Sets Appeal

GIVE me passion,8217;8217; yells choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant. In the centre of the green-and-white nightclub set at Film City in north...

GIVE me passion,8217;8217; yells choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant. In the centre of the green-and-white nightclub set at Film City in north Mumbai, the couple on the dance floor immediately pucker up. He8217;s in an all black suit, she8217;s in a burgundy high slit number. And as the instructions waft out of the microphone, their tango acquires its most important asset8212;heat. 8216;8216;Mind-blowing chemistry!8217;8217; shouts an approving Merchant.

After more than a decade and a string of astronomical hits, 39-year-old superstar Salman Khan is making a debut. As the practised star goes through the moves of a dream sequence on the sets of Marigold, his first Hollywood venture, Khan is explaining the job to his co-star Ali Larter. 8216;8216;One-Two-Three-Four. Remember four, you have to turn then,8217;8217; he smiles.

For Khan, there8217;s no room for mistakes with this film. His audience will not be the same all-adoring one he8217;s nurtured since he was 24. This is Hollywood, baby. And with all due respect to Aishwarya Rai, he is the first Bollywood actor to star in a mainstream American film.

Marigold is the story of a failed American actress who gets stranded in India, and is forced to work in a B-grade Bollywood film to get back home. Khan plays an Indian prince, Prem, who moonlights as a choreographer.

He told me kissing8217;s the one thing he wouldn8217;t do. In turn, I told him he won8217;t remove his shirt in the film8230;
Willard Carroll
director

A 8216;8216;breezy romantic comedy with music8217;8217; is how director Willard Carroll describes it. The 48-year-old film-maker, best known for his Sean Connery-Angelina Jolie starrer Playing By Heart, confesses he8217;s a closet fan of Bollywood melodrama. But he8217;s trying to make Marigold real for the American palate. He got hooked after chancing upon Abbas Mustan8217;s Salman starrer Chori Chori Chupke Chupke four years ago. 8220;I have this desire to introduce Bollywood to the American audience. I wanted to make a spectacle, with song and dance, energy and razzmatazz.8221;

Carroll8217;s done his homework. He8217;s made certain that Khan sheds a couple of tears in the film: 8216;8216;They tell me that a Salman film doesn8217;t work if he doesn8217;t shed tears. I am not taking any chances,8217;8217; he says.

The one thing Salman won8217;t do, even for Hollywood? Kiss. He will act in a sync sound set-up8212;for the first time in his life8212;and mouth dialogues in American English. But he8217;s refused to lock lips with Larter. Apparently, Khan outlined his no-kiss policy well before signing the film. 8216;8216;He told me that8217;s the one thing he wouldn8217;t do. In turn, I told him he won8217;t remove his shirt in the film. Though he pleaded for the sake of his Malaysian audience, I was firm,8217;8217; laughs Carroll.

Story continues below this ad

The 8-million film is being co-produced by Hyperion and Entertainment One. Carroll feels that out of all Indian actors, Khan will work best for the American audience. In fact, he8217;s convinced he can do a Hugh Grant. 8216;8216;He is good with women in films and is a perfect blend of charm and humour,8217;8217; he says. But Khan is happy being Khan. 8216;8216;I don8217;t compete with anyone but myself,8217;8217; he declares.