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NITIN
MANMOHAN
COMING UP: A TALE OF BROTHERS
“Be here, 10 am sharp,” he cautions,
“Remember I’m busy”. I reach his residence on the dot, only to be told
“Saheb, so rahein
hain”. After an hour-long wait, in walks Nitin Manmohan with tousled hair,
sleep-heavy eyes and a steaming, refreshing cuppa tea, profusely apologising
for the delay. His excuse? “I’ve been working all night. The post-production
(of Chal Mere Bhai) is on, you see,” Of course, he’s excused. And we get
talking. Or rather, he does...
BROTHERS IN ARMS
After Shool, which was released late last year, Chal Mere Bhai is my first
film this year. Of course, I hope it does well. It deserves to, because
it’s a clean, complete entertainer.
It’s about two brothers, who’re very close to each other. One
keeps the family empire going and works hard at it. The other is a playboy,
the darling of his brother’s eye, and of his grandmother, but their
father wants him to mend his ways. Then, out of the blue, a girl enters
their lives. Karisma Kapoor walks into Sanjay Dutt’s office at first
and subsequently, both brothers fall head over heels in love with her.
The family wants her to marry the elder brother, who agrees to the alliance,
little knowing that his little brother has his eyes on the girl, too.
Who gets the girl in the end is a little surprise. We’ll save it
till you’ve seen the film.
All stories are almost the same, how it’s packaged is what sets it
apart. In this film the relationship between the two brothers is very
positive and I’m sure, when you walk out of the theatre, you’d
do so with a happy feeling. It has all the necessary ingredients needed
for a good film. It’s fast-paced, has good music, splendid locales,
impressive sets, great production values and to top it all, the chemistry
between the two stars, Salman and Sanjay needs special mention. It’s
among the movie’s biggest highlights.
As for pairing them together, I’d say they are the handsomest hunks
in our industry, today. Moreover they have a great fan following and are
‘fit and hit’ heroes. The magic does reflect on screen. This
is their first film together, after the phenomenally successful Saajan.
MUSIC, SLOW POISON
The music of the film has just been released and it is picking up slowly.
It is like slow poison, and makes a slow impact. Something tells me, by
the time the film is released, the music will have begun to go great guns.
There is a song in the film which does resemble a number from Naseeb.
In my film too, the two brothers sing a song, which comes just before
the climax. It has a striking resemblance to the Amitabh Bachchan-Rishi
Kapoor song, of course, but unlike it, this one’s been sung by Salman
and Sanjay, themselves. I think it’s a great attraction.
We have shot the song with a lot of feeling, treated it as if it contributes
to the evolution of the plot. It’s turned out well. When we asked
the duo if they could sing it themselves, so that it gives the number
a personal touch, they readily agreed. Most of the songs have been sung
by Sanjay Dutt, sound easy on the ears and are visually appealing.
In real life, Salman Khan’s in awe of Sanjay Dutt. It’s no secret
between them, and they’re very close to each other, almost like brothers.
The vibes do show on screen.
A ROLLER-COASTER RIDE
Actually, Sanjay and Salman were automatic choices for the roles. I had
their dates with me as they were doing Dus. We couldn’t complete
that film without its director, Mukul Anand. With Mukul’s death,
the film died too. When the script of Chal Mere Bhai came to me, I approached
David Dhawan to direct it for me. He liked the script and soon, we launched
the film with Sanjay, Salman and Karisma in the lead.
The shoots have been a hectic, roller-coaster ride. Fortunately, we had
no star tantrums to encounter. And even before we realised it, the film
was complete. We were almost sorry the picnic had ended!
THE IMPRESSIVE CREDITS
Besides Salman and Sanjay, there’s Karisma, who plays the girl who
comes looking for a job. Also in the cast are Shakti Kapoor, Asrani, Himani
Shivpuri, Sushma Seth and Dalip Tahil.
Then of course, there’s our Midas man, David Dhawan, himself. David
has, time and again, proved his success is no fluke. In this film, he’s
gone a little off the track as far as the treatment goes. It’s not
the typical David Dhawan film the audience has come to expect, that much
I can assure you. It does have elements of comedy, but it’s also
strong on content. And as with every David Dhawan film, this one too,
is slickly edited, and will offer you no respite to blink, let alone think.
