On location

NOVEMBER 26: Grotesque villains with faces painted in saffron and black, mammoth copper-coloured walls and ceilings carved with hungry de...

NOVEMBER 26: Grotesque villains with faces painted in saffron and black, mammoth copper-coloured walls and ceilings carved with hungry devils, tall fire pillars and a battalion of children in green military suits. Nitin Desai8217;s sets for Hum Panchi Ek Daal Ke cannot belie its fantastic8217; story.

It8217;s the climax scene. Aishwarya Rai clad in a heavy maroon lehenga and a ton of golden jewellery is trying to seduce the horny8217; villain Ashutosh Rana, the villain, literally has two horns!, while Sunil Shetty and the kids8217; battalion sets up for the final attack. For Latif Binni, the director, who also directed Dahek with Akshaye Khanna and Sonali Bendre, but the film never really saw the light of the day, ostentation is the name of the game.

At least as far as this film is concerned. As Ash practises her lithe steps, the other dancers are perfecting the usual hip-grinding number to the catchy tune. And believe it or not, the story isn8217;t about the beauty8217; and the beast8217;. Says Kanan Iyer, the writer, quot;The film is remotely reminiscent of Mr India. But it is an original story. The treatment is very different.

Everything in it is fantasy, larger than life. Set in America, the story is about a family of orphans, of which Aishwarya is the oldest member. One of them is a Black American guy. Sunil Shetty comes into the picture and Ash falls in love with him. The rest of the movie is a struggle against the villain.quot; Producer Rahul Gupta started shooting this film three years ago, with Gulzar and another director. It didn8217;t get very far until Iyer rescued the film with a different script. Now it awaits a March 2000 release.

The climax continues as the Dilip Sen-Sameer Sen tune plays on. Ash is still perfecting her steps for the villain with the horns, to be seated at his golden throne right above. As the crew gets ready for the final take, Ash is at her graceful, seductive best. She does it in a jiffy, effortlessly. The choreographer isn8217;t okay with the girls though. The song restarts. The scene continues without Ash. Flush with the success of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Taal, does she feel that this film will go the same way? quot;This script is very different. It8217;s a complete entertainer and we all hope the film does well. The idea was to finish the film at whatever cost. Rahul Gupta was in dire straits when the shooting halted for whatever reason. The whole team stuck together to make it happen for him. So here we are.quot; Now that8217;s what we call the real panchi ek daal ke.

8212; SANJUKTA SHARMA