Should it be London or Mumbai? That has been a dilemma for the makers of Diler, led by Ibrahim Ali Khan. While Kunal Deshmukh’s directorial venture was to roll in London, the team changed its plans in August in the wake of the UK riots and decided to shift the shoot to Mumbai (From Queen’s city to Maximum City, Aug 20). Now, with the situation having stabilized in the British capital, we’ve heard that the makers have reverted to their original plan. The sports drama’s shoot is scheduled to begin in the UK this month.

What made them change their mind again? Apparently, director Deshmukh was not convinced about recreating London’s certain settings in Mumbai.

A source tells us, “Diler revolves around the life of a marathoner. London is integral to the story, and there is a crucial marathon sequence for which they needed shots of the city. The makers were not convinced with Mumbai after the recce, and did not want to compromise on their vision. With the condition in the UK having improved, the film will roll there this month. The crew is in England and has begun setting up. It will be a straight one-month schedule till Diwali.”

Some patch scenes will be shot in Mumbai in November.

Diler marks the second film of Khan, who is set to make his debut with Sarzameen that also stars Kajol.

There appears to have been a change in the filming plans of Ibrahim Ali Khan’s Diler. Director Kunal Deshmukh’s sports drama was slated to have a long schedule in the UK. However, in light of the recent UK riots, producer Dinesh Vijan cancelled the film’s London leg. Now, the production team, led by Deshmukh, is undertaking a last-minute location scout in Mumbai to find suitable alternatives.

The decision is a precautionary measure to ensure the cast and crew’s safety amid the UK unrest that is driven by anti-immigration protests.

A source says, “In July-end, the team did recce and look tests in London. Kunal had lined up a straight schedule during which significant portions of the film would have been canned. But after the situation worsened, the makers felt it would be very expensive to hire exhaustive security. For Dinesh, his unit’s safety is paramount. So, he scrapped the London leg and instructed his team to consider domestic locations.”

The recce is underway in Mumbai. “The director intends to kick off the latest leg in first week of September,” adds the source. Diler, reportedly centred on a marathoner, is Khan’s second project. He is gearing up for his Bollywood debut with Sarzameen, which also stars Kajol and Prithviraj Sukumaran.

Actors Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh’s son, Ibrahim Ali Khan, is set to debut with director Kayoze Irani’s Sarzameen along with actors Kajol and Prithviraj Sukumaran. Before his first film’s release, Ibrahim has already started working on his next project — a sports drama, titled Diler.

A source close to the production tells us, “He shot for the film in Chandigarh for around 10 days. Kunal Deshmukh has directed him in the sports drama, which is based on a marathon player and the next schedule will be held in Himachal Pradesh.”

Going on to clarify that the film is “not a biopic” on a sports personality, the source adds, “It’s a fictional story about an athlete who doesn’t take his talent seriously, until life makes him realize that he has taken things for granted.”

During the shoot, Ibrahim wasn’t joined by any big names, “as it was a demo to understand how things would be between the director and the actors”.

The source goes on to say, “Ibrahim’s performance looks very promising. There is stark resemblance with Saif in terms of his acting, mannerism and expressions.”

Having spent three days in Kathmandu after the horrifying earthquakes, Jannat director Kunal Deshmukh returned to Mumbai Tuesday early morning with his girlfriend Sonali Rattan, who was with him during this time. While Kunal is still in a blur and very exhausted, both physically and emotionally, he speaks exclusively to Bombay Times about his life-changing experience. When I called him, the first thing he said to me was, “I still have the feeling that the ground under me is shaking. I feel like holding onto something.“ Excerpts from our conversation: 

