Dear Mr Imtiaz Ali,

As audiences laughed heartily in scenes which were supposed to be moving and emotional in your recently released flick Love Aaj Kal, I underwent through a mixture of emotions. Yes, even I was amused by the absurdities of what was unfolding in my front of eyes. But at the same time, I was also heartbroken that the same man who gave us films like Jab We Met, the old Love Aaj Kal and Highway is today being ridiculed in such a way.

When I see the recent films of Ram Gopal Varma or Subhash Ghai, I often wonder how these directors who once gave legendary and classic films are today delivering such pathetic kind of movies. I never in my wildest dreams imagined that you, too, would get into this category, after the twin debacles of Jab Harry Met Sejal and Love Aaj Kal. I am sure you have gone through the reviews and what people thought about the film. But may I suggest that if possible, please revisit your old classics and understand what worked so well with the audiences. You came up with path-breaking stuff in your films at one point like break-up party and setting your ex-partner’s photograph on fire and then flushing it. These quirks were very cool and cathartic and youth could identify with it easily. In the new Love Aaj Kal, it seemed like a wannabe version of you. You were trying too hard to impress the young crowd and you thought by showing them confused and not knowing how to healthily express their emotions will earn you brownie points. But the opposite happened, as you can see.

Then you attempted to put a character called Justice Chaudhary and it misfired and how. Firstly, the placement of the scene was wrong. His sequence comes immediately after the interval and there have been reports of viewers not even realizing that the second half has started! And did you conclude that just by showing that this stand-up comedian is a rage and that people are sharing his videos on Instagram will make you ‘cool’? I strongly feel this could have been a nice touch but his dialogues were so poor. In fact, the entire film has mostly bad dialogues that fail to elevate the impact.

Jab We Met’s Geet, old Love Aaj Kal’s Meera and Highway’s Veera were memorable female characters from your films. They were flawed and confused but there was so much depth to them. Audiences fell in love with them and many wished they had a Meera or Geet as their partner. Zoe, in the new Love Aaj Kal, meanwhile, is someone you wish you’ll never meet in your life. Female audiences loved you so much and were your biggest fans. But today, you have let them down.

Not just your fans, even your lead actors’ reputation has suffered. Sara Ali Khan has given a fine performance but since she played the obnoxious Zoe, even she became a laughing stock. One can hardly blame her here. She’s new and you are someone who has delivered classic films. Obviously, she has just followed your instructions. She was perhaps hoping that she’ll have a landmark performance and her career will get better the way it happened after Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor Khan worked with you. The same applies for Kartik Aaryan – he was hoping for a Ranbir Kapoor’s Rockstar-zone performance. Today, their credibility has taken a beating.

One can’t deny that there were several things in the film that you got right. Randeep Hooda’s track was interesting and the twist in the tale is something that no one saw it coming. A few aspects and touches were a treat like the graffiti on the walls, an upscale bar giving out tequila shots from a tiny window resembling a hole-in-the-wall cheap liquor shop, etc. I also liked the way Veer’s desktop screen was mounted on a height as this is how many creative people have their system arranged at their place. A few dialogues had the classic Imtiaz Ali touch especially when Zoe says that her work is her boyfriend.

And these minute aspects give us hope that we still haven’t lost the kal-ka-Imtiaz Ali forever. It’ll be great if you can team up with some young writer, buzzing with great ideas, and who is in sync with your line of thought. I know you usually write your own stories and scripts but in the past, you did make an exception for Rockstar which was co-written by Muazzam Beg. Also, desperate times call for desperate measures. You have some interesting ideas to tell and it’s important it doesn’t get lost when transforming it on celluloid. A support of another writer can be a boon in such cases. If the writing is overall strong, then a few minuses will be ignored. I remember while watching the old Love Aaj Kal, viewers also laughed in the scene where Meera claims “Main baad mein maafi maang lungi tumse.” Viewers, however, got a lot to take back home with that film and they didn’t mind a few minuses on the way. But when there are too many such mindless scenes in the film, it gets problematic.

Finally, just ask yourself after watching the latest Love Aaj Kal – are you really happy with the end product? Is this the best you can deliver? If yes, then we completely respect your decision and if that is so, please at least keep the budgets under control. Don’t let the investors suffer so much. You are a producer yourself now and you’ll understand what I am saying here. However, if your answer to the aforementioned questions is ‘No’, then it’s time to take stock of the situation. Many moviegoers still love you and are hoping you make a solid comeback because we know you can do it. You’re probably the only one right now regularly making light-hearted urban romcoms. There’s a huge market for these films among the youth and you can fill the void, if you come up with a well-made film, like you did earlier. Hence, we request you to understand where you went wrong and correct the wrongs.

