In a bid to prepare for the part of a man belonging to the royal family for Pavan Kirpalani’s Gaslight, Akshay Oberoi dug his head into a bunch of mystery novels. “Those books included all the information I needed. I understood the perspective of both the victim and the murderer. And, since I have always been an avid reader, it was a bonus for me to have got this change,” says the actor, adding that it was the genre of murder mysteries that led him to cultivate love for reading.

“I was a big fan of the film Clue, directed by Jonathan Lynn, and starring Tim Curry. They made a board game based on it, and I used to play it all the time. Then  I would try and create my own kind of whodunits with my friends,” he says, adding that he admires the works of Agatha Christie and Stephen King.

Kirpalani, says Oberoi, is among the most capable filmmakers to helm a movie belonging to this genre. “[My character], Rana, is a unique person, and comes from a different space. His personality has many shades. I had to study him, and what aspects made him unique and intriguing. I had a great time playing the part and collaborating with Pavan.”

After Arjun Kapoor replaces Ali Fazal in Bhoot Police, Yami Gautam, Jacqueline Fernandez signed on as leading ladies instead of Fatima Sana Shaikh; maker attributes cast change to evolving script
Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; September 3, 2020)

Director Pavan Kirpalani can finally heave a sigh of relief. The filmmaker, who wanted to set the ball rolling on Bhoot Police early this year, can take the project on floors by the year-end. In the interim, however, the cast of the Saif Ali Khan-led horror comedy has undergone a change — after Arjun Kapoor stepped into Ali Fazal's shoes, mid-day has learnt that Jacqueline Fernandez and Yami Gautam have been brought on board.

Kripalani, who has previously dabbled in horror with Ragini MMS (2011) and Phobia (2016), is excited about giving a humorous touch to the paranormal. "This will be my first collaboration with the entire cast. We needed someone to add an element of craziness to this entertainer, and both of them will add magic to the script." Seconding him, producer Ramesh Taurani says, "From the beginning, we were keen on Jacqueline and Yami joining the team."

The laugh riot, which revolves around a pair of ghostbusters, was announced last year with Khan, Fazal and Fatima Sana Shaikh as the leads. Probe the director about the change in the cast, and he reasons it was the demand of the story. "The script has gone through several changes after Ramesh ji and Akshai [Puri, co-producer] got on board. Saif, Arjun, Jacqueline and Yami perfectly complement each other in the film," says Kirpalani.

The team has begun the groundwork on the horror comedy, which will be largely shot across Dharamshala, Dalhousie and Palampur. "We are consulting experts to plan safety measures for the team. We aim to wrap up 80 per cent of the film during the outdoor schedules. The remaining portions will be shot at a set in Mumbai," adds Taurani.

Duo will take off on a spooky adventure with director Pavan Kirpalani towards the year-end
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 1, 2020)

In 2007, Akshay Kumar spearheaded the Priyadarshan-directed horror-comedy, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, which struck a chord with the audience. However, the genre didn’t flourish till the Ajay Devgn-fronted Golmaal Again a decade later and the Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor-starrer Stree in 2018. Today, multiple producers want to explore this still-untapped territory, including Saif Ali Khan, who had produced the zombie-comedy Go Goa Gone. Mirror has now learnt that the actor is joining hands with Arjun Kapoor for a horror-comedy titled Bhoot Police, which will be directed by Pavan Kirpalani.

“Arjun and Saif play a pair of ghosthunters in the film. The makers have been working towards getting the right ensemble on board for a while now. The film, produced by Ramesh Taurani and Akshai Puri, will roll by the year-end,” revealed a source close to the development.

Confirming the news, Pavan told Mirror, “We are excited to bring this spooky adventure comedy and really happy to have Saif and Arjun join the team as they are a perfect fit for this crazy entertainer. Both of them will be seen in very different avatars and will bring their trademark humour to the script.”

In the past, Pavan has directed horror-thrillers like Ragini MMS and Phobia. However, this will be his first experiment with a horror-comedy. “The script is very close to his heart and given the adventurous elements in the story, the film requires to be mounted on a certain scale to enhance the thrills and chills along with the laughs,” the source added.