SATURDAY: THE DAY OF THE FIRST EARTHQUAKE IN NEPAL
We had gone to Kathmandu for the wedding of one of our friends from Dubai.The saving grace was that the wedding was over on Thursday and there were friends from across the world who were going back that day. We were in the process of packing and checking out when suddenly the entire room began to shake and shake. It got so violent that Sonali was standing just six feet away from me, but I could not even reach out to her. Then I somehow managed and held her. We both knew it was an earthquake. And while you have been taught all your life to get under a table or get out in the open, physically at that time, it was shaking so much that it just paralyses you and your brain shuts off. We were staying at the Gokarna Forest Resort, an old structure made out of wood. We could hear the whole structure crunching with a freaky sound. The fan was literally swinging from side to side, our bags and suitcases were falling and we knew we had to somehow get out. We got out of our room and could see everyone rushing out of their rooms. We tightly held onto the side of the stairs and went out to the central courtyard lawn area of the hotel, where everyone had gathered. I was in my night clothes and boxers. We had ran out even without our passports as at that time, you can't think of anything. People were in shock, some of them even crying. Till about 7 pm, every 15 minutes, there were tremors when the ground would start shaking. We all huddled in the centre, holding each other's hands, trying to keep calm with no one talking. The water and power had been cut off and no one knew whether it was safe at all to go back to the hotel or not. Except for the manager of the hotel, the entire staff had left as their families had also been hit, so there was no one to take care or tell us anything. By 6 pm in the evening, it also started getting cold. Then some of us just went from room to room and emptied out all the minibars and picked up our jackets and passports and returned to the lawn again. Phones were not getting through and we had no access to news, so did not know how bad the earthquake was, but we managed to reach out to our families to let them know that we were safe. We knew that we had to use our phones sparingly as we had no way to get charge. We had confirmed tickets back to India for that day and we had to somehow make it to the airport. Getting a taxi was extremely difficult, but we managed.

The airport was a complete chaos. People had just thronged there, but there was no information available. No flights were taking off and we decided to return to the hotel. They were kind enough to let us in and we stayed there, 6 of us in a room. It felt good to be together with people. Throughout the night there were tremors, when we would all run down to the lawn freezing, waiting there for an hour or two and then again return to our room.

Information kept coming about the aftershocks and you had to believe the news, as believe it or not, the aftershocks came bang on time when they were predicted. We finally got tired and went off to sleep at 3am on Sunday morning. But at 4.30 am, there was such a big aftershock that we again ran down. After that, no one slept. With daybreak on Sunday, we packed our bags and again left for the airport.

SUNDAY TO TUESDAY: TWO NIGHTS AT THE AIRPORT
We knew through the news channels that the Air Force was coming in to get us. It was easier getting through to people in India than to anyone in Kathmandu. We had rescheduled our flights for Sunday. We drove past the city on the way to the airport and the sights were horrific and heartbreaking. There were people all over the place. Thousands and thousands of people. The sight was straight out of a disaster movie, but when you see the devastation just 5 feet away, it numbs you. Buildings had collapsed, roads cracked, bodies under the rubble everywhere.

We finally got to the airport, but this time it was even more chaotic than the first day. The Air Force evacuation line was kilometres long. That day, there was an over 6 point earthquake again that led to a mini stampede of sorts. The ground moved violently beneath your feet and it makes your stomach feel squeezy. There were people crying and collapsing being on the edge for so long. For those two days, we survived on chips, biscuits and water that the little shops were selling, but we didn't want to eat as the loos were so bad. There was no airport staff and can you imagine there was no security, literally no ground staff. Amongst thousands and thousands of people, there was just one toilet and no one to clean it, so if you landed up going to the toilet, there was shit lying everywhere on the floor. We tried to stay with minimum water and nothing to eat and just wanted to get out somehow.

By now, due to there being no security, passengers were all on the tarmac, a sight I have never seen before in my life. We all sat there for hours, just 10 feet away from the runway, waiting for the flights to come and take us. As soon as an Air Force plan would land, people would rush to the plane, desperate to get onto it. It was really sad. The Air Force was really warm and encouraging, but told us that to get onto the plane, we needed to be on the embassy list. They told us that they had brought some puri bhaji and parantha. While we could not get our hands onto them, my friend got a packet of some medical supplies. It was freaky to feel that you could walk around freely on the runway without any security stopping you.

Sitting waiting there, everytime a plane would land or take off, everyone would clap and felt ecstatic for people that had managed to get out.

After waiting for two days at the airport, we came to know that the plane that was coming for us had taken a detour and landed at Lucknow due to fresh tremors. Finally on Monday night, we got onto a plane and were thrilled, but again the plane was not able to take off as there were tremors, so we had to wait inside for 3 hours before it could take off. Finally when the plane did take off, it was truly like in Argo, where we all clapped, people were in tears holding each other, hugging each other.

