got two more dogs with similar coats as standbys."

Too distracted

Accompanied by his trainer, Casper shoots for two hours a day. "I have to change the shots, as you have to extract what the dog is capable of giving.

The only obstacle is that he gets weary and distracted with too many people around, harsh lights and the huge camera set-up. Otherwise, dogs are very cute creatures. I had a dog on the sets of my first Malayalam film, Vyuham (1991), too."

Riteish, Riya and Koena are fond of Casper and often pet the dog. Says Mitra, "Casper is very obedient and performs all the tasks with ease. We see to it that the dog is not overworked. When he falters, he is given a break to relax."

Iqbal can't wait

Adds Talpade, "My schedule with Casper begins in a few days. I'm looking forward to it; I am a dog lover and haven't shot with animals so far.