Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 27, 2020)

December 15, 2006, brought Abhishek Kapoor much relief because the sports drama he had been struggling with, Aryan: Unbreakable, finally released on this day. The film’s writer-director took off to recharge and ended up listening to a lot of rock music. He’d never been a fan of the genre or a part of a band, yet the idea of a musical around a rock band grabbed him. He met up with his musican friends, sat in on their jam sessions and a story took shape in just a couple of days. But since the concept was novel to Hindi cinema, none of the actors he approached were interested. Then, one day, Abhishek bumped into Farhan Akhtar at a bar and instinctively felt his husky voice was apt.

“More than a trained, professional voice, I needed one that came from the heart,” muses the writer-director. A meeting was set up with Farhan and the script was narrated. He loved it and immediately came on board as Aditya Shroff aka Adi, the lead singer of the band, Magik, who rebels against his family to pursue music, then, abandons it to become an unhappy investment banker. “I’ve known Farhan since we were kids, but it was only when he came to the studio for a voice test that I learnt to my delight that he could not only play a guitar, but also knew all the songs by Coldplay, U2 and other rock bands that had inspired the film,” he admits, adding that the film was earlier titled Magik after the four friends’ Mumbai-based grunge rock band, then, changed to Rock On!!

Purab Kohli was signed on as the drummer Kedar Zaveri aka KD and to play him convincingly, the actor would often drop by Abhishek’s mom’s garage, from where he operated, to practice on the drum set there. Luke Kenny was the natural choice to play the keyboardist Rob Nancy, given his brief stint as a DJ and a longer one as Channel V’s first male VJ. The discovery that he is dying of brain cancer was a surprise twist in the plot and made him unforgettable.

The surprise package, however, was Arjun Rampal, who played the lead guitarist Joseph Mascarenhas—Joe, who was born for music and is lost without it. Abhishek empathised with this character the most, having himself failed as an actor, but unwilling to quit the industry because of his pure passion for cinema.

“Staying on meant lots of dark days, with nowhere to run back to, since I was a Mumbai boy living with my parents who hurt to see me go through such lows. Acting is a public profession, so your failure is there for the world to see and you start believing you have failed as a human being too,” he says, sharing that he wasn’t sure Arjun was the right guy to play Joe, but then, none of the actors he approached wanted to be one among four guys, even if each one was equally important to the narrative. “Arjun had no such hang-ups, but I was still worried he was too handsome and not wanting his looks to overpower the character, I toned them down. He walked away with all the awards, including the National Award for Best Supporting Actor. What an actor, what a voice,” he raves.

Shahana Goswami as Joe’s ‘anchor’ Debbie was a perfect match. Another inspired casting was Prachi Desai as Farhan’s wife Sakshi, through whose eyes the story plays out. “In my mind, Sakshi was a sweet, simple girl from a banking background, but not an elite space like Farhan; one who wants to make things right for her husband and his friends. She, however, needs an ally and that’s where ‘take charge’ Devika, who works in the jewellery store KD’s family owns, comes in. Koel Purie was perfect as Devika and Prachi, given all the work she had done in television, was my Sakshi. I have always believed that TV is a good training ground for an actor, given all the hours of shoot and the sustained level of performance,” he avers.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s music made the Rock On!! album a cult favourite, selling 120,000 copies in India. The songs, from “Pichle Saat Dinon Mein” “Socha Hai” and “Yeh Tumhari Meri Baatein” to “Zehreelay”, “Tum Ho To”, “Sinbad The Sailor”, “Phir Dekhiye” and the title track “Rock On!!”, flowed from Javed Akhtar’s pen. “They were such ‘young’ lyrics and Javed saab was the real rockstar at the studio, ” Abhishek recalls fondly.

The film bagged a National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi too, and that is the moment Abhishek flashbacks to when he remembers Rock On!! , which opened on August 29, 2008 and finally put him on the road to success. “There was so much dignity and diversity of talent from across the country at that function. The experience was truly ‘magikal’!” he rocks on.

Meena Iyer (DNA; December 21, 2018)

Abhishek Kapoor had to literally walk through fire to see his tragic love story, Kedarnath, through. For starters, it couldn’t release in Uttarakhand, where it is based. Also, the film, made against the backdrop of the 2013 floods in the pilgrim state, almost drowned under financial hurdles (not of his making). But hats off to the filmmaker who doggedly brought his labour of love to fruition and emerged victorious.