WHAT THIS EXPERIENCE HAS TAUGHT ME
There was a taxi driver who drove another group from our hotel to the airport. Can you imagine he had been told midway that he had lost his daughter and wife, but he still continued driving to be able to leave those people to the airport?

We have been so exhausted ever since we came back and I cannot process anything that is happening to me, as it all feels like a blur. Those three days felt like a really long time. I have been quiet all day. And there is this gratitude and reverence that we made it and honestly, nothing else matters. Before leaving I was thinking of which film and which producer, but now I don't care anymore. I will never ever complain about the small stuff in life. They just don't matter once you know that you could have lost your life and barely got away .Our hearts are breaking thinking of people still stuck there, still trying to get back. You see the news on TV, you've seen disaster movies, but just going through it is something else. Your body just kicks on into another gear. There was constant support from everywhere back home. But the person I want to make a special mention of is Parveen, Emraan Hashmi's wife. She was in touch with Sonali every one hour and we know that she too didn't sleep throughout. She just made us feel that we will be able to go through it. I honestly wish that no one should ever go through this. I sincerely pray that between the disaster management teams, the Air Force and the world, they can look after people in Nepal.

Last Thursday when Emraan Hashmi bid his director friend, Kunal Deshmukh, goodbye after a meeting, he had no premonition of the calamity which was to follow.

Kunal flew to Nepal for a school friend's wedding and two days later, an earthquake shook Nepal and Emraan recieved the first of many texts from Kunal, who with the rest of the baraatis, was at the Gorkhana Forest Resort, 10 kms from Kathmandu's city centre. He assured the actor that he was fine and the two have been in touch, intermittently, except for seven hours in between when the power went off. Once electricity was restored, Kunal started reporting from Ground Zero, all the while trying to conserve his cell phone battery.

“The hotel was evacuated following fears of after shocks and everyone spent Saturday night out on the 18-hole golf course,“ Emraan informed Mirror.

Early on Sunday, they reached the international airport hoping to catch the 2.20 pm Jet Airways flight back to Delhi. But after fresh tremors, the flight didn't get permission to land. And around 4 pm, Kunal whatsapped Mahesh Bhatt, “Waiting for Jet flight. Meanwhile, have made a queue behind a Royal Air Force plane evacuating people to Delhi.“ He had earlier reassured the frantic filmmaker that they were “lucky to be safe“. Three hours later, he texted Emraan that both the 2.20 pm and the 5.15 pm flights had been suspended and they were camping on the tarmac with no plans of returning to the resort even though the control tower had been evacuated. “It's crazy but at least my friends are together. I think rations are running low at the airport. Since all commercial flights have been cancelled, the Indian Air Force flight is the best bet,“ said Emraan.

Bhatt who was to meet Kunal on Monday to discuss their next film, added that he's been told that the small airport was crowded, information network poor and it was getting cold with a thunderstorm brewing. Around 8 pm he got a text from Kunal, “If Jet cancels its flight we either stay at the airport or leave and come back tomorrow.“

Forty minutes later there was better news: “One Jet flight just landed. Our flight is expected to get here at 10 pm. Fingers crossed.“ Bhatt sighed: “This is life imitating cinema. Kunal's Tum Mile was about lovers trapped in a natural calamity (floods in Mumbai). Now he and Sonali, sweethearts since school, are trapped in a similar situation.“


---------------------------------
Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; April 27, 2015)

When Kunal Deshmukh left for a friend’s wedding in Kathmandu four days ago, little would he have imagined about a fun trip turning into a nightmare of sorts. As Nepal’s worst earthquake in eight decades struck on Saturday — recording 7.9 on the Richter scale and claiming more than 1500 lives — the director was desperate to call up his loved ones and inform them of his well- being.

But thanks to jammed phone lines, his family spent a few anxious hours before they heard his voice in a five- second call. “We were extremely worried when news first trickled in about the earthquake,” said Kunal’s sister, Devika. “I am in Jakarta with my parents. After trying his number several times, I managed to speak to him through one of his friends, but the call lasted for only five seconds due to poor network. He was standing in the lawns (of Gokarna Forest Reserve) when the quake hit and he is safe. I spoke to him again when he was waiting at the Kathmandu airport,” she said with a hint of relief in her voice.

