Rajiv Rai, the maker of films like Gupt, Tridev and Mohra, is back after 15 years to direct an action-thriller
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 25, 2019)

Rajiv Rai is all set to return to Bollywood, 15 years after the release of his action thriller, Asambhav. “It’s been a long time but I’m looking forward to directing another Hindi film. I have been working on several ideas over the last few years and have finally zeroed in on the script of my next,” states the writer-director-editor of films like Gupt, Tridev, Vishwatma and Mohra.

The son of producer-distributor Gulshan Rai, Rajiv made his directorial debut in 1985 with the Anil Kapoor-Tina Munim-Jackie Shroff starrer Yudh. He married actress Sonam, whom he had directed in Tridev and Vishwatma, in 1991 and two years later, their son, Gaurav, was born. He fled India to live in the UK after a failed assassination attempt in 1997, returning after four years with the romantic drama, Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat. It bombed, but in 2004, Rajiv was back at the marquee with Asambhav featuring Arjun Rampal and Priyanka Chopra. Shortly after its release, his father passed away after a prolonged illness, and Rajiv disappeared again. He only made news three years ago with the news of his divorce. There have been speculations about his return since 2015 which he rubbishes but admits he is ready to roll with a film soon.

“I have been working on this film for over a year, it’s the best script of my career so far,” he asserts. Prod him for details and he adds, “It’s essentially an action thriller, but there is a lot of drama and emotion too. I’m in the process of locking the final draft.”

According to a source, the film in question will go on the floors by September, but Rajiv will not be drawn into a confirmation. “It’s too early to discuss the shooting schedule,” he says shortly.

Buzz is, the film in question is the sequel to his 1997 thriller, Gupt, which featured Kajol and Bobby Deol and Manisha Koirala. The director refutes the rumours, saying, “I was working on an idea that had the potential to be a Gupt sequel, but somewhere, I wasn’t satisfied with the way it was shaping up and shelved the idea. There is no point making a sequel just for the heck of it. My upcoming film is definitely not a remake or sequel to Gupt, Mohra or Tridev. It is a completely fresh subject and different from what is being made in today’s time. It is more significant than anything I have made in the past.”

Rajiv was recently spotted on the sets of Ali Abbas Zafar’s Bharat, featuring Salman Khan, with his producer-friend Shabbir Boxwala. Ask him if a film with the actor is on the cards, the director smiles, “No, I have not approached him for any film. Salman is an old and dear friend, I have known him since long before he became an actor. It was just a social visit.”

DNA (February 6, 2019)

Bobby Deol, who recently turned 50, feels one should never look back at one’s career with regret. In fact, the actor feels whatever career choices he made were a part of his destiny. He says he finds it hard to choose his good work from his indifferent work, but of course, certain films come to his mind immediately.

1. WISH DILLAGI HAD FARED BETTER
For example, Bobby loved the 1999 film, Dillagi, which was directed by his brother, Sunny Deol. “I wish Dillagi had done better. My character in it was one of my favourite ones,” says Bobby, while talking about the film which had Sunny and him falling for the same girl — Urmila Matondkar.


2. RANI AND PREITY ARE CLOSEST TO ME
The Race 3 star also remembers Guddu Dhanoa’s Bichhoo (2000) with fondness where he co-starred with Rani Mukerji. He says, “Bichhoo was nice, but I didn’t want my character to die. It was a remake of a French film; but back then, there were no issues of copyrights.”

He recalls, “I remember shooting with Rani, I used to call her ‘Dedh Footiya’. There were two people I used to have arguments with, Preity (Zinta), my Soldier (1998) co-star, and Rani. From all the people I’ve worked with, they are the closest to me. During Bichhoo, Rani had so much energy, I remember, when I used to pick her up for a scene, I used to ask her, ‘Tu khaati kya hai?’ Then she lost weight after that.”

He further continues, “In her first film with Karan Johar, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), she was so petite. However, she is a good eater. Being a Bengali, she loves food and would get great stuff from home. She also got all of us some great home cooked fish.”

