The Romanian model-singer is set to make her acting debut with a Prem Soni directorial which is expected to roll by the year-end
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 22, 2018)

Romanian model, TV actress and singer Iulia Vantur, popularly known as Salman Khan’s good friend, is all set to make her acting debut. The film rolls towards the end of the year and will be directed by Prem Soni who had helmed the Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, and Sohail Khan-starrer Main Aur Mrs Khanna in 2009, followed by Preity Zinta’s home production Ishkq In Paris four years later. Still untitled, it is reportedly based on a true incident and will have Iulia playing a Polish girl who comes to India and her life takes a drastic turn. It will be shot in Poland, Mathura and Delhi.

“She falls in love with the country and becomes a Krishna bhakt. The team had been looking for a foreigner who can speak Hindi but not too well for months. Iulia was approached recently,” informs a source close to the development, adding that besides playing the lead, Iulia who recently lent her voice to Salman and Jacqueline Fernandez’s action-thriller Race 3, will also be singing for it. “It will be shot in a start-to-finish schedule and expected to release by the summer of 2019. Jimmy Sheirgill has been signed on for a pivotal role too.”

Prem, when contacted, admitted that while he has made star-studded films in the past, they were not very successful. “So, I had to make my comeback with the right film. Yes, we have been in talks with Iulia and the production house will make an announcement soon. My producer, Prernaa Arora, has always backed content-driven films,” he asserted.

Iulia had earlier featured in a cameo as part of a song in the Pulkit Samrat, Bilal Amrohi and Sarah Jane Dias laugh riot, O Teri, in 2014.

Dharmesh Darshan explains his unannounced sabbatical; why plans of Dhadkan 2 fell through.
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 8, 2016)


On Dharmesh Darshan’s 42nd birthday on May 16, 2014, Ratan Jain, who’d produced his 2000 romance drama Dhadkan, featuring Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, and Shilpa Shetty, asked him to announce a sequel. According to Dharmesh, he agreed to come on board as a “director making a comeback” out of sheer respect for his longtime association with his producer friend. Also, he figured he could give the second instalment a modern spin, mounting it on a much bigger budget than the original. However, two-and-a-half years since the film’s inception, Dharmesh has walked out of the project citing differences in negotiations. While he has seceded all association with the development of Dhadkan 2, the producers are now bringing on-board a newer, much younger director, Prem Soni whose last directorial was Preity Zinta’s debut production, Ishkq In Paris three years ago.

“Even though I had said ‘yes’ in principle, I wasn’t too sure after the negotiations that followed. There was a lot of back-and-forth and we worked on the terms of agreement for six months. I had absolutely no need to prove myself — over the years, Dhadkan has become a cult film as well as has made profits via satellite rights. I did not want to make a sequel just for the heck of it,” Dharmesh cleared the air to Mirror, further adding that he went on a sabbatical six years ago after 18 successful years in the film industry. “I was at the top of my game. My directorial debut, Lootere, released when I was 24 and was a super-hit. Four years later, Raja Hindustani made me a leading director at 28. My contemporaries, Aditya Chopra, Karan Johar, and Sooraj Barjatya decided to turn producers and my parents wanted me to follow suit but I didn’t want to chase money,” Dharmesh recalls, noting that he chose to make only seven films, including Mela and Haan Maine Bhi Pyaar Kiya, when he could have directed 70.

Aap Ki Khatir, the 2006 romantic comedy featuring Akshaye Khanna and Priyanka Chopra, would go on to become Dharmesh’s last directorial. On May 9, 2009, his mother, Sheila Darshan, daughter of Nanabhai Bhatt and the older sister of filmmakers Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt, passed away at 69, making the director retreat into mourning. “My world changed overnight. Two-and-a-half years later, my father (Darshan Sabharwal) passed away on December 31, 2011. In 2007, I had two big-budget films lined up, one whose script I had already completed and was on the verge of taking to the floors. But I returned my signing amount and chose to go a sabbatical in 2010, and have been on a break for the past six years,” he explains, quick to add that there is much more to do besides making films, like teach, and travel and that he has no regrets since he has already broken all box office records of his time and made films like Raja Hindustani and Bewafaa that were “way ahead of their times”. And there’s another reason for his time-off from the film circuit. “In a time of money-hungry producers, everyone courts controversy and everything is about a person’s visibility and validity, I call myself a complete misfit. Fame, name and moolah came to me early on in life, and while they’re important to me as well, I’m not a businessman. Maybe I’m foolish or an artist with integrity,” he asserts.

While he continues to receive offers to remake films or direct sequels, he does not want to touch any of the classics because he believes it is “impossible to redo a soulful film.”

Today, he lives alone, without a partner or any children to cater to. “All artists live through the noise of a film set and the loneliness when in a crowd. While filmmakers manage to work through all kinds of emotions and situations, I cannot exhibit my grief and vulnerability on set. Neither do I crave for the attention anymore, nor do I mind the loneliness,” he says matter-of-factly.

Isn’t the lure of making a couple of crores a tad tempting or worthy of prompting a comeback soon? “Demonetization has proved that anything can happen to your wealth overnight. We’ll never know whether the filmmaker who chased it all was the right one or the one who gave it all up,” he signs off.

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 1, 2014)

While Salman Khan may be the reel-life Prem, a real-life counterpart, who goes by the same name, is now gearing up to make his foray into acting. Director Prem Raj, known for films like the Salman Khan-Kareena Kapoor starrer Main aur Mrs Khanna and Preity Zinta's first home production Ishkq in Paris, is ready to make the transition.

Mirror has learnt that a major studio is producing the film. Tentatively titled Laila Manju, it will be a spin off of the 1975 Rishi Kapoor-Neetu Singh hit, Rafoo Chakkar. The film is expected to roll in July and the hunt is on for an actrress to play the role essayed by Neetu Singh.

Soni confirmed the news saying, "I’ve been training for the last six months and have lost around 12 kilos. The acting offer came as a surprise, but I've decided to take on the challenge.”

Soni admits it will be difficult to fit into Rishi's shoes in the crazy caper. He says, "I’m scared as hell, but since my heart is in this project, I’m sure I will pull it off.”