Had my previous film, Bol Radha Bol, directed by him been released today,
it would have been branded as a typical David Dhawan film. It was a fast
film with subtle comedy, with a good story. This is my third film with
him. During the making of our first film, he was not very successful.
So he was quite happy with the results. The second, Eena Meena Deka didn’t
do well at the box-office. But he was a big name by then. And now I hope
this film does well. For him, me and everybody.
MORE ACES UP MY SLEEVE
I’ve already started a film called Deewangi starring Sanjay Dutt,
Ajay Devgan, Karisma Kapoor and Raveena Tandon, to be directed by Anees
Bazmee. Ismail Darbar has already composed three songs for the film. I
don’t want to air the same cliches about this film. But I can promise
you, it’s different. It’s about four people, a lawyer, a psychopath
and killer, a budding singer and a psychiatrist. Deewangi means madness
and all four have it, if passion and obsession can be called madness.
It’s a love story, too, but a very different one at that.
One film being made by my other banner, Dream Merchants, with which I
made Shool, is Jackpot, being directed by E Nivas. I have jointly produced
the film with Ram Gopal Varma and it has Manoj Bajpai, Fardeen, Aftab
Shivdasani, Sonali Bendre, Neha and Anupam Kher in key roles. A total
entertainer, it will be a total contrast with Shool. It has music by Vishal
Bhardwaj.
MULTIPLEX DREAMS
I have also got into the construction of a multiplex in Pune, as you know.
It’s coming up very fast, and should be commissioned in a year’s
time. The building will comprise five theatres, food courts, a mini shopping
arcade, a business hotel, leisure arcade, video game parlours and bowling
alleys. The idea is to have people coming over to watch films and if tickets
aren’t available, they have a glut of choices vying for their time.
They can have the choice of watching any of the four other films, or potter
around in the complex.
The smallest screen at the multiplex comprises 250 seats, and the total
capacity of seats is 1300. The idea is very simple: Entertainment isn’t
going to die. People crave to watch good films in plush theatres, with
good sound and print quality. People don’t mind spending a little
more on the creature comforts. That’s why theatres like Cine Magic
and Movie Time are doing well.
The producers, distributors and even the audience prefer such theatres.
I have builder friends in Pune, who’re also my partners. And though
I own a very small portion in the project, it’s like my own baby
to me. My friends look after the construction part and the creative aspects,
while I take care of the software procurement and such. The site’s
on Pune’s University Road, because adjacent to it is Pune’s
bustling infotech industry. There are also 14 colleges and about 60,000
foreign students in the vicinity. Besides Pune lacks places for people
to hang around or while away their time. Which is why we’re also
arranging a place where senior citizens can sit around, read, watch TV
or just relax. We even have a creche for babies!
In Mumbai too, there are seven theatres in the Gaiety-Galaxy complex and
they are doing pretty well as they are catering to all sections of the
audience at one place and each one has his own choice to make if he doesn’t
get the ticket for one film. Moreover the advantage of such theatres is
that even small films find theatre outlets.
MIRACLES DO HAPPEN
I started off with a comic film, Baat Ban Jaaye that was stuck in the
cans for some reason. I took over the film, though filmmaking was alien
to me. Of course, the film was a failure. I never really wanted to be
in films. I can take the credit of getting Vinod Khanna back to acting
with Insaf. After that, I got better at my job, and there’s been
no looking back since. I can also proudly say that none of the films have
been losing propositions. Amongst my hits are Insaf, Bol Radha Bol and
Laadla. The other films are Mahasangram, Baaghi, Adharm and Army.
I once tried my hand at direction. Though I enjoyed the experience, the
film Prithvi, did well only in some pockets. Given a chance, I’d
love to direct one more film.
But that can wait. Right now, my hands are too full. Maybe you will get
to see a film directed by me in a couple of years’ time. Miracles
do happen, you know!
As told to Namita Nivas