As told to Ankita Chaurasia (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 10, 2020)

Interestingly, Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein (RHTDM; right) was not the first film I shot for. It was not even the first film I signed. My first break came a month after winning the Miss Asia Pacific title on December 3, 2000, when I bumped into Anil Kapoor and Anupam Kher outside a five-star in Hyderabad, where I was celebrating my victory.

It was awkward as I was in a white saree with the crown on my head. They walked up and introduced themselves. I wanted to scream that I already knew who they were and was a fan of their work. Anil informed that Anupam was going to direct a film (Om Jai Jagadish), in which he would act, and that they were keen to sign me. When I told them that I didn’t know if I was ready for films yet and that my parents might not agree, Anupam volunteered to convince them. Even though we would watch every film that released in the theatres and on Doordarshan, my parents didn’t know much about how films worked. Anupam called them up and assured them that I would be safe and taken care of.

Soon after, I was put into a workshop conducted by Feroz Abbas Khan. Twelve days into it, Anupam informed me that the producer of our film, Vashu Bhagnani, was in a quandary as the leading lady of one of his other films had exited last-minute and the rest of the team had already started filming in Cape Town. He asked me if I would be willing to step in. That’s how, with a four-day notice, I flew to South Africa to shoot for Deewaanapan with Arjun Rampal.

As soon as I landed, I was put in costume and make-up, and sent off to an outdoor location to shoot for the song, “Hum Deewane”. I was clueless about what I was supposed to do and simply followed instructions. I loved to dance so the steps weren’t very difficult and I drew from Arjun’s energy. His (then) wife Mehr Jesia and he had been on the judges panel during the pageant.

I heard the script of my first film after shooting the song. During the shoot, I would bombard my director, Ashuu Trikha, with questions about editing, light angles and lensing. Before I completed the film, I landed RHTDM, which got completed and was released earlier. My first shot for that one was where Reena tells Maddy that she thinks she loves him. It was freezing cold but beautiful. Later, in New Zealand, we were picturising songs for both films simultaneously, rushing through costume changes in-between. By the time we were done, I had enough lessons to last a lifetime.

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; January 10, 2018)

The legal wrangle over the title of their film behind them, makers of Pulkit Samrat and Jimmy Sheirgill-starrer Veerey Ki Wedding have finally locked in on a release date.

After locking horns with Anil Kapoor over its similar sounding title to daughter Sonam’s next, Veere Di Wedding, director Ashuu Trikha’s wedding-drama will hit screens on March 9. Kapoor’s venture will follow two months later on May 18.

Says Trikha of the Samrat, Sheirgill and Kriti Kharbanda starrer, “Our film is ready for release and we are going to kick-off promotions soon. It is a breezy rom-com.”

While filmmakers avoid locking horns on the same release date to avoid eating into each other’s business, in this case, the makers are competing against similar-sounding names, with speculatively resembling backdrops.

Both the films were shot in Delhi, against the theme of the ‘big fat Indian wedding’, but, Kapoor’s outing, which marks Kareena Kapoor Khan’s return to Bollywood after her pregnancy, boasts of a bigger star cast.

The makers of Veerey Ki Wedding found themselves in legal imbroglio last year when Anil moved court to prevent them from using the title, claiming they were seeking mileage from his daughter’s big- ticket film. A notice was served, but the court ruled in their favour.

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; June 21, 2017)

Pulkit Samrat and Kriti Kharbanda have joined the star cast of Ashuu Trikha’s Veerey Ki Wedding, a few days before the shoot was scheduled to end. Interestingly, the duo are set to headline the romance-drama, which courted controversy due to its similar sounding title with the upcoming Kareena Kapoor Khan and Sonam Kapoor-starrer, Veere Di Wedding.

Veerey Ki Wedding initially featured Jimmy Sheirgill and Punjabi actress Diljott, who was making her Bollywood debut with the film. With new additions on board, Diljott has now been shown the door. Sources say, the decision to include familiar names was a last-ditch attempt to make the project more saleable.

Trikha tells mid-day, “Pulkit is the hero of our film. We added him and Kriti to our star cast and have been shooting with them in New Delhi. We did not make an announcement as we have been tied up with the shoot.”

Though Jimmy stays on board, Diljott will be replaced by telly actress Payal Rajput, best remembered for her outing in the show, Sapnon Se Bhare Naina. Trikha adds that the scenes featuring Diljott, including a lavish song sequence which was shot in Manali, will be superimposed with Rajput’s face via VFX.

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; May 6, 2017)

Barely a day after Sonam Kapoor collected her first National Awards trophy, the Bombay High Court has ruled in favour of Jimmy Sheirgill-starrer Veerey Ki Wedding over her forthcoming film, Veere Di Wedding.

