Abhishek does a Zanjeer in Rohan Sippy’s ‘Dum Maro Dum’ (earlier post updated)

Fox Star Studios acquires Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maaro Dum
thanks to Shakti for the following story..
LINK

[on the sets of Dum Maro Dum]

His Zanjeer role made Big B the legend he is. Salim Javed had poured their best emotions into making Inspector Vijay one of the most memorable screen characters that Bachchan inhabited. An international media channel survey even declared his character in Zanjeer as Bachchan’s greatest role ever. Now Abhishek has stepped into those shoes in an action thriller that deals with the drug mafia of Goa.


Bachchan Jr plays a brooding cop on a mission. Very much like Inspector Vijay in Zanjeer, the character is a no nonsense cop with a history. Says Rohan, “Dum Maro Dum is set in contemporary Goa and Abhishek is playing a special cop. In our references, the character of Mr Bachchan in Zanjeer has featured largely. It has similar shades. Inspector Vijay is one of the iconic characters played by Mr Bachchan and it would be exciting to see how Abhishek plays a role similar to it.”

Abhishek has been preparing for the role extensively, physically and emotionally. A special team is working on his look and styling. He is spending a lot of time with Rohan discussing the nuances of the character as the co-producers of the film, a foreign studio, are hoping to internationalise the film in terms of its appeal as a hip thriller.

LINK

After remixing an old song, Sabse bada Rupaiya in Bluffmaster (2005), filmmaker Rohan Sippy is set to recreate another classic Dum Maro Dum from Dev Anand’s Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971) for his new film. The song created a sensation when the film released, making Zeenat Aman an overnight star. Incidentally, the title of the film is also Dum Maro Dum and stars Abhishek Bachchan, Pratik and Telugu star Rana Daggubati.


Confirming the news, Rohan says, “Yes, the title of the film is Dum Maro Dum. As far as the song goes, we are still in talks with SaRe GaMa for the necessary permissions. At the moment, we have finalised the songs. We will work on the title song only when we are closer to the release of the film.”

Incidentally, the film’s shooting is yet to begin.

Of all the old songs, what made Rohan opt for this particular song? “The song is a classic and everything about it is unique. These days everyone is doing promotional songs.

We want to be different and do something unique. Legendary names are involved with the song and we don’t want to tarnish their reputation by doing a bad job. We want to do complete justice to the song and live up to the expectations of the earlier song.

Pritam is composing music and Jaideep Sahni has written the lyrics. We will decide how to go about the song, once the film is shot,” says Roha

LINK

Rohan Sippy’s untitled film takes a lead from a number of headlines about the alarming crime situation in Goa. According to sources, it’s a gritty film about a cop on a drug-busting mission in Goa – quite unlike the Abhishek Bachchan starrer Bluffmaster, which Rohan had earlier directed. A source said, “Rohan and Abhishek are close friends. When they decided to work together again, they had many options, but they decided to swerve away from drama and romance and instead make a dark film based on real life incidents.”

The untitled film about drug trafficking in Goa will be largely shot on the beaches of Goa with Abhishek playing an undercover cop.

Sridhar Raghavan known for his realistic newspaper-inspired work is said to be heavily influenced by Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic. Meanwhile, Abhishek has been asked to study narcotic neurosis and criminal quirks to master the role of the cop.

The source added, “Abhishek has earlier played an undercover cop in the Dhoom series, but this is a different territory for him and also for Rohan Sippy. Abhishek is busy collecting as much data as he can get on drug dealing in Goa.”

When we asked Rohan Sippy about his forthcoming film, he said, “I’m unfortunately not at liberty to speak about it at the moment other than that we are working on a thriller written by Sridhar Raghavan, starring Abhishek.”
LINK

Abhishek Bachchan and Rohan Sippy have been best friends and have worked together in films like Kuch Na Kaho and Bluffmaster. Now they are aiming for a hat-trick with their third film, which will go on the floors in January. Incidentally, Abhishek, who had committed to a film with T-Series, will keep his word as the film will be a joint production between Ramesh Sippy and Bhushan Kumar.

Our source said, “Both Abhishek and Amitabh Bachchan were committed to a film with T-Series. Back then, Priyadarshan was supposed to make the film, however T-Series went ahead with Bhool Bhulaiya. After that, Amitabh too opted out as his dates were blocked. However, Abhishek has kept his word and now that Rohan Sippy is ready with his untitled thriller, talks are on to make it a joint production. This way, Abhishek will be able to fulfill both – his commitment made to T-Series as well as his buddy Rohan.”

Rohan Sippy confirmed the story, but was not forthcoming about the joint venture. He said, “Yes, we are set to start the film in December end or January. Everything is locked and we are in the process of finalising the ensemble cast. However, as far as the tie-up with T-Series is concerned, my father (Ramesh Sippy) is the best person to answer the question. As far as I know, we are surely doing the music with them and Pritam is the music director.”

Speaking about the film, Rohan said, “It has an interesting mix of actors with Abhishek in the lead. It is a thriller.”

Bhushan Kumar of T-Series said, “Talks are on for a joint production, but nothing is finalised as of now. The only decision we have taken is that we will be doing the music of the film.”

169 Responses to “Abhishek does a Zanjeer in Rohan Sippy’s ‘Dum Maro Dum’ (earlier post updated)”

  1. Good to have Rohan Sippy talk about the movie. I hope the movie does indeed begin in early 2010. There are different kinds of thriller genre movies. I tend to vastly enjoy them. I hope the story, script, and Abhishek’s character have all been vastly well written for this movie. Sippy did a proper job casting for Bluffmaster. So I hope he repeats that magic for the rest of the cast of this movie. I think Sippy is one of the directors who seems to gel with Abhishek. I hope Pritam comes up with an original and rocking soundtrack for this movie. I’m eagerly looking forward to this movie.

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    • wish Pritam weren’t doing this.. Rohan should really have gone with V-S, they did a very good job on BM. Or maybe SEL. Pritam though successful is so uninspiring. Of course Rahman is always ideal for any film.

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      • I concur. I also think Vishal Shekhar should be doing this move. Vishal Shekhar did a vastly good job on Dostana’s soundtrack. It’s too bad that they are not doing this movie. Pritam is uninspiring because of his plagiarism. I supposed Sippy is using Pritam for this movie because of his success track record or because his type of music suits this movie. We can only hope that Pritam churns out an original and rocking soundtrack that has some chart busters which can help this movie take off.

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      • VS was excellent in BM, but off late he did not justice with senior bachchan movies like bhootnath and Aladdin(quite ok, but not chartbuster), Pritam has consistent record of delivering soundtracks which slowly and steadily hold their own[METRO, Gangster, Dhoom2, golmal series, LP].

        And most important i am confident about music sense of rohan sippy[kuch na kaho and BM both were having excellent music], so pritam or VS, music is bound to gonna excellent.

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      • sarvanash Says:

        yea pritam makes hits but his hits are like junk food…it’s good while u consume it but it’s forgotten soon after.

        i actually think v-s have kind of lost their way…they haven’t done a real good soundtrack since jbj and oso.

        sel would be ok but they seem to save their good songs for kjo prod. so it could be a bit risky.

        maybe the guy who did devd or vishal bhardwaj would have been better choices than pritam. the best would have been what he did w/ bluffmaster…get one or two songs from a group of musicians.

        this toshi guy has done a few good ones.

        and i’m tired of hearing shanker and vishal singing every other song in their own as well as ea. other’s albums.

        as far as rohan sippy is considered…this will be the movie where i make a judgement on the real rohan. while i liked kuch na kaho, it wasn’t anything special. bluffmaster i loved and i think this is one of the best looking (shot) movie from india. the flow, editing, cinematography, and acting the screenplay, dialogues were all great. i think the script could have been bettered w/ minor changes. so let’s see which rohan we get. i think bluffmaster is prob what he likes and w/ kuch na kaho he made what he thought the audience would like. btw, has anyone seen the president bush movie he produced? i was curious about the movie, but i never heard what happened w/ it.

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        • JBJ was by SEL…

          Don’t know about Rohan. He should concentrate on what he wants to do – direction or production; not a natural filmmaker.

          However, his equation with Abhishek is promising and that’s the important thing.

          Pritam arranges and mixes music quite well – is not an original composer at all. I expect a recycled but popular score.

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        • I have seen that movie Sarvanash.. it wasn’t bad..

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        • v-s have been giving good numbers. ‘Dostana’, ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ had good tracks. ‘Aladdin’ is picking up too. v-s would have been better choice compare to Pritam.

