Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; June 9, 2015)

Ketan Mehta’s film on Dashrath Manjhi, an outcast landless labourer in Bihar who is famously known as the Mountain Man, will finally see the light of the day. The project starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui was caught up in legal tangles after another filmmaker claimed to have exclusive cinematic rights to Manjhi’s lifestory.

A source says, “Mehta has won the court case and Viacom18 Motion Picture has taken on the responsibility to release the film, which was shot in 2013. It will hit theatres in August this year.”

Filmmaker Dhananjay Kapoor had applied for a stay on Mehta’s film, claiming that he had taken Manjhi’s consent in July 2007, to make a biopic. That was a month before the latter’s demise. The Patna civil court had admitted his petition in March 2013 and issued an injunction directing Mehta and his filmmaking company not to exhibit the film till the pendency of the suit.

Mehta’s lawyer, however, had said that Manjhi’s descendants had signed a no-objection letter, which meant anyone could make films on him. Mehta says, “It’s an inspiring film and unfortunately, we had to fight it through the high court. We are elated that it’s finally releasing on August 21.”

Manish Jha was also planning a film on Manjhi, but it got shelved. The Mountain Man is named so as he spent 22 years chiseling away at a mountain with rudimentary tools to create a road for his community.

His wife’s death prompted him to take on the Herculean task — she died as she couldn’t get medical aid as the nearest hospital was 75 kms away.

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 29, 2014)

The USP of an upcoming film, The Legend of Michael Mishra, is that it features Boman Irani and his son Kayoze in pivotal roles. Director Manish Jha reveals that they are not playing baap-beta in reel life and neither is Boman playing a cameo, as the buzz goes. “Both father and son have full-fledged roles and the chemistry has to be seen to be believed. When I was editing the film, I realised it’s a case of the perfect casting,” says Jha.

Boman plays a character called Full Pant while Kayoze goes by the name of Half Pant. They play Biharis in the film which has been shot over a period of 65 days in Patna. The film is produced by Eye Candy Films.

“I couldn’t sleep the night before I was to give a script narration to Boman," admits Manish. "But my apprehensions disappeared once I met him. Despite being an established actor, he's extremely down-to-earth."

The son, he says, is a brilliant actor too. "I saw him in Student Of The Year and knew he fitted the part and cast him without an audition," says Jha.

Talking about his experience of directing the duo, the filmmaker reveals that they got along like a house on fire. “There was never a dull moment on the sets when Boman and Kayoze were there together. The rough cut is testimony to the amount of fun we’ve had," smiles Jha who is currently editing the film.

Arshad Warsi plays the quirky Michael Mishra. Aditi Rao Hydari, who was last seen in Boss in a bikini, plays his love interest. The film is being readied for an August release.

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; March 10, 2014)

Arshad Warsi may have wanted to add extra spice to a scene in his film, but it left him with a burning tongue and watery eyes. The actor, who was recently shooting in Panchgani for Manish Jha’s film, The Legend of Michael Mishra, along with Aditi Rao Hydari, apparently ate 47 chillies for a scene in the film.

A source from the film’s unit says that Arshad was initially meant to eat a few carrots in the scene. “It required him to come on stage and participate in a carrot eating contest. The actor then approached director Manish Jha and producer Kishor Arora and suggested that they consider a chilly eating contest instead,” says the source.

Adds the source, “Arshad ended up eating as many as 47 chillies in quick succession for that perfect shot where he is declared the winner of the contest. After the scene was shot, he was understandably uncomfortable. The makers ordered for ice-cold milk and Arshad gulped down 1.5 litres of it to douse the fire in his mouth.” Clearly, acting comes with its own set of occupational hazards.