Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 11, 2019)

On November 4, 1994, a film revolving around two slackers, Amar and Prem, who dream of getting rich quickly, opened in the theatres. A quarter of a century later, Andaz Apna Apna has acquired cult status. Producer Vinay Sinha recalls that when he sounded out his good friend, Tahir Hussain, Aamir Khan’s father, and his uncle Nasir Hussain who had an office in the same building, both encouraged him, saying, “Baat aage badhate hain.”

Aamir came on board as Amar Manohar and another Khan, Salman, as Prem Bhopali, whom he bumps into in a bus on the way to Ooty. “When we were debating on who should direct the film, Aamir suggested Raj ji’s (Rajkumar Santoshi) name. When I called him, he was dubbing at Sunny Super Sound and asked me to meet him there. I went across with the tiffin my wife packed for me every morning. We had lunch together, Raj ji loved the khana, and when I told him I had signed both Aamir and Salman, he told me he was in too. We shook hands and the deal was sealed, then and there,” recounts Vinay ji.

Raveena Tandon, who played the ‘fake’ Raveena and the ‘real’ Karishma both boys try to woo initially, little knowing that she is only the secretary who has switched identities with the real heiress, Karisma Kapoor, describes the shoot, 25 years later, as a crazy fun ride. “Besides Andaz Apna Apna, Aamir and I were also paired in Parampara and Time Machine , so every morning, when we ran into each other on one or the other set, we’d groan, ‘You again!’” she laughs. “We were like a bunch of kindergarten kids. Aamir and Salman were not speaking to each other, nor Raj ji and Salman and Lolo (Karishma) and me. As for Aamir and me, we were either pranking or squabbling.”

She flashbacks to when they were filming the song, “Ello Ello”. As Aamir climbed into the tonga with her, a spot boy offered him a cup of tea. He turned and solicitously enquired, “Chai peeyegi?” Raveena, who was brushing her hair as she readied to face the camera, shook her head, then, screamed in horror, as the next moment, her co-star tossed the tea in her direction. She braced for the scalding tea to splatter her face and clothes as the cup hit target, but as minutes ticked by and smothered chuckles became visible smiles, she figured she'd been had. “The cup was empty, anchored to the saucer,” she announces, rolling her eyes.

Of course, after that Raveena had to get back at Aamir and she got the opportunity when they were shooting outdoors. Without vanity vans around, everyone had to go into the forest nearby to answer the call of nature. One evening as they were setting up the last shot, Aamir excused himself. Soon after, cinematographer Ishwar Bidri came to Raj ji to tell him they’d have to pack-up for the day as the light had gone. “This was the chance I’d been waiting for. I told Saroj ji (choreographer Saroj Khan) to give Aamir a really difficult step when he returned, and convinced both Raj ji and Ishwar ji to go along with us,” she recounts.

They managed to successfully pull the wool over Aamir’s sharp eyes, making him rehearse the step for a good 20 minutes, telling him that Raveena had got it right immediately. They even got him to do it on the tonga with Raj ji shouting “Lights, Camera, Action” and Ishwar ji pretending to film with the old magazine type camera that whirred loudly even when shooting blanks. It was only when his director and leading lady finally burst out laughing, that Aamir realised he’d been made a bakra too. “After that, he did his utmost to get back, even trying to gift me a silver bangle which was actually a jack-in-the-box type of pop-up toy, but this time I was on alert and determined not to be pranked. Laughing and joking, we finished the film,” she says.

Andaz Apna Apna came in a year of comedies with double-meaning dialogues and ditties like Raja Babu, Andaz and Khuddar, yet managed to hold its own. It's been a favourite with families down generations, periodically sparking off speculations of a prequel, sequel or a remake. “Five years ago, if a Part 2 had come up, it would have started with garlanded photographs of Lolo and me with Aamir and Salman paying their respects with agarbattis before running off to look for new loves,” Raveena splutters with laughter, admitting she would love to take the story forward.

So, for the matter, is Vinay ji, but he is not in favour of a remake. “A cult classic cannot be recreated. The magic can only happen once. We will tell the story with a new andaz… And it will be be an Andaz Apna Apna Too,” he signs off with an enigmatic smile.

Mathematician’s kin claims family hasn’t granted rights to his life story to anyone; producers of Prakash Jha’s film say they have documents proving the same and are going ahead with the biopic
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 11, 2018)

National Award winner Prakash Jha had recently announced (July 27) that he would be making a film on Bihar’s mathematician Dr Vashishtha Narayan Singh. The biopic was to be produced by Vinay Sinha and Priti Sinha. Now, in a surprising development, the mathematician’s brother, Ayodhya Prasad Singh, has denied giving the rights to any third party.

His statement reads, “I, Ayodhya Prasad Singh, clarify that Mr Vashishtha Narayan Singh is of unsound mind and as per law, a legal manager is required to deal with his person and property and there is no legally appointed manager yet. My brother Mr Harishchandra Narayan has applied to the court to appoint him as guardian/manager of Mr Vashishtha Narayan Singh, final order on the same is pending.”

He goes on to further inform that till there is no legally appointed guardian/ manager, no one in the family has the authority to grant any rights with respect to Vashishtha Narayan Singh’s life/person or property. “I further clarify that no member from Mr Vashishtha Narayan Singhh’s family has granted any rights with respect to Mr Vashishtha Narayan Singh’s biopic to Reel Life Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. or Priti Sinha, and the matter is sub-judiced. We will follow the court orders and issue further statement in this regard.” According to the family’s claims Dr. Singh has been suffering from schizophrenia since the last decade.

The Sinhas however insist that they are going ahead with the film on the basis of the exclusive rights which were granted to them through an agreement dated April 24, 2015. Their statement further states, “Further, vide injunction order dated 16.4.2018, the Civil Court, Patna, has passed an injunction order in our favour thereby restraining the family members of Shri Vashishtha Narayan Singh to give the biopic rights to any third party/s. Prakash Jha has confirmed to direct the film and cast and credits are being finalised.”

Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; June 25, 2014)

There aren’t many who haven’t seen the cult favourite, Andaz Apna Apna, but those who do belong to this category can now catch it along with the film’s fans in November this year.

It has emerged that the 1994 film, that starred Aamir Khan and Salman Khan, will be rereleased in cinema halls this November as it completes its two-decade anniversary on November 4. Vinay Sinha, the film’s producer, confirms the story. “Yes, we are re-releasing the film in cinemas on the same day and we plan to do it on a large scale,” he says.

Sinha also denies talk about the film being a flop at first. “The film had gone over budget and was made over four years, so it took us time to recover the cost. But we did well at the box office,” he says.

It may be pointed out that both Salman and Aamir’s popularity zoomed during the making of the film and female co-stars Raveena Tandon and Karisma Kapoor were apparently not on talking terms with each other. “But that didn’t come in the way of the making of the film,’’ Sinha recounts.

The producer wants the entire cast of the film to be present at the event in November. He also owns the title and trademark of the film and wants to make Andaz Apna Apna 2. “I do have that in mind and ideally it should star the two Khans, but they are very busy actors, so I don’t know yet. The final call on making a sequel will be taken after I re-release the original in November,” he says.