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  2. masterpraz Says:

    Looking forward to this quiet a bit…

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  3. I hope the script is well written, hope Abhisheks character is well rounded, hope Pritam comes up with a good score, hope ………

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    • But Rohan also seems to be going in for smaller scale films.. a BM deal in a different genre.. I wouldn’t mind this if he worked regularly but a director waiting 4-5 years to get started on this sort of thing is pretty annoying. These guys have very little drive if at all! This actually is the true mark of privilege. You only make a film when you feel like it! The directors who are connected to the industry take it far more easy than the actors!

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      • I sort of agree with your theory. Sippy does not seem to be as ambitious as his father or other directors. He seems more happy just being a producer. However I think Sippy has also been waiting on Abhishek to find time to actually make this movie. This movie was supposed to take off a year ago and even begin by the end of this year. But Abhishek has had chock o block schedules and other movies he has had to get started on or finished up. Almost all of Abhishek’s movies have been in planning stages months and years before they actually go on the floors.

        At the end of the day I think this movie will have a higher budget than Bluffmaster. But in regards to Sippy making his movies on smaller scale in story on medium budgets. I cotton to that practise especially in these dire economic times when the audience has less money to burn for their entertainment. I think more movies in the industry need lower budgets and selling prices as this will help bring more hit movies to the industry that are really profitable. The movies that have had low or medium budgets are the ones that have mostly fared well this year as well as last year. Bluffmaster was a smaller scale movie with a low-medium budget. And yet the story, cinematography, direction, music, and treatment for the movie was vastly well done. So I feel that Sippy can do vastly well with this movie too as long as he has a good script and the treatment is done right.

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  4. I also wanted to add that unless Crooked is delayed. It seems that Abhishek will be shooting for Crooked and this movie at the same time on alternating schedules.

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  5. Bluffmaster! is a film that is not just one that I am fond of, but very impressive, in every sense of the word — it is jewel-like in its (small-scale_ perfection, for the reasons sarvanash and others have noted on this thread. If that’s the sort of achievement Sippy can bring to every film, he will be an accomplished director indeed. But I fail to see why he has taken nearly half a decade to get going on another film. I mean, it isn’t as if he was going crazy on the production front either, he’s only produced Taxi No. 9211, Chandni Chowk, and The President Is Coming, in that period…and only the last two have been since February 2006….

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  6. The guy fell in admiration with his own “chef d’oeuvre” lol…
    I don’t see any reason to not expect something great, but i don’t think Bluffmaster was so good that he could consider his reputation done and take his time to come back (like Q).
    Let’s wait and see…

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  7. peteraharris Says:

    Sounds killer!

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  8. sarvanash Says:

    is abhay d. in this movie as well? or is this pic from some other press conf?

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  9. A slick version of Wanted and Pokirri ? 😉

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  10. not sure if these were posted.
    Pics from Aishwarya and Abhishek’s first ad together

    http://movies.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/oct/21/slide-show-1-aishwarya-abhisheks-new-ad-together.htm

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  11. looking great together.

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  12. So this movie might be an action crime thriller set in Goa. This indeed sounds vastly interesting as a movie. It will be of utmost importance that the script, dialogue, characterisations, cinematography, direction, music, and overall treatment of the movie is vastly well done. The supporting cast needs to be good too. I’m vastly looking forward to this movie. I indeed hope Sippy will be on his A game for this movie.

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    • If this news is true I think this is actually an appropriate project for Rohan Sippy. Because it will incorporate his BM ‘cool’ as well as do the same for Abhishek. And again for the latter it’s a central role with ‘weight’. If BM can reproduce anything like his BM (which I think is a ‘finely’ directed film in more ways than one) form this would be something to look out for. I am disappointed though that he didn’t retain V-S and went in for Preetam. His BM edginess was served very well by V-S on BM, really strange that he didn’t repeat the pair.

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  13. sarvanash Says:

    if rumors are true, sounds like an interesting movie…i hope he goes for the gritty feel rather than the “cool hollywood” look like the don remake…something like cops from rgv movies like ab tak 56 and others.

    can’t imagine pritam’s music in this type of movie…if it’s gritty. if it’s like dhoom or don then pritam will be fine. but the movies seems like ti shouldn’t have any lip sync songs.

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  14. abhishek’s twitter:

    Finished rohans script. very cool and hard hitting. Great read!

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  15. Abhi-Pratik to team up

    Years after Smita Patil and Amitabh Bachchan did some memorable work together; a new casting is on the anvil. Amitabh’s son Abhishek, and Smita’s son Pratik will team up in director Rohan Sippy’s film say trade sources.

    For those who weren’t even around, when the Big B teamed up with Smita in films like Shakti and Namak Halal, here’s news. The two legendary actors, both Libreans were magic on screen. In fact after Smita’s untimely death, her make up man Deepak Sawant joined Amitabh, and is with the Big B till today. The industry is very excited that they will see these two young actors — both of who have traits of their star-parents rekindle the magic once more.

    http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Abhi-Pratik-to-team-up/articleshow/5239486.cms

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  16. A deluge of films

    Pratik signs a two-film deal with Rohan Sippy; will star alongside Abhishek Bachchan

    By Sonal Chawla
    Posted On Monday, November 30, 2009 at 02:32:05 AM

    He may not have signed on too many films after Jaane Tu… but he is now making up for lost time and is on a film-signing spree. The latest on Pratik is that he has signed on with producer Rohan Sippy for his film starring Abhishek Bachchan.

    Pratik
    A source reveals, “Pratik is only a film old in the industry, but is going places. He recently signed Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s My Friend Pinto, and Saif Ali Khan’s home production, and now has a two-film deal with Rohan Sippy. Abhishek and Pratik are the protagonists in Rohan’s next. Rohan and Abhishek wanted a young fresh face and found Pratik to fit the bill perfectly.”

    The source continues, “Rohan’s film has Abhishek as a tough cop on a drug-bust mission. The untitled film is about drug-trafficking in Goa. The actors have been asked to study narcotic neurosis and criminal’s quirks to understand their roles well.”

    Rohan confirms the story and says, “Pratik is a very exciting young actor and we are planning on doing a couple of films together. The first is the one I am directing, starring Abhishek Bachchan. It is a gritty and witty thriller.”

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  17. A gritty and witty thriller? That is music to my ears. I cotton to action thrillers that are not only well written but also are witty with rememberable or catchy dialogues. Eager to see how this movie shapes up. One of the movies I’m eager to see from Abhishek.

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  18. The hunt is still on

    Farhan Akhtar declines an offer to star with Abhishek Bachchan in Rohan Sippy’s next

    By Subhash K Jha

    Rohan Sippy’s film requires three leading men. While two of them, Abhishek Bachchan and Pratik Babbar, have been finalised there is another crucial third character, whose role is parallel to that of Abhishek.

    Apparently, Abhishek and Farhan Akhtar were the first choices for the two parts and since director Rohan Sippy, Abhishek and Farhan are childhood friends, no one saw any problems in the casting.

    Farhan Akhtar

    Abhishek Bachchan

    Rohan’s film is being produced by his father Ramesh Sippy, a close family friend of Farhan’s father Javed Akhtar.

    Although both Rohan Sippy and Farhan Akhtar remained unavailable for comment, a source close to the project said, “Farhan was indeed the first choice to play Abhishek’s co-star. The on-screen partnering was patterned on those Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor films that Farhan’s father once wrote. Farhan declined the offer, much to the dismay of Rohan’s team, which hadn’t thought of anyone else.”

    Since the role is as important as Abhishek’s, Rohan and Abhishek have now zeroed in on John Abraham for the same role.

    “The problem with Abhishek-John is that audiences will immediately think of Dhoom where again, Abhishek played an undercover cop, as he does in Rohan’s film. Rohan’s film is not a light bantering caper like Dhoom. It’s dark and does an expose on the drug racket in Goa which ends with one of the principal politician characters being exposed as the kingpin,” said the source.

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    • Odd that Farhan isn’t doing the film given that he’s producing one with Abhishek. Unless the role isn’t as central as it is made out here. Either way I do agree that Abhishek/John has a dhoom/dostana hangover and this film should really have a fresh guy in this sense. The problem is the old one. Not many want to play Shashi to Abhishek’s Bachchan! That might well be Furhan’s reason too. Just think this sort of a film requires a degree of seriousness and John doesn’t quite fit the bill. Then again it’s Goa. Maybe he gets to do what he usually does here!

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      • i say go w/ abhay deol or akshaye khanna. i’m actually glad farhan’s not doing this.

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        • Akshaye Khanna would be great. Sadly he seems to be out of the loop these days.

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        • I agree, no more Abhi and John since they have Dostana 2. If not Abhay or Akshaye, how about Kay Kay, Rahul Bose, Kunal Kapoor or a southern actor?

          Actually I would suggest Akshay to get him out of his rut. He needs to do something different.

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      • or the guy from amir.

