Shah Rukh Khan starts shooting for Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi Who would think that 13 years have passed since the first time this jodi came together? At that time, the director was merely the scion of a great filmmaking family and the star was best known for taking on negative roles that no one else would. Then the magic they conjured up in their first film together, redefined Hindi cinema and set them on their respective paths to the heights of glory. Now 13 years after Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge first took the country by storm, and eight years after Mohabbatein, the jodi of Aditya Chopra, superstar director, and Shah Rukh Khan, superstar actor are together again, this time for the latest from Aditya Chopra as director, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi with newcomer Anushka Sharma who joined in on the first day of shoot. It was evident that Shah Rukh Khan was approaching this new role with his old comrade, with as much gusto and passion as ever. "Starting the first day of shooting is what still gives me goose bumps like nothing else," said King Khan. "And to make films with Yash Raj, that too when Adi is directing, is an experience that is more than 100% exciting. Yash Raj Films is, and will always be, home for me and who doesn't love coming home? Yash ji and Adi have always given me roles that have gotten me love and appreciation from fans all over the world. And this time Adi has again written a character for me to play that I think will become as beloved as Raj of DDLJ was. I am going to be trying as usual to hit it out of the park with Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi." And with these words, Shah Rukh Khan signed off from the first day of shooting, conveying to the world that something special was in the air, the most awaited film of the year was rolling as planned, and the Aditya Chopra - Shah Rukh Khan jodi was again creating that little bit of magic! Newcomer Anushka Sharma who was eagerly looking forward to this day…the first day of shoot, for her the dream has just begun! Yash Chopra was also present on the sets of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi on the first day of shoot to bless his son and the unit at the onset of this new production.
'Cricketers are no different from prostitutes' Wonder who has more reason to feel offended, cricketers or sex workers. But Mahesh Bhatt's forthcoming film Jannat where Emran Hashmi plays a bookie compares the two professions….and explicitly says cricketers are like prostitutes.
What's more, the censor board saw nothing objectionable on the world's poshest profession being compared with the oldest. Says a character in Jannat, "Dekhiye Sir. Cricketers aur prostitutes ke beech zyada farq nahin hota. Donon ki jawani khatm to kahani khatm."
In fact producer Mahesh Bhatt is supremely gung-ho about this latest eyebrow-raising tryst with controversy. "Yes, those are the exact words in Jannat. And what's wrong with that? If you think about it, we're all prostitutes. And at least they deliver what they promise. I'm no different from a prostitute. I too am a pleasure peddler. And please, I'd rather be a prostitute than a saint," says the eternal celluloid renegade who has earlier whipped up a frenzy of controversies in movies like Arth, Zakhm and Woh Lamhe.
'Jannat will be Emran's Naam'A strange thing is happening to Mahesh Bhatt. After spending years extracting creative juices from real- life all his life now when the cricket fever has touched an all-time high thanks to the IPL, producer Mahesh Bhatt plays down the cricketing karma of his new film Jannat..
"The cricketing world is only the wallpaper in Jannat. The cricketing field is the space in which the tale of this risk addict, played by Emran Hashmi, unfolds. .
He is a typical product of the 21st century who goes into shopping malls to look for new things to buy every day. Emran plays the kind of person for whom the end is more important than the means..
He then meets this girl who changes his life. When personal gratification becomes more important than the larger concern, then society is doomed. .
Emran plays a character who needs to restrain himself from the acquisitive tendency," opines the man whose cinema has constantly walked the tightrope depicting the worlds of idealism and corruption..
Mahesh admits Jannat goes into match-fixing. "But like I said it's reflective of the times we live in. It holds a mirror to the conscience of today's youth who believe gratification is the bottomline of existence.".
He hesitates in connecting Jannat with presentday happenings in the cricketing world..
"Incidents like Bob Woolmer's suspicious death were at the back of my writers' heads. But to say that Jannat replays incidents from the cricketing world like the Woolmer one would be absurd..
It's just a grotesque coincidence that the actor who plays Woolmer was a close buddy of the dead man.".
Mahesh would rather focus on the larger moral question that his cinema raises. "Cricketers are as human as anyone else liable to be seduced by the goodies of the world..
The film points out that there's huge money in cricket. It's a money-making industry. Everybody exploits this deity called cricket.So does my hero Emran.".
He saves a special word of praise for his leading man. .
"I think Jannat is Emran Khan's coming-of-age movie. It'd do for Emran what my Naam did for Sanjay Dutt. He is a vulnerable abominable risk-taker who falls in love with a woman who has a value-system totally contrary to his."