Showing posts with label Abbas Dalal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Abbas Dalal. Show all posts
Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba director to make film on 2022 fake IPL scam
8:28 AM
Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba director to make film on 2022 fake IPL scam where Molipur villagers set up sham tourney, duped Russian gamblers
Hiren Kotwani (MID-DAY; April 30, 2024)
A story about cricket is bound to grab eyeballs. So, one can only imagine the interest when it involves a cricket con. Even as Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba is being readied for an OTT release, director Jayprad Desai has moved on to his next. The yet-untitled movie will offer a retelling of the fake Indian Premier League (IPL) scam in 2022.
Weeks after the IPL 2022 edition concluded, a group of unemployed youth in Molipur village in Gujarat staged a fake tournament to attract gamblers. With a group of labourers masquerading as players, stand-ins for umpires and a Harsha Bhogle mimic offering commentary, the group streamed matches on YouTube for two weeks. They managed to dupe some Russians—located in Tver, Voronezh and Moscow—who would bet on the matches. The fake tournament played out till the quarter-final before the group was caught by the cops.
A source says, “The film is inspired by Faraz Ahsan’s book, First Copy. In addition, Jayprad and his writers Hussain and Abbas Dalal have researched extensively to develop the screenplay.” The cast and locations will be finalized in the coming weeks. A chunk of the movie will be shot in Mumbai and Gujarat.
Seema Biswas and Sheeba Chadha are the kind of actors who are able to turn any story around-Kookie Gulati
8:19 AM
Visfot director Kookie Gulati discusses roping in Chadha and Biswas to play Dongri-based women in the Fardeen-Riteish starrer
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; March 19, 2022)
Visfot may be centred on leading men Fardeen Khan and Riteish Deshmukh, but director Kookie Gulati knew that the women characters were key to driving the narrative. As soon as writers Hussain and Abbas Dalal developed the story set in the bustling streets of Dongri, the director was certain about casting Seema Biswas and Sheeba Chadha in the supporting roles.
Gulati believed only the senior actors could bring the fierceness that the parts required. “Sheeba ji and Seema ji are the kind of actors who are able to turn any story around. I love them as performers. So when we were casting, I had them in mind for specific characters. They play quintessential women from Dongri, so they have a menacing gait. Their presence conveys more than the dialogues. We needed actors who can bring that aura on screen,” he explains.
The thriller, backed by Sanjay Gupta and Bhushan Kumar, also features Krystle D’Souza and Priya Bapat. Gulati, who helmed The Big Bull last year, says it was a conscious decision to rope in strong women actors in the ensemble cast. “The men might be doing the action in the film, but these ladies pack a punch every time they are on screen.”
I met Fardeen Khan and was taken by his transformation-Sanjay Gupta
8:33 AM
As Khan’s comeback vehicle Visfot rolls in Mumbai, producer Gupta on how the actor’s casting happened due to a chance meeting
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; October 14, 2021)
Two years ago, Sanjay Gupta’s agents in Los Angeles sent him the link of the Venezuelan film, Rock, Paper, Scissors (2012), which was the country’s official entry for the Oscars that year. The remake rights were up for grabs. After watching the drama, Gupta knew that it was the perfect recipe for a slick Bollywood thriller. That’s how he started his journey for Visfot, the Fardeen Khan and Riteish Deshmukh starrer that goes on floors today. “During the first lockdown, we commissioned writers Hussain and Abbas Dalal to [adapt] the film,” begins Gupta.
The film will mark Khan’s return to Bollywood after 11 years. While Deshmukh was his first choice for one of the leads, Khan’s casting happened by chance. “When we were still looking to cast the other lead, I met Fardeen and was taken by his transformation. He is so hungry to get back to the saddle, and has worked hard to lose oodles of weight. Riteish watched the film first, post which he read the script. He felt the script was better.”
The filmmaker has handed the directorial baton to Kookie Gulati, who helmed The Big Bull earlier this year. “The Big Bull made me marvel at his skill of handling the subject in two hours. I reached out to congratulate him, and sent him Visfot’s script.”
Gulati is thrilled to bring his interpretation to the remake. “It’s a story of how things can go crazy over a day. It will be fun filming on the streets of the city,” he says.
The movie will be shot in Bandra, Andheri, Girgaum and Dongri. Bhushan Kumar, who is backing the project with Gupta, says, “Kookie has a sense of emotions, and can ground the story while creating a big-screen extravaganza.”
The more I write, the more I understand acting-Hussain Dalal
7:56 AM
Praised for his acting gig in Toofaan, Hussain Dalal discusses how his writing skills have honed him as an artiste
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; July 27, 2021)
Although he has earned his bread and butter being a writer in the industry, with the films like Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013) and 2 States (2014), among others to his credit, over the last week, Hussain Dalal has been in the news for an acting gig. The writer landed the role of Munna in Toofaan after a bizarre phone call from director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. “He directed a film I had written — Mere Pyare Prime Minister [2018]. Every time we wrote something together, he would say, ‘Yeh role kar le.’ After he watched Judgementall Hai Kya [2019], he called to read out the opening scene of Toofaan and I knew I had to do it,” he says.