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      • I don’t think its odd since Farhan is all about playing leading roles in his films even in multistarrers like the one he is doing for his sister Zoya. I doubt the role they are casting for in Rohan’s movie is as central as Abhishek’s role is in the movie hence the difficulty in casting the role with a top actor.

        Not many top actors want to play villains or sidekick roles to other actors who are the main heroes of the movie. I concur that John Abraham should not be cast since it would just bring hangover from Dhoom or Dostana. I also don’t think this movie or role would have fit Farhan either since I don’t see him as an intense or dramatic actor. I’m in agreement that Rohan needs to cast Akshaye Khanna or some other character or supporting actor with talent and intensity for this movie.

        This movie does not need another top actor so a good character actor would be copesetic anf fine. I also doubt Rohan Sippy only thought of Farhan for this role. As a director and producer I’m certain he had a few actors in mind. It only makes sense from a business stand point to always have backups. At the end of the day Rohan and his team will cast an actor for this role in the movie. And hopefully it will be a good actor with a new dynamic with Abhishek.

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  19. Actors are no longer slotted today -Atul Kulkarni

    December 8th, 2009 – 2:17 pm ICT by sampurn

    Which are your forthcoming films as of today, after Natarang?

    I am having up my sleeves films like “Allah Ke Bandhe’, Sagar Bellary’s “Kachcha Limbu’ and Rohan Sippy’s forthcoming venture with Abhishek Bachchan, besides Priyadarshan’s film “Bam Bam Bole’ with Rituparna Sengupta, which is now ready for release…

    http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/entertainment/actors-are-no-longer-slotted-today-atul-kulkarni_100285930.html#ixzz0Z99btHOP

    Like

  20. I hope Rohan isn’t considering Arjun Rampal for the role as this story states. Surely, Rohan can actually find an actor for the role

    http://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/2009/dec/111209-Emraan-Hashmi-Rohan-Sippy-Abhishek-Bachchan.htm

    Like

    • Emran Hashmi has made me a fan of his for the very first time by declining this role. Hope arjun Rampal does the same. what’s wrong with Rohan Sippy?! Can’t he get a serious actor to do this role?

      As for these media stories that keep suggesting that role is a parallel one well the actors must then be nuts to turn it down!

      Like

      • LOL dont be so harsh on Emraan :P! haha….theres FAR FAR worse out there…hope Rampal doesn’t take it either….

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      • If a gun were put to my head (one can only imagine that that’s what’s happening to Rohan Sippy these days) I’d pick Hashmi over Arjun Rampal. The latter is such a non-presence it’s really shocking to me that he’s still on people’s radars..

        But Akshaye Khanna or Irfan would be great opposite Abhishek. If Rohan really wants to be daring since it already seems he’s drawing from the Southern well here, he should consider Madhavan or Surya…the latter is already taking his first steps with RGV, why not make it a banner year!

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        • It’s not Rampal. You probably missed this earlier:

          Rohan Sippy on his upcoming Abhishek starrer

          It’s this guy and Pratik Babbar.

          From what I’ve led to believe incidentally this is turning out to be a very special film.

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        • I actually did see that but somehow followed the entire discussion on this film anachronistically…thanks.

          Prateik Babbar was the best thing in JTYJN so that’s especially welcome news….

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        • masterpraz Says:

          Whoa Pratiek Babber’s here? He also plays the LEAD in DHOBI GHAATH!

          AND HURRAH for Aditya Panscholi…first STRIKER and now this!!!

          Again I mention..Abhishek+Handle-bar moustahche=VERY COOL!

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        • masterpraz Says:

          Yeah Khanna would be great but his dates are all tied up with TEES MAAR KHAN for now and Priyadarshans next action flick with Ajay Devgan (untitled)..

          Again way too harsh on Hashmi, I think it would be cool to see Hashmi in a negative role opposite a big hero….. Yeah Surya or Madhavan would be UNREAL!

          Like

    • Why doesn’t he just cast Akshaye Khanna?! This would be a super team! Or do something unconventional and go with Irfan? Arjun Rampal is really the worst choice. He’s completely wooden.

      Like

  21. What tiff?

    Priyanka Chopra wants to be cast opposite Abhishek Bachchan again, extends the olive branch through messages to Rohan Sippy

    By Sonal Chawla
    Posted On Tuesday, January 05, 2010 at 03:01:38 AM

    Priyanka Chopra is a sharp woman with a firm business head on her shoulders. Knowing that her jodi with Abhishek Bachchan had proved to be popular, she sees no reason to let a little tiff come in the way of another hit together. So, she has decided to extend the olive branch to Bachchan Jr. The actress has been sending feeler messages to Rohan Sippy to be cast in his next opposite Abhishek Bachchan.

    The Abhishek-Priyanka jodi became quite a hit in Rohan Sippy’s Bluffmaster. The duo worked in a couple of movies thereafter and was appreciated. But it may be recalled that the friendly bonding between the two had been strained last year at a film award event when the two wanted to dance to the same number and a misunderstanding ensued.

    Abhishek, who had even jokingly called Priyanka his heartthrob on national television in the past, hadn’t taken kindly to Priyanka’s obstinate behaviour at the event, and thereafter the two never crossed paths again.

    A source reveals, “Priyanka has sent feelers to Rohan and is keen to work on this project. She has heard the gist of the script and she liked it. Moreover, Abhishek Bachchan’s presence has attracted her to the film. She finds him fabulous as an actor and loves their on-screen pairing.”

    The director, of course, takes the diplomatic route. Rohan says, “I would definitely love to work with Priyanka, as she is a fabulous actress and I really enjoyed working with her. However, I have not yet approached anyone for the female lead for this film till I lock in some other critical casting.”

    Even if he hasn’t made up his mind, has Priyanka been artfully bringing herself to his attention? He says, “That’s totally flattering. She is one of my favourite actors.”

    Like

  22. sarvanash Says:

    if there was a misunderstanding and the reason given is true, then this is a very childish reason to fight.

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    • That MM article is pure bollocks! Nothing out of order has happened between Abhishek and Priyanka. MM and other tabloids outlets are merely lobbing out cooked up articles to create negativity about this movie in some way. This always happens with any movie(especially a top quality movie) that Abhishek signs up for. I cottoned to the way Sippy is handling this rubbish with his direct and calm answers.

      Abhishek is the lead actor. Rohan has thus far cast Pratik Babar, Aditya Panscholi, Atul Kulkrani, and Rana Daggubati in other key roles for this movie. Sippy is still casting for the female lead and other key roles to fill out this movie. The corrupt Indian press needs to let him finish his casting and then let him release official info to the press about this movie without the cooked up rubbished articles. I feel the cast is shaping up vastly well this far.

      Like

  23. I am happy to see Rana casted in this movie. He looks different and watch for his debut movie ‘leader’.

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  24. mksrooney Says:

    satyam- did u got my post titled trailers… or i havent posted it properly…??

    Like

  25. Priyanka prefers Vishal Bhardwaj’s Ek Bataa Saat to Rohan Sippy’s film

    By Subhash K. Jha, January 18, 2010 – 16:21 IST

    Priyanka Chopra, as we all well know by now, is very keen to be part of Rohan Sippy’s film. Rohan who had earlier worked with Priyanka in Bluffmaster was also keen to cast her in his Goan drug-busting film. Sippy wanted to cast Priyanka in a powerful role opposite the Southern star Rana Daggubati.

    The earlier plan was to cast Priyanka opposite Abhishek. But now a new girl will be paired with Abhishek while Priyanka was seriously considered opposite Daggubati.

    Says a source, “Unfortunately the dates on which Priyanka was required for Rohan’s film clashed with Vishal Bhardwaj’s film.”

    After Kaminey, Priyanka has a unique chemistry with Bhardwaj. In Vishal’s Ek Bataa Saat (which means ‘1 into 7’) she plays a woman with seven husbands, a big challenge for the actress.

    Says a source, “There was no way Priyanka could let go of Vishal’s Ek Bataa Saat. So she regretfully opted out of Rohan’s film.”

    Now Rohan says he would probably have to cast newcomers opposite both Abhishek and Rana Daggubati.

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  26. “Ek Bataa Saat (which means ‘1 into 7′)”

    I thought it meant 1/7 – one divided by seven!

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  27. But of course the title and the song make perfect sense given the subject and of course Rohan’s own choices in BM. The title seems to ‘mimic’ JBJ as well though I’m sure that’s the not the comparison Rohan’s looking for!

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    • I really hope it’s as fun as that title promises. I don’t think Sippy should restrict himself in any way, but I really liked the vibe he generated with Bluffmaster which was at once old school masala-ish levity, and very much “today” in its atmosphere and stylistic interests. Rather than some tired attempt at a Hindi version of “Traffic” I’d be much more interested in something that approaches the topic with the kind of knack for tone and ease of touch that Sippy managed skillfully in his previous film.

