When Gulzar refused to bow to Shah Rukh's lyrical pressure

By Subhash K. Jha: Shah Rukh Khan is known to take interest in the music of his films and that's how he came up with the words 'Love mera hit hit' for a song in his just released 'Billu'. But when the superstar approached noted lyricist Gulzar with his words to write the full number, the poet declined to use them.
Before Shah Rukh, composer Pritam Chakraborty had approached him with the same words.
"Pritam protested that the words were given to him by Shah Rukh and had to be used. When I refused, Shah Rukh came home a number of times to convince me. I reluctantly turned him down," Gulzar, who has written three songs for the film including the controversial "Marjani", told a news agency.

"He (Shah Rukh) even suggested that I write whatever I wanted and his words 'Love mera hit hit' would be fitted into my lyrics. But that's not the way I work. I never will. So I wrote just three of the songs in 'Billu' and left the project," he said.
Shah Rukh and Gulzar go back a long way.
Recalling his earlier Shah Rukh song, Gulzar said: "In 'Chaiyyan chaiyyan' for 'Dil Se' some people objected to the use of the word 'tabeez'. Now in 'Marjani' they objected to the word 'hazur' I believe.
"All I can say in my defence is that the word hazur in 'Marjani' isn't referring to the Prophet. It means 'presence'. I'm sorry if I've hurt anyone's sentiments. I'm sorry if some people have misunderstood what I've written. I'm very very careful about the words that I use. In fact, I left 'Billu' midway for this reason," Gulzar said.
The poet doesn't allow even a word of his lyrics to be tampered with.
"There have been a number of occasions when I've opted out because I wasn't comfortable with the words that I was supposed to write," he said.
Gulzar opted out of Sanjay Chel's "Khubsoorat" when the director wanted a word to be substituted by another.
"But the funniest incident occurred when I wrote the children's song 'Chaddhi pehan ke phool khila hai' for 'Jungle Book'. Someone said the word chaddhi (underwear) was vulgar. Could I change it to lungi? I stuck to my chaddhi," he said

I am glad I cast Vidya balan and not Aishwarya rai in Bhool bhulaiya-Priyadarshan

PRIYADARSHAN tells JYOTHI VENKATESH that he prefers to cast the same set of actors in every film of his because he is of the opinion that when butter is at home, he need not go out to search for ghee.
What is Billu about?
Basically Billu is a tribute to friendship. It is the story of a simple ordinary hair stylist who leads an extra ordinary life. It is about Bilas Rao Pardesi (Irrfan Khan) who is living in his village with his wife Bindiya (Lara Dutta) and two kids. Life was bitter sweet. We can say more sweet than bitter.

Till one day a super star (Shah Rukh Khan) comes into their lives and everything changes. Life changes, people change, friends change, the village changes but one man does not-Billu. It is the story of true friendship between Lord Krishna, the King of Dwarka and Sudama, a poor hermit. The moral of the story is so strong that it inculcates humbleness and greatness and conveys the true meaning of friendship.
Isn't Billu a remake of the Malayalam hit Katha Parayumbol?
It is not a 100 % remake of Katha Parayumbol but a take off in my own way. The character of the hair stylist played by Sreenivasan in Malayalam, Jagapathi Babu in Telugu and Pasupathi in Tamil, is being essayed by Irrfan Khan in Hindi.
Has Katha Parayumbol also been remade in other languages?
Director P Vasu remade the Malayalam film Katha Parayumbol into Tamil and Telugu, titled Kuselan and Kathanayakudu, respectively. Rajinikanth played the role of super star in the remakes.
Where did the Tamil remake fail?
The strength of the original story was diluted when it was remade in Tamil and Telugu Besides the films also suffered because of the problem of adding additional characters. The remakes also lost their theme because of the up-scaling of Rajinikanth's role, when compared to the role of Mammootty in the original Malayalam version.
What did you do to do justice to Shah Rukh's character as the super star?
A lot of changes in the screenplay were made to suit the larger than life image of Shah Rukh Khan, though he does not play himself ,without in any way diluting the strength of the original script and as a result we have him doing as many as three item numbers with actresses like Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra.
Is it different from the usual Priyadarshan films?

