Kavita Awaasthi (HINDUSTAN TIMES; August 5, 2020)

In his 20-year-old career, Sharman Joshi has been appreciated in a number of roles including Rang De Basanti (2006), Golmaal (2006), Life in a... Metro (2007), 3 Idiots (2009), and Ferrari Ki Sawaari (FKS; 2012), among others. And though people appreciate his talent and versatility, he has not been seen in as many films.

Joshi talks about the challenges in his profession, and says, “Choices mein galti ho gayi ho toh, please give me another chance (smiles). We are all humans and make errors. In this profession, you are only as good as your last project. Some films don’t turn out the way you expect them to. Post FKS, three of my films — War Chhod Na Yaar (2013), Gang Of Ghosts and Super Nani (both 2014), didn’t turn out the way they were on paper. That was a bit of a setback for me and disappointing, too. To emerge out of a setback, one needs a lot of effort, patience and luck. I am glad I got Mission Mangal last year.”

Having been an actor for so long, Joshi knows what it takes to make it work. Ask him about favouritism and nepotism in the industry, and he says, “To get a break in the industry can be quite exasperating and disappointing but that is the challenge all of us have taken on. It is the same with any competitive profession, including sports. In the film business, people want to work with a certain set of actors and that is fair as you want a team that is on the same page as you are and in sync with you. I can’t point fingers at someone if he or she is working constantly with one person. I did two films back-to-back with Mr (Rajkumar) Hirani and Mr (Vidhu Vinod) Chopra as they liked me as an actor and I was more than happy to be part of their films.”

Joshi is happy with the response to the second season of his web show Baarish and has a few films lined up for release including director Umesh Shukla’s Aankh Micholi. He is also looking forward to shooting filmmaker duo Abbas-Mustan’s thriller for an OTT soon. “Thrillers are their forte and I am excited about the project as I wanted to work with them,” he concludes.

Upala KBR (DNA; March 24, 2014)

Before Parineeti Chopra’s first film released, her superstar cousin Priyanka Chopra drew criticism for not supporting or promoting the budding actress. Four years after her debut, it is now Parineeti who is getting flak for not rolling out a red carpet for her cousin Meera’s entry into Bollywood. Meanwhile, Piggy Chops is going out of her way to help Meera find a footing in the film industry.

A source says, “While Priyanka and Parineeti are cordial with each other, the vibes between Meera and Parineeti are cold. It started when the Ishaqzaade girl told people that Meera was not her cousin but a ‘cousin’s cousin’s cousin’ and not really part of her family. She further added that they are so distant that they don’t even meet or talk. A hurt Meera immediately retaliated calling her comments as ‘unwarranted and stupid’.”

Meanwhile, Priyanka has been promoting Meera’s film Gangs Of Ghosts, which released last Friday. The actress posted the film’s theatrical trailer on Twitter and wrote ‘My sister’s first Hindi movie! Check it!’ Please note when Parineeti’s first film Ladies vs Ricky Bahl released no such gesture was made.

Meera takes a high moral ground and downplays how Parineeti brushed her off as a distant relative, “See, Parineeti is a younger sister. Our dads are first cousins. I’m sure she didn’t mean it how it came across. She may have said it without giving it a thought. I haven’t taken what she said seriously.”

Parineeti says, “Priyanka’s and my father are brothers. Meera’s father is their first cousin which makes her my second cousin. There are several factual inaccuracies in the news doing the rounds. Also, I have indeed not met Meera for a long time and haven’t been in touch. But I wish her all the best for her film!”

But it has to be noted that the best collections at many places were in the early shows. So it remains to be seen where it goes in the next few days. The film is a success due to the first day and will pull through even if there is a big crash but it remains to be seen if it can sustain and emerge a major winner.

GANG OF GHOSTS opened to a poor 5% response while ANKHON DEKHI and LAKSHMI were total washouts and had shows cancelled at places despite a limited release.

Upala KBR (DNA; March 22, 2014)

Chunky Pandey’s is a spirit in his latest release Gang Of Ghosts - a first for him. Here he talks about his ghostly aspirations and more. Read on...:

What kind of ghost would you make - one like Casper or the one from Ragini MMS?
I would like to be the ghost of Ragini MMS 2. Who wouldn’t want to be in THERE with Sunny Leone! But if I were a spirit I want to possess Ranbir Kapoor’s body as I want to be a bachelor all over again!

