Art for Art’s Sake

About the Numbers, After All • Grin and Bear It

Despite what the tabloids may say, Finding Fanny director Homi Adajania’s The Fault In Our Stars’ Hindi remake isn’t still a ‘go’ project. Sure, the rights have been acquired by producer Dinesh Vijan, but apparently a cast hasn’t yet been locked, and a start date hasn’t been fixed. This, one learns, is because Homi, and his muse (and favourite leading lady) Deepika Padukone, don’t want to jump into the film till they’re entirely satisfied with the script.

Deepika has reportedly said ‘yes’ to taking the role that Shailene Woodley played in the original, and while Varun Dhawan’s name has been tossed around for the male lead (the stars even did a look test together some weeks ago), Homi won’t go ahead and block the cast’s dates till the script isn’t in tip-top shape. Having recently lost his own sister to cancer, the film’s themes of loss and family and love are of particular significance to the director, but he’s clear that there’s room to adapt the original book in a way that feels more personal. What’s more, the team is believed to have agreed internally that they would rather abandon the project than do it in a way that doesn’t feel right to each of them.

In a business where filmmakers and stars are more focused on the bottomline than the integrity of their work, more power to anyone who’s willing to invest the required time and money and effort to put out the best film possible!

About the Numbers, After All

Nawazuddin Siddiqui has had his films play at Cannes, Toronto, Berlin and Sundance. His latest film, Liar’s Dice, is India’s entry to the Oscars. He has won Critics’ Awards by the dozen. But he appears to have figured out that nothing beats starring opposite one of the three superstar Khans as far as visibility is concerned.

The actor revealed to me recently that he said ‘yes’ to playing the villain in Sajid Nadiadwala’s Kick without a script or even a narration. Producer-turned- director Sajid told him he’d be making his entry with four burly henchmen walking behind him, and Nawaz was sold. He claims he improvised some of his bits with Salman Khan while on the set, and surprisingly the superstar gave him carte blanche in their scenes together. The overwhelming response to his performance has inspired Nawaz to sign another film—Kabir Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan— opposite the muscular Khan, and he’s even playing the antagonist in Parzania director Rahul Dholakia’s Gujarat-set Prohibition-era drama Raees alongside Shah Rukh Khan.

Nawaz doesn’t care that the indie world is accusing him of selling out to big bad Bollywood. “I need to do a Kick or a Bajrangi Bhaijaan, so that a film like Liar’s Dice or Miss Lovely can be viable too,” he reasons. Of course, the fat salaries from those films don’t hurt either.

Grin and Bear It

A prominent leading lady, after signing up to participate in a comedy roast event, pulled out just days before the big show, putting the organisers in a tight spot. The actress in question, one of Bollywood’s talented young up-and-comers, happily agreed to join the panel of roasters when asked if she’d skewer her two male co-stars who’d committed to be the ‘victims’ of the celebrity roast. Turns out the organisers, a popular comedy collective, had shared videos of international and previous local roasts, and had briefed the actress extensively on the tone and nature of the jokes—which are predictably explicit and biting, but strictly in jest.

A contract had been signed too, but then four days before the big show, the actress reportedly dropped out pleading she’d developed cold feet. Apparently she wasn’t comfortable cracking some of the loaded jokes, and became worried that using explicit language might hurt her image. No amount of coaxing on the part of the organisers would make her change her mind.

It’s hardly surprising that the organisers were less than pleased with the actress’ behaviour, especially since her name had already been announced and advertised as a panellist. Also, it was too late in the day to replace her with another A-lister. But mostly they were disappointed that she was taking the roast way too seriously, and that she clearly didn’t have the irreverent attitude they’d been counting on, and which she had promised.

About The Author

Rajeev Masand

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