With his latest outing in front of the camera, Dalal has realised that he enjoys both writing and acting deeply. But does he prefer one over the other? “The more I write, the more I understand acting. I understand the challenges and frustrations of an actor, which improves my writing. I have 10 films a year, but for me, it has never been about picking what’s better. I just want to go to work every day.”
The writer has big projects in the pipeline, including Brahmastra, Ajay Devgn’s Rudra for Disney+ Hotstar, Suresh Triveni’s Jalsa, Dongri To Dubai, and Raj-DK’s next with Amazon Prime Video. Making time for acting in between his writing deadlines can’t be easy, but he says his passion for the art form drives him. “It’s easy to get lazy, but magic is created by the virtue of showing up everyday. I tread carefully with acting. I don’t need to pick up gigs to run my kitchen. It’s only now after Toofaan that I am considering acting as a viable career option.”
On the writing front, one of his most interesting projects is perhaps Applause Entertainment’s adaptation of Call My Agent, the French series that became a global rage. Set in the corridors of a Paris-based talent management company, the series gives a peek into the lives of stars and the PR machinery that keeps them shining. For Dalal, working on its adaptation has been a long party. “We have to tap that ‘chai se zyada kettle garam’ culture into a narrative. The star always walks alone; insecure actors bring an army of people. This industry doesn’t have an agent culture, so this was a tough show to adapt.”
Was he flooded with calls from stars, requesting not to bring the skeletons out of their closets? “The beauty of good writing is to attack culture and society, and not people. So, there are the satirical touches we’ve given, while retaining the format of the original.”
This adaptation is starkly different from Dongri To Dubai, inspired by Hussain Zaidi’s book of the same name. Dalal informs that the screenplay has been created by Zaidi and Rensil D’Silva. “Abbas [Dalal] and I joined in later to do dialogues and additional tweaking of the material. It’s a classic story of a boy who came from poverty and ruled the city; it’s in the same beat as Narcos, only rooted in Bombay of the ’60s.”
It wasn't a challenge in getting Call My Agent makers to agree to give us the rights-Deepak Segal
8:01 AM
As desi adaptation of Call My Agent goes on floors, makers on how they convinced French studio to part with the rights
Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; November 3, 2020)
With the French comedy, Call My Agent, gaining worldwide popularity, it was heard that Karan Johar was keen to procure the adaptation rights to develop a similar series for Netflix India. However, in October, Applause Entertainment bagged the rights for the Indian adaptation that is being headlined by Rajat Kapoor, Soni Razdan, Aahana Kumra and Ayush Mehra.
The Shaad Ali-directed workplace comedy went on floors last week at Filmalaya Studios. Deepak Segal, head of content, Applause Entertainment, reveals that the team initiated discussions with TF1 Studio in France to set the ball rolling on the Indian remake. "[Generally] we [try to] understand why we are convinced that this story will work well for the Indian audience. This understanding, along with our expertise, helps us convince the format owners that they can trust us with the job. Once that is done, agreeing on the commercial terms is easier. When we approached TF1, the format owners, with our vision for the Indian adaptation, it wasn't much of a challenge in getting them to agree to give us the rights," says Segal.
The Indian version will be seen through the lens of four celebrity managers, who leave no stone unturned to ensure their star clients are at the top of their game in Bollywood. Each episode will feature an exaggerated version of a real-life celebrity. "The world of talent managers set in the film industry has not been explored here yet. Writers Hussain and Abbas Dalal have done a great job of writing the six episodes under Shaad's supervision." Besides working with a lean team and having mandatory thermal screening daily, Segal says the studio has appointed a COVID inspector to monitor the safety measures on the set.
Karan Johar's web show on back-burner as the makers refused to part with its adaptation rights?
8:14 AM
Sources say Karan Johar has put web show, inspired by Call My Agent, on hold after Applause Entertainment picks up remake rights of the French comedy
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; October 7, 2020)
In March, mid-day had reported that Karan Johar was reworking his Netflix production, which was inspired by Call My Agent, after the makers of the popular French series — Mother Production and Mon Voisin Productions — refused to part with its adaptation rights (KJo goes back to the drawing board, March 12). Now, Sameer Nair's Applause Entertainment has reportedly procured the remake rights of the comedy. The Indian adaptation will apparently be helmed by Shaad Ali while Hussain Dalal and Abbas Dalal will share the writing duties.
Owing to the latest development, it is heard that Johar, who was co-developing the series with Amritpal Singh Bindra, has put it on the back-burner. "The offering was reimagined in the past six months. What started off as a fictional show focusing on the workings of Matrix, one of Bollywood's biggest talent management companies, was rewritten as an industry story about warring production houses. However, with another studio developing the desi adaptation of Call My Agent, this outing is being put on hold unless the team finds a new hook point."
mid-day reached out to Bindra, who did not respond till press time.
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