What kind of ghost are you playing in GOG?
I play a ghost who died in 1935 so I come in black and white. But I play a bechara ghost and not an evil one. I speak with a nasal twang in the film — a la KL Saigal.

Do you believe in ghosts?
I’m married to one (Bhavna Pandey). I’m joking. But I do believe in spirits - like Grey Goose and Black Label (winks).

Ever have a ghostly experience?
Yes. I actually saw a female ghost in my bedroom a few months before I met Bhavna. She was very beautiful, dressed in white and looked like a princess. At that time I was broke, my films were not working and I had made some bad investments so I was very depressed. She walked into my cupboard and it spooked the crap out of me but from that day I never had money troubles again. I met Bhavna and married her. I think seeing that ghost was a good omen for me.

Three people you’d want to be your friends when they become ghosts?
Sajid Khan who constantly makes me laugh, Dhirubhai Ambani and Marilyn Monroe are the people I would want to know in the afterlife. But I’m in no hurry to kill Sajid as he has given me a new lease of life in films.

If you could choose whose ghost could haunt you, you would choose?
Bhoothnath! The one and only Amitabh Bachchan. He is so talented and what a beautiful voice.

As a ghost, whose bedroom would you like to haunt?
Karan Johar. I would love to share his wardrobe and the information he has on everyone.

Three celebrity ghosts who would frighten you?
Dev Anand. I still think he’s alive. Bhavna Panday because I’m so scared of her in real life and my dear friend Gulshan Grover as the characters he plays are so frightening! Imagine his ghost!

As a ghost how would you scare girls?
I don’t think girls are scared of ghosts so I’d turn into a cockroach. Sure shot girly heart attack!

Why do ghosts only wear white?
I will ask Abbas-Mastan.

Why are there more female ghosts?
Many females without make up look like ghosts.

~ 300TH BOLLYWOOD TALK! ~

As many as 4 films are all set to release tomorrow but it’s apparent that Ragini MMS 2 would attract the maximum viewers this weekend. My analysis on Ragini MMS 2 and the other releases:

RAGINI MMS 2: Starring Sunny Leone, Ragini MMS 2 has expectedly made the maximum noise as promos suggest a great combo of sex and horror. What also enhanced interest are the 2 chartbuster songs – Baby Doll and Chaar Botal Vodka – that have been loved. That the film is adult-certified would not mar its prospects as it looks exciting enough. In the past, adult films like The Dirty Picture, Grand Masti, Delhi Belly etc worked big time and the same is expected from Ragini MMS 2. Whether it would have a long run at the box office would be decided by the response from public.

ANKHON DEKHI: It’s the directorial venture of Rajat Kapoor and has Sanjay Mishra in the leading role. The shoot commenced and ended before mid-2012. Expectedly, the unconventional film took a while to find a producer who can invest in its release. Kapoor in fact tweeted in disgust for not being able to find an investor. And surprisingly, the tweet caught the attention of a Nigerian businessman of Indian origin who immediately came on board! The film might be an interesting watch but will attract a very miniscule section of audience in theatres.

LAKSHMI: The Nagesh Kukunoor film was to release on January 17 but owing to censor problems, its release was indefinitely postponed. Finally, it releases tomorrow but promotions have been missing, and it’s not surprising. The film has been made on tight budget and the makers might have already spent on promotions in January. However, they organized multiple special screenings and invited prominent personalities to see the film. Many of them are raving about the film online and in newspapers, and it has caught attention. Lakshmi depicts the tale of a 14-year-old who is forced into prostitution and how she fights back. Kukunoor reportedly has gone all out and come up with a shocking piece of cinema. This aspect of the film would surely keep many moviegoers away but it’ll also get few curious people to theatres.

GANG OF GHOSTS: It is the remake of the Bengali sleeper hit Bhooter Bhabishyat and is directed by Satish Kaushik. It has an interesting star cast, comprising of Sharman Joshi, Mahie Gill, Saurabh Shukla, Anupam Kher, Rajpal Yadav, Jackie Shroff, Chunky Pandey, Yashpal Sharma, Parambrata Chatterjee (Rana in Kahaani) and Priyanka Chopra’s cousin Meera. The Hate Story hottie Paoli Dam features in a special song. The trailer was strictly okay and the adult humour seems like a put off. Only thing that has impressed is Mahie’s song ‘Nahin Doongi’ that reminds one of the golden classics of 50s. The excitement for the film is hardly there and it’s all set to have a tepid response at the box office.