The film is full of my comic touches, complete with the much loved village bumpkin characters, played by Asrani, Om Puri and Rajpal Yadav. But above all, it rekindles the Krishna - Sudama timeless friendship.
Does criticism about you being the Master of Remakes bother you?

I am not bothered when the critics dub me as the Remake Man, because the Oscar last year went to the remake version of a Hong Kong film called The Departed. My Kabhi Na Kabhi was not a remake of any Malayalam hit but an original subject written by Javed Akhtar.

Do you know that all David Dhawan films have been rehashed from Bhagyaraj's hit films?

I think most remakes of South Indian hits fail only because they try to make it as it is. I make it a point not to let any of my film in Hindi look like a Tamil or Malayalam film from any angle.
What is of primary importance when you make a film?

As far as a director is concerned, the approach to a film is more important and also doing justice to the film. All other things are secondary.
Which are your forthcoming projects?

I have five mega projects lined up. I am finalising a script for a film which may star Amitabh Bachchan and Akshaye Khanna. The story is about bank robbery. I'm directing it for Percept Pictures. I am also making a horror film called Grrr! for them. I am also making the Hindi remake of Majeed Majidi's classic The Children of Heaven with Darsheel Safary, and Rituparna Dasgupta.
Have you stopped making Malayalam films?

I will return next year to Malayalam films to direct veteran scriptwriter M.T. Vasudevan Nair's next script, which would also star my favorite actor Mohanlal in the lead.
Tell me about your ambitious project Kanchipuram.
Kanchipuram is a tragic tale of pre-Independence Indian silk weavers in Kanchipuram. The story unfolds against the backdrop of the first rumblings of labor unionism in South India. The film has Prakashraj, Shreya Reddy, the daughter of the former wicket keeper Bharat Reddy, Shammu and Jayakumar in the lead. The film, using Tamil language and grammar of that period, has been produced by Percept Picture Company and Gulshan Kumar.
Wasn't your Bhool Bhulaiya a rehash of the Tamil hit Chandramukhi starring Rajnikant ?
Chandramukhi was a commercial massacre of the original Malayalam film Mani Chitra Thazhu starring Mohanlal and Shobhana which was made way back in 1981. I was pissed off when the media wrote that I was remaking a trash like Chandramukhi when the original version is even today considered classic. I had not directed the film but assisted Fazil who had directed it. The concept also was his but they killed his concept and made it into a Rajnikant style film because they wanted to cater to the masses. I made Bhool Bhulaiya by sticking to the original concept of Fazil.
In what way was Bhool Bhulaiya different from the original Malayalam hit?
Though I followed the original, I made sure that the subject suited the North audience and did not reek of nativity in any way. I had Banaras as the backdrop instead of Kerala. Chandramukhi was more of an action film. In the original version, they showed the protagonist as a split personality. However, since I am a psychology student, I took the liberty to base the story on identity syndrome.
Didn't you plan to cast Aishwarya Rai in place of Vidya Balan when you set out to remake Manichitra Thazhu as Bhool Bhulaiya?
To make Vidya Balan do Shobana's role was a big challenge for me as a director. To Vidya's credit, I should say that she worked very hard on her role, though there is a lot of difference between a genuine dancer and a filmy dancer. The role which Vidya did in Bhool Bhulaiya was tailor made for her. I realized that it would have been a grave mistake on my part if I had taken on Aishwarya Rai, as I had planned earlier instead of Vidya.
Why do you cast the same set of actors in your films again and again?
When the butter is at home, why should I search for ghee? I like to use complete actors like Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav and Manoj Joshi who can do all kinds of roles. I am of the opinion that known devils are better than unknown angels.
You have no qualms to admit that you like to play to the gallery as a film maker?
My Dhol was a time pass film, which was rehashed from three Malayalam films-- Manamathai, Mazhai Peyyunnu Madhalam Kottunnu and Chandralekha. So what if it did not click like some of my earlier films? I could not sit through the Hindi remake of my hit Malayalam film Chandralekha because Raj Kanwar who directed it mauled my original version very badly.

Can you tell me one single serious film which has worked in Hindi in the last two years at the box office?

