Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 27, 2020)

After featuring in the 2016 song, “GF BF”, for which she even lent her voice, Jacqueline Fernandez is returning to the singles club with a folk song which, decades ago, had found its way into a Bollywood film. It is sung by Neha Kakkar and the music video, to be directed by Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru, will be shot in Mumbai next month. Produced by Bhushan Kumar, it also features Bigg Boss fame actor-model Asim Riaz, and releases on March 7.

“It has been turned into a peppy track through which we will be narrating an engaging story. Shabina Khan, who is choreographing it, has given me some desi steps and traditional moves but at the same time it will be modern, too,” promises Jacqueline, admitting that the song is a little out of her comfort zone, but the concept was too enticing for her to pass up. “Shabina has been helping me perfect my moves and expressions. We have been rehearsing diligently to get every nuance right and I’m really looking forward to working with Asim for the first time. It’s a passion project for me,” exults the actress, who will sport a Boho-chic look in the song.

Excited to collaborate with Jackie again, whom Bhushan describes as a “fabulous dancer”, he promises another chart-topper. “It is a traditional folk song but Tanishk (Bagchi, composer) has modernised it, giving it his own unique twist. I have always enjoyed folk songs and want the younger generations to get familiar with them,” the filmmaker informs.

Nishad Neelambaran (HINDUSTAN TIMES; November 30, 2019)

After a break of almost two years, actor, director and producer, Divya Khosla Kumar made a comeback in the music video of Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi. The song, which is a recreation of Falguni Pathak’s ’90s hit, Chudi, has garnered more than 64 million views on YouTube. Divya, who featured in the video, says that it was truly amazing to be part of the recreation of this iconic song. “It is coincidental that it was directors Radhika (Rao) and Vinay (Sapru), who got me into the industry. They had selected me from an audition with over 1,000 girls in a Falguni Pathak video in Delhi. And now that I am beginning with acting again, I am working with them in another Falguni Pathak song,” she says.

Divya, who has directed movies such as Yaariyan (2014) and Sanam Re (2016), says that she is in a completely different frame of mind while acting. She says, “Though I have donned multiple hats, my frame of mind while acting is completely different from my frame of mind while I am directing. As an actor, you have to trust your director and their vision. It is the director who is the captain of the ship and I don’t believe in interfering in that.”

So, was it a conscious decision to stay away from acting for the last two years? Divya says, “It wasn’t a conscious decision. I am a workaholic and I love working in this industry. I am very passionate towards this field. I was getting a lot of offers to direct, but I always felt that I should focus on acting. I was waiting for the right opportunity to come my way. Nikhil Advani, Monisha Advani and Milap Zaveri saw Bulbul (short film that she directed) and they offered me Satyameva Jayate 2. I am very excited to be on board for that project and I hope it won’t be so long a wait further on. And whatever I get, if it’s good, I will take it. I am concentrating on acting now.”

About how things have changed due to digitisation, she says, “I think people only watch songs or movies on digital platforms. Digitisation has changed the rules and it is also good because if anyone wants to show their talent to the world, they can just upload it on these platforms and you never know, it might just get viral. It has made things much easier and it has brought the world closer.”

Divya, who will next be seen opposite John Abraham in Satyameva Jayate 2, says, “I am super excited to be working with him. He completely amazed me with his performance in Batla House.”

MUMBAI MIRROR (November 9, 2019)

After sharing the poster of her new song, "Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi", a few weeks ago, Divya Khosla Kumar will be shooting for the video at Jogeshwari Station today. What makes it a nostalgic moment for the actress-filmmaker is that she began her career in the hit Falguni Pathak song, "Aiyo Rama" and now she is recreating the magic with another one of the singer's popular numbers.

Interestingly, Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru, who are directing the Tanishk Bagchi-recreated track, had first spotted and cast Divya for the Falguni number, "Aiyo Rama". "Radhika ji and Vinay ji had spotted me during my Delhi modeling days and cast me in 'Aiyo Rama'. The song went on to become a chartbuster instantly," says Divya, adding, "'Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi' is one of my favourite 90s tracks. So, when Radhika ji and Vinay ji suggested it as something we can work on, I agreed immediately. It's their idea and I'm very excited about shooting for it."

The recreated version is a single produced by Gulshan Kumar & T-Series, penned by Jaani and sung by Neha Kakkar is completely Radhika and Vinay's concept of how they see Divya, a talented actress, enacting their vision. The actress-filmmaker says, "But as far as the audio goes it’s nowhere similar to the original song; it’s a beautiful recreation, keeping the melody intact, albeit more peppy.” As the video tells a short story, Divya will bring it to life by sporting different avatars.

