The Burden of a Serial Kisser

The Devotion of Suspect Eager Beaver • Debt Management in B-Town

Emraan Hashmi is complaining—half jokingly only—that no matter what film he does, his producers can’t help cashing in on his ‘serial kisser’ reputation.

Take the case of Ungli, in which he plays the leader of a vigilante group that has decided to teach a lesson to anyone who makes life hard for the common man. Producer Karan Johar and writer-director Rensil D’Silva inserted a scene in the movie (and also in the film’s trailer) that unapologetically references the actor’s sleazy on-screen image.

Shooting for this scene, incidentally, was an unusual experience for the actor, he explained to me. “Normally, the director films a kissing scene when we’re at least 20 days into the shoot so that there’s already a comfort level established between the actors.”

But in the case of the snog in this film, Emraan revealed that he was introduced to the actress on the very day of the shoot. “It was a one-night-stand sort of scene, and I didn’t know her. We had to go at it then and there. I never saw her again because that was her only scene in the film. I don’t even remember her name,” he confesses, evidently embarrassed. The image, he says shrugging his shoulders, is one that he’ll likely carry to his grave. “Believe me, I’ve tried telling my directors that ab kuch naya socho; log thhak gaye hain iss image se. But they don’t listen.”

The Devotion of Suspect Eager Beaver

Deepika Padukone, currently shooting Shoojit Sircar’s Piku in Kolkata with Amitabh Bachchan, appears to be circling her next project. Turns out the actress has her heart set on Agent Vinod director Sriram Raghavan’s adaptation of Vikas Swarup’s bestseller The Accidental Apprentice.

Raghavan—who is right now neck-deep in postproduction on his latest thriller, the Varun Dhawan-Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer Badlapur—has reportedly met DP and discussed the film in some detail. The actress has apparently said she can jump into the project in October next year after she’s wrapped Piku, Imtiaz Ali’s Tamaasha, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani.

Shrewdly mixing up her films— looks like she’s applying the ‘one for me, one for them’ approach— Deepika has had another good year after the blockbuster 2014 she enjoyed. Finding Fanny had industrywalas singing hosannas to her willingness to experiment with roles, and with Happy New Year (like with Chennai Express), she has shown that she can make her presence felt even in commercial blockbusters that typically tend to be hero-centric.

Unit hands working on Piku reveal that DP was rapt in conversation with Kahaani director Sujoy Ghosh when he dropped in on the set in Kolkata recently. Ghosh has said he was visiting his Aladin star Bachchan senior, but there is speculation that he may have been discussing his next project with Deepika.

That project is the adaptation of the bestselling Japanese novel The Devotion of Suspect X, which is likely to star Saif Ali Khan and will be produced by Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Films. Interestingly, no heroine’s name is attached to the project yet, which possibly explains the rumours.

Debt Management in B-Town

A leading action star, notorious for charging a hefty fee for starring in every movie he makes, is in the news currently for his latest film—one he appears in and has produced too. The movie has collected a paltry Rs 28 crore in its first week—a new low for the usually bankable star. The film’s lifetime theatrical collections are expected to peter out at a shockingly dismal Rs 30 crore.

The film’s failure may not hurt the A-lister personally, but has certainly left a hole the size of a football field in the pocket of the film’s ‘real’ producer and financier. Industry insiders have revealed that the film was put into production after the star— who allegedly lost Rs 15 crore in a gambling bet with the financier— agreed to give him 15 shooting dates in exchange of the money he owed him. The financier set up the project (which the actor produced under his own banner), invested a sizeable sum in the movie, made use of his IOU with the star, and got the movie made.

He’s now poorer by several crore, while the star has paid off a debt without so much as dipping into his pocket.

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Rajeev Masand

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