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JOSH

JOSH ZAROORAT HAI ZINDAGI KI AAJ, AAO DE DO APNA SAARA JOSH ZINDAGI KO
AAO ZINDAGI KO PHIR HOSH MEIN LAO

Every company works towards a goal, works with the zeal to flourish. They have to if they have to succeed. There is no other way. At Venus, the company which started as a music company and then gradually graduated into making films, excitement is the key word. “What’s the use of being a part of the world of entertainment without excitement? My family, we the Jains are here to bring joy to people, as much joy as possible, joy that will make life worth living for so many millions who have not experienced what the thrill of excitement is. We felt music and films were the best ways to bring the smiles back to the faces of people and so we took the big leap.

We are in the field of music and films for years now and we have enjoyed every moment despite the ups and downs which are also a part of all the excitement. We have made all kinds of films but this time we have come up with josh which is excitement, our sole motto in making films,” says Ratan Jain, the man behind the seven Jain brothers, who are responsible in giving new life to entertainment when things were lying low, when other filmmakers had their foreheads all crumpled with worries. They came, they saw, they were excited by what they saw and they decided to make excitement their adventure, their job, their rozi roti. Imagine excitement as rozi roti! Yes that’s a great way of life or life would have been so very boring.

Venus has created some sort of a record in the short span of time that they have been around, alert and active. Take a look at some of the films Venus has made and you will know what kind of films give them pleasure, films which they feel will give the audience who crave for entertainment the same kind of pleasure they crave for. Take their films like Khiladi, Baazigar, Main Khiladi Tu Anari, Yes Boss, Baadshah, Mela and now Josh. Every film they have made has a certain stamp about it, a touch of class. “We don’t make films only to make money. We were happy with our music company, Venus. But we realised the thrill of making films and that was just the beginning for us, for a long way to go. It was not easy, we realised from our friends. We would have to take risks. We would have to overcome all kinds of odds. Making a film, we realised, was like trying to fulfil your most difficult dream and you know how difficult it is to change dreams into realities in these days when people have stopped believing in dreams. We faced problems initially but once we got into the thick of it, we knew we would never go back come what may. That’s why we have been going on and on come hail or come storm. Every film we make is an effort to overcome a storm, to face the excitement of fighting it. It’s not all smooth-sailing all the time but once you are in it, once you have taken the big leap, it would only be a coward’s move to come back. That’s why we are here and right now waiting to see the results of Josh. But whatever happens our josh (excitement) will not be affected. We will carry on playing the game we have chosen to play. There’s no point in thinking of winning or losing in this game.

You have to work with all the excitement and enjoy the adventure and the excitement. It’s only then that you can make it a pleasurable experience. That should be the spirit. Or there’s no fun. It’s better to run a factory, if you only want to bring in the money. We are excited entertainers. We would like to stay like this till the end,” Ratan Jain says.

A little about what Josh is all about. It is about the rivalry between Shah Rukh Khan and Sharad Kapoor. And the love story of Aishwarya Rai and Chandrachur Singh trapped in a story of hatred. Shah Rukh plays the leader of a gang (Eagle). There are two things he cannot stand, someone messing up with his sister, Aishwarya Rai (Shirley) and his rival gang, the Bichhus. The relationship between brother Shah Rukh and sister Aishwarya forms the focal point of the story. Shah Rukh is a man of many parts he proves when he takes to singing and his very first song Apun hota ... makes him a star.

Director Mansoor Khan has tried his best to give Josh a joshila treatment. And for that he needed a perfect cast and that’s just what he has got, he says. “To select the cast we did a lot of soul-searching which led to every role being tailor-made,” Mansoor says. There are two other eye catchers in the film, the picturesque locales of Mauritius and Goa which have been captured by cinematographer KV Anand. Nitin Desai gives Josh the feel it demands. “I work hard on every film but I have worked with more than the normal josh I work with in other films in Mansoor’s film,” Nitin says.

Aishwarya Rai about her role in Josh: “When I heard the role I knew this was a unique opportunity. I am playing a fun-loving mischievous and bubbly character who in a series of events is torn between her brother and his bonding and my love. This appealed to me a lot as I get a chance to display my histrionics.”

And Shah Rukh: “When I heard the script, I knew I wanted to do it. It was by instinct, it was by Venus and I know from previous association that any film that I do with them is bound to do well.”

Chandrachur Singh is being paired with Aishwarya for the first time and is naturally excited. “I play a romantic who believes that mindless violence will only lead to destruction. Therefore I do not agree with my brother Max’s ways.” And according to Sharad Kapoor, “This is one film which is bound to make the audience react to my role. I am playing a very ambitious hot-headed man, the leader of the Bichhu gang who loves get-rich schemes but fails all the time.” Priya Gill plays Shah Rukh’s Catholic girl-friend who is possessed by Shah Rukh. “I know he is the leader of the Eagle gang and I don’t trust him and rebuff his affection. But his love triumphs in the end.”

Besides the performances the film has an intense storyline, mind-blowing music and thrills picturised in places never seen in Hindi films before. The film is produced by Venus Records & Tapes Ltd. Mansoor Khan has directed it from his own story. Sharat Saxena, Viveck Vaswani, Suhas Joshi, Anjan Shrivastav and the veteran Nadira play roles that matter. Screenplay by Mansoor and Neeraj Vohra, dialogue by Neeraj, Aatish Kapadia and Nikki Tuli, lyrics by Sameer and Nitin Raikwar, music by Anu Malik and cinematography by KV Anand are other credits. Excitement is what keeps life alive. What’s life without excitement, without some fun, without some risks, even with playing around with lives...

Ali Peter John