The release of Kaante at cinema halls across the country will decide not just the fate of Bollywood — steadily sinking under the pressure of the Rs 350-crore losses it has suffered this year — but also the fate of 23-year-old Milap Zaveri, who is counting on its success to propel him into the industry’s big league.The all-star-cast action film, made on a budget of nearly Rs 35 crore, has dialogues by Zaveri.Zaveri — his family runs the eponymous diamond business, his father heads Star Gems — pursued script-writing much against his family’s wishes. He has fast emerged as a rising star, snapping projects with filmmakers like Ramesh Sippy, Umesh Mehra, Rahul Rawail and Sanjay Gupta.Zaveri says his father tried everything from persuasion to emotional blackmail. But his heart was set on a job in the movies. ‘‘I spent more time writing and directing plays than attending lectures,’’ he says of his years at Jai Hind College.
