Vishal Bhardwaj has surprised Sajid Nadiadwala with a special gift on his 15th wedding anniversary. He kickstarts his most ambitious project, Rangoon, at Mumbai's Mehboob Studio today, followed by a shoot in the docks later in the afternoon. The filmmaker plans to reciprocate the gesture by mounting the dream his director has been nurturing for the last seven years on screen, in the scale it requires. “It's a huge film and a difficult one. My executive producers will have sleepless nights for the next six months,“ Sajid admits with a laugh, pointing out that Rangoon is a Casablanca-like love story set against the backdrop of the Second World War.

“Growing up, I heard a lot of love stories in school which unfolded in Pearl Harbour and Paris in those trying times. I was fascinated by the idea of romance budding during a war. Some blossomed, some were abruptly cut short, but for me all of them were as memorable as the love triangle Vishalji narrated to me. Whenever we've met, we've discussed ideas, but this one grabbed me instantly.“

He goes on to point out that while Vishal's vision is daringly different, its casting--Saif Ali Khan, Shahid Kapor and Kangana Ranaut and music penned by Gulzar and scored by Vishal, makes Rangoon a commercially viable product. Sajid is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that it is an affair to remember.

According to a source close to the production, 50 Japanese junior artistes have been flown down for the first schedule to correspond with the period and bring authenticity to the project. Some British actors too are likely to join the cast later. Army barracks have been built at Mehboob Studio and props are being flown in from all over. Talking to Mirror earlier (May 27), Vishal had explained how Rangoon will be an eye-opener on a chapter of history that many of us are completely unaware of. “If you visit a cemetery in Imphal, Manipur, you will see the graves of so many young soldiers who lost their lives in the Second World War. And the dark irony is that Indians were killing Indians because some of these soldiers fought for the British army against Subhash Chandra Bose's Indian National Army in Rangoon. It is my most expensive film to date and my most musical,“ he had asserted.

Kangana plays a diva from the '40s who has been polishing up on her dancing and riding for the role. She's also cut her hair really short, while Shahid who is an army officer and a gentleman, is growing a beard. “Shahid has a definite look in the film which will be developed over the next month-and a-half. He will also be meeting army officers from that era to flesh out his character. Saif is his usual suave self but has to polish up on his mannerisms,“ informs the source.

After this 10-day schedule, the unit is likely to move to the Burma border. Permission is currently being sought. “We will be shooting intermittently till March end or early April after which the post production will start. With every film the idea is to push the envelope but with Rangoon we have to create and explore a new space. So we are yet to set a release date. For now, the focus is on love, war and all that lies in between,“ Sajid signs off with a flourish.