Concerned about his safety, Mahesh Bhatt tweeted soon after the incident, saying: “Can someone help us search Kunal Deshmukh (director of my film Jannat) in Kathmandu? He was living in the Gorkana Forest Resort (sic).” Mukesh Bhatt said he had spoken to Kunal before he left for Kathmandu. “After we heard the news about the tragedy in Nepal, we tried calling him up, but didn’t get through. Today, the airport has been closed down due to powerful aftershocks. We are trying to put him on the first flight back home,” he added.

Kunal’s stylist-friend Rick Roy is also relieved after speaking to him. “I called him many times, but the phone lines were busy. I sent him a few text messages and when I didn’t get a reply, I began to panic. But a few hours later, I spoke to a common friend who was with Kunal at that time. Thank god he is safe and sound,” he said.

A source close to the director says he is still in a state of shock. In a text message Kunal tells us, “The network is bad and I am at the Kathmandu airport. Trying to get home.”

The airport was shut down again at 1.15 pm yesterday following the strong aftershocks.
In a tweet, Mahesh Bhatt wrote, “Kunal says: Jet flt is suspended. Airforce has promised to get all of us out. They are setting up tables for chai, parathas & puri bhaji (sic).”

Emraan Hashmi moved out of the family banner two years ago and all four of his releases since-Ek Thi Daayan, Ghanchakkar, Shanghai and now Raja Natwarlal-have failed to hit the bull's eye. But uncle Mahesh Bhatt insists that it's not over for Emraan.

The actor returns to the home concern with Mr X and Hamari Adhuri Kahani and an optimistic Bhatt says philosophically, “There is darkness now but there will be light tomorrow. Can you stop the sunrise after the sunset?“ On Emraan's latest release, Raja Natwarlal, which interestingly was helmed by one of his prodigies, Kunal Deshmukh, Bhatt says, “Emraan has raised his hand and admitted that the film has failed. How many actors do that? But its failure lies with Kunal. However, he too should not be written off.”

Apparently, once he realised that Raja Natwarlal had failed to set the cash registers ringing, Emraan rushed to Bhatt, who gave him a pep talk. “The film’s box office response did dampen Emraan’s spirits,” he claims.

Will Bhatt make adjustments to his two upcoming films to resurrect his nephew’s career? “No, I am always confident of what we put on floors. I am sure that brand Emraan will be back. Don’t you write his obituary yet,” he concludes. 

Kunal Deshmukh, 32, is patient, cool and loyal and totally consumed with only making films. He is more practical than emotional and is always in search for a story . While ambition is extremely attractive to him, he is excessively self-critical and finds it difficult to push himself. Over an hour-long conversation, ahead of his first con revenge drama Raja Natwarlal, he talks to Bombay Times about his mentor Mahesh Bhatt, his favourite star Emraan Hashmi and how he has grown up in the last one year.Excerpts:

How did you become a director?
I was 21 and had just returned studying filmmaking from NYU. One of my closest friends from school is Sahil (son of Kumkum Saigal, who is the executive producer in Bhatt films and is also Mahesh Bhatt's real sister). Through Sahil, I met Mohit Suri who was his cousin. We were partying at Goa on one New Year, when Mohit said to me, 'I am starting a film in a few months. It will be fun. Come work with me.' And I started assisting Mohit and was his assistant for three films - Zeher, Kalyug and Woh Lamhe. And that's when I met Bhatt sahab. He deconstructed Indian cinema for me completely, as I still had that chip on my shoulder of having gone to film school abroad and been exposed to international cinema, thinking that we should also make films like theirs. Bhatt sahab understands India and knows it from the grassroot level. I was so exposed and influenced by him from a young age, which is why my films have a touch of him when it comes to areas of human conflict. And while he broke me down, he also gave me the confidence to think that I could find my voice. I then made my second film Tum Mile that did not do as well as my first film. I didn't know what I did right in Jannat that it did so well. I had got lucky with a lot of things, but I thought it was so easy to make a hit film and then when people didn't like my second film, it was a rude shock. I remember walking down from the old Vishesh Films office at JVPD and going to Contemporary Arts & Crafts and I just started crying. When I went back up, Bhatt sahab said to me, 'I am glad you faced this failure and have owned up to it. It's only when you own up and say that I am the director and the film did not do well as I failed, is when you can move ahead.'