Gattu, as he is popularly known, reveals his state of mind today and hopes to move forward with those fresh scripts that he has been giving finishing touches to.

Now that Kedarnath has released, how are you feeling?
I feel good. This one was quite a tough one to make. However, I’m happy that people are liking it. So, it feels great (smiles).

It’s a downer that it couldn’t release in Uttarakhand.
Yes, it is. I wish they would hear the voice of the rest of the people who are watching Kedarnath in theatres and enjoying it. There’s nothing offensive in the film. The censor board (Central Board of Film Certification) has gone through it with a microscope. They have done their job. There is nothing for anyone to fear it or get offended by it. Sometimes, you can’t win them all.

It hasn’t happened to you in the past.
It has never happened to me.

You had the honour of introducing Sara Ali Khan. She got a lot of praise for her performance.
Yes, Sara is quite a spark. She’s got a great personality, and she brings that to her part. There is a lot of her in her character (Mukku/Mandakini) that has gelled really well.

Did you revisit and analyse your movie post its release?
I’m happy with the way it’s gone. I made the movie I wanted to make it. As a filmmaker, you evolve. If you see any of my films, you’ll realise that I don’t repeat myself. They are not in the same world, they have non-identical characters who are from diverse strata.

This one (Kedarnath) is a different animal and it’s made for the people. And the kind of stories and problems we touch upon are deeply Indian. This country hasn’t changed much in the past 20 years. We’re still dealing with the same old issues that exist even today.

Is that why a part of the movie has a slightly retro feel? Was that deliberate?
Yes, it’s deliberate. Every time, you can’t make a film to please the critics. It’s important to know your craft and have enough control over it. But it should not come in your way, with who you’re talking to. If you’re addressing certain issues, there should be clear communication for whom you are making a movie. I don’t think filmmakers should get confused about their target audience.

This movie is made for the people at large because I really believe that this is a story for the present day. We’ve never been more divided due to our communities than we are today.

Your film does touch upon community and caste.
Community, caste and our places of worship. Everything that can divide us is dividing us. Next will be which door you can enter the temple from and which door you can’t. These people can enter, those people can’t. This is an extremely important film in the present-day scenario. And the simpler it is told, the better. That’s why it’s made in a certain way.

I’ve made movies in the past, too. You aspire for different things at different stages of your life. In the earlier phase, you want critical acclaim so that people recognise you for your craft. After you have established that you know your craft, then you have a platform to say something beyond just repeatedly trying to prove yourself. And I think that’s the film I attempted and that’s what I made.

Did Kedarnath satisfy you as a filmmaker?
It has an old-school vibe to it. The additional part is that we have the backdrop of a beautiful 2,000-year-old temple, where the deity sits, that has gone through a storm. And when a calamity of that kind hits, all the silly issues that we create among ourselves go back to nothing. We should see the bigger picture of where we’re going as people, that’s what the film is trying to say.

There was an opinion that said you should have given more to the love story between Sara and Sushant.
That is all talking in retrospect. I really respect your opinion, because you’ve seen the film with more clarity than me because I’m so close to it.

But there are expectations from you because you are the kind of director who puts his passion into the story-telling.
That’s not the problem. It’s the kind of expectations that people have of me after they’ve seen Rock On!! (2008), Kai Po Che! (2013) and Fitoor (2016). And whether they have liked it or not, they have not seen that as a filmmaker, my attempt is to unlearn, go back to zero and make a film like a newcomer again, so I can discard my previous work. Every time a filmmaker helms a movie, it’s not the truth. There are different sides to it and a director shows his perspective on things, which is his truth.

To get into a new film, I can’t carry my ego, image or credibility. I’m servicing an idea. I have to listen to it as it will tell me how it has to be told. So, I try to leave my ego out of it and just start off as if I’m absolutely new again.

I wanted to tell some of the critics, ‘Why don’t you see it for what it is?’ They are thinking yeh bhi ho sakta tha, yeh Abhishek kar sakta tha, because they are probably calibrating what I could have done in a crafty way. Maybe it didn’t require that much of craft. Instead, it required that much simplicity, so that the last guy sitting in the theatre could hear us. That was the attempt.

How soon will you move on to your next film?
I’ve been working on exciting stuff lately. Some probably with new people, some with established actors... they are different kinds of material. So, I can’t wait to start them. Maybe in the next 10 days, I’ll take a short vacation and then jump right into the next one.