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      • The tone looks to be what you’re suggesting, i.e. in the BM mode allowing for the differences in subject. However the filmmaking mode itself might be far more ‘auteurist’ here and I must admit I wouldn’t want Rohan to sacrifice accessibility for this reason. But Rohan also remains a bit ahead of the audience curve. A BM-like film today would do far more than the original one did. But he’s also going to probably produce a BM for today which is to say a film that still remains ahead of the curve!

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  28. Abhishek Bachchan’s tryst with Kali!

    Abhishek Bachchan’s superstar dad Amitabh Bachchan is still known as the Angry Young man of Bollywood, thanks to the innumerable intense action-oriented roles he has portrayed throughout his illustrious career. Son Abhishek however is taking his time when it comes to playing an action hero. While he was appreciated in Dhoom as a cop, he only got brickbats for his warrior role in Drona.

    The actor seems to be now hellbent on establishing himself as an action hero. In his forthcoming film which will be directed by Rohan Sippy, Abhishek will be seen practising Kali, a martial art form!

    Just recently Abhishek wrote on Twitter, “Learning a new fight system for my new film called KALI. Awesome stuff. Just finished training for it. Very tough but coolness!”

    The film’s working title is ‘Dum Maro Dum’.

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  29. http://www.realbollywood.com/news/2010/02/farhan-akhtar-double-role-karthik-calling-karthik.html

    Farhan Akhtar suggests he couldn’t do Rohan’s film because of date issues. I am led to believe that this is the truth.

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  30. Abhishek has a great line up. Tough for some.

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  31. Bipasha to do a Zeenat

    Finally, all speculation about the female lead in Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maro Dum has been put to rest. Bipasha Basu will be playing the glamorous junkie from Goa opposite Telugu star Rana Daggubati in the film. The film’s remaining star cast has been finalised earlier – Abhishek Bachchan, Pratik and Aditya Pancholi.

    Rohan sounded excited as he confirmed the development, “Yes we have signed Bipasha for the film as she fits the character perfectly.” Reacting to reports that Bipasha’s character is modelled on flower child Zeenat Aman played in Dev Anand’s Hare Rama Hare Krishna, he said, “Zeenat Aman is my all time favourite and I hold her in high esteem.

    There is no one who can be like her but yes, Bipasha has sex appeal and connects well with the audience.

    But the film has nothing to do with Hare Rama Hare Krishna, except elements like gangsters, drugs and the fact that it is set in Goa.” Shooting for the film starts in two weeks.

    http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/30/20100211201002110312575306bcaae4/Bipasha-to-do-a-Zeenat.html

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  32. as glad as i am to know that kangana won’t be playing a junkie yet again, i think bipasha is a step down. seems like the female lead doesn’t have a big role.

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    • I thought Kangana was confirmed?
      Surprised Rohan went with Bipasha. She doesn’t seem to get a lot of big projects so its an interesting choice. Maybe a small role but sounds like an interesting one for her.

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      • No, Kangana’s representative or manager rubbished the story in Mid-Day about her being cast or accepting a role in Sippy’s movie. So MM had it bang on wrong again!

        I don’t think any of the female role(s) in this movie are that big or substantial. I recollect that Rohan Sippy alluded to this in an earlier interview about this movie. So not too surprised that Bipasha was signed on at the end of the day.

        Bipasha is a step down from Kangana in terms of acting talent (Kangana is indeed the better actress of the two). However in terms of popularity with the audience both Bipasha and Kagana are in the same league. I agree it looks like this role will be interesting for Bipasha. Eager to hear more about this movie. Also I suppose Abhishek will be pulling double duty and shooting for “Crooked and Sippy’s movie if it indeed starts filming in 2 weeks. Abhishek sure is putting in the work to keep his movie schedules in synch! Good move.

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        • “Bipasha is a step down from Kangana in terms of acting talent (Kangana is indeed the better actress of the two).”

          Disagree there, Eire. Kangana is really overrated. In her small role in Omkara alone, I thought Bipasha was better than anything I’ve seen Kangana in.

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    • Don’t really think there’s anyone opposite Abhishek here..

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  33. Don’t Peddle controversy

    Fox Star gave Rohan Sippy an earful for meeting real drug peddlers in Goa while researching Dum Maro Dum

    By Kunal M Shah
    Posted On Friday, March 05, 2010 at 03:01:24 AM

    Rohan Sippy is all set to start his next film Dum Maro Dum which is set in Goa and revolves around the drug mafia which is quite active there. The film stars Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Prateik, Aditya Panscholi and South sensation Rana Duggabatti. While researching the film, Rohan interacted with real drug peddlers, something that has not gone down well with Fox Star, the co-producers.

    Our source said, “Rohan and his team have been in Goa to research the film’s subject for some months now. While meeting local people, Rohan met some real drug peddlers and gathered some valuable information from them which he has incorporated in the film. Rohan came to know how they operate, their mannerisms, and how big the business is in Goa. But However when Fox Star came to know about it, they were not happy about it.

    They’ve just put behind the controversy surrounding their last release, My Name Is Khan. They didn’t want another controversy to erupt, so they met up with Rohan last week and made clear their displeasure. However, Rohan told them that it was a chance encounter and he was just working to make the film as authentic as possible. He said it helped him find interesting situations, characters, stories and backdrops. However the matter is far from over.”

    Rohan Sippy was not very forthcoming about the matter and bruished off the matter saying, “There were two different point of views about the film’s research, but everything has now been sorted out.”

    But when contacted, Vijay Singh of Fox Star said they didn’t want any more trouble after My Name Is Khan. “MNIK was about taking an ideological stance but we would naturally be very cautious when it comes to something like this,” he said.

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  34. Mansi:

    i m already looking forward 2 it!!i think rohan sippy is a very talented director nd i have quite enjoyed …

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  35. I hope there’s more to this than just a “brooding cop” for Abhishek. He can pretty much do that bit in his sleep. In BM, one of Rohan Sippy’s many achievements was giving Abhishek a role that let his comic skill ride along with his usual dramatic chops…

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    • you’re on the money with that comment GF.. I’m in complete agreement. Hopefully Rohan can tweak things a bit as he did in BM.. this was one of the great aspects of Salim-Javed’s scripts inasmuch as these were catalysts for the angry young man’s evolution — that all the films involved that sort of tweaking and of course Bachchan had the gifts to understand this. Deewar’s Bachchan isn’t really like Zanjeer’s while trishul’s isn’t really like Deewar’s and Kaala pathar’s isn’t really like Trishul’s. So on and so forth. A genealogy here for sure but it’s not the same guy in every film. abhishek does a pre-agneepath and post-Agneepath ‘brooding’ deal with his characters. So BM and Sarkar are pre-Agneepath, Yuva and SR are post-Agneepath. The distinction is that in Agneepath Bachchan for the very first time in his angry young man (or not so young when this film was made!) career eschews the ‘rational’. This is something I’ve talked about earlier but the angry young man for all his violence is essentially a ‘rational’ being which is to say that he is always in control of his violence. Whenever he gets close to the ‘irrational’ he either has to die or the script has to take a dramatic turn to in a sense reabsorb him into the ‘normal’ social fold. So in Deewar there is that ‘wild’ moment at the end when he throws Madan Puri out of the window. At that moment he is at the point of no return, if he lives long enough after this perhaps Agneepath is the logical end. But the script skilfully accounts for this ‘excess’ and even while presenting it with one hand takes it back with the other. So at this ‘climactic’ moment the ring of the ‘legal forces’ is really closing in around him. He has to die! In trishul by making the angry young man’s father the ‘enemy’ a radical move is performed but on the other hand the means to tame this revolution are also left embedded in the narrative. Again the lead character trying to irrationally destroy his father and the father’s family and so on. But at a precise moment one sees his vulnerable side when he slaps Prem Chopra (cannot stand his father being abused by another). So the ‘family’ structure always intervenes. In Deewar he can never enter a temple except when he does so for his mother. In other words it is always the parent (specially the mother) who can always override every revolutionary dynamic. And it is comprehensible to the audience because compromising for a parent seems natural. And yet this domesticates the revolution! Again the larger point is that these scripts have features that allow for a moment of irrationality, hint at it, even play along with it for a while but take it back eventually. Deewar is still open ended in many ways which is why it is the strongest script of this series (Trishul and Kaala Pathar have endings that are narratively justified but problematic in terms of the logic of the original premise in each case). But moving on, Agneepath is the film where despite a relatively weak plot (or one that is content to be an ‘essay’ on Deewar, hence simply shadowing the older film in a different key) Vijay actually does commerce with the ‘irrational’. And this is precisely the hint that Rathnam, shrewd as ever, picks up for Yuva. This is also the mode Abhishek works in with SR, a performance that is much misunderstood but that is entirely ‘logical’. Because the darkness of the Sarkar universe converts the rational being of the earlier film into the much more impenetrable one of SR (a hint that is also available in the closing moments of the earlier film) and which was first developed in Yuva. BM though has a much more reassuring ‘brooding’ figure. But Rohan (who is a fan of Akayla’s Bachchan) injects some of the world weariness of that character into BM and again in a performance that is much underrated Abhishek suggests that ‘mood’ somewhat improbably for that stage of his career (a very young guy as opposed to his father at time of Akayla when he had entered his twilight phase quite definably). So yes it will be interesting to see what configuration Rohan comes up for him here and equally it will be fascinating to discover Rathnam’s own move in Raavana. Lastly, I should add I don’t really hold up this entire critique as a negative for the Salim-Javed films. Those were extraordinary given their contexts, so extraordinary that even with the ‘adjustments’ I’ve been referring to Yuva or what have you are not moreso in this contemporary age. But Salim-Javed’s films were ultimately exercises in romanticism and perhaps revealed the limits of following such a schema. The post-Agneepath manifestations on the other hand are truer to the logic of the character but also run the risk of losing audience investment completely. This is what happened with Agneepath. Vijay was simply too ‘terrible’ a character and could not be loved. Today this film has been reinvented simply as a series of grand gestures decoupled from the emotional content of the narrative. But when it’s Rathnam in Yuva it is precisely the same risk. Lallan is a grand achievement but he too cannot be loved or even liked necessarily. Because the ‘erasure’ of the human which is required to remain true to this logic is also what is most problematic for any sort of commercial film. I was revisiting GONY recently and I think the ‘Butcher’ is not unrelated to this discussion. But here too note the very human moments that punctuate this character from time to time.

