Source: Telegraph India
By: Bharathi Pradhan
There’s a story going around that Sanjay Leela Bhansali wants to base his next film on the (in)famous Heera Mandi (red light area) in Lahore, Pakistan. In fact, one of his friends is already in the neighbouring country doing a recce. There is also a buzz that Ismail Darbar (whose immeasurable talent has been unfortunately overtaken by his murky personal life) is quietly working on appropriate music to suit a dramatic love story rooted in Heera Mandi. That Heera Mandi is a subject that has fascinated Sanjay Bhansali for quite a few years now is no secret. But it is news (unconfirmed, of course, since Sanjay plays his cards close to his chest) that the film-maker and Hrithik Roshan are in talks about working together in Sanjay’s next film. If one remembers right, Hrithik was a special guest at the premiere of Saawariya — Sanjay had personally called him up and invited him. After the premiere too, when half the world was busy panning the film, Hrithik was one of the few to say that he’d enjoyed the experience. He had even given a tip to yours truly on how to watch Saawariya to really connect with the film. “There is a shot right at the beginning of the film, a wide shot of this entire fantasy city,” ran Hrithik’s guide to viewing Saawariya. “It’s a CG (computer graphics) shot, where the scene looks almost like a comic book, a fairy tale visual.
The voiceover (by Rani Mukherjee) says, ‘This story is not of this world.’ I hooked on to that and I went on to see a film that was not of my world, not of the monotonous, day-to-day city life. I’d found that first shot unreal. And I knew that if Sanjay Leela Bhansali was making a film where he wanted to show something very real, he would not use a CG shot that looked so unreal. That CG looked so much like a fable, like a fantasy shot. I knew at that moment that I could not watch this film from my world.” Warming up to his theory, Hrithik suggested, “In fact I think Sanjay should have — it’s foolish of me to suggest something to such a maker but — I wish that moment, when Rani’s voiceover talks, had been stressed upon. Few got the right perspective. Fortunately, I got it because of that one shot.” Having hit upon the right way to watch a fantasy world unfold, Hrithik Roshan found Saawariya engrossing cinema. And that must’ve been music to Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ears at that juncture when his film was being torn apart by everybody. If Bhansali and Roshan do come together, it will follow a pattern that both have individually followed. Sanjay, like most directors, likes the excitement of working with a variety of good actors — he has worked with Salman Khan, Nana Patekar, Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Ranbir Kapoor so far.
Directing the picky Hrithik would give Sanjay the adrenaline rush he needs as a film-maker. Hrithik, on his part, has also followed his heart as an actor. He looks at directors more than the box office of their films. For instance, Hrithik wanted to work with Ashutosh Gowariker, the director, after watching, not Lagaan but Swades! After working with some of the best in the business (dad Rakesh Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Karan Johar, Ashutosh G), adding to his kitty of good directors is Hrithik’s agenda. He already has Anurag Basu (Metro, Gangster) directing him in Rakesh Roshan’s next production. It makes sense to follow up a grand Ashutosh film with the sensibilities of Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Immediately after Saawariya bombed, I’d asked Hrithik if he’d do a film with Sanjay. And the conversation ran thus:
Would you do a film with him?
“Of course I would.”
Would your saying ‘yes’ depend on the script?
Hrithik’s respect for the film-maker was unwavering. “Not really,” he answered. “I would just need to identify with the world and the character. As for the script, I have enough faith in the film-maker.” Whether it’s Heera Mandi or any other subject (even Bajirao-Mastani), a Sanjay-Hrithik union would have a certain unbeatable freshness to it. Hey, psst! Remember Sujamal, Aishwarya Rai’s tall brother in Jodhaa Akbar? Sonu Sood is the actor’s name and the film has brought him more recognition than all the south Indian films he starred in for years. Now everybody’s talking about his chemistry (and you know what the connotation is) with Isha Koppikar, Sonu’s heroine in a big Rajshri film. For reasons best known to him, Sonu is letting it pass without denial. Mr Sood, how about telling everybody that you are a married man and the father of a little school-going son? Bharathi S. Pradhan is managing editor of Movie Mag International