Erstellt am 17.03.2008 - 16:33

'Deadly' Bachchan!


Is that the Boogeyman, we asked almost instantaneously when we got a dekko of Amitabh Bachchan's *avatar *in Ravi Chopra's next production, Bhoothnath. Long nails, ruffled hair, termite nibbled jacket, unkempt appearance, the actor par excellence seems to have traveled to hell and back for his look in the film.

Bachchan Sr. however is quick to give due credit to director Vivek Sharma. "The director had a vision, I simply did what was asked of me," he said. Look designer Muneesh Sappel shares, "We had several options, I'm happy with our choice and the final outcome." And while producer Chopra describes Bhooth Bachchan's look as 'rocking', make-up man Deepak Sawant informs that Amitabh used to take one and a half hours to get into the ghostly garb, and only thirty minutes to get out of it.

Apparently, the first day of shoot was quite eventful. "There were a group of people waiting outside Amit*ji*'s van for his autograph, and when he emerged in his get-up, they were stunned and actually took a step back,"
narrates director Sharma, "He then tried to scare Juhi and everyone else on the sets, too. It was fun. There were screams and lots of laughter. Amit*ji*was extremely co-operative. Not once did he complain."

The 'ghostly' experience was anything but ghastly for Bachchan. "It was 'deadly', literally and figuratively speaking. I enjoyed myself," he tells us. The movie, however, isn't one from the horror genre. "The kids are going to love it as much as the parents," explains Ravi Chopra. Bachchan, in the course of the motion picture, metamorphoses into a good 'soul'. So lets toast to this ghost who is actually a *dost*!


http://movies.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2866401.cms

Erstellt am 17.03.2008 - 16:36

Shah Rukh's my local guardian: Vivek Sharma


First-time director Vivek Sharma, whose film Bhootnath hits theatres on May 9, has pulled off the proverbial casting coup – his film brings together Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan for the first time since KANK.

HT City spoke to the director on how he got the 'not quite friendly' stars to pair up.

Do you know you are the talk of the town? You have brought Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan together at a time when all does not seem well between them.
Actually, full credit goes to (producer) Ravi Chopra, who has been a good friend of Bachchan saab for 35 years. I have been working with Shah Rukh for 14 years (Sharma was the creative head of Red Chillies and worked on all SRK's films up to Paheli). He is like my local guardian. It just happened that though Bachchan saab was the protagonist of Bhootnath, I asked Shah Rukh to do a special appearance and he agreed.

Was the tension apparent on the sets?
Not at all. We were not bothered about reports and speculations. We are creative people and belong to a fraternity. Big B and SRK are international icons and total professionals. There were times when Shah Rukh was not shooting but would drop in. He would give DVDs to Bachchan saab and it was like a family picnic.

Do they share screen space?
Yes, they do.

Do you think the SRK-Bachchan angle has taken the limelight away from the film?
We never bothered about this angle. You will never hear the two stars talking about their supposed problems. Shah Rukh respects Bachchan saab. Both he and I call him Dada.

How did they react to reports of their tiff?
They simply didn't talk about it. When you are shooting you just think of your character, look, dialogue delivery and other things.

You don't react to what is being written in the papers.
They are seasoned actors and know how to maintain their dignity.

Will we see them work together more frequently?
I sure have a huge desire to work with them. They are the most capable actors around.

What is the length of Shah Rukh's role?
That is a surprise.

We hear Abhishek Bachchan loved the teasers…
Abhishek saw the DVDs his father gave him. He called to say he loved the promos. I said, "If you are a friend you will tell me the truth." I thought he was joking. But he said they were out of the world.

What next for you?
I am directing a romantic thriller called Kal Kisne Dekha to launch producer Vashu Bhagnani's son Jacky.


http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage … vek+Sharma

Erstellt am 27.03.2008 - 14:20

Getting Big B and SRK for Bhootnath

Monday, Mar 03, 2008

Bhootnath was just a thought sitting around with a close friend Amrita Basu discussing art of living, spirituality and life in general. We soon reached a point of debate on fear psychosis, during the conversation and I realised we are brought up in conditional environment with defined set rules and set notions about everything, which in order defines our approach, reaction, behaviour, to a particular incident and that is when a thought triggered about Bhootnath.