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      • Re: Salim-Javed: in a sense the “problem” is not at their end but at ours, in this historical moment in time. That is, it is not a coincidence that the non-rational (I prefer that to “irrational” in the context of this discussion) cinematic moments you mention — Agneepath, Bluffmaster!, Yuva, Sarkar Raj — are, with the exception of Bluffmaster!, flawed scripts. The romanticism of Salim-Javed lent itself to the sort of narrativity that has traditionally formed the staple of both popular cinema, as well as of the star signature (inasmuch as the narrative serves as a vehicle to enable the star at its core to inscribe his signature). By contrast, the non-rational cinematic moments are confused, because the writers/filmmakers simultaneously seek to preserve the narrativity and/or star signature as the older filmmakers and writers did. Stated differently, Salim-Javed’s “conformity” was perfectly consistent with the cinematic mode, and even the medium, of cinema; their successors see the problem, but know no way being non-conformist except by means of the romantic gestures, of a romanticism of gesture — and thereby reveal themselves to be the bigger conformists, unwilling to throw the pill away even after they have begun to know it makes the patient sleep too much. It doesn’t completely “work” (even if we understand — the pill dulls the pain), leading to an impasse (the director doesn’t know what to do once the persona has been presented, and does “nothing”; this is the problem with Sarkar Raj, where RGV decides to call it a day and simply resurrect an older signature by film’s end; and in a sense Agneepath suffers from the same flaw, although it is a much better film); the most one can hope for is a performance that overtly tries to present the non-rational as impenetrable, that in fact puts the impenetrability itself into play (“Yuva”, of course, is an example of this, although no-one in popular cinema can leave narrativity and the star signature behind). And read this way, Bluffmaster! and Yuva have more in common than one might suspect at first glance: unlike with Salim-Javed’s scripts, the Bachchan performances occur one step removed (whereas, in the Salim-Javed films, Amitabh Bachchan is the site itself. And so complete is the gravitational pull that he remains the site not only in those films, but also for those who come after him): in Yuva the site is veiled (that it is so is demonstrated by our inability to ever answer the question: “What does Lallan think?”); in Bluffmaster! — despite the tame ending affirming the romantic couple (how one wishes Rohan Sippy had had Chopra dumping Bachchan at film’s end, leaving him bereft of just about everything) — the suspicion is continually presented that talk of essences might be part of a scam (and awareness of the possibility of a scam does not immunize one against falling victim to it))…

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        • this is a truly extraordinary comment Qalandar.. enormously insightful!

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        • Two good insights – both of which I agree with in parts…

          This SJ debate can be a fascinating exercise – albeit it’s limited by the scope of the blog. Wish there was another way to get into this so that I could contribute a little!

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  36. Part of the reason GONY doesn’t always feel focused or emotionally compelling on the part of its protagonist’s journey is that it often feels like we have two characters we’re following, and with the Butcher you just have a far more compelling construct–a character whose overwhelmingly monstrous nature is tempered by, as you put it, moments of humanity. This is what makes him and a character like Lallan unpredictable because the issue of likability aside these are characters who, scene to scene, are more exciting to watch because we’re not quite sure if we’re on firm ground when we’re around them. There’s definitely a good point you make about the romantic nature of Salim-Javed’s characters which actually elevates things to my mind when you’re talking about Deewar where you have a similar “exciting uncertainity” about the Vijay character but at the same time a basic and uncomplex heroism is bestowed on the character by way of bowing to genre conventions (he loves his mother, family comes first) while at the same time embracing the unconventional.

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  37. good luck..

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  38. The high enthusiasm surrounding Abhishek’s upcoming movies in SS is puzzling to me. Unless the definition of great has been drastically altered in 2010, I don’t understand how Abhishek’s current lineup can be considered as such. Except Raavana and to a lesser degree Khelenge (Gawarikar’s languorous style and thriller…hmmmm???), there hardly seems to be anything to get excited about….IMO only a polymorphously perverse can get excited by a lineup consisting of movies by Abbas-Mastan, Anurag basu, Rohan Sippy, Tarun Mansukhani, Abhinay deo, and Prabhu Deva 😉 🙂

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    • Re: “IMO only a polymorphously perverse can get excited by a lineup consisting of movies by Abbas-Mastan, Anurag basu, Rohan Sippy, Tarun Mansukhani, Abhinay deo, and Prabhu Deva…”

      That’s such a coincidence: just yesterday my girlfriend broke up with me because of my polymorphic perversity.

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    • Actually I am most excited about the Prabhudeva film after the Rathnam one. Quite serious. On the rest I think the discussion has mostly centered around the ‘mix’ Abhishek has more than anything else. I assume most people in their right minds do not really get excited about Abbas-Mustaan! But Rohan Sippy for me is a fine director on the basis of BM though admittedly in a minor key (which speaks more to his tone than anything else). And I am looking forward to neeraj Pandey’s film. Gowariker I am never that excited about anyway. But again the mix here is the best I can think of and certainly more than the competition can manage! I am certainly not a fan of most of these directors and I doubt anyone else here is either. The only director who’s currently not working with Abhishek and who would interest me very much if he did is of course Hirani and anything else that Mehra might have to offer. There are a few others who would be interesting in other ways (Kashyap for example) but can’t think of too many who’d excite me. Do believe Shaad Ali needs to be resurrected. and yeah I’d love for Abhishek to work with some Southern names. On the existing lineup though it’s basically Rathnam, Prabhudeva (only because of the masala deal here), Neeraj Pandey, Rohan for me to varying degrees. Gowariker I am willing to give a chance in the sense that this could be a good film. The rest is just commercial stuff with Bazmee, Abbas-Mustaan, Mansukhani and whoever, none of which interests me on its own. Abhinay deo I obviously know nothing about though perhaps a guy associated with aamir deserves some respect.

      Now it might be that most people don’t think of this sequence as a remarkable mix of the meaningful and the commercially viable. But I’d love for them to make up an alternate sequence to replicate this one!

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      • I can honestly say that I’m vastly curious and excited about each one of Abhishek’s upcoming movies on some level(even Dostana and The Italian Job remake with Abbas-Mustan). The quality(meaningful) movies and commercial movies all interest me as a fan. Of course Raavan, Dum Maaro Dum, Special Chabbis, Prabhu Deva’s movie, and KHJJS are the ones I’m most interested in seeing how they will turn out and fare. But I’m eager to see all of them at the end of the day.

        I think Abhishek has variety and diversity in his line up of movies that he has recently signed on for or begun filming. I think Abhishek has the best or one of the best line up of movies of any actor in BW at the moment. Its the best line up of back to back movies he has ever had in his career thus far. I hope it all turns out well for Abhishek and for his fans(myself included). I want to see him in entertaining movies and essaying entertaining characters with variety. I’m being positive all the way.

        ps. Its good news that Fox Star Studios have joined hands with Rohan Sippy for Dum Maaro Dum.