Sonam’s father, actor-producer Anil Kapoor had moved court to stop makers of the Jimmy Sheirgill-starrer from using the title, claiming they were seeking mileage from the similar-sounding title of a bigger film. On Wednesday, a notice was served to Veerey Ki Wedding producers — Rajat Bakshi, Rajesh Bakshi and Pramod Gomber of Make My Day Entertainment — informing them that the matter would come up for hearing at 11 am on Thursday. “We were informed that their lawyers had sent a notice asking us to be present in court, else they’d seek interim relief. We rushed to get our paperwork done,” director Ashuu Trikha says.

Justice G S Patel ruled in Trikha’s favour. “The judge said he was not convinced by [Anil’s] argument. He did not find any misuse or deceit as alleged, given that the story and cast were different. We are waiting for the judgment copy.”

The Kapoors can appeal against the judgment. Filming for Veerey Ki Wedding is complete with the makers eyeing a release post August. Mid-day had earlier reported that Anil had written to the Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association, urging intervention. However, since Trikha had acquired a copyright and trademark for the name, Anil’s claims were dismissed on flimsy grounds, especially since shoot is yet to begin.

Our text messages to the Kapoors went unanswered.

Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; March 21, 2017)

In January 2016, Sonam Kapoor and sister Rhea announced their passion project, a chick flick titled Veere Di Wedding. Helmed by Khoobsurat director Shashank Ghosh, the comedy-drama stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania.

The film’s shooting was to kick off in mid-2016, but was deferred after Kareena Kapoor Khan confirmed her pregnancy. While Kareena, in her last interview to mid-day, said shooting would begin in May, the producers are now facing another challenge.

Filming for another production (Veerey Ki Wedding) is already underway, with cast members Jimmy Sheirgill and debutante actress Diljott, having completed 50 per cent of shooting.

The almost identical names have bothered the Kapoors, who claim to have registered the title first. In a letter written to the Film Makers Combine (FMC), Sonam’s father, veteran actor Anil Kapoor, has urged for intervention.

Veerey Ki Wedding director Ashuu Trikha says they had acquired a copyright and trademark for the title, apart from registering it with their association, Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMPAA). Bollywood film producers are associated with different trade associations affiliated to the FMC, which takes the final decision. “The association suggests that a trademark supersedes any other registration. Legally, we have supported our title with everything,” he tells mid-day.

Shooting for the songs, including the title track of the romantic-actioner, is complete, says Trikha. Following a packed schedule next week, 80 per cent of the film will be ready. Co-producer Chandan Bakshi says that though IMPAA had initially asked them to change the title, they gave the team a green signal after learning of the trademark and that a major part of the film had been shot.

A senior member of IMPAA said, “Anil will have to choose a new title, since shooting is yet to commence for his film. That’s the only way out.”

Anil, who is shooting in London, remained unavailable for comment. The film’s spokesperson said, “The film title, Veere Di Wedding, has been registered by Anil Kapoor Film Company and has been so since 2015. The makers are going ahead as planned, without any change as opposed to the speculation of a title change."

DNA (May 15, 2014)

Cleavages, which have been an integral and almost essential part of Indian cinema since Bindu and Padma Khanna heaved their way into the bosom of fame, may well be things of the past.

According to sources from the Censor Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) the board, so far very liberal with cleavage display, has decided to clamp down heavily on the same.

The first casualty of this newly-discovered disregard for a woman’s modesty in the upper half of her torso is new actress Rupali Krishnarao who plays a prostitute in Ashuu Trikha’s Koyelaanchal. Her cleavage has been blurred by the censor board at several places where the board members found the flesh display too ample.

Considering how much cleavages are part of our Bollywood culture, director Trikha can’t stop grinning over the sheer hypocrisy of this sudden flash of modesty. “The cleavage was blurred as per the censor board’s instruction. I argued with them saying cleavage is an integral part of Bollywood culture. Besides, my heroine plays a prostitute. Years ago in Satyam Shivam Sunderam Zeenat Aman had displayed a lot more than cleavage in a temple sequence.”

Trikha argues his heroine’s anatomy was not open to kids. “My film is for ‘Adults Only’. And adult audiences are mature enough to handle some cleavage. But I saw no point in arguing beyond a point. I just blurred the blouse.” But the director says he has no complaints against the board. “They have become cautiously advanced as opposed to defensively regressive.”

Meanwhile, a sequence in Ananth Mahadevan’s The Xpose showing a starlet in a transparent white sari has been trimmed by the board. Ironically, the same pose by Zeenat in Satyam Shivam Sunderam was allowed to go scot-free.

Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; May 6, 2014)

Producer-director Ashuu Trikha’s upcoming film, Koyelaanchal, that stars Suniel Shetty and Vinod Khanna, has been facing troubles. Trikha had to get the film’s posters and publicity material re-done as the Association of Motion Pictures and Television Programme Producers (AMPTPP) objected to a line in the posters. It seems that AMPTPP didn’t want the line ‘Sabse bada mafia Bharat sarkaar hai’ to be included in the film’s posters.

Asshu Trikha says, “If AMPTPP does not approve of the publicity material, then the producer can’t apply for a censor certificate. AMPTPP told me that I either remove the line or give it in writing that if someone raises an objection or creates legal trouble, I shall be solely responsible. I had no choice but to make the changes.”

Actor Suniel Shetty, who plays a district collector in the film, says, “It is very sad that objections are being raised even though people haven’t watched the film. Nobody stands up for us and these associations continue to raise objections.” hitlist looks at other films that faced similar issues due to the opposition of organisations other than the censor board.

Title tussles
Phantom, that stars Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif, is supposed to be a cross-country film with the plot spanning India, Lebanon, USA and UK. In the film, Saif plays a character that goes by the name Daniyal Khan and this was also the film’s working title. The makers were apparently told by some religious organisations that the film’s name was insensitive to the minority community. As a result, it was changed to Phantom.

Similarly, Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMMPA) raised objections to Mritunjay Devvrat’s film, The Bastard Child. The director then had to change it to Children of War. “No scene had to be cut, but I had to change the name. I went by their decision, as I wish to complete all formalities and release the film as soon as possible. In India and Bangladesh, it will release as Children of War. The original title will stay the same abroad,” Mritunjay recently said in an interview.

In September 2013, the Akal Takht, the highest temporal body of the Sikhs, objected to a film titled Singh Sahib the Great. The organisation pointed out that using the words ‘ Singh Sahib’ in a film’s film was disrespectful. In the end, makers released the film as Singh Saab the Great.

Another instance is when salon and beauty parlour associations were up in arms against Shah Rukh’s production, then titled Billu Barber. With the association raising objections to the use of the word ‘barber’, SRK’s production house then decided to drop the word ‘ barber’ from the title in its pre- release promotional campaigns.

Scenes under attack
The Tamil Nadu government banned Kamal Haasan’s film, Vishwaroopam, as it feared law and order problems in the light of opposition by a few Muslim groups. Muslim groups said that the film portrayed Muslims as terrorists. Kamal Hassan finally had to delete seven scenes from his film and some scenes were also muted.

In a similar fashion, Ajay Devgn had to remove some scenes from Son of Sardaar as they were deemed offensive by Sikh community leaders. He even screened the film for community leaders from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee in Amritsar after objections were raised regarding controversial dialogue and imagery in the film’s trailer.

In 2009, Kaminey’s makers faced troubles when Jagannath Sena Sangathan filed an FIR (First Information Report) against them at a police station in Puri. The organisation was upset about the line ‘ Apna Haath Jagannath’ being written on a poster showing a scantily clad woman on the wall of a public toilet. The objectionable portion of the scene was then removed from the prints that were released in Orissa.

Parag Maniar (BOMBAY TIMES; April 23, 2014)

We met up with Asshu Trikha, the director of the upcoming Koyelaanchal, which revolves around India’s coal mafia. Excerpts from the conversation:

Why a film on the coal mafia?
Koyelaanchal, the land of coal, is our country’s fuel station. Most people involved in coal scams are in the power (electricity) business. They work for the government on the face of it, but report to the mafia. I feel socially responsible as a filmmaker and want to make people aware of what’s happening there. At the same time, I want to tell the story in an entertaining way.

Recent films like Gunday and Gangs of Wasseypur also had similar themes…
When we rolled, these films were not in the picture. In any case, my movie deals with how the mafia actually operates. It also reveals how innocent inhabitants get exploited and affected by all this. My scriptwriters, Vishal Vijay Kumar and Sanjay Masoomm, have borrowed from real-life instances.
 
Is Vinod Khanna’s character based on don Suryadeo Singh?
Vinod’s character may resemble a specific person, but a lot of traits have been borrowed from various people.

How easy or difficult was it to shoot in the Naxal-infested region?
While shooting, we were told that we were being watched by the Naxals. So, fear was always there. Also, there would be thick layers of black dust on our face and clothes. Even the phlegm that we’d spit would be black.

Koyelaanchal, produced by Asshu Trikha, releases May 9.

Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; April 14, 2014)

Filmmaker Ashuu Trikha and his team recently wrapped up a long schedule of their film, Koyelaanchal, in Jharkhand. The unit shot in remote places in Jharkhand with its cast headlined by Suniel Shetty and Vinod Khanna.