I hope this letter is taken in the right spirit, if it ever reaches you. And apologies if any of my words have hurt you.

Yours Truly,

Fenil Seta

Superstars are finally taking notice and action against people who use and misuse their names to promote films
Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; March 31, 2014)

With Rajinikanth’s film Kochadaiiyaan releasing round the corner, a film titled Main Hoon Rajinikanth has just been announced by filmmaker Faisal Saif. He is not the only one — nor the first one — to be cashing on or using an actor’s name in a film. There have been instances in the past too.

Faisal defends himself saying that his film will only be a tribute to the legendary actor. “It is about Rajnikanth and you will get to see those things which you have only read it as SMS jokes. The comedy is on the lines of The Dictator and Borat,” he says. When asked if he sought permission from the superstar, he says, “We are not making a film on Mahatma Gandhi or any historic figure. My film is also not a biopic. It is a tribute and for that we only need his blessings. We want our film to be a pleasant surprise for him.’’ Trade analyst Komal Nahta rubbishes the claims that it is just a tribute. “The filmmakers are obviously cashing on the actors or at times even characters’ popularity. The idea is to get instant recognition and attention. We easily remember movies titled Basanti Ki Shaadi Honeymoon Gabbar Ka, because of the popularity of those iconic characters. It is a ploy to get publicity,” he says.

Filmmaker Janki Vishwanathan’s film Yeh Hai Bakrapur which is slated to release in May too has a ‘Shahrukh’ in it. The filmmaker has been seeking audience with the Shah Rukh Khan because a goat in her film is named after him. She justified it by saying, “Since the goat is the protagonist of the film, we went hunting for the right goat. We ‘auditioned’ at least 400 goats before we found the right one. Call it a divine coincidence but the goat that was approved was called Shah Rukh. I was told the goat responds to that name since he was one year old. I thought best not to change the name.’’ She adds, if you go to the goat market in Bidar which falls on the border of Karnataka and Maharashtra, most goats there are either called Shah Rukh or Salman. “I wanted that trend to be reflected in my film. Not so long back there was this goat called Saifeena, which was sold for Rs 4 lakh. I won’t be surprised if there is a goat named Sachin in the market too. The reason is to show how things in rural India works.” she says. She is keen on showing the film to SRK because she wants the actor to know that “there is no malice intended” and that she utmost respect for him.

We don’t know how Shah Rukh is taking this piece of news, but Salman Khan was evidently not too happy when a filmmaker, Muazzam Beg, launched his film, Munna Bhai Sallu Bhai on Salman Khan’s birthday on December 27 last year. Salman Khan’s office is said to have promptly sent mails to Beg warning him against misusing the star’s name. Beg had to shelve the film. He says, “ Our story was about two fans of these actors. We had shot 30 per cent of the film, but decided to shelve it after the warnings came,” he says. In hindsight, he says he should have sought Sallubhai’s permission before even starting the film.

Some time back, Madhuri Dixit, who was then living in the USA, got anxious when Ram Gopal Verma announced a project called Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon, without speaking to her about it. Her then business manager Rikku Rakesh Nath explains, “We took an objection to the title and only after we understood what the script is, and gave him a No Objection Certificate did he begin shooting.” Whatever the intention of the filmmaker, do these dramatic naming result in more business? No, says Nahta. “It just becomes a point of discussion for a while and then some front benchers get taken in, but that’s about it.”

Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; March 27, 2014)

Salman Khan’s office has threatened to send a legal notice to the director of the film, Munna Bhai, Sallu Bhai.


Muazzam Beg wanted to make a docu-drama based on the fan following enjoyed by actors Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan, but he has now shelved the project. The filmmaker apparently received an email from the actor’s office warning him to not misuse the star’s name.

A source close to the actor says, “We first emailed him asking him to refrain from using Salman’s name to promote his film. But he continued despite our mail, so we then wrote him that we would take legal action.”

Beg confirms that he has now decided to not go ahead with the project. He says, “I have shot 30 per cent of my film and had invested around Rs 50 lakh in the project. My film was going to tell a die-hard Sallu fan’s story and it would have been great if I could make the film. But I won’t be doing so now.” He also concedes that it’s his fault that he did not take the actor’s permission. “I announced my film just after the Supreme Court sentenced Sanjay Dutt. There was no objection from his side, but Salman doesn’t approve of my film. I should have sought their permission before shooting the film. I would not have lost so much money then,” he says.

It may be pointed out that Beg, who has written the script for the film, Swami, and directed Sadda Adda in the past, even launched the first look of his now- shelved film on Salman’s birthday last year.