I got very excited with the whole idea, I sat down and wrote the whole concept, after which I called up my close friend Juhi Chawla for the narration of the story. She immediately gave me an appointment. I went up to her and narrated the whole story and she was as excited as me with the idea. As Rani Mukerji happens to be a close friend of mine I also went to meet her on the sets of the film Babul and that is when my writer suggested that I narrate the script to Ravi Chopra, so I texted an SMS to Raviji about the narration of the script and I was amazed to have prompt response through him he called me to his office for narration.

I purposely did not let out the whole idea as I needed to understand his interest in the project and it was astonishing to know that he was also very excited about the project and he gave me few pointers to be added in the script and meet him after two days. I met Raviji with the detailed script after two days and he gave me the good news that he would produce my debut film for me.

On the same day I had a meeting with SRK on the sets of Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. SRK showed interest in producing the film and that is when I gave him the good news that the film was being produced by Ravi Chopra.


Day: 2

Raviji (Ravi Chopra) out of the blue said let's cast Amitji for the film Bhootnath. I was taken aback and I asked him curiously, ''Amitji who?'' He laughed and said Amitabh Bachchan! Then, he messaged Amitji for the time of narration.

Raviji's son Abhay Chopra and me went to Jalsa for the narration and for 30 minutes Amitji just kept on cracking jokes. I'm sure he got to know that I was a little nervous, and who would not, standing in front of the man of that stature. Anyway, the narration went on for two hours 30 minutes and there was no reaction from Amitji at all. The only thing he said was it was a novel idea.

Four days had gone by after narrating the script to Amitji and I was going through mental turmoil on what would be his opinion and reaction on the script. I could not handle it any more, so I made a call to Raviji for a meeting.

In the meeting, Raviji gave me the good news that Amitji had approved of the script and he was doing the film Bhootnath. It came as surprise to me that he'd taken the decision to do Bhootnath the same day he had heard the script. Amazing, and there I was, dealing with insecurities for four consecutive days.

The same day, I suggested to Raviji that we rope in SRK for the other role and Raviji just smiled and told me not to be over ambitious in life. I guess he was not aware of my relationship with SRK.

I went to SRK's bungalow Mannat and he approved of being a part of Bhootnath. I tried reaching Raviji on his cell phone but when he did not respond, I finally messaged him that I was with SRK. That is when he immediately returned my call and that is how SRK was roped in for the first time in BR Films.

Day: 3

Though Amitji was signed first for Bhootnath, we started shooting with Shah Rukh Khan first. Our first day of shoot was at Green Gate, Mumbai Port. I remember it was on April 29, 2007.

Apparently, the previous night SRK had had a party at his house for his Bollywood friends. Although he had partied the whole night, you won't believe, he had all the energy in him! We shot four sequences with SRK. He'd come on the shoot that morning dot on time. He’s such a thorough professional, he gave all one-take shots with such ease, and he memorised the whole scene and all his dialogues in a span of time in the vanity van while he was getting ready with his make-up.

To sum it all up, he was so lively and active; he also played a prank on Juhi. After each take, he would ask Juhi to appreciate his one-take shots but Juhi kept on saying first learn how to act. It was after seven years Juhi and SRK were together on the sets of Bhootnath.

There were around 5,000 people watching their hero on the sets of Bhootnath, he was so cool joking around with all the onlookers. He also stood with them, as they wanted to be photographed with the Baadshah of Bollywood and that is how I started my first day of shooting Bhootnath.


http://www.buzz18.com/showblog/vivek-sh … nath/44231

Erstellt am 28.03.2008 - 15:07

SRK used to call Amitji 'dada'

Debutant director Vivek Sharma, whose film Bhoothnath hits theatres on May 9, has pulled off the proverbial casting coup. His film brings together the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan after Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

Nowadays many filmmakers are making movies for children, how different is Bhootnath from the rest?
First of all, Bhoothnath is not a children's film. It's a wholesome entertainment film. I have made this movie keeping in mind an audience across all age groups. From Big B to SRK to Juhi to Aman, everybody will enjoy my film.

Did you write Bhoothnath keeping Amitabh Bachchan in mind or was he cast because he's a crowd puller?
I wrote the script after seeing the Surf Advance ad on TV. I loved Big B as the principal and Aman as the student in it. I told my co-writer Sudhanshu Dubey to write a script keeping these two in mind – Bachchan as the ghost and Aman as the kiddo. I really did not know at that time that they would end up being a part of my film. It was a mere coincidence. When I narrated the script to Ravi Chopra he gave me some tips and asked me to narrate it to Amitji (laughs). I did not know who that was and asked Raviji who Amitji was. I messaged Mr Bachchan for the narration never for once believing that he would want to work with me. But he really liked my script and confirmed his dates within three months.

