Amit Karn (MID-DAY; June 20, 2016)

After producing dozens of online funnies and two fictional web series, The Viral Fever (TVF) is now set to venture into feature filmmaking. The online youth entertainment network has teamed up with Karan Arora, producer of Bhindi Baazaar (2011), for its maiden film project.

Says Karan, “Our film is titled Chai, Shaye Aur Biscuit. It will be a contemporary take on arranged marriages. We have signed Shraddha Das, who featured in the 2011 romcom Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji, as our lead actress. Eighty per cent of the star cast is made up of spoof artistes associated with TVF itself.”

The project is being made on a modest budget of Rs 1 crore, says Karan. “We have roped in Himanshu Bhatnagar to helm the film. He has directed several several shows for TVF,” he adds.

TVF core member Shreyansh Pandey reveals that the entertainment network is aiming at making three to four films by next year. “Keeping this in view, a few big studios have teamed up with us,” he says.

Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; October 29, 2015)

Makers of an upcoming Naseeruddin Shah-starrer, Charlie Kay Chakkar Mein, have decided to approach the Censor Board’s revising panel for certification after the examining committee asked for quite a few words to be muted, including a reference to social activist Anna Hazare.

“We had sought an ‘A’ certificate as the film deals with drug abuse and homicide among other issues. However, the five-member panel, which watched the final cut, objected to a passing mention of Anna Hazare even though his name hasn’t been used in an offensive way. The dialogue goes like this: ‘Tumko kya zaroorat thi itna sach bolne ki? Kya Anna Hazare ne tumko kaha tha yeh kaam karke aao?’ They don’t understand that we are not insulting him,” says producer Karan Arora.

This apart, the Board has asked the makers to mute nearly a dozen cuss words as well as a scene in which a girl snorts drugs. “If we are getting an adult tag, there shouldn’t be any problem with the usage of commonly used cuss words like saala and chu** ya. If I remove those or Anna Hazare’s name, the essence of the scene will be lost. Moreover, they didn’t have any objection to a scene showing a group of boys sniffing narcotics, but want us to delete the portion showing a girl taking drugs,” adds Arora.

The makers, however, are ready with the edited version since the film is slated to release next week. “If I want to release my film on time, I need to get the certificate three days in advance. We will have to attach it and send copies to various centres. Practically, I have only six days to release it. We will approach the revising committee, but are prepared for the worst,” he says.

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 14, 2014)

Lakeerain hain to rehne do
Kissi ne rooth kar gusse mein shayad kheench di thi
Aao ab inhiko banayen paala
Aur kabaddi khelte hain
Lakeerein hain to rehne do…

These words, penned and recited by Gulzar, are the starting point for Vijay Raaz’s directorial debut Kya Dilli Kya Lahore, a story that takes place in the course of a day and revolves around two characters—a Pakistani soldier played by Vijay Raaz who is sent to retrieve a secret file from an Indian chowky on the border and a cook of the Indian army, a role enacted by Manu Rishi, who is the only one left behind there.

They start out trading insults, determined not to be friends, till their common language, culture and music fosters an emotional bond that transcends hostility fostered by politics.

When Aseem Arora came up with the story, the film’s young team, including producer Karan Arora, decided that they needed a mentor and turned to Gulzar.

It was the film’s composer Sandesh Shandilya who introduced them to the veteran wordsmith. Gulzar loved the concept. “And when they returned with the screenplay, I asked them to show me the finished film,” says the 79-year-old poet-writer-lyricist who’s just been honoured with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award.

He was so impressed with the first edit that he agreed to come on board as the ‘face’ of the film. And 13 years after Hu Tu Tu, his name features in the credits of a film, not just as writer and lyricist, but also as the official presenter.

“There’s no commercial involvement. Vijay has made a beautiful film which I felt could help promote the peace initiative I was associated with, Aman Ki Asha. If I can lend my name to promoting peace between the two countries, I have no objections,” Gulzar asserts.

The film’s mahurat took place on the Wagah Border, a place familiar to Gulzar. He’s made several trips there on August 14, with his friend Kuldeep Nayyar, to light a candle for Hind-Pak peace. “The film is part of this mission,” he asserts, adding that when he sees Wasim Akram with Sunil Gavaskar in the commentary box during a cricket match, it makes him extremely emotional.

A year-and-a-half ago, Gulzar returned to Pakistan 70 years after he’d left his home there as an eight-year-old, to find that the familiar alleys hadn’t changed. The elders he had left behind not only recognised him, but even inquired after his elder brother, sisters and even his uncle.

“When people ask you about your family members, how can you feel divided?” he asks. “Your daughter gets married and takes on a new surname but do you stop loving her or her husband and children? Hindustan and Pakistan may be two countries today, but the familial feeling hasn’t changed.”

He recalls that whenever he is abroad, in the UK or the US, Pakistani cabbies refuse to accept money from him. And once when he was chatting with his children during a drive in Hindi, Urdu and English, the Pakistani driver listening to them quietly, finally asking him, “Don’t you speak your mother tongue Punjabi at home?” Moved by the remark, Gulzar tried to pay the man his fare but he waved it away saying, “Call me tomorrow again and jaate jaate drop by at my place for a glass of lassi.” It’s these feelings that the film seeks to encapsulate through the story of two commoners from either side of the border. And the emotion flows through Gulzar’s pen on to a song in the film. He writes,
“Kisse lambe ne lakeeran de
(There is a long story behind these lines of partition) Goli naal gal karde (They talk with bullets now)
Bol chubhde ne veeran de
(Even our brother’s voice hurts us now)
Kahani maadi hai lakeeran di
(The story of these lines is not a good one)
Mitti vich lahu ralleya
(There is blood on the soil now)
Jaan jaandi hai fakeeran di
(In between all this, humans are suffering).

Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; April 2, 2014)

Writer-director Gulzar picked Sukhwinder Singh over Papon to render the climax song of actor Vijay Raaz’s directorial debut, Kya Dilli Kya Lahore. The veteran writer has been a mentor for the project and after watching it, he chose to become the presenter as well.

A source from the production unit says, “There were two tracks that were chosen for the climax song. Unit members were divided over which one should be used.”

The film’s producer Karan Arora says, “We were in a dilemma so we took the film with the two songs to him. One track Lakeerein Hai to Rehne Do was sung by Papon and other Kisse Lambe by Sukhwinder. Gulzar heard the two, but chose Kisse Lambe saying that the song stays with you even after the film gets over.”

The title of the film has also been coined by Gulzar. Arora adds, “We had gone to him with several titles which included Border Order, Naa Dilli Naa Lahore he told us to change the second to Kya Dilli Kya Lahore.”