Pragya with newborn son Shamsher; Abhishek and Isana (below)

Abhishek and Pragya Kapoor welcomed their second son in the early hours of Tuesday
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 29, 2018)

Filmmaker Abhishek Kapoor and his actress-filmmaker wife Pragya became parents to a baby boy who was born at 3.38 am on Tuesday at a suburban hospital in Mumbai. Speaking to Mirror about his second son, Abhishek admitted that a child’s birth is “an overwhelming experience that you are never prepared enough for”, all praise for his better half, a “strong girl” who was in control through the nine months. Pragya had gone on a babymoon to Bali with Abhishek and their first-born, Isana, earlier, telling Mirror (June 30) that she wanted to make more films and babies and plans are afoot in the direction.

The couple has named their newborn son Shamsher. “It’s fitting since he is reflection of his mom. Meanwhile, Isana has already taken charge of being a responsible big brother and is looking forward to taking his long-awaited sibling under his wings,” laughs Abhishek.

Having grown up in the small Swedish town of Karlskrona, Pragya had come to Mumbai in search of her roots. An event management job brought her modelling offers and Abhishek, who had just started work on his third directorial, Kai Po Che!, then, into her life. They met at a concert and after a year he asked her out. It was then, that Pragya knew instantly that he was the one for her. The couple tied the knot on May 4, 2015 and welcomed their first baby six months later.

The writer-director informs proudly that he has never needed to take paternity leave and even worked through his wedding, Isana’s birth and now Shamsher’s. “Pragya wouldn’t have it any other way and had everything figured out on her own,” asserts Abhishek, who is busy with the post-production of the Sushant Singh Rajput and Sara Ali Khan-starrer Kedarnath. Is the nursery ready? “With Isana getting ready to start school soon, Shamsher is the lord of his own nursery,” he quips.

August is Abhishek’s lucky month. He celebrated his 47th birthday on August 6 and today his National Award-winning film, Rock On!!, featuring the band of boys, Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal, Purab Kohli and Luke Kenny, completes a decade. Will he return to the franchise to direct Part 3? “Rock On!! brings back lots of good memories. To answer your question, I live by a simple principle: You’re either there or you’re elsewhere. It will always be my baby and an equal among its siblings,” the proud father signs off with a smile.

As told to Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 19, 2018)

I’ve always wanted to play the guitar but never got down to learning it till I signed Rock On!! The director, Abhishek Kapoor, was very clear that all of us who were part of the rock band Magik had to get close to the instruments we were playing. For Purab Kohli it was the drums, for Luke Kenny the keyboard and for Farhan (Akhtar) and me it was the guitar. I took a lot of classes, around three-four hours of practice every day.

And that wasn’t all. I was also required to watch a lot of videos so the guitar would seem like an extension of me. I remember I saw a lot of Steve Vai videos and also bought a Steve Vai guitar of my own, one that I was comfortable playing. We had to make my character, Joseph Mascarenhas, look like one of the boys from the by-lanes of Bandra, with a guitar strung on his back and I think I eventually pulled Joe off on screen because the performance bagged me the National Award for Best Supporting Actor and also the Filmfare Black Lady.

Another character that I could really dive into was Prithvi from Raajneeti. He was a politician and the film’s director, Prakash Jha, described him as a “caged tiger”, underlining the fact that he wanted Prithvi to move in a particular way, with arrogance and aristocracy since he came from a second or maybe it was third generation of a family of politicians. I researched history of certain political families to figure out how these guys dressed, their gait and the confidence with which they spoke. At the same time, Prithvi was also a people’s person so he had to be out there. Usually I’m more comfortable in a space where I don’t have to overact but this character couldn’t be subtle and underplayed. I had to make him loud without being a caricature.

When it came to his look, all the ideas came from Prakash Jha. He always wanted me to wear a stole and I was petrified because the last time I had carried one was on the ramp, during my modelling days and I was hoping that wouldn’t become an impediment. I realized later that the way the stole was draped made the character larger-than-life. My one input was to wear sneakers with kurta-pajama. I had observed that all politicians wear sneakers when they go campaigning because of the amount of walking they need to do. But the one thing that Raajneeti really taught me was how to stand in front of the audience and address them right. Actors also have to learn and deliver lines but a speech is something else. You know why politicians take long pauses between lines? It’s because they are waiting for the echo of loudspeakers and the noise of applause to die down before moving on.