Why did you move out of Bhatts to make Raja Natwarlal?
Bhatt sahab would often push me to have my own voice. And deep down, after doing three films with the Bhatts, I felt that it had stopped happening for me. I was making just a particular type of cinema and I was not challenging myself. I felt that I needed to move out and figure out things on my own, otherwise I would have been just another director in the Bhatt camp. Raja Natwarlal is a film that cannot be made with the Bhatts. If you look at the heart of Raja..., it's a great con film. I don't think they would like to make a con film. They have a tried-and-tested way to make a film that is budget-driven and they are very clear about what they want to or not want to make. And while my mentor still is Bhatt sahab, I moved out as I just wanted to grow up and be able to feel that henceforth, all success and all failures would be mine.

Talk about Mahesh Bhatt?
He is the strongest person with a voice, that I have ever met. At the same time, as a teacher, he is not trying to make you like him. He is this irreverential person, who is anti-establishment with pathbreaking thoughts. He is constantly living on the edge. He never takes off for a weekend or a holiday. He is the teacher I was looking for, who helped me discover what I wanted to do. He is very young in his head, and emotional. He is such an intelligent person, but he just brings 15% of that into the producer Mahesh Bhatt. He can do great cinema and revolutionise it, if he puts his heart and soul into it. Every film that he has put his heart into has been a gem, be it Raaz, Murder, Gangster, Jannat or Aashiqui 2. It was a difficult decision for me to move out of the Bhatts to follow my own path. But he sat me down and had a conversation. He said, 'Kunal, we were two people in life that met and had a particular journey together, and our paths will again cross in the future. If you ever need me, I am just a phone call away.' And that he is. I have gone and pitched him my one lines and he has never made me feel differently, given that I am not doing a film with him. I played Mukeshji my songs and he was very happy.

All your four films have been with Emraan Hashmi. What is he like?
He is extremely reserved and does not let you in easily. I too, have only gradually got to know him. We didn't do dinners till the second film. I didn't hang out with his family until the third film. He is very fierce and people don't see it, but he has this burning desire to shine through and that is what I love about him. No matter who tells him what, he doesn't care. He is such a strong fighter. I love that he is not filmi and is not obsessed with Hindi movies and opening weekends. What I don't like about him is that he is lazy. He can push himself and has started doing that. He is extremely talented and secure and can afford to sell himself better.

You are in a relationship with your associate director Sonali Rattan. Talk about her?
Sonali has been assisting me right from Jannat. She too, was in college with Mohit and is a year-and-a-half older to me. We were close friends for a really long time, but started dating only last year, post Jannat 2. We are still best friends and have a great working relationship. I always tell her that she is far more talented and much more natural at filmmaking than I am. What will take me 5 hours takes her just one hour. Even though I am extremely dependent on her, I have told her that there will be a point very soon when she will stop learning from me and that is the time she should be an independent filmmaker. I can't give her enough credit, even though she is the one who is actually living the film with me every single day and it's very hard to be in a relationship with someone like me, who does not switch off from work at all. She is brighter, smarter, emotional and naturally gifted. I am not egoistic at all and have told her that I don't really mind producing or being an EP on a film that she directs. I love her for her love for life and that is one similarity I see with her and Bhatt sahab. They are just alive all the time. I am drawn to her clean heart and honesty. I love the fact that I feel challenged by her. Of course, she needs to be way more patient and less emotional in this line. Apart from our common interests, she loves me for my honesty. She doesn't like the fact that sometimes I will not confront people and will try my best to evade a fight. She will pick a fight with even a rickshawallah if she has to.

Any plans of getting married?
We have just started dating and are right now very happy, but I do see myself getting married to her. Once this film gets done, sooner or later, I would have to figure out what next.