How did you enter the BR Films camp, since other directors are generally not granted an entry?
I would say the timing was good. I approached Raviji when he was planning to give a break to other directors. And my co-writer told me about that. I didn't have Ravi's number, so I called Rani Mukerji. She was shooting for Baabul at Film City. She helped me in getting in touch with Ravi Chopra.

Everyone knows that Bhoothnath has both SRK and Bachchan. But more prominence has been given to Big B in all the promos. Would you like to comment on that?
Shah Rukh has a special appearance in the movie, whereas Amitji is playing the title role. The film is about him and the child so it's only natural that I concentrate on the two of them initially. Wait for some time; you'll get to see SRK as well.

So is Bhoothnath inspired by Casper? And is the ghost in your film scary or rather friendly?
Bhoothnath is not inspired by any Hollywood movie. It's a completely original idea. In the first half of the film, the ghost will come across as scary but in the second half, he becomes very friendly.

Did you feel nervous or scared while working with two big stars like Big B and SRK in your debut vehicle?
I have known SRK for the past 14 years. So, there was no question of being scared or nervous there. But I was very nervous working with Amitji who has worked with so many great directors like Hrishikesh Mukherjee and all. The first two-three days I was really scared. But then he made me feel at ease. He used to stand up when I entered the sets and always asked my permission to sit. He is a wonderful person and a very co-operative actor. I will never forget Amitji.

There were rumours that Bhoothnath was delayed because of the tussle between Big B and SRK. Is it true?
Bhoothnath was never delayed because of Amitji or SRK. These are all media speculations. They are both extremely professional and there were no conflicts or bitterness between the two. In fact, SRK used to call Amitji 'dada' on the sets.

Was there any tension on the sets?
Not at all. Both Amitji and SRK are very professional, as I had said earlier. There were times when Shah Rukh would simply drop by even though he was not shooting and give DVDs to Amitji. It was like a family picnic.

Do SRK and Bachchan share screen space in the movie?
Yes, they do.

BR Films is known for their social plots. How did you convince them for Bhootnath?
BR Films is known for making films with a social message and my film has a message. Bhoothnath will tell you how in life you can obtain just about everything with hard work and not magic.

It's said that during the shooting of this film SRK used to ask Juhi about his shot everytime and that Juhi had at one point asked him to 'grow up'. Is it true?
Media is known to blow up things out of proportion and it is just one of them. On the first day of shoot SRK jokingly asked Juhi to compliment him on his shot. And Juhi jokingly asked him to grow up. It was simply a friendly joke.

You share a good relationship with the Shah Rukh Khan, so why wasn't he cast in the film rather than just a special appearance?
SRK is the surprise element in the movie. The audience will be stunned with his performance. Am sure people will love him.

Tell us something about your forthcoming projects.
I am doing a film for Vashu Bhagnani. His son Jackie will be launched opposite Vaishali Desai, granddaughter of Manmohan Desai in the movie. We'll start shooting in May. Then I have a film with Ashtavinayak, which will go on floors in September.


http://www.buzz18.com/interviews/movies … da/47241/0

Erstellt am 15.04.2008 - 19:16

Bhoothnath 2 already in the pipeline

IndiaFM | Tuesday, 15 April , 2008, 10:10


It’s the era of sequels. Even though Bhoothnath hasn’t released yet, producer Ravi Chopra and debut director Vivek Sharma have already decided to make the sequel.

“It was Javed [Akhtar] saab’s idea. It all started when he heard the script. He insisted that I alter the ending from a negative to a positive. Amitabh Bachchan agreed and so did Ravi. I was hesitant initially, but I decided to go ahead and shoot the positive end,” says Vivek. “It was only after I saw the sequence that I realised that Javed saab was right. His years of experience came in handy. There’s scope for a sequel thanks to the new ending and we’re definitely going ahead with one.”

That’s not all—the makers are recording an additional song, to be sung by Big B and which will be used for the promotions of the film. “It’s on the lines of Mere paas aao mere dosto ek kissa suno from Mr Natwarlal,” says the director.