In an interaction with Mirror (January 28), Saif had described Bhoot Police as a funny and scary movie, which he believes is a golden combination. “It is an entertaining film and we are hoping to roll with it towards the year-end.”

This was before the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown that brought the industry to a halt for five months. More recently (Mirror, July 21), talking about his pet project, the actor had shared that there were plans to start shooting for it in August. He would be a happy man today that he can chase after a spirit soon, with Arjun, who is currently filming his cross border romance with Rakul Preet Singh. This is the duo’s first collaboration.

Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; May 5, 2020)

With the Coronavirus lockdown having put the brakes on his plans of filming Bhoot Police, director Pavan Kirpalani has gone back to the writing desk. The filmmaker, who had given Bollywood one of its few psychological thrillers with Phobia (2016), is giving finishing touches to the sequel. However, keeping the current scenario in mind, Kripalani has decided to develop it as a web-film.

"The current situation has changed the way the entertainment business functions. I am guessing that over the next one year, smaller films will [benefit] by having a direct-to-web release. So, Phobia 2 will most likely release directly online," he explains.

Close on the heels of the Radhika Apte starrer hitting the screens, it was heard that a male protagonist would take centre-stage in the second instalment. However, the director has had a change of heart. "I had written a male-centric story, but now, I [am pursuing] a different idea with a female lead."

With short film Charu on the anvil, Kirti Kulhari is enjoying the best of both worlds - cinema and digital space
Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; September 10, 2019)

After winning accolades for the short film, Maya, Kirti Kulhari is set to experiment with another short, Charu, which deals with a loveless marriage. The actor, who has an enviable line-up of web series and films, talks about straddling different mediums with ease.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

You're Successfully Juggling Films With Web Series And Short Films. Is That A Calculated Move?
I don't believe in restricting myself to a medium, especially when so many platforms are available to tell different stories. Why limit myself? Thankfully, the kind of work I have been doing has influenced the parts I am being offered now, in terms of quality. I am open to all mediums; they help you reach a wider audience.

Tell Us About Your Upcoming Short Film, Charu.
It is a gothic romance along the lines of Rebecca [1940] and Mahal [1949]. Its unreliable narrative explores loneliness in a decaying marriage. It's also a story about the monstrosity of love. Sohum Shah [co-star] was a lot of fun to work with.

Director Pavan Kirpalani Has Been Mostly Associated With Horror. How Was It Tackling A Different Genre With Him?
I have enjoyed Pavan's work in the past. I am also a fan of the horror genre; I feel as excited watching it as I am scared post it. I like Pavan's sensibilities as a director, he has explored the genre in an interesting manner. I admire his approach to filmmaking and his creative bent of mind.

You Also Have The Second Season Of Four More Shots Please In The Pipeline.
We have finished the shoot. It will release in 2020. It is going to be bigger and better!

Do You Track The Number Of Views Or Box-Office Collections Of Your Projects?
I check box-office figures of my films. Being on social media, you can't escape them. Even if you don't want to look at the numbers, they are right in front of you. In terms of web shows, we don't know the exact number of views, but we get an idea of how well a series is doing.

Your Last Film Mission Mangal Fared Well At The Box-Office. Did It Benefit You The Way You Expected It To?
When you are part of a film that does well, everyone associated benefits from it and in different ways — it could be tangible, or not. Mission Mangal has not just registered huge numbers, it has also been loved by people. Of course, the box-office numbers help your career. So, it has done its job for me as an actor.

BOMBAY TIMES (April 11, 2019)

With a story revolving around conmen, superstitions and ghost hunting, Bhoot Police is touted to be India’s first horror-comedy franchise in 3D. The film, presented and produced by Fox Star Studios, will see Saif Ali Khan, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Ali Fazal teaming up for the first time on the big screen. It will be directed by Pavan Kirpalani, who has previously helmed thrillers like Phobia (2016) and Ragini MMS (2011).

