Searching for a hit,Subhash Ghai returns to direction

Without revealing the starcast or the story line,the maker of blockbusters like ‘Ram Lakhan’,’Karz’,’Saudagar’,’Khalnayak’ and ‘Pardes’ said the romantic masala film would have some of the biggest stars of Bollywood.

“It is a multi-starrer. But I will not reveal the details now as there is a lot of stealing going on in Mumbai. If I reveal my subject,they will copy it,” the 66-year-old producer-director said keeping his cards close to the chest.

After the Anil Kapoor-Aishwarya Rai starrer ‘Taal’,all his directorial ventures – ‘Yaadein’,’Kisna: The Warrior Poet’,’Black & White’ and ‘Yuvvraaj’ – have bombed at the box-office despite having a formidable casting.

“That is past now,I have a lot of hopes riding on this new film,” Ghai said,who runs the film production and distribution company Mukta Arts.

“Art and commerce – both are involved when I think of making a film. If the film is too arty and cannot be made for the general audience,then I have to think twice,” he said when asked about what kind of a film he is about to direct.

Under the Mukta Arts banner,he has been producing both typical Bollywood potboilers like ‘Paying Guests’ or upcoming ‘Love Express’ and meaningful cinema like critically-acclaimed ‘Iqbal’ and ‘Joggers Park’.

He gave the example of Rituparno Ghosh’s Bengali film ‘Naukadubi’,based on a Tagore short story,which he decided to produce and dub in Hindi after finding that it fits the bill of a mainstream Bollywood movie.

“I saw a drama in the script. It is kind of a thriller as someone’s wife is with you and you do not know. This is Rituparno’s best film. Even Gulzar,who penned the Hindi lyrics,agrees with me,” Ghai said.

Starring the sister duo of Raima and Riya Sen,the film’s Hindi version ‘Kashmakash’ was released today along with the Bengali one.

The stories of the Nobel laureate makes a safe bet for filmmakers who are looking for a healthy combination of art and commerce in their films,the veteran filmmaker said.

“Tagore’s works have beautiful twists and turns. It is these twists and dramatic values which makes it a good story for filmmakers,” Ghai said.

Describing the works of the ‘bard’ as immortal,he singled out the universality element in his repertoire.

“Tagore’s works are immortal because of its universality. The story of ‘Naukadubi’ could have happened even in France.

For today’s generation grown on a staple diet of Bollywood,it would be a break from contemporary cinema. It also reminds us of the era of the 1920’s,” he said.