Khuda Haafiz director Faruk Kabir traces how he gave shape to the Vidyut Jammwal-led story, based on a 2008 case, over 12 years
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; August 4, 2020)

Director Faruk Kabir is busy giving finishing touches to Khuda Haafiz, headlined by Vidyut Jammwal. As we steal a few minutes from his jam-packed day for a chat, the filmmaker reveals that the story — which is inspired by a real-life incident in 2008 when a man set out to rescue his wife who was abducted and forced into human trafficking in the UAE — remained with him over the years.

"I had read a newspaper article about it in 2008, and it deeply moved me. I traced one of the journalists and did some research on my own. The first draft was developed from 15 newspaper articles and NGO research papers on human trafficking," recounts Kabir, who also tracked down the subject of the story. "I did not meet the lady, I don't know whether she is with her husband anymore. But I met the husband who became my muse. He felt he could trust me and opened up on a personal level."

Though the movie is inspired by real-life events, Kabir says he has fictionalised portions of the action drama. "Many characters, including those portrayed by Vidyut Jammwal, Shivaleeka [Oberoi] and Annu Kapoor, are real. The characters played by Aahana Kumra and Shiv Pandit are loosely based on the cops who [investigated] the case," states the director, who developed the screenplay in 2018.

It was delightful for Kabir to shoot in Uzbekistan, a land that harbours a passionate love for Bollywood. "They love our music, movies and the legendary Raj Kapoor. They don't make many films, but they have an active theatre scene that stages plays of Anton Chekhov. We shot in challenging scenarios, and the locals helped us graciously," says Kabir.

Sidharth Malhotra met with an accident while riding a bike during the Kargil schedule of the Vikram Batra biopic
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 17, 2019)

In August, Sidharth Malhotra flew down to Kargil to kick off a 40-day schedule of the Captain Vikram Batra biopic, Shershaah. The actor has since completed a major chunk of the shoot, including the 1999 Kargil war sequences. Now, Mirror has learnt that on Saturday, Sidharth met with an accident while riding a motorcycle on the hilly terrain.

“After the shoot, Sid and Shiv (Pandit, co-star) had ventured out for a ride when Shiv lost his balance and slipped off his bike. Sid, who was right behind him, had to apply brakes due to which his bike skidded, resulting in hand and leg injuries,” revealed a source close to the development, adding that a major accident was averted as the duo was wearing helmets and other safety gear.

Sid and Shiv were soon taken to the army hospital nearby. “Despite the accident, Sidharth continued to shoot on Sunday, as a crew of 150 people was already on board for a pivotal scene, for which a massive set-up was put together. It was a rest day for him on Monday,” the source informed, adding that the actor gets back in action today after which it will be a wrap on the schedule in the next few days.

Meanwhile, Sidharth informed that the injury will take over a week to heal. “But given the schedule and scale of the film, I didn’t have the time to recover. Accidents like these happen and cause a bit of lapse in schedules, but I think it could have been much worse. Hopefully in the next few days, I will be absolutely fine,” the actor said.

Sidharth admits that shooting in a terrain like Kargil comes with its own challenges. “It is a completely new experience because not many films have been shot here. We have explored virgin locations as we want to be extremely authentic when it comes to the war. We have shot in mountains similar to the ones where the battles were fought. The rocks were extremely sharp, and they can’t be controlled. So, there were safety concerns while we filmed action sequences and the team did everything to ensure we were comfortable,” he concluded.

—With inputs from Anil Raina

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 11, 2018)

It’s officially the season of love. After Sonam Kapoor married long-time beau Anand Ahuja on Tuesday and Neha Dhupia sprang a surprise by tying the knot with best friend Angad Bedi two days later, Shaitaan and Boss actor Shiv Pandit had some news to share too. On Thursday, his friends, actress Anushka Sharma and filmmaker Zoya Akhtar, let it slip on the social media that he had got hitched to girlfriend Ameira Punvani. “My dearest friend is married and I couldn’t be happier for them! Wishing you both a lifetime of happiness, peace and growth in the relationship,” Anushka shared with a picture of the couple (above). Now, a source close to the actor has told Mirror, “Shiv and Ameira had a registered marriage in Delhi on May 7 in the presence of family and will be tying the knot again towards the year-end in a traditional ceremony.”

According to the source, Shiv and Ameira met through a common friend and had been dating for a few years before they decided to take their relationship to the next level. “Planning for the big day has begun. Both families are extremely happy,” the source added.