I have no qualms to admit that I play to the gallery because today the majority of the audiences are youngsters who have problems at their homes and want to pass time when they come to the cinema houses.

Want to break into Bollywood? Win a pageant

New Delhi: Dream of a big Bollywood break but daddy's not a film star? Well, your best chance of a breakthrough may be via a beauty pageant.
Many stars in Bollywood, including Aishwarya Rai, Priyanka Chopra and John Abraham, have gone down this road and carved out successful careers for themselves.
Former Miss India-turned-actress Tanushree Dutta admits that winning a pageant was a stepping stone for her career. 'I became a national face after winning the pageant and was recognised by everyone. It was not only a launch pad but also a great training ground,' Dutta told IANS over phone from Mumbai. 'This does help in entering the (film) industry but after that you have to prove your acting mettle because there is no shortcut to success,' she added.
Zoya Akhtar's directorial debut 'Luck By Chance', which took an insider's look at the film industry, pointed out that to get a lead role in a movie one either has to be a star kid or else a model who has won a beauty pageant.
Actor-turned-director Deepak Tijori agrees and says winning a pageant gives recognition but one has to utilise the opportunity in a 'wise' manner. 'Winning a title brings unknown faces into the limelight, which in turn helps them in building their career. Media is such a strong medium today that you are bound to get attention and such attention really helps only if used wisely,' Tijori said.
Actors like Sushmita Sen, Dino Morea and Rajniesh Duggall have respectively titles like Miss Universe, Gladrags Manhunt and Mr India which helped them realise their Bollywood dreams.
These days many modelling agencies like Elite Modelling Agency and Shoot Talent Management are helping Bollywood aspirants fulfil their dreams.
Shoot Talent Management's business head (north) Sonia Karan Dikar told IANS that it was a natural progression for most models to aspire for Bollywood. 'Modelling gives you fame but not as much as Bollywood and today's generation wants to become famous and earn money very quickly. This can happen only when you are a well-known face or a celebrity,' Dikar said. 'Winning a title helps in giving you global exposure that in turn gives you good opportunities and assignments.'
Mehar Bhasin, who also runs a grooming and modelling academy, Mehar Bhasin Academy, agrees with Dikar and says that a grooming or modelling school does wonders to improve the overall personality of anybody. 'Winning a title definitely helps in boosting the confidence of the aspirant and the fact that you are already groomed also saves a lot of energy and efforts for directors as they know that you can confidently face the camera,' Bhasin said.
Talking about the advantage winning a title has had on his career, Mr India Rajniesh Duggall told IANS over phone from Mumbai: 'It takes a person three steps ahead of where he is. It helps him in crossing basic hurdles like directly meeting a producer or director rather than waiting in long queues. But at the end of the day what matters are the choices that you make in your film career.'
Duggall added: 'The Grasim Mr India title helped me to the extent that any producer I wanted to meet used to call me directly to his office whereas at the same time if my friend approached the same producer, they used to make him wait for at least a month.'
But model-turned-actor Rahul Dev dismisses the idea that a majority of the actors who are doing well in the tinsel town are winners of some title or the other. 'All actors in Bollywood are not necessarily winners of any pageant or title. There are some (pageant winners) but they too have worked hard to reach where they are,' Dev said. 'Winning a title gives you media attention. And the way you are projected on screen, the perception of the whole world about you changes,' he added.

I would like to work with Kareena again: Shahid Kapur

Mumbai: Shahid Kapur says he doesn't mind working with ex-girlfriend Kareena Kapoor if a filmmaker wanted him to.
“I would like to work with her again. I feel that as an actor if my producer wants me to romance with a cow or a buffalo also, I'll do it because that's my job,” Shahid said on Zee News' celebrity chat show “Kahiye Janab”.
Shahid and Kareena teamed up for three films.

While "Fida" and "Chup Chup Ke" bombed at the box office, "Jab We Met" was a blockbuster. Sadly, their relationship soured while shooting for this romantic comedy.
Now Shahid is linked with India's tennis star Sania Mirza.
Asked about Sania, he said: “She is a very good friend of mine, but I don't want to discuss my personal life.”
The show will be aired Saturday at 7:30 p.m.