Meanwhile, a section of the industry is keen to know if the promos highlighting Shah Rukh Khan’s presence in the film will be aired. “Shah Rukh’s promo will be on air in the first week of May,” Vivek says. Ask him if Shah Rukh makes a fleeting appearance in the film and he replies promptly, “Not at all! Shah Rukh has a 25 minute role in the film.” An important clarification, indeed!


http://sify.com/movies/bollywood/fullst … d=14649582

Erstellt am 01.05.2008 - 13:36

SRK is special



Speaking about SRK’s role in Bhootnath, the director of the film Vivek Sharma says, “Shah Rukh Khan plays the husband of Juhi Chawla in the film. He is the father of Aman Siddique. SRK is a very naughty father who encourages his son to play pranks. Since he is not an integral character, we have delayed his promotion for the film. He will be seen in a few days in the film’s last week prior to release, promotions. We wanted to use him as a surprise package. Lot of people feel that he is just there for two-three minutes, but he is there for 22 minutes in the film. If we tell more about him, the surprise element will go away. Also, the film belongs to Banku (Aman Siddique) and Bhoothnath (Amitabh Bachchan). We did not want to misguide the audience by promising that it is a Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan film.”

Bhoothnath is about the relationship between a deceased grandfather (played by Amitabh Bachchan) and his grandson. The grandfather returns to his grandson as a ghost named Bhootnath . The film will release on 9th May.


http://movies.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2998912.cms

Erstellt am 03.05.2008 - 20:34

SRK’s midnight dubbing session

3 May 2008, 0000 hrs IST,TNN



Shah Rukh Khan is extremely busy with his cricket matches, and as seen earlier his presence does make a difference to his team.

But while he is backing his army in full force on the cricket field, SRK isn’t shirking from his duties as an actor and producer.

The very busy man, reported to a studio to dub for Bhoothnath at midnight. Director Vivek Sharma tells us, “I really needed Shah Rukh to dub for the film.

When I requested him to come for dubbing on a particular day, he was there at midnight and dubbed till early morning, so that my schedule didn’t go haywire. He’s my dost Khan!” Kudos to Khan’s energy, enthusiasm and professionalism.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ente … 004580.cms

Erstellt am 10.05.2008 - 13:38

Bhoothnath - A complete family treat!

SAVIO ZACAHRIA, IndiaGlitz [Friday, May 09, 2008]

Much has been said about Bhoothnath right from the pairing of Amitabh and Shahrukh after a long time and the potential that the debutant director Vivek Sharma carries.

After films such as ‘Bhagbhan’ , ‘Babul’ , comes yet another film from the reputed B.R. Films but this time around unlike their previous ventures you neither get to see a typical family drama nor the presence of Ravi Chopra spearheading the direction of the film. This time the offering is absolutely new and fresh with debutant Vivek Sharma exploring the relationship between a young boy and a spirit in a very innovative, humorous manner.

The story revolves around a 7 year old naughty boy –Banku(Aman Siddiqui) whose family(Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla) comes to live in a mansion in Goa. The mansion-Nath Villa is considered haunted after the demise of Kailash Nath (Amitabh Bachchan) and his wife.

No one dares to stay at Nath Villa and soon the spirit wants to get rid of his new rival-Banku. All attempts to scare Banku fail and the two now develop a new bond. The so called ghost is renamed as Bhootnath and Banku soon becomes Bhootnath’s ‘Angel’.

Thinks take a turn when Kailash Nath’s son (Priyanshu Chatterjee) returns from the U.S. to sell Nath Villa.

Firstly, if there is any misconception that Bhootnath is a horror flick, keep all your perceptions aside and digest the fact that this flick is actually a cute film for the complete family. It’s meant for all audiences and just because it explores the relationship between a kid and a ghost ,doesn’t mean that it’s a ‘Kiddie’ movie or so.

Director Vivek Sharma excels with his very first film. Unlike most directors, he doesn’t get carried away by the star presence of either Amitabh or Shahrukh and does no gigs such as an item number or so to enhance the stars but rather sticks to the very basics of a simple script and its simple storytelling.

Bhootnath isn’t the most unique or rarest of scripts but it is the simplicity in story telling that really keeps you entertained and brings out the kid in you. Vivek makes you laugh and even gets the audience moist eyed with couple of sequences.

Be it the sequence where Banku hurts himself by falling off the staircase or be it Banku’s rift with Bhootnath, the movie has a certain emotional connect with the audience.

The characters in the film have been so well sketched out and are indeed relevant to the storytelling process. Be it the peon or the principal(Satish Shah) who eats all the tiffin boxes at school or even Anthony(Rajpal Yadav) the beggar; each of them make you laugh and are unique in some way or the other.