Shiv was present at Ameira’s birthday bash earlier this year, along with the couple’s close friends, director Zoya Akhtar and actor Neil Bhoopalam. They made a joint appearance at Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli’s wedding reception in Mumbai. Shiv shared a picture of them, joking that “for the first time she is not looking like my daughter”.

Subhash K Jha (DNA; May 8, 2017)

We’ve seen the talented Shiv Pandit make a solid impact in Bejoy Nambiar’s Shaitaan. Now the young actor returns in director Sudhanshu Saria’s Loev in a bold avatar as a closeted gay NRI yuppie, discovering and celebrating his sexual orientation in the company of a young out-of-the-closet gay young man, played by Dhruv Ganesh who died soon after the film was completed.

The film has some of the most explicit same-sex intimacy seen in cinema, including lengthy lip-locks between Shiv and Dhruv and a shocking rape sequence where Shiv’s character violates Dhruv in a hotel room. Shiv says he had no qualms shooting these scenes. “From the moment I heard the script I knew this was a film I had to do. For too long now I’ve been listening to others give me advice on how to conduct my career and what kind of roles to accept. Now for a change I wanted to listen to my own heart. Every instinct told me to go for the part.”

Didn’t the shooting of lovemaking scenes with Dhruv pose practical emotional and physical difficulties? Shiv admits it was tough. “Rape is equally reprehensible whether it happens to a man or a woman. What I did to overcome my revulsion was to not stand judgment over my character Jai’s action. I just went with how Jai reacted to the given situation.”

The rape and kissing scenes are shockingly graphic. Says Shiv, “What we shot was much more lengthy, graphic and with lots more nudity. The rape was far longer and all done in one take. The pivotal kiss between Dhruv and I was also much longer. Sudhanshu decided to cut both the scenes as he didn’t want the intimacy to overcome the relationship between the two protagonists. Shooting these scenes was tough and when they were cut I was disappointed. I was like, ‘Why did you make us go through it if you didn’t want it to be so lengthy?’ But we went completely by the director’s vision, and it came out effectively.”

Shiv confesses he has still not come to terms with Dhruv’s death. “He’s with us everywhere that Sudhanshu and I go with our film. It is impossible to accept that he’s gone. We’ve taken Dhruv’s parents with us to film festivals abroad. Seeing them, we are constantly reminded of Dhruv and the immense loss. One day he was with us, the next day he was gone.”

Not that Shiv had forged an exceptionally close bonding with Dhruv during the film’s shooting. “I deliberately kept a distance from him because my character Jai is constantly on the edge with Dhruv’s character Sahil. I saw Jai as repressed and stressed emotionally, professionally and sexually. I wanted that tension to come across in my relationship with Dhruv’s character. Bonding as buddies off screen would have taken away from the sexual tension between us on screen.”

Any reservations about having played a gay man? “None. I was advised against it. I was told my career would be finished if I play a gay character. On the contrary, I’ve never been more appreciated for any of my roles. My mother was initially taken aback when she saw the film. But she got the point better than people who believe an actor playing a homosexual would be branded unemployable.”

Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; October 14, 2016)

Shiv Pandit is on cloud nine. Two of his films Loev and Mantra will be screened at the upcoming Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), Film Festival. While Loev directed by Sudhanshu Saria is competing in the Gold Section, Mantra helmed by debutant Nicholas Khargonkor will be screened at the India Story section. Shiv enthuses, "I always had this wish that if I ever attend MAMI it will be with my film. Now, I have two films and both are completely different."

While, Loev is about the growing romance between two men, Mantra is the story of an industrialist and his dysfunctional family that gets affected when an MNC takes over the company.

Best known for the film Shaitaan, it was at a time when Shiv was doing films like Boss and Mumbai Delhi that he met the director of Loev. "He just happened to meet me casually, because we are from the same school. He had no desire to cast me, he didn't even want to tell me the story because he thought I do only commercial films. I had to force it out of him. But when I heard it I found it interesting and we decided to do it," says Shiv.

Didn't he have any apprehensions about doing a film on homosexuality? "The film is about love - sexuality and gender doesn't matter. The whole object of the film is that just because the word love is spelled differently it does not mean it's not love. It's the emotion which is the focus. My character is in love with another person and it's an emotion that works in a mysterious way." Yet, they had to shoot the film in secret, given the political climate and the fact that society doesn't deem it fit. "We didn't want to get into any hassles since our production was tight," says Shiv, who feels the film helped him lose all his inhibitions. "I used to do a lot of theatre where there are no retakes.That excitement was lacking in films. But Loev was challenging because I had never explored this territory," he adds.