A crewmember says, “As soon as we started shooting, we had to follow a lot of rules as we were shooting in areas near the coalmines and Naxal strongholds. We had to cover our faces with masks so to not inhale coal dust. We also had to eat jaggery and chickpeas to purge the dust from our system.”

On one occasion, a crowd surged around the set and soon the situation spun out of control. A source says, “With inebriated people creating a ruckus, we had to pack up for a day. We returned to the set only to find broken props.”

Trikha confirms the story, and reveals that a stone was hurled at Vinod Khanna during the film’s shoot. “In such areas, you can never tell who is a Naxalite and who isn’t. During the shoot, someone threw a stone at Vinod (Khanna). Luckily, he ducked in time. Undeterred by this incident, he continued shooting for the scene. The locals punished the miscreant on their own and we didn’t have to get the police involved,” he says.

Trikha adds, “Many of the locals we hired worked in coalmines; they would be intoxicated all day and they’d not come on time for the shoot. Thankfully, we had security personnel in Ramgarh who helped us stick to our schedule.”

Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; March 29, 2014)

The makers of superstar Rajinikanth’s much anticipated film, Kochadaiiyaan, have now announced May 1 as the new release date for their film. This big budget film — it has cost approximately Rs 125 crore to make — will release in seven different languages all over India.

It is hardly surprising that no other South films are releasing on this day. However, interestingly, some Hindi films have already declared May 1 as their release date. Clearly, they are willing to take on the challenge of competing against the Thalaiva ( it means boss in Tamil). hitlist spoke to a few industry insiders to get their take on whether these films can pass the box office test on May 1.

So far, a total of three films — Indra Kumar’s Super Nani, Ashuu Trikha’s Koyelaanchal, Akhilesh Jaiswal’s Mastram, and Tanushri Chattrji Bassu’s Purani Jeans — are likely to release on same day as it is a holiday weekend. It may be pointed out here that May 1 is celebrated as Maharashtra Day as well as Labour Day and it falls on Thursday this year. Apart from these films, a Hollywood film, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, will also release in India on May 1.

A source points out that it’s surprising that Purani Jeans is clashing with Kochadaiiyaan, as they are both Eros productions. “It is bit odd for both of them to release them on the same day. It is likely that one of them will be pushed ahead.”

Trade expert Komal Nahata points out that Hindi films releasing on the same day as Rajini’s latest film will find it tough to do well at the BO. “After Robot’s resounding success, Rajinikanth’s star power has risen multifold across India and not just in the South. I am sure some filmmakers will change their release dates, as it is not advisable to clash with such a big film. But some of them will end up releasing their films as there are hardly any free weekends available now and they will invariably eat into each other’s business,” he says.

Anand Vishal, head of operation- sales, Fun Cinemas, says, “In some pockets of Mumbai, Rajini’s film will do well and we will factor this in while alloting screens. For example, in Matunga and some other Western suburbs, it will definitely do well. So we will give the film more screens in those areas. But yes, it is true that distribution becomes a tough task for us if more than two films release on the same day.” However, he is quick to point out that he expects Mastram to do well. “Youngsters like to watch such films as they deal with bold subjects,” he says.

Director Sangeeth Sivan, who has worked in both Bollywood and the South film industry, feels that Rajini is a like a God in the South, so it is understandable that no will consider a box office tussle with him. “However in Mumbai or elsewhere, I don’t think his films create a similar mass hysteria. All said and done, it is an animation film. I agree that Hindi cinemagoers will watch it, but it should have a limited impact on other films. My guess is that Hindi directors will be more concerned about cricket (IPL) than Rajini.” Mukesh Bhatt’s film, Citylights, that is being directed by Hansal Mehta, was supposed to hit the screens on May 1. But the film’s release has now been pushed ahead and it will release on May 23.

When asked if the reason behind this move was avoiding a clash with Rajini, Bhatt denied it. He said, “Our creative team decided to delay the film’s release ten days ago. The film is not complete as of now, and we don’t want to hurry it.” He also emphasised that with people having different tastes, all kinds of films can afford to release on the same day. “ One has to keep in mind that some films can’t avoid a clash as there are no free weekends available,” Bhatt said.

Director Ashuu Trikha offers a similar explanation for changing the release date of his film, Koyelaanchal. He says, “I am releasing my film on May 9 instead of May 1 and this decision was taken long ago. I didn’t know anything about the release date of Rajinikanth’s film back then.”

Producer Sunil Bohra, whose film Mastram (right) is also slated to release on May 1, says, “I am not shifting the release date of my film. I think we have a different set of audience, so there is no harm in releasing the film on same day.”

Their confidence notwithstanding, how these films will actually fare remains to be seen.