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As India celebrates 60 years of independence, the country's
biggest superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan will step up the
tempo to rekindle patriotic fervour with "Chak De India" and
"Marigold" respectively. While Shah Rukh, known as the King of
Bollywood, will be seen goading a team of women hockey players for
a world championship in "Chak De India", Salman will essay the role
of an Indian man who steals the heart of a foreign belle who
arrives in India with a "bad attitude" and transforms her.
"Chak De India" that goes with the tagline "Sometimes winning is
everything" is slated for Friday release in time for Independence
Day on Aug 15. Yash Raj Films, Bollywood' most prestigious
production house, trod a road not taken in "Chak De India" in a
year that has spelled doom for them financially.
The dream merchants have had a nightmarish year so far. Their
recent offering, "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom", has been declared a dud in
spite of the presence of Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek,
while "Ta Ra Rum Pum" was strictly average.
"Chak De India" is Shah Rukh's first release of 2007. For the
actor, who has been doing straightjacket roles of late, the
first-of-its-kind film based on India's national sport hockey is a
departure and will be a test by fire.
SRK is seen in the avatar of Kabir Khan, a fallen Indian team
captain who wants to reclaim glory as a coach of Indian Women's
National Hockey team. The film is based on the events surrounding
former Indian goalkeeper Mir Ranjan Negi's life - from his fall
from grace to his rise from the ashes.
He has formidable task, as the girls are a rag-tag bunch of losers
who have never known the thrilling energy of being Team India. He
moulds them into a fighting unit that has its eyes set on being the
world champions.
This is director Shimit Amin's second film after "Aab Tak
Chhappan". If it clicks it will be one of the few films coming out
of Bollywood that will have pan-India appeal. The plot reaches out
to audiences not just in big cities and metros but also the smaller
towns.
"I knew it was a challenging script revolving around a sport which,
despite being India's national game, wasn't much cared for. But
that's precisely what got us so excited," Amin said in an
interview.
"What posed as the biggest challenge was the search for girls who
could complete the team in the film. We were looking for real
people, for a team of girls who could actually play hockey and not
merely act.
"In the process of working on the casting, I came face to face with
a lot of truths. First, there were hardly any women playing sports,
and secondly, every patch and ground in India seemed to be covered
with people playing cricket. Hockey was nowhere," says Amin.
Rob Miller, one of the most renowned sports action directors in
Hollywood, was roped in for shooting as very few films have been
made on women sports internationally.
The filmmakers are also hoping the film recreates the magic of
Gurinder Chadha's super-successful "Bend It Like Beckham", which
narrated the story of a girl in a orthodox Sikh family in Britain
who overcame many odds to follow her dream of becoming a football
player.
The soundtrack of "Chak De India" by Salim-Sulaiman, one of the
most underrated music-maker duos in the business, is as spiffy,
peppy and young, as a film trying to inspire a young India should
be.
Whether it will score that crucial goal at the box office will be
known soon.
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Salman Khan's first international project - "Marigold" - is slated
for release in the week following "Chak De India". Given that
Salman is riding high on popularity chart following his
rib-tickling performance in box-office hit "Partner" along with
Govinda, "Marigold" could cut short the screen life of "Chak De
India" if the film does not get going from the word go.
"Marigold" is a co-production between Adlabs Films Ltd., and Becker
Films International. Directed by Willard Corroll the film features
Salman in his favourite screen name of Prem along with Hollywood's
Ali Larter and upcoming actress Nandana Sen. Larter recently
featured among the top 10 sexiest women in the Hollywood.
The story is about American actress Marigold Lexton (Larter) who
arrives in India with no luggage and a bad attitude. Stranded in
Goa when her low budget Hollywood movie falls apart, Marigold finds
herself cast in a small role in a Bollywood musical. Eager to prove
herself, she turns to Prem (Salman) for help. Prem, who is the
film's choreographer, not only teaches her how to dance but also
helps her in getting rid of her bad attitude.
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If you are more in mood for a comic caper August will witness the
release of debutant director Sajid Khan's "Heyy Babby". The film
features Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh and Fardeen Khan bumbling
to handle a baby. Vidya Balan plays the key female lead. One song
in the film features about a dozen Bollywood beauties with Shah
Rukh Khan.
"Aag" the much-hyped Ram Gopal Varma's take on yesteryears
blockbuster "Sholay" is also slated for release in this month. But
the surprise package may turn out to be Vishal Bharadwaj's "Blue
Umbrella". The film is an adaptation of the beloved novel of the
same name by Ruskin Bond. It is a film about desire, the zealous
attempt to fulfil it and finally its conquest.
All in all the month ahead has something for everyone.
By Priyanka Khanna
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