For Ashim Ahluwalia’s Daddy it was a different challenge. Since this time I was playing a real-life character (Arun Gawli), I had to be as close to him as possible. It was difficult because I didn’t get to spend too much time with Mr Gawli as he is serving a jail sentence. Whenever he came out, I would meet him and observe him like a hawk. I had about three meetings with him but watched a lot of footage to learn his body language and mannerisms. I also used prosthetic to look like him. We flew down an amazing makeup team from Italy who worked with me for weeks before we went on floors to get the look absolutely right. I also had to lose a lot of weight, look smaller, because Mr Gawli isn’t very tall while I am. So I had to shrink my body by stooping and hunching. But the most important prep was getting the language right.

I had studied Marathi at my school in Deolali since standard eight so I was familiar with it and only had to brush up on it by reading a lot of Marathi, and listening to people speak so I would get the words and accent right. Since it was a Hindi film at the end of the day I didn’t have to speak the language fluently, it was making it sound colloquial that was the real challenge.

Dhaval Roy (DNA; November 10, 2017)

Prachi Desai may not have played a musician in Rock On! but in her next outing, Kosha, she plays a vocalist and rhythm guitarist in a blues band. And, to get the characterisation perfect, the Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai actress has picked up the guitar in real life, too. Prachi says, “I wanted it to feel real; I wanted to truly lose myself in the music much like my character does in the film. It’s no use if you’re performing and are worried about syncing your movement to the song.”

And thus began her guitar lessons from none other than the director of her film, Amman Advaita, who, Prachi tells us, is a nifty guitarist himself. So, right from the pre-production days, Prachi started practising the six-string with the filmmaker. Once they commenced the shoot, “A bunch of us would sit back in the morning after a hard night’s shoot, jam and have fun, so much so that it became a problem waking up the next day,” the actress smiles.

Strumming on
Though Prachi used to strum for a few hours each day earlier, her busy schedule has meant that the practice sessions are infrequent now. She informs us that she has learnt to play the song that she performs in the movie and a few other favourites. So, does she plan to continue playing after the film is wrapped up? “Yes! Playing the guitar has been quite liberating. I want to keep learning the instrument and hopefully master it someday,” says the actress who found Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett in the film Runaways inspiring when she was younger.

All for the role
Before this, to do justice to the role, Prachi had injured her hand while shooting for a scene. “Actually, I was supposed to be punching a bag that was kept for my protection but I punched it away and started to punch the ground. Nobody noticed and I didn’t want to stop. I had so much to gain that the pain wasn’t a problem,” she says. Holds true for her guitar practice, too, since like any beginner, Prachi has also had sore fingers after playing. “They still get sore but it was needed and completely worth it. You’ll soon see,” Prachi offers. Incidentally, it was Abhishek Kapoor’s Rock On! that made her popular as a Bollywood actress when she moved from television to the big screen. Gung-ho about her turn in this film, she says, “I wish rock music never leaves me. At the end of the day, all artistes are people who are hurt or broken in some way and it’s sometimes easier to channel the pain rather than happiness. That’s what the blues were made to cure,” she says. Keane, Coldplay, Pearl Jam, INXS, The Killers, and The Horrors are some of her favourite bands.

Good times ahead
Currently, Prachi has Kosha to wrap up. That apart, she plans to make the most of a break in the film’s shoot and squeeze in a holiday abroad along with a work trip. “It has been strenuous, so this will be a great breather. Besides this, I am binging on Stranger Things! My sister, who is a writer, will be here visiting me soon from Australia, so, all in all, it’s great,” she signs off.

Harshada Rege (DNA; September 5, 2017)

Farhan Akhtar and Abhishek Kapoor came together for the first time and created the cult movie Rock On!! The audience expected the two to reunite for the sequel. Unfortunately, the collaboration never happened, and Abhishek even had to knock on the doors of the court to get the writing credit for the sequel. However, the court case did not take a toll on their relationship. Now, it’s Abhishek, who has been approached to direct a movie that has been penned by Farhan’s father, renowned writer and poet, Javed Akhtar. “Farhan and Abhishek’s collaboration won them a National Award. They made a great team. It won’t be a surprise if the two come together soon,” says a source.

