Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 7, 2017)

Mirror (September 23) was the first to report that Anil Kapoor and daughter Sonam have been roped in for Shelly Chopra’s directorial debut, titled Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga. It’s the first film in which the father-daughter duo is sharing screen space. Now, Mirror has learnt that Rajkummar Rao has been roped in to play Sonam’s love interest and the trio is expected to start shooting early next year.

A source close to the development reveals, “Sonam and Raj have earlier worked together in Dolly Ki Doli where her character conned him into marrying her. This one will explore their onscreen chemistry better.”

When quizzed on the subject, the actor had appeared guarded, refusing to be drawn into a straight ‘yes’ or ‘no’. “If it happens I’ll be happy. Right now I’m busy promoting my two upcoming films, Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana and Omerta. I’m a big fan of the films Vinod (Chopra) sir makes under his banner and have long admired his vision.” Messages and calls to Shelly went unanswered.

Meanwhile, Rajkummar will resume shooting for the romantic musical Fanney Khan from next month. A fractured ankle has put him out of action temporarily but Anil Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are on track. Sonam is busy filming sister Rhea’s Veere Di Wedding in Thailand with her girl gang, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania.

Reveals Anil Kapoor who eventually accepted Vinod Chopra’s pre-Partition film in the ’90s after being floored by ‘Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga’
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 14, 2017)

Mirror (September 23) was the first to report that Anil Kapoor and daughter Sonam have been roped in for Shelly Chopra’s directorial debut. On Thursday, Shelly announced that the film’s title, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga, has been borrowed from brother Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 1994 directorial 1942: A Love Story, featuring Anil, Manisha Koirala and Jackie Shroff. Anil will be reuniting with Vinod with whom he also did Parinda in 1989, who is producing the film along with Rajkumar Hirani, after almost 25 years. The actor reveals that it was the song earlier that had convinced him to give the nod to the pre-Partition love story.

“It’s hard to believe but 23 years ago, I had not wanted to do 1942 because I felt I was too old to do a love story. Even though both Vinod and his brother Veer were convinced that I could pull off the role, I recommended Bobby Deol who was on the verge of being launched for the role, along with Aamir Khan,” reminisces Anil talking to Mirror from Dubai.

The Chopra brothers then came up with a masterstroke by convincing him to listen to R D Burman’s songs, which had already been recorded. They played 'Kuch Na Kaho' and 'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aaisa Laga' for Anil and he was wowed. “I couldn’t let anybody else sing those beautiful songs. I told them, ‘Yeh picture main karunga’, convinced that when I am dead and gone, I will definitely be remembered through these songs if not my work,” the actor says.

This is the first time he will be working with Sonam and Anil confides that his daughter had never wanted to work with him. “It’s the script, somewhere it resonated with both of us. Vinod with whom I have stayed in touch, has come to me with all his scripts, from Mission Kashmir to the present one, and screens the films for me well before the release. He spoke to me about this film. Raju approached Sonam when she was shooting with him recently,” says Anil, raving about how his daughter has come into her own as an actress. “She is spontaneous, instinctive and very modern in her approach to work. That’s why there is a freshness in her work, it’s very today and connects with the audience who no longer want to see actors on screen but something real and natural.”

He starts shooting for the film early next year and refuses to divulge any details, unwilling to even confirm if it’s a father-daughter story. Will it complete a hattrick for Vinod and him?

“I can only hope,” says Anil, who returns to the shoot of Atul Manjrekar’s musical-drama, Fanney Khan, which also features Aishwarya Bachchan and Rajkummar Rao.

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 23, 2017)

Mirror (June 11, 2016) had earlier reported that Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s sister Shelly Chopra will be making her directorial debut with Marco Bhau, an emotional father-daughter story with Sanjay Dutt in the lead. However, in an interview to Mirror, (April 20) the actor had informed that the project has been put on hold and Shelly was working with her filmmaker-brother on something else. We have now learnt that the director has roped in Anil Kapoor and Sonam to play reel life father and daughter.

When contacted, Shelly was evasive, saying “Nothing has been announced yet and I am not at the liberty to say anything. It will be announced shortly.” When prodded, she reiterated, “No, no comment. Nothing has been announced. The only thing I can say is yes, I am working on a film and it is in the process of being cast. It will be announced very shortly and then everybody will know.” When asked if she was denying that Anil and Sonam were in the film, she stated, “I have no idea. We shall announce it and then we will all know at the same time.”