How difficult was it emotionally to be on your own?
I am a Maharashtrian and was born and brought up in Mumbai. My dad was in the merchant navy and my mom did theatre and a little television. He then got into his own shipping business and last year, my parents moved to Jakarta. This was also the time that I moved out of the Bhatts to be on my own. So, the last one year has been about change and finding myself. It was a good change and I feel that it should have happened to me a few years back. I was spoilt and I could just leave everything to my parents, right from food to petrol to everything else. I used to wake up and leave the house and never had any problems of running the house. My growing up happened in the last one year, and I am loving it. I love not being taken care of and all the messy problems that come with running your house, including paying your bills or seeing whether vegetables are there or not. This one year has really helped me understand who I am. In the Vishesh Films system, I was just a cog in the wheel. Now I am not. It took me a little time to find my bearings, feeling a little alone and a little scared on the way. I had the fear of failure and the fear that I would have to return back to Bhatt sahab with my tail between my legs and say, 'I am sorry. Please take me back.' But I didn't want to do that. I did promise Mukeshji, 'I would come back, but I would come back so successful that I would only add to you.' I didn't want to come back as a failure.

Kay Kay Menon, who plays the suave villain in the con revenge drama Raja Natwarlal, starring Emraan Hashmi and Humaima Malick, displayed his mischievous side by pulling a fast one on their director Kunal Deshmukh.

Taking the film’s assistant directors into confidence, the actor got a few junior artistes to dress up as cops.
He then picked a fight with the staff of the hotel, where they were filming. While Kunal and the hotel staff tried pacifying the actor, the fake cops arrived and wanted to arrest the director for not shooting peacefully.

Barely had the director walked a few steps with the ‘policemen’ that Kay Kay revealed that it was all a practical joke. While Kunal heaved a sigh of relief, everyone on the set was amused. Says the actor, “Since our film is about cons, I thought it would be fun to fool the cast and crew for real too. And the best part is that no one suspected me, as people think I’m a serious person.”

Raja Natwarlal, produced by UTV Motion Pictures, releases August 29.

A part from good music and a plot riddled with many twists, what makes Raja Natwarlal interesting is the unique relationship shown between Emraan Hashmi and Paresh Rawal, who plays his mentor in the film.
Director Kunal Deshmukh narrates how they were seeking a formidable actor to play Emraan's onscreen mentor. “We needed someone who commands respect and we got lucky with Paresh sir.“ The director adds that even though Rawal has always been fascinated with the subject of con artists, he wasn't keen to do a movie on the topic. He had categorically told Kunal that he'd give his nod to the film only if the script was good. “Fortunately, our script convinced him,“ he says.

In the film, Rawal plays the master con artist Emraan is looking for. Luckily, the two actors hit it off from the first day of the shoot. Talking about their rapport, Emraan says, “Pareshji is spontaneous and generous as a co-star. We ended up improvising our scenes because of our camaraderie.“

On his part, Rawal states, “I'm glad to have worked in this film. It's one of the performances closest to my heart. Emraan and I have some memorable scenes together.“

Such was their bonhomie that the two were always looking out for each other. In fact, for one particular scene, Rawal even let Emraan mouth the lines, which were originally meant for him. “Paresh sir was conscious that it has to be an Emraan Hashmi film at the end of the day. And Emraan would request him to add his humour to a scene, thereby making it more fun,“ Kunal sums up.

Raja Natwarlal, produced by UTV Motion Pictures, releases August 29.

Kal the miley, phir kyun lage aise,

Tumse miley arsaa hua jaise

Ab tu bataa jo ho pataa

Tere bina lamha lamha jiyenge kaise...

Crooned by Arijit Singh, touched by the monsoon shower, bringing with it all the bittersweet emotions of meeting and parting, this is the first song from Raja Natwarlal to be released. However, the version was recorded as an afterthought, after 90 per cent of the con caper had been shot.


“It was Humaima's (Malik) introduction scene in the film, a seductive bar dance, and Shweta Pandit had recorded the female version earlier. But the more I heard the tune, the more I was convinced that it was a quintessential Emraan Hashmi love song. Finally, I coaxed my composer, Yuvan Shankar Raja, to give it a crack with Arijit Singh,“ recalls director Kunal Deshmukh.