The horror comedy, which will go on floors this August, has been written by Pavan, Anuvab Pal, Sumit Batheja and Pooja Ladha Surti. Pavan says, “This is a story I’ve been living with for a long time. I couldn’t have found better collaborators than Saif, Ali, Fatima and most importantly, Fox Star Studios, to bring this to life. This is going to be a fun, spooky ride.”

Rucha Pathak, Chief Creative Officer, Fox Star Studios, shares, “We are excited to delve into a new world of technology and storytelling with Bhoot Police. We are looking forward to this collaboration with Pavan and the brilliant star cast and having a great time ahead with this movie.”

Meena Iyer (DNA; December 15, 2018)

Everyone was curious about what would be Abhishek Bachchan’s next film post Anurag Kashyap’s Manmarziyaan. The actor was so good in it that there was a kind of frenzy on what he would choose next.

Momentum built up when AB Junior started talks with director Pavan Kirpalani (of Ragini MMS and Phobia fame). An international film giant agreed to fund the project.

However, talks fell through because when it came to remuneration, Abhishek reportedly asked for big money.

Next, the studio, which was committed to Pavan and the subject, apparently began talks with Saif Ali Khan. The Nawab of Pataudi’s fee was settled on, but it allegedly came with a rider, according to which Saif would have to do a cameo or an extended special appearance in Mukesh Chhabra’s Kizie Aur Manny that features Sushant Singh Rajput and newbie Sanjana Sanghi.

Saif agreed and was about to begin work when Mukesh’s career hit a small roadblock. His name cropped up in the #MeToo Movement that gripped Bollywood. Work ground to a halt on Kizie Aur Manny as the director’s name had to be cleared by the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC).

By the time his name was finally cleared and the shoot for his romantic film was supposed to resume, Saif’s dates were committed to Sacred Games season 2. Hence, the Nawab had to request for a fresh set of dates for his cameo in the Sushant-starrer, failing which he had to be let off.

Now, the studio was adamant that they couldn’t relieve him. Instead, it is strongly rumoured that they went back to AB Junior, who agreed to be a part of Pavan’s film. Apparently, he got away with asking for a fat pay cheque, too. A source says, “When Saif learnt all this had happened behind his back, he was furious. He called the studio bosses and told them that it was unprofessional on their part to deal with another actor without keeping him in the loop.”

The studio heads, of course, reportedly mumbled excuses and put the blame on another reputed filmmaker. They claimed he suggested them to ditch Saif and go back to Abhishek. Once again, there was commotion. The Sacred Games hero confronted this filmmaker, who also happens to be his friend. The director-producer, in turn, asked the studio why his name was dragged into the controversy in vain.

Guess while all this was playing out, Pavan felt he had suffered too much grief over his movie and decided enough was enough. Our source adds, “Pavan felt the studio and everyone concerned was treating his passionate project with too much disdain. So, he decided to step back.”

We messaged Pavan to ask whether this information about his backing out of the Saif/Abhishek project was true? And whether he was doing something altogether different now. He read our SMS, but chose not to respond till the time of going to press.

For Pooja Ladha Surti, also Sriram Raghavan's 'man Friday', the key to a great movie is to observe everything, and forget nothing
Aastha Atray Banan (MID-DAY; December 9, 2018)

"In the first scene of Andhadhun, a cat is seen running, keeping in line with the music being played in the background. Now, the cat doesn't know what it's doing, but because Pooja has edited the scene in a certain way, it feels like the cat is reacting to the music. She has turned the cat into a performer," says the film's director Sriram Raghavan of Pooja Ladha Surti.

"She also has great patience and a memory that's unbeatable. She will say later 'that expression from that scene was so good', and you are [left] amazed." No wonder then that Raghavan calls Surti, a writer and editor, his 'man Friday' and has now been working with her since his debut, the 2004 film Ek Hasina Thi.