We reached out to both Anil and Sonam but they remained unavailable for comment. Buzz is, Vinod Mehra’s son Rohan who will be introduced in Nikkhil Advani’s Baazaar will also feature in the film.

Meanwhile, Anil has kicked off Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Fanney Khan while Sonam is busy with sister Rhea’s production, Veere Di Wedding. Anil is also gearing up for Abhinav Bindra’s biopic with son Harshvardhan. They will play father and son in the biopic.

Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; July 17, 2017)

Anil Kapoor’s next few films will be with his family — Mubarakan with nephew Arjun is out this month, then he begins shooting for Abhinav Bindra’s biopic with son Harshvardhan; they play father-son in the film. And now, we hear Sonam and Anil, too, are coming together for a film.

Anil reveals in our live chat, “There are talks of the films (with Sonam and Harsh). Both are fantastic projects and I look forward to them. But there are so many layers to it, so many boxes that need to be ticked before we say yes to the film. Both the films sound really exciting and there are great roles for all of us. Hopefully, fingers crossed, hope these films happen.”

Although, Anil is reluctant to share details of the film with Sonam, according to an insider, “Anil and Sonam have been approached by Vidhu Vinod Chopra for their next production. The film will be directed by Vidhu’s sister Shelly Chopra. This film was in the planning for a long time. It’s a strong script which Anil and Sonam have both liked.”

Waiting for Anil Kapoor
While Arjun took five years to share screen space with chacha Anil, Harshvardhan managed to sign a film with his papa, in his second year in the industry. Meanwhile, Sonam and her dad have not acted in a film together in the last 10 years, since her debut in Saawariya (2007). Although, they did shoot for an ad film together.

MUMBAI MIRROR (December 16, 2016)

Sanjay Dutt's comeback film Marco Bhau which will see him play a stuntman and marks the directorial debut of Vidhu Vinod Chopra's sister, Shelly Dhar, has been pushed to a later date again. The film will now go on the floors by May 2017 after Shelly reworked the script that Vidhu and San jay felt lacked punch earlier. Sanjay will now make his comeback with Omung Kumar's revenge-drama Bhoomi that revolves around a father-daughter duo. It kicks off early next year.

Upala KBR (DNA; June 28, 2016)


The producers of the Siddharth Anand film, Essel Vision Productions Limited/Zee Studios and KriArj Entertainment, continue to deny these claims, saying the film has simply been postponed. Our source reasons, “They took too long to finalise the female lead. Athiya Shetty and Kriti Sanon were offered the film, but for various reasons neither option worked out. While the official line is that scripting and production prep is taking time, the fact is there are no heroines for it as all big actresses are booked for this year and the film can’t roll without one.”

The producers have an excellent relationship with Dutt and are keen to start another project with another director in January 2017 now. Arjun N Kapoor from KriArj maintains, “A film of this level and genre needs planning and preparation of the highest level before the first day of shoot, to achieve the world standards that we want for this film.”

Akash Chawla from Zee says, “A mutual decision has been taken by everyone including Mr Dutt, the director and the producers, that since the action prep is going to need a lot of time, it is prudent to shift the film to next year.”

Prep for Shelly Chopra's directorial debut, a father-daughter journey in which Dutt plays a carefree, boho character, begins this August.
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 11, 2016) 

Ever since Sanjay Dutt walked out of jail in February, several filmmakers, including Siddharth Anand, Umesh Shukla, Rohit Jugraj Chauhan and Vidhu Vinod Chopra have announced films with him. The first project that the actor will start work on is Anand's yet-tobe-titled drama that rolls this August. Now, Mirror has learnt that Dutt who also features in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's sister Shelly Chopra's directorial debut Marco, plays a Goan.

The film is in the final scripting stage. "Marco is a beautiful, emotional father-daughter story," the 53-year-old actor had revealed at an event in Delhi in May.

"Pre-production for the film begins in August. It will be shot in Goa and move to Chennai in the second half. Sanjay plays a Goa-based boho character that is fun and carefree but assumes a more serious and mature tone towards the second half, after he takes up a job in Chennai and moves cities. The makers are looking at highlighting the local culture of both cities as it plays an important part in the story," a source informed Mirror.

Meanwhile, hunt is currently on for three leading ladies. "Sanjay's character meets three women at different stages of his life. All of them are an integral part of the narrative," the source signs off.