When Sanjay Gadhvi left his Dhoom and Yashraj days behind, little did he know that one day he would be back in the reckoning with a film that would be vying with the biggest Abhishek Bachchan vehicle ever.

At the time when Dhoom 2 had released, many of those close to Abhishek including filmmakers who were that time working with Abhishek or planning projects with him, felt Abhishek had been given a raw deal in Dhoom 2.

One of them had said, "The film was designed as a Hrithik Roshan vehicle. Abhishek did it only because of his relations with the Chopras and because he didn't want to break the chain of the sequel."

Now when much water has flown under he box-office bridge, Gadhvi has pitched his Kidnap right next to Abhishek's Drona. Gadhvi thinks there's room for both the biggies at the box-office. "We have a four-day weekend starting with Thursday, October 2, when we're both releasing. And then they're two completely different kinds of films. Earlier we've had two films on the same day doing well. Gaddar and Lagaan, for example. Besides it's Eid and a festive time. Everyone releases films on Friday. We're releasing on Dry Day. We were supposed to release in August but were pushed forward."

But before that Gadhvi wants to show the film to his mentor Aditya Chopra. "After the screening for the cast and crew, I'll hold a special show at Yashraj Studios for Yashji and Adi. And as a sign of respect, I also gave the first CD to them. I am what I am because of them. Adi gave me the title and the script rights for Kidnap. I go to the Yashraj office every fortnight have lunch and hang around. They send me CDs of all their films. I'm in touch with Uday and Aditya."

In fact, Minissha Lamba was cast in Yashraj's Bachna Ae Haseenon after she started shooting for Gadhvi's Kidnap. "I was at Yashraj's office once. And Adi asked me how she was. The next thing I knew she was cast in a Yashraj film."

After the release of Kidnap, Gadhvi intends to take a break. "I feel burnt out. I haven't had a break in 19 years. I live with my parents. I've a wife and kids. The children are not brats, fortunately."

Gadhvi's dad is a Gujarati filmmaker. "He has made two Gujarati films both with music by Kalyanji-Anandji. I grew up in their house with Kalyanjibhai's son Viju Shah. We Gadhvis are community of storytellers. I hope I've done a good job of it in Kidnap."

Kidnap

Sanjay Dutt has invited all his close friends to party on a yacht he hired in Bangkok while he is shooting for the movie, Blue, in the middle of the ocean

Sanjay Dutt has hired a 40-foot-long luxury catamaran for his close friends while he shoots for the underwater thriller. Sanjay, who is known for his generous ways, invited his closest friends to join him and wife Maanyata in Bangkok to party and relax. The action thriller is being directed by Anthony D’Souza and also stars Zayed Khan and Akshay Kumar.

When contacted, Sanjay Dutt told reporters: “Who told you about this? Ya, it’s true. All my close friends are here with me. Paresh is here from Chicago. Matt has come from Los Angeles and Raja and Pradeep came from Mumbai. So we’re shooting and having fun. It’s more for my own happiness than of my friends.”

Director Apoorva Lakhia, who had cast Sanjay in his successful crime-thriller “Shootout At Lokhandwala”, was all words of praise for the experience. “ Sanju is a rock star. You’ve heard right. He has rented a 40-foot catamaran with the full crew on board for all his friends’ comfort. We all hang out in the middle of the ocean while the cast is shooting in the deep sea,” said Lakhia.

“It’s non-stop deep sea diving, music, snorkeling and barbeque in the middle of the bluest ocean god ever invented. This is the most thrilling holiday I’ve ever had,” he added.

Close friend Suniel Shetty is busy shooting, or else he too would have joined the Bangkok merrymakers. “The friends that I have now are with me for keeps,” said Sanjay.

After playing a gullible village bumpkin in ‘Singh Is Kinng’ and taking us all on a laugh riot with his foolhardy acts, Akshay Kumar is back to basics as he turns macho in his upcoming flick ‘Blue’, a film that seems to be an answer to mega budget Hollywood action flicks.

Akki, the action king of Bollywood is a dear old loyalist of ‘desi’ action stunts. And the actor is in no mood to admit that the Indian film industry is far behind the Hollywood flicks in any way as far as action is concerned.

In a recent interview the actor was asked, ‘Is budget a constraint for Bollywood flicks, which refrains the films from coming at par with Hollywood action films?’