Point out to her that those who swear by old songs attribute recreations to a lack of originality, and Divya disagrees. She reasons, "There are several songs from our Hindi music industry which are beautiful. Yet many from today's generation have not had a chance to hear them. Recreation is one such way to introduce them to these songs with a fresh tune and flavour that is very today."

Probe her on what makes her confident that Bhushan Kumar's "Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi" will be as popular for future generations as the original was, and Divya states, "The original song will always remain popular. Our version will be well accepted because of its melody, contemporary sound, concept, story and re-enactment."

After filming some portions in Jogeshwari, Divya and the team will move to the heart of the city, South Bombay and also shoot a part in a college campus.

Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 28, 2017)

Two years ago, he caught the eye on screen in Bajrangi Bhaijaan as a qawwal in a dargah singing, “Bhar do jholi meri”, his first qawwali, which he consented to only for Salman Khan, his oldest friend in Bollywood. Early next year, Adnan Sami will be seen in the romantic musical-adventure Afghan, not in another special appearance but a full-fledged acting debut. He plays an Afghan musician who, after facing discrimination in his country, comes to India where he finds love in many forms. Directed by Vinay Sapru and Radhika Rao, the film rolls in August and is targeting an early 2018 release.

Casually dressed in jeans and a black tee, Adnan reasons that facing the camera for music videos was easy as the songs were close to his heart and he was playing himself. But this time he will be living a character and the only connect is that being a musician with Afghan roots himself, he can empathise with what an artist goes through in the Islamic world, in particular a war-torn country where radical elements believe music to be haraam, a view not endorsed by the Quran.

Adnan, who gave the music for the 2005 Salman-starrer, Lucky: No Time For Love, has been waiting to reunite with its director duo. Afghan was born from their many guftugus about his forefathers. “We belong to the royal family of King Amanullah and still have palaces in Herat, Afghanistan. My great grandfather conquered Kafirastan and renamed it Nuristan. My grandfather was a provincial governor. After my father’s death, I’m the family patriarch now. I’ve never spoken about that part of my life because I didn’t want my family to open any doors for me but carve a niche on my own. Since I took a path no one had tread, they didn’t know which doors to open anyway,” he laughs.

He hasn’t been to Afghanistan in years but plans to shoot there and across India since his film celebrates Indo-Afghan brotherhood. He recalls being invited to an award function in Delhi where all those being honoured as also the audience were Afghans, discredited in their country, embraced by ours.

Adnan himself came to India in 1999 and after years of anxious wait for visas to be renewed, constricted by legal procedures and a little book called passport, he became an Indian citizen on January 1, 2016. “Under a Special Clause the Government of India can grant citizenship to someone for exemplary services in the field of art, science and sport. The clause, in existence since 1955, was applied for the first time in my case. And finally, the country I’d accepted as my aashiyana 17 years ago, woh India jise main qabool tha, became my own. It was a spectacular finale,” he beams, at home in his spacious 13th floor apartment. There is a sense of peace… of sokoon… here which he finds hard to put into words but promises that his children will never be allowed to forget the struggle their father went through to give them things on a platter.

His daughter, Medina Sami Khan, entered the world on May 10, and Adnan remembers staying up all night looking at her sleep, delighted to have the daughter he had been praying for. In just a month, Medina, named after his favourite city, has her dad wrapped around her little finger. “I’ve become an expert in shopping for baby girls, from hats and shoes to frocks and a baby suit that has ‘No dating allowed… ever’ scrawled across as a warning to future suitors, a la Robert De Niro in Meet The Fockers,” he chuckles, admitting that his daughter has come as a blessing when he’s just beginning a new journey.

Now that he’s an actor, will music take a back seat? “No, it won’t because it’s second nature to me,” he asserts. “But while I admire jugglers, I can’t multitask. Right now my focus is Afghan. I’m not just acting in it, I also have to compose seven songs for it.”

As you look around the cream and gold living room, your eyes come to rest on a photograph of Amitabh Bachchan and a grossly over-weight Adnan from the “Lift Kara De” days. “It feels like another lifetime. Everyone saw the smiles and the cute teddy bear looks but few knew the hell I was going through behind that happy happy façade because of serious health problems,” he admits.

Equally eye-catching is a grand piano and Adnan reveals that the room which was just a shell when he bought the apartment, was designed around this piano. He was introduced to the instrument as a four-year-old when his diplomat father was transferred to Portugal. They moved into the fully- furnished residence of the ambassador in Lisbon and the little boy discovered a piano in one of the rooms. Despite being forbidden to touch it, it became his toy, and he secretly learnt to play the keys on his own, surprising his father who was trying to play a local song on it one evening and getting the notes wrong, with a perfect recital. Rather than reprimand him, his father encouraged his talent and he was composing his own tunes by the age of nine.