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        • Eire, it’s good to know that you’re vastly excited by each and every upcoming Abhishek movie. Now my question is are you excited by those movies because Abhishek is in them or because of the movies themselves?…In other words would you have been equally curious about those movies (excepting Raavana) had there been some other actors in them?…..For me remove Raavana and it could as well be Akshay Khanna’s lineup!!!

          Also disagree about this being Abhishek’s best lineup. IMO it was the one he’d in 2008. At that time he’d SR, Drona, Dostana, D6, and Raavana (he’d signed it in 2008). Eventhough things didn’t work out as planned, that combination was much more potent, atleast on paper. Ironically the weakest link of the bunch, Dostana ended up being the only success.

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        • Disagree a bit here.

          The current line-up Abhishek has the right mix of interesting, provocative and commercially successful films here.

          It’s more potent than what a lot of top male stars combined have, actually.

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        • “For me remove Raavana and it could as well be Akshay Khanna’s lineup!!!”

          except that Akshay’s never had anything remotely close to such a lineup!

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        • Amitabh’s line-up in the 1970s was Satyen Kappu’s and Iftiqar’s line up if you take Amitabh away.

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        • See Rohan has confirmed on twitter that Danny Glover is on of the Exec. Producers and Jabeen Merchant will be editing the film. Seems like they are going for a real gritty, realistic look for the film.

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        • Q, even with Amitabh those were Satyen Kappu’s and Iftiqar’s lineup!

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        • Really Satyam? I thought at any given time Akshay Khanna was doing an Abbas-Mustan and Priyadarshan movies with “interesting” stuff like Gandhi my father thrown in between.

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        • Matrix, but Gandhi My father was the height of what Akshaye could get in terms of ‘interesting! Again you’re missing the point. Abhishek always has some marquee directors lined up with Rathnam being a constant. Gowariker cannot be considered insignificant even if I am hardly his greatest fan. Nor can the much acclaimed director of A Wednesday who seems to be following a thriller format once again in Special chabbis. On Rohan Sippy I’ve already stated my views, I don’t consider him ‘any’ director. On the Bazmee, Mansukhani, Abbas-Mustaan films I am not a fan of any of these, I’ve never said anything but this, but these are big commercial projects that many wanted Abhishek to do precisely because he often seemed to have very few safe projects. So I celebrate these only for the safety net it provides him and for no other reason. On the Pabhudeva film surely the fact that I am celebrating masala shouldn’t come as a surprise?! Crooked is uncharted territory in terms of the director. But this is a huge lineup by any estimation. If your point is that Abhishek should only do the meaningful without caring about the box office that’s a different matter. It’s a defensible position but we’re arguing apples and oranges. I have never called Abbas-Mustaan interesting. I have just called the lineup potent because it mixes Rathnam with Abbas-Mustaan, Gowariker with Bazmee. I’ve called it potent because he’s doing a variety of parts in all of these that basically allows Abhishek to cover more baskets. Run the gamut in every sense. If the aim of a star were to do a fair bit of volume and mix it up as well my point is that one couldn’t do better than Abhishek. Would it be great to add Hirani and Kashyap to the mix? sure! But no one gets an absolute dream team at any one point either! Amitabh Bachchan never worked with Raj Kapoor! If Abhishek keeps up this trajectory I think he is quite likely to work with the interesting directors he hasn’t worked with so far. But either way how is Akshaye Khanna comparable? Priyan did small comedies with him, never did anything with him after he got big with Akshay. Abbas-Mustaan cast him earlier in films with Bobby Deol or more recently in a film where Saif was clearly the biggest name. How is this comparable to Italian Job? was Gandhi my father even prior to release really considered as a high profile as a Gowariker film or even one by the director of A Wednesday? Don’t believe so. Akshaye never got the marquee projects/parts at any time in his career after the very early period.

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        • Fair enough Satyam. I used to see “potent lineup” thrown around a lot when anyone mentioned Abhishek’s upcoming releases without providing the rationale. He signs Dostana-2 his lineup becomes potent, he signs Abbas-Mastan it becomes even more potent. So just wanted to find out HOW. Brought Akshay Khanna to be a little provocative, to make my point clearer, didn’t mean it literally.

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        • PS — it would be fairer to remove Raavana if it were a one-off. But given that it is the third Mani film with Abhishek in 6 years, it is clearly a big part of his lineup at any given point.

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  39. Abhishek Bachchan heads to Goa to shoot for Dum Maaro Dum
    Story By: CHUMAN DAS updated on: Mar 25, 2010

    MUMBAI: It is destination Goa for the next fortnight as Abhishek Bachchan starts shooting for Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maaro Dum. Friends first and then colleagues, the duo will start their third film together after films like Kuchh Na Kaho and Bluffmaster.

    Dum Maaro Dum is being co-produced by Ramesh Sippy Productions and Fox Star Studios India.

    It has been hectic for the junior Bachchan. The start of the year saw him start shooting for Abhinay Deo’s Crooked now titled Game, and then for his first show on television, Bingo. Talk to him about the show’s high ratings and he retorts, “Did you like the show?” But the actor is certainly pleased that his debut has been well received.

    Rohan Sippy’s latest film features Bipasha Basu in a key role. Rohan however clarifies, “Abhishek and Bipasha have not been cast opposite each other.” Other details of the film are still being kept under wraps, but we are told that Basu has experimented with her looks and make up for her character.

    The unit will wrap its Goa schedule by mid April. Basu, who started shooting for the film a fortnight earlier than Bachchan will depart for Mumbai on 1 April, while Bachchan will continue till 5 April.

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  40. alex adams Says:

    as much as i want abhishek’s films to succeed, i do believe there is definitely a question mark over his SOLO box office standing.
    his line up did look pretty impressive over the last few years. But without doubt, the outcome of jbj, d6, drona HAS had its impact.
    No star could have possibly saved drona and also jbj, but the fate of d6 may have been better.
    i agree that his upcoming line-up looks promising, varied and interesting, but still the b.o still appears suspect on most of them.
    y thi constant harping on box-office. at the end of the day, thats what sustains a lead hero in the business-hard fact.
    Abhishek should concentrate in raising his game and understanding of the craft of HINDI popular films (like aamir) rather than the AMOUNT & spread of his work……..Spreading things around in more genres, makers and media (big screen AND tv shows), production will NOT work unless the quality and skill does not improve.

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    • I’d agree with a great deal of what you’re saying in terms of the box office ultimately being crucial but with the caveat that the media and the blogosphere partisans sometimes exaggerate the extent of his failures. Because one can’t have it both ways. Either he’s a very major stars whose every release matters a very great deal or else if he’s not that important each failure shouldn’t count for as much given that he’s had his high points as well. I too expected more success from the previous lineup but it’s not the apocalypse. But with this lineup it will be if he doesn’t come through in a big way. I am however quite confident about it for a simple reason. No film that has Abhishek in a strong role or where he’s the point of the film has ever failed since he got successful barring Drona (even here the superhero characterization was very weak). I’ve said this before but what JBJ and D6 have in common is that in each film Abhishek doesn’t seem to be ‘the man’ in a way that is critical for box office success. Not to say that these films would have succeeded otherwise (I disagree with you on D6 incidentally, the film’s gross for a flop was pretty decent). In SR I continue to believe that his death though a fine dramatic moment ruined the point of the franchise and even though the film remained very engaging after this it sunk the very reason why people were invested in the franchise. But I think he’s made amends in this sense because none of the forthcoming films look likely to repeat this mistake. And this is the big deal about the lineup. Far more than the variety (impressive on its own) and the volume it’s the fact that for the very first time in his career Abhishek is trying to maintain a certain continuity through his films in terms of playing strong parts. The box office again isn’t as bad at all as it’s made out to be. He seems to pull out a success somewhere or the other even when he underperforms or flops elsewhere. But yes a major star needs much more and I have never disputed this. I’d also say that this lineup is his very last chance to take that massive step forward because the variety or the mix here or the kinds of roles combined with the volume cannot really be bettered. He needs consecutive successes here. The critical attention will never be a problem with some of these films. On the solo bit again don’t buy the partisan stuff. If a number of multistarrers have Abhishek common to them you should just go for the obvious! Which doesn’t mean that he doesn’t need a very significant solo success or two. Again this lineup has many such films.

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  41. Bluffmasters take on the Hera Pheri trio

    strange rumor here.. wonder if it’s true…

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  42. Dum Maro Dum to again crack into non-diaspora global market

    After Shah Rukh Khan in My Name Is Khan, it is Abhishek Bachchan’s turn to be marketed on a global platform by Fox Star.

    The company plans to unleash the Abhishek starrer Dum Maro Dum on the same level globally as Khan. Goa, Bachchan and Bipasha Basu are the heady mix that Fox are counting on to entice an international audience.