On the technical front, the movie is supreme in terms of its special effects. These effects raise the bar of the film. Watch out for the movement of dry leaves, Banku’s hand stretching out to help a friend in a pit, Amitabh’s expressions to scare the kid etc. It’s simply brilliant for a Hindi film.

The cinematography by Vishnu Rao is simple and sleek which make possible the addition of such brilliant visual effects.

The music by Vishal-Shekar isn’t great and the movie pace get hampered by a bunch of tracks forced in. But in any case the visual’s of ‘Mere Buddy’ further enhanced by the bloopers when the credit rolls makes this track grow on you.

On the acting front, the movie truly belongs to Aman Siddiqui and Amitabh Bachchan. Aman impresses tremendously with his naughty expressions, cute laughter and dialogue delivery. You may even have tears trickle towards the climax where you see Aman cry out loud looking at the stars, searching for Bhootnath.

Amitabh Bachan returns to form like never before. His bonding with Aman is superb and the relationship explored here is much superior to the Amitabh-Sweeney relationship in Cheeni Kum. After a disastrous 2007 with movies such as ‘Nishabd’ and ‘Aag’, most people wrote Amitabh off. But , Bhootnath really justifies the lines ‘Ain’t nobody does it better’ from the ‘Mere Buddy’ track. Amitabh really proves that he is still young at heart and has the zest to go on. He makes you laugh with his expressions, his attire and also brings in those necessary emotions with his anger scenes and his explanation of forgiveness to the kid. Even the very utterance of the word ‘Angel’ from Amtabh’s mouth brings in that emotional connect.

Juhi Chawla does really well as the mother. She is convincing and makes you giggle at times. Shahrukh Khan does a decent job as the father. Satish Shah is extremely funny. As the principal with an anglo-Indian accent, he is sure to make both the young and old laugh. Rajpal yadav has a very small role in the film as the beggar but is indeed good. He expresses well and his lines are witty enough.

Priyanshu does well and surely deserves meatier roles. Ashish Choudhary and Nauheed Cyrusi are barely ok.

Bhootnath does have its share of flaws, primarily the second half which gets a little stretched out with the addition of songs. But, in any case it’s a movie worth watching this summer and might provide for some good lessons on forgiveness. As for parents, watch out for the athletic meet scene where Amitabh explains that success can be achieved only by hard work and not magic- A good lesson to be learnt.

Let’s hope Bhootnath ends the dry spell at the boxoffice. In any case leave cricket aside and go watch Bhootnath, you won’t regret doing so.

Rating : ***1/2



http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hind … 10105.html

Erstellt am 21.05.2008 - 15:46

I like SRK everywhere: Juhi

Vibrant and cheerful film actor Juhi Chawla loves being in superstar Shah Rukh Khan's company as he gives her great joy.



On being asked whether she prefers Shah Rukh as a friend, as a co-actor or as a business partner, Juhi flashed her million- dollar smile and replied: "I like Shah Rukh everywhere!

"He is a sharp person and great fun to be with. He is great in whatever he does and, yes, he is truly a joy." Juhi was here last week to launch the "Bhootnath" collection for Biba, a fashion retail outlet.

Besides acting, it is her involvement in the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches that sets her pulse racing.

Juhi, who is co-owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team along with Shah Rukh, said: "IPL is really exciting but it is also stressful for me."

Dressed in a simple kurti and pants with no accessories, Juhi spoke about her recently released film "Bhootnath". The initial response to the film has not been good, but Juhi asserted that it was being appreciated the world over.

"I am so happy that the film is being appreciated. I had a great time working with the child (Aman Siddiqui) and Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan) and it is a special film for me," she said.

"Bhootnath" is a story based on the relationship of a child with his deceased grandfather, a kind ghost whom the child gradually befriends. Juhi and Shah Rukh play Aman's parents in the film.

Since the film was centred on Amitabh and Aman, didn't she feel overshadowed?

"I have been asked about this many times but, frankly, I could neither have played the ghost nor the child! So there is nothing like being overshadowed in the film.

"I feel that as long as we play our given parts well, we are noticed and our work is also appreciated," Juhi said.

Talking about her future projects, Juhi said she was playing the role of a fortune-teller in Aziz Mirza's "Kismet Konnection". "It's a small role but a very different one," she said.

Hill Road Media Tuesday, May 20, 2008


http://www.indya.com/news/newsDetails.a … 080520_212