As a teenager, Adnan discovered Hindustani classical music and when he whined about not being taught an instrument like the sitar or the harmonium so he could play this music on it, his father pointed him towards the piano. When he protested saying no one played Indian classical music on a piano, he was told, “You can be the first.”

Sceptical, he started reading up on the subject and learnt that the piano and the santoor belonged to the same musical family. So then he learnt Hindustani classical music from santoor legend Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and began to play cover versions of classical legends like Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan on the electronic piano. He was declared ‘Keyboard Discovery of the ’90s’ by an American magazine while the Swedish Radio and Television Broadcasting proclaimed him the fastest keyboard player in the world. “For me, it was enough that I can play Hindustani classical music on this piano,” he says, smiling down at his piece de resistance as he sets out on a different musical journey.

Amit Karn (MID-DAY; January 25, 2016)

Remakes are a common scenario in Bollywood and while most of the inspiration comes from the southern parts of the country or the West, filmmakers also swear by yesteryear blockbusters. If the latest buzz is to be believed, director duo Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru are keen to attempt a contemporary retelling of 1986 cult comedy Chameli Ki Shaadi starring Anil Kapoor and Amrita Singh.

Says a source close to the project, “The story of the film is relevant even in today’s time. Our society still does not approve of inter-caste alliances; many relationships are throttled due to caste and class distinction.
The remake will focus on love in the face of such challenges.”

Sonakshi Sinha is apparently being considered to reprise Singh’s role as Chameli, who is assertive, outspoken and headstrong. “Chameli’s personality has a desi edge and only Sonakshi can play the character to perfection. We are keen to have her on board,” adds the source.

Confirming the story, Sapru said, “Talks are on with Sonakshi with whom we have worked earlier in Dabangg (2010), her debut film. We hope to make an official announcement in another 4-5 days.”

Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 5, 2015)

Mirror had earlier reported (October 14, 2015) that after Mohenjo Daro, his period love story featuring Hrithik Roshan and Pooja Hegde, Ashutosh Gowariker is planning a modern-day take of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Now, Mirror has learnt that Vinay Sapru and Radhika Rao are also making a musical, set in the hinterlands of India, and against the backdrop of the brass band culture of the North, based on the Grimm Brothers' classic fairy tale. But while Ashutosh's film is expected to roll towards the end of the year, Vinay and Radhika's Snow White will kickstart in March-April with known names, and is targeting a 2016 release.

The director duo's works, whether it was the Salman Khan-Sneha Ullal-starrer, Lucky: No Time For Love, their music videos or their songs like Dabangg's "Tere Mast Mast Do Nain" have a fairy tale quality to them. That's how the idea of a near faithful adaptation of Snow White came to mind. They promise all the familiar metaphors, from the witch to the poisoned apple, but they have tweaked the original story a bit. "The hunter, who was supposed to kill Snow White in the forest but let her go, is merged with the character of the prince, to become an unlikely hero," informs Vinay.

Radhika also points out that their Snow White is an Indian girl with almond shaped eyes, somewhat dusky complexion and unlike the original, who was quiet and timid, is feisty and temperamental. "Also, the dwarfs are not physically small men but people who live on the fringes of society," she informs, adding that in the original Grimm's fairy tale that was how it was.

Quiz them on Aushtosh making a film on the same subject and Radhika reasons that even in Hollywood there have been instances of two studios coming up with a Snow White at the same time. "No one can lay claims to the story. Anyone can adapt it and every filmmaker will have a different interpretation, like ours is a musical set in the interiors. Maybe Ashu will come before us," she smiles.

BOMBAY TIMES (December 8, 2015)

DNA (February 24, 2014)

It looks like the under-performance of Anil Sharma’s Singh Saab The Great has had a snowballing affect on Sunny Deol’s career. The first casualty of Deol’s career slump is the directorial duo Vinay Sapru and Radhika Rao’s I Love New Year. After a series of postponed release dates, I Love NY has finally been shelved.

According to a source, “Vinay and Radhika finished shooting the film in 2011. Producer Bhushan Kumar has apparently decided to shelve the film finally. It was initially to be released on February 22, 2013. The date was changed to April 26, 2013 and then further postponed to September 30 the same year. Finally it was decided that the film would be released on December 30, 2013 as the story unfolded over the new-year weekend. That too was postponed.”

Apparently, the producers wanted to wait it out until the box office outcome of Sunny Deol’s last release Singh Saab The Great was clear. Says the source, “When Singh Saab The Great didn’t perform well, Bhushan decided that releasing the film was financially not feasible and shelved the film.”

I Love NY co-director Vinay Sapru says, “Only the producers can answer when and if our film will be released. I guess every film has its destiny, Radhika and I are heartbroken... Three years of our efforts have gone waste. But I guess one has to move on.”

Bhushan Kumar was unavailable for comment.