WHICH FILM WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE AND WHY? DO LET ME KNOW!

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 13, 2014)

His upcoming film, Gang Of Ghosts, recycled from the Bengali superhit Bhooter Bhobishyat, has put Satish Kaushik back in action as a director. “The machine is well oiled and I’m eager to keep going,” he laughs, already looking forward to his next directorial.


Kaushik is juggling between two scripts, a rom-com set in Punjab, Har Dil Dolly Pe Lattu Hai, and an emotional drama, Mayanagri. The latter is based on Hindi litterateur and playwright Surendra Verma’s bestseller, Do Murdon Ke Liye Guldasta. “I was instantly fascinated by the novel and bought the rights back in 1999. It’s taken me a long time to write the screenplay but it’s finally ready. It’s one of my best scripts and I have to make the film now,” he asserts. 

Verma is a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Sahitya Akademi Award winner and his novel revolves around two immigrants who come to Mumbai from the North chasing their dreams and go on to become success stories.

“It reinforces the popular notion that Mumbai is the city of dreams and embraces everyone. I connected with it because like these two men I too had gone through a similar journey. And despite the ups and downs finally managed to make a place for myself in this mayanagri,” the filmmaker points out.

The problem with this gritty travelogue is its epic structure. It is almost in the space of Scarface. It would need to be lavishly mounted and would require big corporate funding. If Kaushik is not able to arrange finance straightaway, he can always start work on his “mad comedy” revolving around the irresistible Dolly. “It’s a musical based on my own story and will be loads of fun like Gang of Ghosts,” he says.

Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; March 5, 2014)

Priyanka Chopra is in a mood to reconcile. At least that’s what it looks like if sources are to be believed. The actress, who is shooting for Sanjay Leela  Bhansali’s biopic on Mary Kom, may give her nod to a Prabhu Dheva film, where she is starring opposite rival actress Kareena Kapoor’s husband, Saif Ali Khan. To add to it, she has also promoted cousin Meera Chopra’s upcoming film, on a social networking website.

Pairing up with Saif

If sources from the industry are to be believed, director Prabhu Dheva has approached Priyanka Chopra to work opposite Saif Ali Khan in his upcoming film. This is the third instance where Priyanka has got an opportunity to star opposite Saif.

It may be recalled that PC was initially approached to star in two other films starring Saif but none materialised due to ‘date issues’. Says another source, “PC couldn’t take on Cocktail as she was shooting for Barfi at that time. Similarly, when she was offered Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.’s film Happy Ending, she was busy shooting for Gunday. So she missed out on both the films and Deepika Padukone and Ileana D’Cruz were then finalised for these respective roles.” But some other sources insisted that Priyanka was not too happy to star with Saif because of her ongoing rivalry with Saif ’s then girlfriend and now wife, Kareena Kapoor. But now Priyanka seems to have decided to put that behind her.

Sister act

Recent reports said that when PC’s cousin Meera Chopra came down to Mumbai and joined Bollywood, both Priyanka and Parineeti Chopra gave her the cold shoulder as they were not fond of Meerra. But on Monday night, Priyanka Chopra’s tweet hinted that all is well between her and her cousin.

In a bid to promote her cousin’s film, Gang of Ghosts, Priyanka Chopra shared the film’s theatrical trailer and wrote this on the social networking website: “My sisters first Hindi movie! Chk it!!! (sic)” When contacted, Meerra Chopra, who retweeted the same, dispelled rumours about PC not being supportive of her. She said, “Priyanka is the only superstar in the family and she will always be the only one. I have her unconditional support. She is a girl with a golden heart and I am lucky to have her as family.”

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; March 3, 2014)

Satish Kaushik may have helped out Nagesh Kukunoor with his upcoming film, Lakshmi, but now the former is probably regretting the same. Latest news has it that Kaushik’s directorial venture, Gang of Ghosts, and Kukunoor’s film, Lakshmi, are slated to release on the same date: March 21.

Over two years ago, Lakshmi faced a roadblock when its producer backed out of the project and the project was stalled due to a financial crunch. This was when Kukunoor approached Kaushik to help him out with the project. Kaushik recollects how he had a New Delhi- based company — of which he is a director — come on board as the producer. “I even roped in Jayantilal Gada as the presenter,” says Kaushik, who plays a grey character in the film.

He adds that releasing Lakshmi on the same day was uncalled for as it clashes with his film. “It could have been averted, but now that Lakhsmi finally has a release date, I will just have to go with it. To add to it, both films have got an A certificate,” says Kaushik.