The movie will be produced by Excel Entertainment. Reveals the source, “Farhan and Ritesh Sidhwani want Abhishek to direct the film. Though not much is known at this stage, the two recently met Abhishek to discuss the film with him. They are keen that he directs the film as they feel the subject is something that would be very apt for him.” Abhishek has now started work on his ambitious project Kedarnath, which is Sara Ali Khan’s launch vehicle and also stars Sushant Singh Rajput, his Kai Po Che hero. Farhan, in the meanwhile, is slated to act in a movie with Sanjay Dutt, which will be produced by Ajay Devgn. The movie will be directed by Nishikant Kamat and is expected to go on floors by October. Considering the fact that they both will be busy with their projects now, if their dates align well, Farhan and Abhishek just might be able to reunite for this venture.

Shraddha Kapoor on how her successful streak at the movies hasn’t changed how her parents treat her
Upala KBR (DNA; November 7, 2016)

I met Shraddha Kapoor at Ekta Kapoor’s Diwali party, and I noticed she was the only actress mingling with everyone in a warm and friendly manner (and not just as a formality). She was also the only one helping herself to the fish tikka platter that were going around. I have never seen an actress eating what I call ‘normal people food’ (as oppposed to steamed broccoli), so I was impressed. I notice that although she is warm and friendly when we meet for an interview, her guard is up. At the onset, Shraddha tells me sternly that she won’t answer any ‘masala’ questions (read: her linkup to Farhan Akhtar and Aditya Roy Kapur). So, we begin chatting about films, friends, family and of course, Rock On!! 2. Read on for excerpts...

You’re known as a lucky mascot for giving almost back-to-back hits.
I don’t like to be known as a lucky mascot because I have worked really hard for this and to put it down all to luck is trivialising that. My life is only about work and acting. I don’t do anything else. My day begins and ends with work. If I go to a party, I will go for only an hour and leave. It’s only for courtesy. It’s nice to meet people you work with. I sleep and wake up early and watch films when I get the time. I think if my films have worked it’s because the films have been loved. I feel that a film has its own fate.... Tomorrow, I can be a part of a film which is not a hit or I have not done a good job with a film where it is a hit.

You don’t take fame or success for granted...
Once Priyanka Chopra told me: ‘You should wear your success like a T-shirt and you should always remember that.’ That advice stuck with me as I really admire her a lot. She works hard and has a fabulous body of work. The only people who know my efforts are the people I have worked with or am working with. There is all this love and appreciation that is coming and there’s obviously a reason it’s coming my way... I have to admit though that sometimes, I can give my parents a difficult time but that’s for other reasons. I am very spoilt by nature. But I also know that success does not last forever.

When you were offered Rock On!! 2, how did you react?
When I watched Rock On!! with my parents and brother, I went berserk. When the end credits were rolling, it was such a filmi moment! My family got up to leave and I was still sitting and gazing at the screen. I call my dad Baaps so I told him very confidently ‘Baaps, agar iss film ka sequel banayenge na, mein uss me rahoongi!’ And he was just like ‘Haan, okay..’ he said indulgently. And it actually happened! They say that when you ask something from the Universe, you get it, and I am a big believer of The Secret. I read it when I was going through a very low time before Aashiqui 2 happened. My first two films hadn’t done well and I was feeling pretty miserable when I read the book and the power of the Universe and what you ask for you get and I just put it out in the Universe that I will be in Rock On!! sequel and here I am! That’s why you also have to be careful about what you ask for and how much you really want it.

Tell us about your character.
My character’s name is Jiah Sharma and she’s a musician. She plays the keyboard and she sings. Jiah is a moody vagabond. I got mentally bruised while playing this role. It was a tough journey because it’s an intense film and an intense character. There were days when I just wanted to sit and weep because I was thinking about my character. There is something that had happened in her life which I kept thinking about as I found it disturbing.

Please continue…
There used to be times I couldn’t sleep for nights and there were days when I had to wake up and shoot and I would wake up thinking — shoot! I haven’t even slept and then we would shoot all day. I believe that every film changes you in a certain way. Also I think when you play a particular character that forces you to be in that space and triggers some things inside yourself that makes you think about your own life. I can say that Jiah is one of the most intense characters that I played till now — at least in some scenes. She’s also a pretty aloof character. It wasn’t easy for me to switch off from Jiah to myself. One day we were shooting an intense scene at night in Shillong and I couldn’t stop crying even after the director called cut. I went to the van and started crying again. While going back to the hotel in my car I was still crying… I was like: what is happening to me? Then I got into bed... I was alone in my room at night and awake and still crying. There have been some heavy days like that.

