The Showman In His True Colours

By Ali Peter John, MovieTalkies.com, 29 May 2007

The Showman, Subhash Ghai is doing what he has never done in his thirty- year-old career as a director. He is not doing anything that he once used to do, all the kinds of publicity and talk and events he used to plan before, during and after the making of a film. He is now playing it low-profile. He is busy planning his new big film, 'Yuvraj' with Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif and with music by his new favourite after 'Taal', the best known Indian music director in the world, A.R. Rahman. He is not saying anything much about the film. He is also almost tending to forget the film he had started, 'Black and White'. It is after a great deal of persuasion that he decided to reveal some facts about the film.

His 'Black and White' has been completed in and all around Old and New Delhi on the quiet. The entire shooting has been completed in 40 days which is otherwise the time taken by the Showman to complete just one schedule of any of his big and ambitious films. "Every scene and shot was planned down to the minutest detail. I had the complete script with me in which there was no change, not even a comma. This is the first time I had worked with a new and young team of writers because my subject demanded young, fresh thinking and ideas and a very modern approach to film making to keep up with the global trends in film making. I have no doubt that I have a subject that will take my own fans by a big surprise. I had also made all arrangements to see that nothing came in the way of my planned schedule because it is my challenge that I have given to my self," the Showman says.

Anil Kapoor is the only star in the film and he had promised the Showman all the co-operation to complete his film according to his tight schedule. The Showman and Anil have a very strong working relationship according to Anil who has played leading roles in some of the biggest films made by the Showman, films like 'Ram Lakhan', 'Meri Jung', 'Karma' and 'Taal'. Anil says 'I was totally carried away by the script of the film. It is very very different from all the other films made by Subhash ji. And it also had an approach and attitude to film making which is very challenging and in keeping with the times. I am surprised how Subhash ji can be still so innovative in his thinking and his way of making films even after 30 long years in the game. I have seen some of his contemporaries growing old both physically and mentally but Subhash ji has kept himself on the move all the time and I am very happy that I have been a part of his long and exciting journey', Anil says.

The Showman doesn't want to reveal anything about the subject of the film. The title itself is an indication of the intriguing subject that it could be. He is, in fact challenging himself as a director with this small film which will say big things about his future as a director who has made a big difference to the Indian film scene. The Showman is introducing two new comers and is keeping them under wraps because he wants them to be the major surprise in the film. He is also not talking about the music but promises that it will be a very big highlight of the film. The film according to the Showman is a promise he has made to make a film that will live up to the standards that can be compared to the standards anywhere in the world. This film is the result of the Showman's extensive travels all over the film making world and what he has learned and unlearned from them. It is also a film which will show him up in his new and true colours at a time when Indian Cinema is going through turmoil and also getting set to face the challenges of the global trends in film making.

Back