    In the meanwhile, Fox Star and their global equivalent Fox Searchlight are hoping to see My Name Is Khan (MNIK) do a Slumdog Millionaire in the US, thereby paving the way for the second Bollywood release Dum Maro Dum from Fox.

    Fox’s CEO Vijay Singh is super-optimistic. “We’re only releasing MNIK in 2 New York theatres on May 5, But please remember, Slumdog Millionaire was initially released in only 5 theatres in New York. We hope to add more theatres to Khan after the first week.”

    The film then goes to France in May, Germany in June, Spain in July, Russia in August and Italy in September.

    All the centres barring Germany would screen the original film in its shortened version with English subtitles.

    Informs Vijay Singh, “Germany is traditionally a country that accepts dubbed versions of films from all over the world. In other countries the subtitled versions work better.”

    Having tested the water Fox Star, is now ready to market Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maro Dum on the same global pattern as MNIK.

    Says Singh, “We feel Dum Maro Dum has the same potential to appeal to a global market as Khan. Goa where the film is set being the focus of interest. Also the young trendy cast should appeal globally.”

    Like

  43. Abhishek’s birthday gift!

    Sorry to spoil his surprise. But someone had to do it. A foreign studio is planning a huge gift for Abhishek Bachchan on his birthday, February 5, 2011.

    They’re releasing his Dum Maaro Dum on February 4, the Friday before… and this is being done just to make Bachchan Junior feel extra special.

    DMD, in which Abhishek plays a Zanjeer-like cop (frank and fearless) is an action thriller that brings together director Rohan Sippy and Junior Bachchan after their success collaboration in Bluffmaster. “The film is shaping up very well and the audiences should get ready to enjoy it,” says producer Ramesh Sippy.

    “We are hugely excited about Dum Maaro Dum as it has a great script. The February timing is perfect as it is strategically timed just before the cricket season starts. The window of late January and early February works for us also as we are familiar with the release environment during that period,” says Vijay Singh, who heads the foreign studio.

    DMD is a stylish thriller that has Abhishek, Bipasha Basu, Rana Daggubatti, Prateik Babbar and Aditya Panscholi. The film races through the bylanes, beach shacks and raves of Goa to provide that edge-of-the-seat excitement.

    http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Entertainment/Bollywood/News-Interviews/Abhisheks-birthday-gift/articleshow/5972330.cms

    Like

  44. ideaunique Says:

    “Says Singh, “We feel Dum Maro Dum has the same potential to appeal to a global market as Khan”

    now that sounds ominous…;-)

    Like

  45. Australian brunette turns blonde for Bollywood

    By Robin Bansal, New Delhi, July 5: Sydney-born Emma Brown Garrett, who made her big screen debut with Bengali movie
    “Shukno Lanka”, has gone blonde in her Bollywood avatar and even picked up Hindi – all for the love of Indian cinema.

    Emma, who wants her age to be a guarded “secret”, is upbeat about her new projects – the Abhishek Bachchan- starrer “Dum Maaro Dum” and Dharmendra-Sunny Deol-starrer “Yamla Pagla Deewana”.

    “Though I got discovered first by the Bengali film industry, it was a good ground before venturing into Bollywood,” Emma told IANS in an interview.

    “I have just finished my first in Bollywood. It’s called ‘Dum Maro Dum’ with Rohan Sippy and I also star in ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana’. I play Sunny’s wife in the second film. I had dark hair but I went blonde for both the roles which are typically gaudy,” she said.

    “I speak Hindi in ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana’ and I speak Russian and bad English in ‘Dum Maro Dum’,” she added.

    Emma was in the capital for the screening of “Shukno Lanka” that hit the screens Friday. Co-produced by Mumbai Mantra Media Ltd and the Moxie Group, it is directed by Gaurav Pandey and also stars Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Debashree Roy.

    Emma says she was a huge fan of her co-star Mithun even before she met him on the sets of “Shukno Lanka”.

    Speaking of how she came to Indian shores, Emma said: “My husband and I decided to come to India to work and we’ve been here for two and a half years now. My husband runs a financial business and I thought I can come to India and try my acting and it worked out. We’ve both been very successful here and we’ve kind of settled in India nicely.”

    “I landed my first job only after two weeks of arriving here. I got myself an agent, auditioned for the role and director Gaurav Pandey was very happy,” she said.

    “I was a huge Mithunda fan even before I worked on this film. My husband and I would sit and watch all Hindi films and I loved ‘Disco Dancer’ and ‘Hum Paanch’,” she added.

    So did she take language lessons for Bollywood?

    “I have a Punjabi guru in Mumbai who taught me from the very beginning – a mixture of both Urdu and Hindi. I see her from time to time since I arrived here. So I speak a little Hindi.

    “I can read and write Hindi as well, but my conversation gets a little scattered sometimes. I am very good in communicating slowly. I see a lot of Hindi films and I pick it up from there too. I don’t know that much of Russian though. It was just a matter of learning the script and then I had a voice coach,” added the actress, who is also open to work in other regional films.

    Asked if she knew the meaning of “Yamla Pagla Deewana”, she said: “Of course. It means crazy crazy crazy. I know the song. I did my research.”

    Probed more on her Bollywood ventures, she said: “I’m so sorry but I can’t talk much about my characters, as I have signed a confidentiality agreement.”

    Having studied films and acting and pursued singing back home, Emma is now eyeing a Bollywood career.

    “I have got an opportunity to work with veterans in my early days itself. People like Mithun Chakraborty and Dharemndra ji, who has just completed 50 years in Bollywood.

    “It is so different for me to be involved in these films as I don’t have the history and the background. It’s so new for me to come into the country and experience it from a fresh perspective. I am falling in love with Indian cinema every day,” she added.

    Like

  46. Ash set to do cameo in Abhishek’s next
    Jul 29th, 2010 – Shama Bhagat ( The Asian Age)

    Bollywood’s favourite couple Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan seem to be making every effort to spend as much time as possible with each other.
    After enthralling the audiences with
    their roles in Mani Ratnam’s Raavan, Abhishek and Aishwarya in fact want to do more movies and commercials together. The latest we hear is that Ash is planning to play a cameo in Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maro Dum.
    Sources inform, “The couple has been seen together in a few commercials, but they have not signed any films together. When Rohan wanted an actress for a cameo, he decided to approach Aishwarya for the role. The actress who often visits the film’s sets to meet her husband, agreed immediately.”
    This film marks the coming together of Abhishek and director Sippy after their successful collaboration in Bluffmaster. Abhishek plays the role of a fearless undercover cop in the film. It is said that Abhishek’s role in the film is similar to the role that his father Amitabh Bachchan played in Zanjeer during the 60s.
    The film is an action thriller that deals with the drug mafia of Goa. Abhishek plays a brooding cop on a mission. Set in contemporary Goa, Abhishek was required to study narcotic neurosis and criminal quirks to master the role of the cop.

    Like

  47. Picture paa-rfect

    Impressed by Vidya Balan’s chemistry with Abhishek in Paa, Rohan Sippy has cast her in a cameo

    Vickey Lalwani

    Posted On Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 04:22:45 AM

    After the release of Paa, several reports talked of how fond Vidya Balan had become of Abhishek Bachchan. Vidya, who plays Amitabh Bachchan’s mother in the film, was extremely impressed by Abhishek’s caring demeanor towards his father during the shooting of the film.

    So moved was the actress that she confessed her desire to have a son like Abhishek in real life. “I would prefer a son like Abhishek,” she had categorically said.

    While that may or may not happen, Vidya’s chemistry with Abhishek in Paa did wonders for the audience, which wants to see them together on screen again.

    The latest on that front is that Rohan Sippy’s forthcoming Dum Maro Dum, will feature the actress in a long cameo role with Abhishek Bachchan.

    When asked if a special cameo role is being created for Vidya in Rohan’s film, a source from the unit says, “Created wouldn’t be the right term to use. There was a role for which Rohan was looking for an Indian face.”

    Elaborating on why Vidya was chosen to play this cameo role, our source says, “Rohan has watched Paa and he quite liked the chemistry between Abhishek and Vidya. He strongly felt that the two of them looked very good together on screen.”

    Apparently, Rohan approached Vidya recently, who liked the cameo role as well. She has agreed to do the film. The modalities are now being worked out. Vidya will soon join the cast of Dum Maro Dum.

    Rohan and Vidya remained unavailable for comment. Abhishek, are you excited?

    Like

    • Re: “There was a role for which Rohan was looking for an Indian face”

      What a telling comment. This is where the industry is at.

      Like

      • sarvanash Says:

        ha i agree

        even though i think based rohan sippy’s previous two movies, he doesn’t seem like he has this sort of mindset.

        personally if i wanted to see a hollywoodized movie, then i’d just watch a hollywood movie.