Surti, whose collaboration with Raghavan, as a writer and editor, has been the most extensive with movies like Andhadhun (one of the year's biggest hits, which centres around a blind man, portrayed by Ayushmann Khurrana, who gets stuck in the middle of a murder scene), Johnny Gaddaar (2007) and Badlapur (2015), has also worked on movies like Phobia (2016) and Agent Vinod (2012).

As we soon find out, Surti is known for her keen eye, and the layers she brings to the movie, whether it's through her writing or editing. Her work usually starts with co-writing, then watching, observing as the movie is shot, and translating those perceptions into delivering an edit that, as Phobia director Pavan Kripalani put it, "makes even the worst scene, good, always keeping the story first."

But, for Surti, writing movies, and editing them, happened just by being at the right place at the right time, and noticing the right things. The 47-year-old, who was born in Jamnagar, in Gujarat, but grew up in Mumbai after her family shifted to tend to her ailing grandfather, knew from the beginning that movies were her first love.

In 1975, she saw Sholay, her first movie at a cinema hall, but it was a while before she abandoned her hopes to be an airhostess (because she wanted to travel), for a career in the media. "I read a lot of books and watched a lot of movies as I studied at St Xavier's [Dhobi Talao], and then joined a TV channel, and life changed when I met Ram Gopal Varma to interview him for the channel."

He asked her if she would write with him, and if she had any ideas of a film with a woman hero, and as luck would have it, she did. The avid reader of many a James Hadley Chase, gave him the first draft of Ek Hasina Thi (a movie about a woman conned by her lover and how she then turns the tables on him), and it was then that he brought in Raghavan.

"RGV and Urmila [Matondkar, who starred in the movie], liked it, but Sriram said 'let's start at the beginning' and asked questions like 'what is she feeling now?'. What Sriram and I do is we talk a lot, almost distilling the idea threadbare, which is what we did with Ek Hasina... Then the editor of the movie fell sick, so I decided to step in, despite having no prior experience. I enjoyed it, so when Johnny happened, I asked Sriram right at the beginning if I could edit it."

Raghavan tells us, "I had been ribbing her all of Ek Hasina... saying 'you should be an editor', so when she asked, I said ok, it's a small movie, let's try this. What works with Pooja is how well she connects with the material. She is usually there for the whole length of the shoot, and even has great sense of music and sound. So, in the end when she edits, she can just bring it all together that much better."

Surti knows that watching the shoot and taking it all in is the most important part of it all. "Sometimes an actor may think a shot is great, but it just doesn't fit. Sometimes I start from scene 17, because I know that that scene will change the pace," says Surti, who counts Aandhi ("not a thriller"), Mad Max-Fury Road, Shutter Island, Munich, Pulp Fiction, Parinda and Satya as some of her favourite films.

For Kripalani, who Surti worked on Phobia with, she is the backbone of it all. The movie, which starred Radhika Apte (left) in the lead, was about a woman suffering from agoraphobia after being molested. "What I didn't have was the maturity to add layers to the characters. But Pooja knows how to do that. She didn't make the women, good and the men, bad. She knows everyone is grey, and that's because she is extremely perceptive and writes characters that are real," he says.

Apte, who has acted in many of Surti's projects, agrees with Kripalani. "Pooja can find balance in character, without judgment. There are many things I can't see as an actor, but she makes me see them, and then makes me take that risk. She takes risks all the time, and is so inspiring for me. I don't think any movie would have turned out the way it had to if she wasn't on set every day. She is part of all decision-making processes and improvisations at every single level."

For now, the PD James lover is writing a web series and working on two more film ideas with Raghavan. Her free time, she spends time with her husband and 11-year-old son and tries to have a life outside the film world.

"It's a great thing to do what you love, though I definitely want to make more money. But then, I guess, I need to work more!" she laughs. Ask her what she prefers, editing or writing, and she chuckles, "Editing puts a smile on my face, and writing drives me crazy. At this point, I am just happy the movies have done well, and it's making me feel all warm and fuzzy.


Pooja with Tabu, who starred in Andhadhun, and Sriram Raghavan