To which Akki retorted and said, " I don’t understand how we are in any way far behind Hollywood. My next flick Blue is an action film and it has some of the most amazing stunts. The entire film is made in the budget if Rs 70-75 crore. I wish that whoever feels that Hollywood is better because it invests big bucks on their action films must watch ‘Blue’ and see what understand that money is not a constraint for good cinema.”

So, what jaw dropping stunts would we be seeing Akki doing this time?

‘I have performed some of the most daring stunts this time round. From fighting with sharks to performing action scenes underwater, the film will surely be one of a kind" said Akki.

Well for now, we will just have to wait and watch!

Abhishek Bachchan joins his dad in forthcoming fantasy flick

Vinod Chopra Films’ Talismaan starring Amitabh Bachchan now also includes Abhishek Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt.

Talismaan is a romantic fantasy adventure inspired by epic novel, Chandrakanta, written in 1892 by Babu Devaki Nandan Khatri. It interweaves and mixes elements of magic, fantasy and war. The shooting of Talismaan will commence from early 2009.

Old yarn

There are rumours that Talismaan is inspired by Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter, but director Ram Madhvani says, “Vinod gave me a book to read Chandrakanta, written 50 years before Lord Of The Rings and 100 years before Harry Potter. I was amazed at its ideas and fantasy elements. He set me off on a journey. Talismaan is a love story, a fantasy and uses magic. It has a unique Indianness and yet is modern and contemporary. It’s time we had a fantasy film we can call our own and one we can be proud off. Talismaan is my attempt to do just that.”
When quizzed about rumours about Talismaan being shelved because of its costly budget, Ram states, “If the film was shelved, believe me I would be the first to know. We are proceeding as per schedule. The film is very heavy on special effects etc and therefore a lot of time is being spent on pre-production. The storyboarding, concept art etc, requires detailing and research. It’s not a film you write the script for and then go on the floors to shoot it straightaway,” he concludes.

Amitabh Bachchan says, “Yes, we (Abhishek and him) are in talks and should finalise shortly. It would be unethical to talk about it till then.”

Sanjay Dutt says, “Vinod sir and Ram narrated the script to me and I was blown away. Talismaan is a journey I am looking forward to.”

About Chandrakant

It’s the story of prince Virendra Singh, who is in love with the princess of a rival kingdom, Chandrakanta.
Thrown into this love story is a magical maze in an old abandoned fort which guards a huge treasure trove. Virendra Singh and Chandrakanta have to ensure that their love wins against evil villains like King Shivdutt of another kingdom, who wants to capture the treasure. Also after the treasure are ‘aiyyars’ or super-spies who have the magical powers of transforming themselves into another person, and are experts in all modes of warfare.

It may turn out to be the clash of the titans.


Come August and an interesting battle is expected to ensue at the box office with Sanjay Dutt and Akshay Kumar taking on each other. While 8th August has been the date decided by Vipul Shah for his Anees Bazmee directed SINGH IS KINNG, the release plans for KIDNAP are also out. As per the current schedule, KIDNAP would release on the same day as the Akki starrer i.e. 8th August.

While SINGH IS KINNG is a pucca masala fare in the offering and has all going in it's favor due to lethal Bazmee-Akii combination back in action after WELCOME, KIDNAP is no pushover either. Reason? It has director Sanjay Gadhvi (DHOOM, DHOOM:2) at the helm who is changing genres by getting into drama genre.

Apart from Dutt, the film also stars Minissha Lamba, Imraan Khan and Vidya Malvade.

Its official.. Sanjay Dutt is married to Manyata. But the reason is not just love.. The couple are in the family way with Manyata being 3-4 months pregnant. If our sources are to be believed Manyata is three-months pregnant with Sanju baba’s baby. This obligated the couple to finally give an official stamp to their two-year-old relationship and make things public. The marriage vows according to Hindu rites have been taken today in Lokhandwala, Andheri at the bungalow next to the office of T-Series head honcho, Bhushan Kumar. Neither Sanjay Dutt’s family nor Manyata’s family were invited for the occasion. If one can recollect, even actress Sridevi had opted for a hush-hush marriage with producer Boney Kapoor in a very similar way when she was pregnant with Kapoor’s child, just around the release of their film Judaai in 1997.