        Like

  48. Taran still has Feb 4 as the release date (DMD). This was the initial one but then there was word it would release in Apr. Recently Abhishek said it would be early next year. In any case hope they’re not crazy enough to stick to this date because Game releases Jan 21!

    Like

    • Exam fever ruins Abhi’s 2011 b’day

      Prithwish Ganguly, TNN, Nov 13, 2010

      Poor Abhishek Bachchan, his big birthday gift next year on February 5 — the release of his film Dum Maro Dum, is not to be.

      TOI has learned that the release date is being postponed because college exams have been brought forward next year to as early as February. Not just that, the month also sees exams in many schools across the country. And since the largest section of the multiplex-going audience comprises college students, the onset of exams would mean that they would definitely give the movie a miss, thus resulting in the loss of sizeable revenue for the producers.

      As they stumbled upon this realisation, the filmmakers and Abhishek had a meeting where they weighed all the pros and cons of going ahead with the release during exam fever and came to the conclusion that it’s better to postpone the movie than lose revenue. Ramesh Sippy’s film is now getting pushed back by two months and will open on the Easter weekend on April 22. However, this means that Abhishek will be missing out on his birthday gift despite the makers going to town sometime back saying it would be a special day for the film as it releases on the eve of his birthday.

      Abhishek, who is playing the role of a fearless cop in Dum Maro Dum opposite Bipasha Basu, feels it’s better to have a more practical approach to the movie-making business than be emotional about losing his birthday present. Whenever it releases, the audiences should be ready to enjoy a gripping, moving film, said Ramesh Sippy. According to producer Vijay Singh, since Easter is a big holiday weekend, it will provide a great release window in India and across international markets.

      http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Exam-fever-ruins-Abhis-2011-bday/articleshow/6912790.cms

      Like

  49. Fox delays Abhishek starrer ‘Dum Maro Dum’
    Agencies Posted online: Sun Nov 14 2010, 16:06 hrs
    Mumbai : The release of Abhishek Bachchan-Bipasha Basu starrer ‘Dum Maro Dum’ has been postponed – the film will hit screens on April 22 next year instead of February.

    Sources said that film bosses opted for the Easter weekend instead, as February is usually the examination time for youngsters.

    Earlier, Fox Star Studios and Ramesh Sippy had announced that the film would release in the first week of February to coincide with Abhishek’s birthday on February 5.

    After their successful collaboration in ‘Bluffmaster’, this film marks the coming together of director Rohan Sippy and Abhishek, who essays the role of a fearless cop in the film. “It has shaped up very well and the audience should get ready to enjoy a gripping, moving film with great visual appeal. The colors, feel and sounds of Goa are further complemented by music composed by Pritam and lyrics by Jaideep Sahni,” producer Ramesh Sippy said.

    “We are in the midst of researching the film amongst various target groups and are excited with the response that we are getting. It has a great script, it’s vibrant and contemporary, and we expect the film to appeal to multiplex and single screen audiences. Since Easter is a big holiday weekend, it will provide a great release window in India and across international markets,” says Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios.

    The movie is an exciting stylish thriller which races through the by-lanes, beach shacks and raves of India’s largest tourist destination Goa, Rohan Sippy said, adding that the film promises to take the audience on a trip that will have them on the edge of their seat.

    “Populated with unforgettable characters, punctuated with a soundtrack that moves from haunting Konkani songs to pulsating dance music, the film is shot right in the midst of the international tourist hotspot,” said Rohan, who also directed Abhishek in ‘Kuch Naa Kaho’.

    Besides Abhishek and Bipasha, ‘Dum Maaro Dum’ Rana Daggubati, Prateik Babbar and Aditya Pancholi in major roles.

    ‘Dum Maaro Dum’ is written by Shridhar Raghavan and co-produced by Ramesh Sippy Entertainment and Fox Star Studios.

    Like

  50. Deepika goes the Munni item route

    In Rohan Sippy’s next, the actress will gyrate to a remixed version of Dum Maro Dum

    Sonal Chawla

    Posted On Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at 02:09:34 AM

    Item numbers are back, thanks to Malaika Arora’s Khan’s glamorous Munni badnaam stint in Dabangg.

    And while Katrina Kaif is already scorching up screens with her Sheila Ki Jawani number in Tees Maar Khan, her archrival Deepika Padukone is aggressively sexing up her own act. She will feature in the title track of Rohan Sippy’s, Dum Maro Dum.

    Deepika Padukone
    The title track will be played towards the climax of the film, which is very crucial to the script.

    The song, Dum Maro Dum, was a smash hit in Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971), featuring Dev Anand and Zeenat Aman.

    The song is being re-worked by Pritam and will have Jaideep Sahni’s lyrics.

    A source says, “This climax song will be shot at Mehboob studio, where a jungle set will be put up and will be choreographed by Ceaser.

    A lot of laser will be used. It will have a hip hop-cum-rave party set-up, but Deepika won’t be seen as a hippie.”

    It’s not a surprise though. In the past Rohan Sippy has remixed ‘Sabse Bada Rupaiya’ for his film BluffMaster.

    So we can expect another cool number coming on its way.

    The official spokesperson of the film and actress said denied the news.

    Careful with the jhatkas, Deepika!

    Like

  51. Dev Anand allows Rohan Sippy to use the song ‘Dum Maaro Dum’

    Rohan Sippy Dev Anand has always been extra possessive about his films and songs. Not exactly forthcoming about any kind of remake that one might want to make. But even Dev Anand knows where his work would be respectably recreated as he has finally given his blessings to the team of Dum Maaro Dum when Rohan Sippy approached him with the proposal.

    Once he realised, what Rohan Sippy, the director of the film, wanted to do with his cult song ‘Dum Maaro Dum’, which we remember for the retro look and the then-popular-culture of drugs, he was more than happy to give Rohan Sippy the rights to remake it.

    The movie Dum Maaro Dum, starring Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu and Rana Daggubatti, will now have the remixed version of the cult classic of the yesteryears. The remixed version of the song, is supposed to be young and contemporary, so that today’s generation too can relate to it.

    But the big question is who will fill the big shoes of Zeenat Aman who looked stunning in the original version of the song, and carried it with such punch. Lips are sealed and no one is divulging any names. Insider sources claim that some of the top most actresses like Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and Sonam Kapoor are being considered.

    The remix of the song is being done by Pritam, and he is presently working quite hard on it. Insiders claim that this song is going to be a scorcher, and is going to be the hottest song of the coming year.

    Like

  52. So this movie might be an action crime thriller set in Goa. This indeed sounds vastly interesting as a movie. It will be of utmost importance that the script, dialogue, characterisations, cinematography, direction, music, and overall treatment of the movie is vastly well done. The supporting cast needs to be good too. I’m vastly looking forward to this movie. I indeed hope Sippy will be on his A game for this movie
    join their official page :- http://www.facebook.com/DumMaaroDum

    Like

  53. Miss goody two shoes

    In Rohan Sippy’s next Deepika Padukone refused to lip-sync objectionable lyrics in the remixed version of the song Dum Maaro Dum, and had her way

    Vickey Lalwani

    Posted On Friday, February 04, 2011 at 02:34:05 AM

    Just days ago, Deepika Padukone finished gyrating to the iconic number Dum Maro Dum Mit Jaye Gham for Rohan Sippy’s forthcoming film Dum Maro Dum, but strictly on her own terms.

    Deepika was very excited to fill Zeenat Aman’s shoes in the remixed version of the Hare Rama Hare Krishna original.

    But the actress was shocked when she heard the lyrics of this changed version. While Pritam has directed the musical score, Jaideep Sahni has written the lyrics of the remixed version.

    The new song has some very objectionable language. “The lyrics were full of bold words,” says a close friend of Deepika’s. Four days before the actual shoot began at Mehboob Studios, Deepika had a long meeting with Rohan Sippy.

    She told him in no uncertain terms that she would shoot for the song only if she could omit lip-syncing the objectionable lyrics.

    Sippy thought for a while, and told her, ‘Come along. We’ll work out a way’. A relieved Deepika reached on the sets to learn that Sippy had indeed lived up to his promise.

    Revealed the source, “Sippy told Deepika that every time she was expected to mouth the objectionable lyrics, her back would face the camera. Therefore she will only mouth lyrics that she is comfortable with.”

    When contacted, music composer of the remixed version, Pritam Chakraborty told Mumbai Mirror, “Shooting mein kya hua mujhe nahin pata. But yes, this song will shake you up. It’s bold beyond words.

    We have composed it keeping today’s very young and modern generation in mind. Big deal yaar, today’s generation loves it this way.”

    Deepika remained unavailable for comment but if she has any other reservations about the song, she can safely put it all ‘behind’ her now.

    Like

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