While Gang of Ghosts is a horror comedy starring Sharman Joshi, Mahie Gill, Meera Chopra, Kukunoor’s film deals with the subject of human trafficking and stars Monali Thakur, Ram Kapoor, Shefali Shah and Kaushik.

A source says that Kaushik doesn’t want Lakshmi to be pushed back yet again as the film has been stuck for a while now despite an impressive run in the festival circuit. It may be pointed out here that Kukunoor’s earlier film, Hausla, is yet to see the light of day.

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 18, 2014)

A war of cinematic sensibilities has erupted between Bengali filmmaker Anik Dutta and Bollywood's Satish Kaushik. Mirror has learnt that Dutta isn’t impressed with Gang Of Ghosts, the Hindi remake of his Bengali film, Bhooter Bhabishyat. He alleges that the producers of the original didn’t even take his consent before selling the remake rights to Ratan Jain of Venus. “I was kept in the dark throughout and had no idea what the guys in Mumbai were up to,” he groused when Mirror contacted him in Kolkata. He insisted, “The entire process was very unfair.”

Dutta insists that despite this he would have been okay with the arrangement had Gang Of Ghosts stayed true to its source material. “But from what I can see in the trailer, it looks cheap and tacky. My film was appreciated by filmmakers like Mrinal Sen and Anurag Kashyap. But the art direction of the remake is terrible, they haven’t been able to put it into context or make it culturally relevant.”

Reacting to this, Kaushik said, “How can I please everyone? In Bengal sensibilities are more artistic but I am making a Bollywood film." To this Dutta retorted, “My film was almost shelved and eventually it got a limited release. Yet Bhooter Bhabishyat went on to do terrific business all over the country. Its treatment was as mainstream as any Bollywood film. You can’t use that as an excuse for a poor product, sorry.”

While Kaushik says he’s made certain changes to make the film more Mumbai-centric. “It’s impossible to make the film with the same style and ambience as the original. I feel more comfortable with a masala-film and that’s what I have made,” he signed off.

Subhash K Jha (DNA; February 12, 2014)

From the last week of February to the first week of April, Anupam Kher has one release nearly every week. Says the actor, “I didn’t plan it that way. But unfortunately a bottleneck of my releases are coming up. On March 7, I have E Niwas’s Total Siyappa. I am very excited about this one because I get to be in the same film as my wife (Kirron Kher) for the first time. Then on March 21, I have Atul Agnihotri’s production O Teri releasing and also my dear friend Satish Kaushik’s Gangs Of Ghosts is being released. And then on April 4, I have David Dhawan’s Main Tera Hero. A month after that is Habib Faisal’s Daawat-E-Ishq. So you see, it’s Anupam Kher everywhere.”

Anupam is not shaken by the overdose of his presence at the turnstiles. “I’ve been through these theatre traffic jams before. The advantage of being the actor that I am is I am not the same person in any of the five releases that are coming in March, April and May.”

When asked him to stick out his neck and select his favourite among the crowd of releases in the coming months Anupam says, “I enjoyed them all. But working with Habib Faisal, Aditya Roy Kapur and Parineeti Chopra in Daawat-e-Ishq was a very special experience. They are so talented. But I am not saying it’s my favourite among my forthcoming releases. I liked all of them, for different reasons.”

Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; February 6, 2014)

Bhushan Kumar’s film Bhoothnath Returns, starring Amitabh Bachchan, and Satish Kaushik’s film, Gang of Ghosts, starring Mahi Gill, Sharman Joshi and Meera Chopra were slated to release on the same date: April 11. With the two movies taking on each other, the makers of Bhoothnath Returns were upset about the clash. A crew member said, “We have wanted to release the film on this date for quite some time now and there is no point in shifting the date now just because some other film is coming up. And though both the films have the ghost element in common, they are essentially two different films with different target audiences. Ours is a kids’ film whereas theirs is a horror drama.”

When contacted, Bhushan said that he had no idea about Satish’s film releasing on same day. “We are definitely going to release our film on April 11,” is all he said.

Meanwhile, Satish has now been forced to bring forward the release date of his film. “I had a word with distributors and they convinced me to release it earlier. The film will release on March 28 instead of April 11. Besides, I must say that I really liked the film Bhoothnath and have immense respect for Amitji. There was no question of pitting my film against his,” he said.