Kareena ecstatic over rickshaw ride

Kareena ecstatic over rickshaw ride

By Subhash K. Jha, Mumbai: It was her first ride on a hand-pulled rickshaw, and Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor was visibly ecstatic.

"I've never been on a rickshaw before!" screamed Kareena like a child who's just been on the roller coaster for the first time.

Kareena is part of the 150-member cast and crew of Vishal Bhardwaj's "Othello" in Lucknow, where they've been shooting for over a fortnight.

During a shot in the crowded Imambara area, Kareena got on to a rickshaw.

"We cordoned off the entire area for an hour. The shot had our hearts in our mouths," says the tired but triumphant director in Lucknow.

"Fortunately, because of the tight security, there was no crisis. Otherwise shooting with such a huge cast in the streets of Uttar Pradesh could've caused a riot."

Vishal is deeply satisfied with what he has shot.

"Ajay (Devgan), Saif (Ali Khan), Vivek (Oberoi) and Kareena... We've been at it for 17 days, in and around Mumbai and Pune and then in Lucknow. Now we move to Allahabad.

"I've shot about 15-20 percent of the film. My first schedule is nearly over. But we've a long way to go."

Vishal is impressed by his actors. "I don't feel I'm working with stars. They are working as any professional group of people. They're all surprisingly down-to-earth.

"Saif is looking really cool with his cropped hair. I know with a cast like this I've a big responsibility. But now I'm at the battlefront. There's no time to get nervous. It's all-out war! If I lose my nerves, I'll lose the battle.

"To see Kareena through the camera coming towards me on a rickshaw in the middle of that chaotic traffic in Lucknow was no less than winning a war.

"Now we've moved to Allahabad where I'm shooting the coronation sequence in a temple situated in the middle of a river," Vishal says.