Fortunately for him, Yuvan loved Arijit's voice, programmed the male version and flew down to Mumbai. It was recorded in 45 minutes flat even though Arijit wasn't feeling too well and requested that they push forward the recording to another day. “But Yuvan persuaded me to sing a few lines and after listening to it, insisted that the kharoch (scratch) in my voice was working for the song. Since he was okay with the scratches in my voice, I sang with out worrying about tonality and it was over in a flash,“ reveals the singer.

Arijit however admits that when he heard that Illayaraja's son was making his Bollywood debut with a commercial Emraan Hashmi film, he was surprised because the composer is known for his classy, semi-commercial scores down South. “But when I heard the track I was blown away. It was a catchy commercial track with Yuvan's Southern touch and the richness of melody," he raves. Kunal reveals that it was Pritam who referred Yuvan when he approached him to score for his fourth film. “Pritam wanted to take a break and sent me some links of Yuvan's songs. Little did I know that they'd never met before," he smiles.

Yuvan flew down to Mumbai and over a two-hour conversation Kunal and he sized each other up. The Southern whizkid was picky about his Bollywood debut but when Kunal narrated his story, he decided this was it. “He only laid down one condition, that he would compose all the songs. This suited me fine," recalls Kunal.

And so this tune was set and given to Irshad Kamil with the brief that he should come up with words of love that came straight from the heart. “Whenever I write a romantic song I try to project love in a new light. And this time I wanted something, which had a hint of zidd and aggression that comes when you are really and truly in love. Your beloved becomes your aim in life and you are ready to fight every obstacle to get her because you feel teri baahon ka ghera badaa mehfooz lage hai, badi bekhauf jagah hai yeh inme hi rehna chaahein," he points out, reasoning that it didn't matter to him whether a girl sang it or a boy because such feelings are not gender specific.

The song was picturised in the first week of July, incorporated into the second half, a promo was cut, got the censor nod and it opened to arousing reception yesterday. Arijit, who also sang Murder 2's Phir mohabbat karne chala tu, says, “It's always great to sing for Emraan because his songs usually click. Hopefully, this one too will bring romance to the long rainy days."

We have learnt that Emraan Hashmi conned one of the assistants of director Kunal Deshmukh's for just Rs 5,000. Not many know that Emraan may be shy and looks quiet, but he also has a very naughty side to him. What makes him a great conman in real life is his ability to have fun with a straight face and not give in to any pressure. While shooting for Raja Natwarlal, there was a scene where Emraan's character needed to pull a small con in a supermarket, for which Kunal's assistant was given Rs 5,000 so that she could give it to Emraan before the shot and take it back from him post the shot. But post the shot, Emraan just disappeared with the money.

Telling us about it, Kunal said, “Emraan insisted that he had returned the money and the poor AD kept telling him, 'No sir, I had given it to you.' He did not tell anyone about his prank and kept it to himself for the whole day, completely straight-faced. The AD was in tears by the end of the day. What Emraan does really well is that he will totally confuse you. He not only did not give in, but he waited and, in fact, stretched it till the end of the day, when he finally told her and returned the money." While Kunal has chosen Emraan for a role as a conman in his film, he would actually make a really cool conman in real life. Any takers?

We learnt that for the first time in a film, Emraan Hashmi, who is normally used to kissing his actresses, got kissed by his actress Humaima Malick in Raja Natwarlal. And as expected, Emraan was obviously not happy. Telling us about what happened, the director of the film Kunal Deshmukh said, “There was a scene in the film where the girl needed to kiss the boy. It was unusual for Emraan as I had to tell him to do nothing. And I told him, 'Stand back, relax and just get kissed.' He said, 'But I don't do this normally. I can't do this.' Then he said, 'Achcha okay, poor girl, it's her first Hindi film. Chalo, I will do it.' Later in a scene, the hero needed to kiss the girl and this time I had to tell Humaima, 'Now, you do nothing and let him kiss you.' That happened and then there were comparisons between the two kisses, but we realised that they both looked really good together. So we decided to then do a proper kiss, which is a part of the upcoming song Tere Hoke Rahenge sung by Arijit Singh."