3. MANISHA ATE CHHOLE AND ONIONS BEFORE A SONG SHOOT
Recalling the shoot of the Rajiv Rai thriller, Gupt (1997), Bobby says, “I wish Rajiv didn’t have to leave the country after Gupt. I liked working with him. I wish he had stayed back and continued making movies once the unpleasantness of the bad incident had blown over.”

He adds, “I had a broken a leg when I had to shoot a song for Gupt. So, I had only hand movements, and couldn’t dance because of my broken leg. I remember I underwent a surgery after that.”

Reminiscing about the suspense thriller, he says, “Another instance people remind me of is the time when Manisha (Koirala) came to the set for a song, after eating onion with chhole. For a scene, she had to bite me, and I was like ‘How can I get romantic with her after smelling onions on her breath?’”

Bobs is quick to say that ‘it was fun’ working with Manisha. “She was quite mad. I have learnt to respect her now. She’s been through so much in life. What an amazing actor she is! She just went another way. Everyone has their own destiny,” he trails off.

Varun Dhawan to put up his dancing best with hip-hop, krumping and Bollywood at upcoming IIFA gala
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; June 13, 2018)

Stealing time out from the shoot of his much-anticipated venture, Kalank, Varun Dhawan is set to kick-off rehearsal for his act at the upcoming International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA). A source close to the actor tells mid-day that he will replace his workout sessions in the forthcoming 10 days with dance training instead. "The shooting schedule for Kalank is hectic and he needs to attain a beefed-up physique. But, he will start practicing for IIFA soon. He has a flair for dance, so he will mix multiple forms for his act," says the source of the June 22 gig, set to be held in Bangkok.

The actor tells mid-day that on the schedule are performances that are certain to evoke nostalgia. "I am kicked about Bobby Deol's performance on songs of Gupt (1997) and Soldier (1998). Rekha ji will take to the stage after 20 years. I know a bit about her act and we are all excited about it. I will do a live act with the audience at a market place. It will be something that I have never done before," Varun Dhawan says.

On the playlist for his 10-minute-long performance are tracks like Jee Karda and his songs from ABCD 2. "He will perform freestyle hip hop and krumping on them. The second part of the act will see him groove to a mash-up of Bollywood numbers, including Sau Tarah Ke, Aa Toh Sahii and Tan Tana Tan. But the highlight will be the song High Rated Gabru, by Guru Randhawa, which he has already started work on," the source says. Dhawan, the source says, has been toiling to get the steps of this number right, putting in four hours each day for it.

While Dhawan admits that memorising steps has not been difficult for him, the challenge, this time, will be to learn multiple styles. "Looking effortless will be difficult. Also, live acts are physically demanding, so keeping the momentum intact will be a tough feat. We will use technology in my act, which requires persistent preparation."

Manishaa R (DNA; July 21, 2017)

Filmmaker Rajiv Rai, who was one of the most celebrated directors in Bollywood in the 90s with super-hits like Tridev, Vishwatma, Mohra and Gupt: The Hidden Truth, has denied news reports that he is all set to return to filmmaking with the sequel to Gupt. The news started doing the rounds when Rajiv’s close friend, writer and associate, Shabbir Boxwalla, posted a message to him on social media, calling for an early start to the sequel of the cult Bobby Deol-starrer that had done record business at the box-office.

No sequel
But Rai isn’t keen to go ahead with it. He says, “Shabbir is keen on the sequel to Gupt, but there is no question of my going ahead with it. Prior to this, there was news that I would be making a grand return to filmmaking with Mohra 2 and Tridev 2, but the fact is, I don’t even think I will ever return to filmmaking. The titles will stay with me, but that is immaterial.”

Rajeev, who relocated to the UK after threats from the underworld post the release of Gupt and later returned to direct two films, the last being Asambhav (2004), said that he did not want to mislead audiences, “A lot of fans, admirers keep asking me about the Gupt sequel on social media, but I don’t want to mislead them by spreading false news. I am at a point where I have lost the motivation to make a film. The confidence is still there, but filmmaking as an art simply does not appeal to me anymore,” he said.

Money matters
Rai, who had distributed and released his films under his father Gulshan Rai’s banner, Trimurti Films, said that the concept of filmmaking has changed entirely in the last one decade. “To start with, you need to invest crores of rupees in stars to make a film today. You need at least Rs 100 crores to make a good film, apart from the infrastructure, distribution set-up and other things. It is not a one-man show,” he adds.

