As told to Ankita Chaurasia (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 17, 2020)

My first shot was for Aakhri Mughal. Both Abhishek Bachchan and I were to make our debuts in the film and I remember how scared I was to have Amitabh Bachchan on the set, watching us give our first take. I kept asking Abhishek to make him leave and he would say exasperatedly, “He is my father, how can I ask him to go!”

I wasn’t sure if I could act when J P Dutta and Jaya Bachchan approached me with the film. I couldn’t say “no” to them. But I’ve to admit, I was really happy when Aakhri Mughal was shelved! Yes, I know I’m a bit of a weirdo, I always have been one.

By the time Ajnabee came along, I was bored with modelling. Vijay Galani wondered if I would meet director duo Abbas and Mustan Burmawalla for a role in their film. I agreed, but was afraid they wouldn’t converse in English. On meeting them, I realised they were scared that a model wouldn’t speak Hindi. But we immediately liked each other. I didn’t watch a lot of films back then, but the suspense-thriller seemed like a very international film to me. And they were shooting in Switzerland, so I signed on thinking that at least I’d get to travel. I went with that intention; not to act.

Luckily, everyone on the set was very fond of me. Abbas bhai, Mustan bhai, Bobby (Deol) and his wife Tanya, Akshay (Kumar) all were very protective of me and got me an entourage of my own. My hairstylist had worked with Manisha Koirala earlier and was quite scandalized by my behaviour. She’d tell me that as an actor I should drink alcohol only in cups so that no one found out and not wear backless dresses. I remember the look on her face when I applied coconut oil on my body and sunbathed as opposed to actresses who slathered themselves with sunscreen and insisted on moving around under an umbrella. In fact, she was aghast when I told everyone that I had a boyfriend.

My first scene in the film was the one when neighbours Priya (Kareena Kapoor) and Sonia (my character) meet for the first time while jogging and strike up a conversation. It went off really well and my directors told me I was a natural actor. And I thought to myself, “Wow, so this is acting…I can do it!” Despite it being a negative role in a film way ahead of its time, it still fetched me a Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.

A 190-episode sitcom and a Bollywood franchise of the popular comedy series in the pipeline
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 29, 2017)

American comedy franchise, The Three Stooges, which ran from 1928 to 1970 and spawned two Hollywood feature films, one French comedy and several remakes, has now reached Indian shores. With the working title Three Stooges - Bole Toh Hungama Ho Gaya, the makers are planning a 190-episode TV sitcom beginning by the year-end with the three iconic characters of Larry Fine, Moe Howard and Curly Howard incorporated into an Indian set-up with desi puns and everyday complications. The project is in collaboration with Hollywood producer Earl Benjamin.

“Larry, Moe and Curly are faceslapping and eye-poking their way to India!” laughs Pratik Vijay Galani, son of filmmaker Vijay Galani, whose repertoire boasts of the Salman Khan-starrer Veer and the ensemble-thriller Ajnabee which featured Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol, Bipasha Basu and Kareena Kapoor. “While the American hallmark is physical farce and slapstick, for us Indians the most appealing factor is the universal appeal of ‘boys’ comedy’. We’ll be placing the three dudes in malls, markets, hospitals etc. Casting is presently underway and the show, besides Hindi, will also feature puns in different languages.”

The English original had followed three to six stooges, appearing alternatively through 220 short films. In 2000, long-time Stooge fan Mel Gibson executive-produced a TV film about the lives and careers of the comedians. In 2004, a Stoogeum — a Stooges museum — opened in Pennsylvania.

Pratik reveals that getting the pan-India adaptation and remake rights across all languages for both film and TV from Columbia TriStar was not easy and extended upto three meetings in the US over a year. “The brand is sacred internationally and even though many producers had approached the studio for the remake rights, the American producers were wary about how the content would be portrayed. We submitted scripts and our proposal to kick off with a TV series followed by a Bollywood franchise,” informs Pratik, admitting that what finally sealed the deal for them was when the American production house, C3 Entertainments, which is presently working on two more Hollywood adaptations of The Three Stooges, agreed that an Indian show on the same concept would create a great market for the English film. This action-adventure, The Three Little Stooges, featuring Gordy De St Jeor, Liam Dow and Luke Clark as 12-year-old versions of Moe, Larry, and Curly is expected to release in summer 2018. Another sequel to the 2012-Bobby Farrelly American comedy, The Three Stooges, was announced, with Sean Hayes, Chris Diamantopoulos and Will Sasso reprising their roles. It will kick off in 2018.