Three point shah

I would be a fool to copy ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’,” Vipul Amrutlal Shah jumps to the defence of his much talked about film Action Replay. “My film is about time travel,and not reverse gear! Also,Warner Brothers have made it clear that no one has a right to copy their film,and even if we do,it will never run in a country like India for there is no logic to it!” It’s this hawk eye insight of the market that makes Shah a winner. From Waqt to Namastey London to Singh is Kinng,the producer-director has stuck to his three-point formula and delivered hit after hit. “To make any film my first criteria has been the need of a new genre. I’ve made a thriller,a family film,romantic,produced a comedy,and so London Dreams had to be different,hence a musical drama.” But before getting into the nitty-gritty of the process,Shah clears out three things he wants to see in the story: one,entertainment in a sensible way. “I have to de-stress the audience. It doesn’t mean dishing out a no-brainer,it has to be a clean,intelligent entertainer. Two,a family should be able to view it without any embarrassing moments,and finally,the film has to have a take-home quality,be it a sensible message or a nice thought.”

Once he ticked the three points,London Dreams went on the floors,and Vipul went across the world,chasing concerts. “As music is the epicenter of the film,we had to be careful with the music,the way a stage is set,the audience reaction,the lighting,sound effect,the drama and hype around it…everything,” Vipul studied every great musician with U2’s Bono topping the list. “It’s a myth that the world of music belongs to the younger generation. Look at Bono or Rolling Stones,Madonna,Late Michael Jackson…they are all 50 something,and they still have the chutzpah. If you look at Salman or Ajay,they’ve embibed the same character,and mind you,they both look stunning on stage,” says Shah,rubbishing critics remark of roping in older actors. “Trade people have this habit – they think they know everything!’ Ouch,that hurts!

Back to music,and Shah travelled the world of rock ‘n’ roll and pop to know more. “I studied Bono,the way he moves on stage,the way he dresses up,then there was Mick Jagger,Justin Timberlake. These guys don’t headbang or do jumping jacks. They are dressed in tee and jeans and perform.”

While he insists his film is not a Rock On!!!,Vipul can’t deny the element of rock music. “Well,we deal with a different genre of music,Indi pop rock lot where I’ve presented the actors in a believable environment.” So believable that it made the censor slam Sallu for singing Hanuman Chalisa. “Censors raised an alarm without understanding the context. So,we approached the Tribunal and sorted things out. Hanumanji is considered ‘Sankat Mochan’,the solver of all problems,and by chanting the Chalisa,one gains the strength to move on. The scene demanded Salman to sing it,and the Tribunal understood it,” explains Shah adding how he’s witnessed singers chant the Chalisa on stage before a performance so many times!

Ask about his London fascination,and Shah says because it is still the most preferred destination among young Punjabi boys who are into the underground bhangra and grunge music and want to make it big on the international music scene. But why not rope in Akshay Kumar for the film? “We’ve already done two back-to-back Punjabi flicks,and didn’t want to waste him in another Punjabi boy role. So,it’s Action Replay with him.”

He’s unhappy that ‘producers have gone against the brotherhood in these tough times and releasing Aladin the same day as London Dreams,October 30. But nevertheless,he’s positive for apart from London Dreams and Action Replay,there is Kuchh Love Jaisa starring Rahul Bose and wife Shefali Shah. Written and directed by Barnali Shukla,the film revolves around the chance meeting of a housewife and criminal at a restaurant. “It’s a winner,for it fulfills my parameters of the three points.” Three cheers to that!