Box-office equation
He feels that the box-office stakes now are too high and unpredictable, “It’s a scary feeling about a film coming on Friday and leaving on Monday. It is futile. Why work for two years for a four-day run? What’s the guarantee that it would be a memorable film like, say, Gupt?

Dangal?
I don’t want to churn out false dreams and waste my life thinking about it. I simply don’t see spending so much time and energy on it. It’d be a lifelong endeavour and I’m not into it anymore.” When reminded that every passionate filmmaker would want to return to filmmaking at some time, Rai says, “If you ask any filmmaker in the world, whether he would want to make a film again, the answer would be yes. But I’m not doing anything about it. However, like I said earlier, I don’t know whether I would ever return to filmmaking. My life is good without it. I am a happy man and I have a fantastic life in my other business interests. Why should I fool myself into something that’s not going to happen?”

Hollywood tales
The filmmaker, who has also been living in LA and Dubai, did work on a few Hollywood scripts in the interim, “I have done some work abroad in Hollywood in terms of writing, I wrote two fantastic scripts but I didn’t push them because I never looked at a career in Hollywood,” he said. He also admits that he was not in touch with anyone in the industry. “I do keep bumping into some industry people at airports and in flights. Among my true friends is Arjun Rampal but that’s all there is to it,” he said.

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 6, 2017)

While fans and detractors split hairs over the sudden onslaught of remixes of ’90s chartbusters in films, Tanishk Baagchi, who has recreated “Tamma Tamma” for Badrinath Ki Dulhania, “Humma Humma” for OK Jaanu, and “Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast” for Machine, has been quietly cementing his position as the go-to guy for remixes. Most recently, he has been commissioned to recreate Sridevi’s iconic “Hawa Hawaii” ditty from Mr India for the Vidya Balan-starrer Tumhari Sulu, as well as a yet-to-be-revealed ditty for Milan Luthria’s Ajay Devgn-starrer Baadshaho. The 30-year-old composer tells Mirror, “There is a retro sequence in the film that required an old, romantic number. We have zeroed down on a few options and will finalise a song soon. I am also making an original track for the film.”

While he attributes all his Bollywood offers to destiny, Tanishk informs that he started out by working under the music composer and sound designer Jatin Sharma, who has remixed many songs. “My training under him really helped me understand the art of recreating,” he says, deflecting attention from his rather unusual repertoire of songs by pointing out that the trend of recreating old classics has been around for a long time and cites the Shefali Jariwala-starrer music video “Kaanta Lagaa”. “The trend comes and goes. I believe as long as you don’t spoil the original essence of a song, there is no harm in recreating it. Even with 'Humma Humma' or 'Mast Mast' the intention was never to do a remix. For the latter, I replaced the old tunes with a new melody,” he asserts.

Tanishk was first spotted by Anurag Kashyap who had heard his and lyricist Vayu Srivastava’s creation, “Oopar Oopar Renn De”, on YouTube. “Vayu and I had decided to do something on YouTube till we got a Bollywood break. The song became really popular and caught Anurag’s attention. He called us to his office and said that he wanted to collaborate with us. Later, our friend Ravi Adhikari introduced us to Aanand sir (filmmaker Aanand L Rai), who gave us an opportunity to make 'Banno' for Tanu Weds Manu Returns. The song became a hit, after which I started pitching my songs to other producers,” he recalls.

Incidentally, Tanishk, the son of a music producer, had never intended to become a part of the music industry. “I come from a very humble background and always believed that there isn’t much money in the music industry so I had wanted to become a pilot but because of a foot injury, I couldn’t pursue it. Meanwhile, while performing at college festivals, I would get encouraging feedback and that drew me to it. I also started earning through stage shows which was a big motivation as well,” Tanishk reveals.

Next up, the Viju Shah super fan would like to recreate his compositions. “My favourite track is 'Mushkil Bada Yeh Pyaar Hai' from Gupt. It was extremely popular in clubs back when it released and I want to bring it back to the mainstream. I am also a big fan of Madan Mohan ji and would love to recreate some of his evergreen songs,” he beams. For now, he has collaborated with Vayu again for Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s Bareilly Ki Barfi and can’t wait to graduate to scoring an entire film’s album. “I am doing the album of R S Prasanna’s Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, featuring Ayushmann Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekar,” the reluctant remix guru signs off.

Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; April 21, 2017)

It’s exactly 20 years since Gupt released — reminding us that Kajol won accolades for playing the villain in the film — and the actress became the first woman to win an award in that category.

20 saal baad
And now, she’s all set to play one in her next, VIP 2 starring Dhanush, which she’s tight-lipped about. Director’s instructions, she says. But she betrays the been there, done that air. “I always feel it’s more interesting to watch women who are a little more okay with being grey than watching pure virgin white,” she tells us.

Once upon a vamp
She demarcates the shades of grey. “Female negative characters were never called villains, but vamps. It’s become a cool thing now, because you realise that heroines need not necessarily be good, sweet and sugary all the time. They can be of different flavours — lemony lime and even chilli.”

Then and now
Kajol feels the perception towards women has also changed in the last few years. “Honestly, there’s not much difference left between a vamp of that time and a heroine of today, frankly. In a way it is progressive, it’s like we are coming into our own. We are certainly breaking away from the stereotypes,” she reasons.

My favourites
She counts some of her favourite negative characters from Hollywood. “Kathy Bates was brilliant in Misery, which was an amazing film. I also loved Angelina Jolie in Maleficent. There are many others, but these two just hit it straight out of the park.”

'90s superstar pitches for re-entry in films. Anyone in Bolly, give Bobby a job, please?
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; January 28, 2017)

As a class 3 student, when Bobby Deol was asked by his teacher about his ambition, he had innocently said, “Main hero banunga”. Acting happened by default, he admits, because he was Dharmendra’s son. “Everyone told me, ‘Tu hero banega’. I spent too much time on film sets while growing up. I didn’t even know that I wanted to be an actor, but I was obsessed with being a film hero,” he recounts.

After decades in the industry, the Deol scion, who was a big name in the ’90s, says his career took a nosedive after Humraaz (2002). “Stardom is a bubble and no one should fool themselves into believing it’s forever. I had a great start and then suddenly, a few films didn’t fare well. Work slowed down and so did I. Social media took over and I didn’t keep up because I am too old-fashioned for it. I don’t understand how people can keep talking about themselves. In the last five years, I disappeared. I was made to sound lackadaisical and temperamental. Apparently, I am lazy and not punctual. I don’t remember a single time I was late for work. But I was a chiller. I would tell those around me, ‘Shit, I have a 6 am call time’. Doesn’t everyone do that? God knows what people thought I am! The biggest problem with me is that I am what I am. There is no façade. Maybe I should’ve been two-faced,” says the actor.

He agrees that people held on to that image of his for longer than they should have. “Maybe, I didn’t change enough. People still think I am a snazzy boy with long hair, gyrating to peppy songs. Maybe Gupt (1997) stuck on in people’s minds,” Bobby quips, adding his next film, Poshter Boys, will change that image.

Ask him if he went through depression and he nods. “I was frustrated and no one else understood how I felt. I wasn’t getting work. I didn’t know anything else except being on an acting set. Since I couldn’t be anyone’s groupie, I lost out. I never sought benefit from friendships. I was ready to work with everyone, but luck failed me. I let go of myself because the negativity began to eat me up.”

But there were a handful of friends, who stood by him. He counts Akshay Kumar, Akshaye Khanna and Preity Zinta as his closest pals. “I have more colleagues than friends in the industry. Here, everyone is self-involved. No wonder they lose love easily. Akshaye is a sweetheart, a bigger recluse than me. Akki is a badmaash. Preity is my Pritam Singh and is one of the boys. Salman [Khan] is a darling, but the Khans are busy men. Everyone wants to be friends with them.”

One of the things he couldn’t adapt to is actors being put out for sale as commodities. “People sell themselves everywhere. The privacy of the ’90s is gone. Thankfully, at no point, stardom made me lose my mind. But these days, actors constantly talk to the media."

Stick figure film critique Sahil Rizwan's book talks lessons he learnt from 90s hits
Yolande D'Mello (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 29, 2015)