K Jo Nahin to Uski Aawaz Sahi: in S-E-I

By Subhash K Jha

Salaam-e-Ishq has been pretty much an uphill task for idirector Nikhil Advani, from battling unsavoury ts stories about disgruntled co-stars to getting his former colleague Karan Johar to dub a line where the super-director introduces himself to Priyanka Chopra who plays a Johar fan.

Nikhil earlier wanted Karan to make an appearance in the ensemble film. The dates just couldn't be worked out. Finally he had to be content with Karan's voice.

Sighs Nikhil, "In spite of the hurdles it has been a dream run to the release. Some power has been looking after me. The experience has been exhausting. We shot for 131 days. Since there're six couples and six romances in Salaam-e-Ishq it was virtually like shooting six different films. And yet I'm only two films old and seven films young."

One on-going charge against the film is that Salaam-e-Ishq is inspired by Richard Curtis' 2003 romance Love Actually. "I've said this time and again. That my film is formated like Love Actually. But the individual tracks are very different…unless you count the fact that Anil Kapoor is going through a mid-life crisis just like one of the characters in Love Actually.

But yes, I was inspired into making Salaam-e-Ishq after watching Love Actually ….just like the editing of my first film Kal Ho Na Ho was like Sidewalks Of New York and Sex & The City. And the humour of Saif's character was reminiscent of Woody Allen's cinema.

Two of my themes in Salaam-e-Ishq is infatuation and obsession. It doesn't have a social message like Baabul. It doesn't go into deep issues. It's just an entertaining ode to love. In my film love is a problem. The words of the Beatles' 'All you need is love, love is all you need' is my theme."

The film's title is inspired from the chart-busting song Salaam-e-ishq meri jaan in Prakash Mehra's Muqaddar Ka Sikandar. "It's my wife's favourite song. And this is as much an ode to love as to my love for my wife. When she jokingly suggested it I immediately registered the title."

Isn't it gimmicky to use a popular song's title? "I agree. It's also gimmicky to make Shah Rukh run in Kal Ho Na Ho when he's just out of hospital. But he runs like a birth. And the song title provides instant identification with the audience."

Of the vast cast, "Akshaye Khanna wanted to play another role initially. I wanted Saif in the project. But he wanted Akshaye's role. Salman's role was written for him. Sohail Khan is like the chipmunk in Ice Age."

His favourite pair in the film? "Anil and Juhi are so wonderful to watch. I really enjoyed working with them. And the one actor I enjoyed directing the most was Govinda. He's a phenomenon. My film will put him back on the map.

The stars are not stars in the film. They're all characters. We made Salaam-e-Ishq exactly the way we envisioned it. When Akshaye's shirt was lost one my assistants got one from his home."

2006 has been lucrative. Nikhil feels things will only get better. "Every production house is becoming more corporotized and professional. I had planned the release in December 2005. Pre-production is the jaan of any film now."

http://www.santabanta.com/cinema.asp?pid=13341

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