Edgy chemistry
Chemistry is a big thing in films. Usually filmmakers organise workshops to create it between the lead players but director Vinil Matthew has done something different. He didn’t allow Sidharth Malhotra and Parineeti Chopra to interact with each other prior to the shoot of Hasee Toh Phasee in order to keep their chemistry intact.
Talking about this exercise Matthew, who is a known name in the advertising world, says, “There is a certain kind of tension that you experience when you are not familiar with a person and I wanted that kind of chemistry in my film. Since Siddharth and Parineeti haven’t interacted much, I wanted to keep that slight tension intact and also wanted them to get to know each other only during the course of the shooting.” Matthew conducted separate workshops with Sidharth and Parineeti before the film went on floors.
“I did separate workshops with them for three weeks – I decided to do them separately as I didn't want to ruin the kind of chemistry I wanted them to share on the film,” adds Matthew. Produced by Dharma Productions and Phantom Films, it brings together two streams of filmmaking in the form of Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap. The film is scheduled to release on February 7.
Fan-tastic idea!
Everybody was thinking what Shah Rukh Khan will sign next. Before the release of Chennai Express, he told this journalist that he is looking to play a dark character after completing Farah Khan’s next. But it seems he has changed his mind for Yash Raj Films has announced that Shah Rukh will play the title role in their next film called Fan. For long fan and fan following have fascinated social scientists and perhaps director Maneesh Sharma and writer Habib Faisal will try to explore it through this film.
It will be interesting to watch Shah Rukh, who has arguably the greatest fan following globally, playing the role of being the biggest fan. It also marks a generational shift for Shah Rukh in terms of his directors. Maneesh, who assisted Aditya Chopra in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and has been a fan of Shah Rukh, will now get a chance to fulfil his dream of directing the superstar. The film will go on floors in May.
Hero in the making
Last year, when one met David Dhawan around the release of Chashme Buddoor, he said from now on he will concentrate on his son Varun Dhawan. “He is a hero material. He can dance, he can fight, he can make you laugh and he is ready to work hard,” he beamed in his characteristic style. Well, David is at it. He has crafted Main Tera Hero for his son. Produced by Balaji, the film is scheduled for this April. However, Varun, who made his debut with Student of the Year has not graduated yet as he will be seen essaying the role of a charming student who is the pulse of the college. With Nargis Fakri and Illeana D’Cruz in the class you got to put in extra yards to win the charming race!
Second coming
When Divya Khosla got married after her first mainstream film “Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyon”, the media dubbed her as yet another Bhagyashree. Now, Divya is back, this time as a director of a young love story Yaariyaan. Backed by T-Series, which is run by her husband Bhushan Kumar, Divya, says the film is about the trials and tribulations that the youth faces today. When she says that she wanted to be a director since she was 18, one finds it rehearsed but when she talks about the challenges in casting and the budget, her concerns sound real. “Casting was the toughest part. If there are only two or three characters in a film, it’s comparatively easier but I had 20 characters in the age group of 21-22. I did not find any actors from the existing lot, in this age group, who could fit into my characters. So, I cast fresh faces. Also, though my vision was big, I had a limited budget,” says Divya. As expected, with newcomers you need a solid support cast and Divya has relied on Deepti Naval and Gulshan Grover to do the needful.