The film has been screened at various international film festivals in Germany, Mexico, America and London among others. Not only has it won acclaim, It has been hailed as a progressive Indian film from a Western stand point.

And now, Shiv is eagerly looking forward to the response the film gets in India. Talking about Mantra, Shiv says that he didn't think twice about taking up the role as it had stars of calibre like Rajat Kapoor, Kalki Koechlin and Adil Hussain. "Also the film is inspired from a real incident and is about fractured inter-personal relationships, which is interesting," he signs off.

Shiv Pandit on his new film, 7 Hours To Go, his filmi foray which was preceded by false starts and why he'd readily do even a one-scene part in a Kashyap film
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 23, 2016) 

Shiv Pandit who features in Saurabh Varma's investigative thriller 7 Hours To Go alongside Sandeepa Dhar, Natasa Stankovic and Varun Badola, takes on the role of a cop for a third time after TV show FIR and Akshay Kumar-starrer Boss.

"It's just a co-incidence but I love playing a police officer; it's a matter of great pride and honour. It also allows me to do a lot of action sequences, which I really enjoy. Raaste mein police kabhi rokti hai toh it helps," jokes the actor who celebrated his 32nd birthday on June 21 while promoting his new film in Delhi.

"It's a blessing to be working on your birthday when you love what you do so I am really grateful. We finished the promotional rounds pretty late and headed to the hotel's club to celebrate for a while," he says.

Shiv made his big screen debut with Bejoy Nambiar's Anurag Kashyap-produced 2011 thriller, Shaitan. When asked if there's a reunion on the cards, the actor reveals, "Nothing has been offered to me since but I will promptly take up anything Anurag has for me, even if it's for just one scene. He is the reason I am here and I will always be thankful to him for giving me that fabulous launch," he says, adding that he has a long way to go as an actor.

"I am barely surviving in the industry but I am happy that people are making films with me. I still have to prove myself trade-wise," he confides, adding that sometimes he feels he hasn't worked hard enough and isn't getting the kind of appreciation he seeks, "But then, I am extremely passionate about my work and don't know what else to do," he reasons.

He also reveals that his foray into films was preceded by a fair share of false starts. "I was offered a big film while I was doing FIR but on the day I was to sign on the dotted line, I was told I was over-exposed and couldn't do the film. I felt bad but it proved to be a turning point. I sat at home for a year and a half after that, waiting for the right project. Having said that, there have been some interesting shows in the last two-three years, like 24, I'd love to be a part of shows like that," he adds.

When asked if he had to undergo any kind of training for 7 Hours To Go which is inspired by real events and revolves around a hostage crisis, he says, "I am always in decent shape so nothing much had to be done on that front. But we have shot for some amazing action sequences that have come out really well."

Shiv will next be seen in Mantra, with Kalki Koechlin and Rajat Kapoor, an International film tiled Loev, and another Saurabh Varma directorial, titled Solid Patels, which was announced a while ago. What caused the delay? "We have already shot for 80-90 percent of the film but the producers wanted to release 7 Hours To Go first. Solid Patels will release soon," he concludes.

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 16, 2015)

Meet the latest Salman Khan protege who is all set to make a splash in Bollywood. No surprises that she is a firang beauty. The actor who has a fondness for foreign women has turned mentor for former Bigg Boss 8 contestant, Serbian model Natasa Stankovic.

Natasha, whose film credits include an item number in Prakash Jha's Satyagraha and a cameo in Action Jackson, will be seen as the leading lady in the thriller 7 Hours To Go. "Yes, I am aware that Salman has given a boost to the career of many actresses in Bollywood and I am lucky to not remain just an item girl. Thanks to him I have bagged a meaningful role," Natasa told Mirror.

Directed by Saurabh Varma, the film follows a man (Shiv Pandit) who comes to Mumbai looking for work and is an eyewitness to a murder. He ends up taking seven hostages and has only seven hours to figure out the mystery behind the crime.

Natasha who plays his love interest reveals that when she was leaving the Bigg Boss house, Salman told her that she needed to work on her Hindi. "He even told me whom I should train with to correct my accent," she says.

Interestingly, Varma had cast another of Bhai's firang fixation, former Bigg Boss contestant, Elli Avram, in, Mickey Virus. "I have had a long term connection with Bigg Boss and Salman Khan. Elli, was one of Salman's favourites and her presence on the show and her proximity to Bhai helped me promote my film," the director admitted.