How else did you manage to understand your character?
My director told me to be alone as much as I could because Jiah is a loner. He said, ‘I don’t think you have ever experienced being alone and you have had a very protective upbringing. So you need to be alone, make your own food, be independent.’ He was right because I am constantly surrounded by my family at home. I don’t live alone. I live with my parents and brother. I told him I had lived in college alone with my roommate so he said I hadn’t stayed really alone in an apartment till now — as in college I had friends. I didn’t live alone as he wanted me to but I spent time in my room as much as I could. I put this DND sign outside my bedroom as that meant nobody could knock or come in. My family abided by it and gave me that space. Of course it’s very difficult to be alone like that! Playing such intense characters can be both emotionally draining as well as fulfilling.

You don’t make any statements on Twitter or have an opinion on things.
I enjoy Instagram. I don’t like saying much on Twitter, I am better with photos. It’s not that I am cautious about writing anything. I just feel that I don’t know anything much on the matter or about a person, so better not I don’t say anything. If you ask me anything about food or films or my dog I will talk (laughs).

Are you mummy’s (Shivangi) pet or daddy’s (Shakti) darling?
Both. Though sometimes my dad is like a baby and I mother him. But both have been strict with my brother and me for different reasons. Dad is strict when it comes to my food — like eat healthy, don’t eat this or that which he is right because I have no control over my food. My mom is strict about coming home on time etc. I still have a curfew and I need to come back home at a certain time. But I tell mom that if I sleep over at my friends homes then there can’t be any curfew, no? (laughs) So sleepovers happen but all my friends stay in the other end of town so then commuting becomes a bit of a pain. My friends don’t come to Juhu as they feel crossing the Sea Link is non-happening. Sobo people are snooty.

Your friends are not from Bollywood?
No they are not. They are my school friends, they watch all my movies and are my biggest critics. I always get messages from my friends passing comments about how I was in which film and how the film was. We are seven of us — one boy and the rest are girls. I don’t have very many friends. All six of them are my best friends. One of them is in Paris and another in Delhi.

How do your parents react to your linkups?
Whatever rumours are written, are written about everyone. Actors and actresses are linked to one another. My parents know better. Initially when I used to get linked to anyone, I would get more upset than them. I would ask why’s this happening to me?. I would get very affected but my parents would me sit down and explain that it was all part of the profession. They have been in this industry for years so they would ask me to calm down and say that they know its all rubbish.

You have been linked to two of your co-stars — Farhan Akhtar and Aditya Roy Kapur…
(Laughs) What? I have been linked more than two to my co-stars! It’s not something that I appreciate. I will just say this: People should write about relevant stuff. I work hard on all my films and my life is only about my work. I am single and very happy at being single. And as clichéd as it may sound I am romancing my films. It’s true — I am only thinking of my films. So much so that my parents tell me, ‘Come on now, just take a break.’

Don’t your parents ask you about falling in love or getting married?
They know me and they understand that now is not the right time to ask these questions to me. But they do tell me to take a break, so I get to know what movies I would like to do. Once I switch off, I can then switch back in a rejuvenated way. I haven’t taken a holiday since last July and that was just one week with my family. Since then there hasn’t been a day when I have not been on the phone or not do anything related to my movies or meeting someone. I need to put my phone off for a week and just chill, read some books, watch some movies, be with nature.

BOMBAY TIMES (March 22, 2015)

Sunil Baghel (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 18, 2015)

Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; November 5, 2014)

The proposed sequel to Farhan Akhtar’s Rock On!! had recently set off a controversy with Abhishek Kapoor accusing Pubali Chaudhuri of denying him credit for the script. Pubali had then approached the Film Writers’ Association claiming that the scripts was solely written by her. Now the dispute seems to have turned uglier.

A source close to the director says, “Pubali registered the script with the association and claimed that it was her solo creation. Abhishek was miffed that he wasn’t given any credit. It seems that he was the one to have conceptualised the story and Pubali fleshed it out. So, he feels that both of them deserve credit.”

The dispute settlement committee of the Film Writers’ Association has upheld Abhishek’s allegation and ruled that the script has been co- written with Pubali. “When he had a fall out with Excel Entertainment over creative differences, they approached Pubali to work on the sequel of the 2008 film. However, both Abhishek and Pubali were working on the script before he opted out of the project,” says another source.

Robin Bhatt of the dispute settlement committee informs us that Pubali, unhappy with their judgment, has now approached the Appellate Board for a re-look into the matter.

While Abhishek Kapoor chose not to comment, Pubali says, “ The case is on and I am not allowed to discuss this with the media.”

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 30, 2014)