Salaam Bollywood : Remakes and remixes in Bollywood

The audience will see silver screen coming alive with 'Himmatwala' and 'Zanjeer' bringing back older version of A Bollywood with twist in remix form Sajid Khan's remake of 'Himmawala' has been making waves ever since the film has been launched. The director known for his marketing skills recently launched the music of the film at Mirchi Awards attended by all the bigwigs of music industry in Mumbai where the normally reclusive Ajay Devgn also made a rare appearance. Since then, the filmmaker has been coming up with one after another surprise. Everybody knows that the action director of the original film was Veeru Devgan, father of Ajay Devgan but few are aware that the action director of the new 'Himmatwala' is Jai Singh Nijjar, assistant of Veeru Devgan in 1983 film. Nijjar describes this double role as a lifetime experience, "During the shooting of Jeetuji's 'Himmatwala' my team and I took instructions from Veeru sir. Then, Ajay, a little boy would be hanging on the sets watching the shooting. None of us had thought that a day would come when I would direct the remake and Ajay would be the hero of the film. This is showbiz! Then Sridevi madam was a newcomer, we saw her rise into Hindi cinema's biggest star. Today, 'Tamannaah' is a newcomer and let's hope she makes a place for herself too. The interesting thing about cinema is that it is as unpredictable as life. We can never say what awaits you at the next turning point." Sonakshi Sinha present on the sets when Nijjar told the story agreed. She had never dreamt that she would become so successful so soon. After doing 'Son of Sardar' with Ajay, Sonakshi is doing a disco number 'Thank God It's Friday' for the film. Sonakshi is excited about the dance because it isn't a regular item number. "I'm donning the looks of Sridevi in 'Chaalbaaz' and Parveen Babi in 'Shaan' and more, grooving to the steps of the famous 80's international pop icons like Michael Jackson and Madonna."

Sonakshi admits that she is nervous and when it is time for the shot requests the director to personally demonstrate the intricate steps before the take. Sajid Khan obliges, in fact the duo are so engaged in the rehearsal of Michael Jackson's 'Moonwalk' that the choreographer says it was a mistake to not keep the cameras on during the rehearsal. Much later Khan confides that dancing is his passion and he was a super dancer all through his school and college days and participated in all the dance competitions but somehow never pursued it as a profession like his sister. Strange he never thought of doing a cameo a la Shaad Ali in 'Bunty aur Babli' either, maybe he can still think about it�! Clearly nostalgia is in fashion; no wonder filmmakers are making sequels of old classics and music composers are repackaging old tunes into what they describe as call inspiration numbers. The issue is should these inspirational/ remixes be permitted in the name of creative license? When Bejoy Nambiar remixed 'Khoya khoya chand�' as a background score for 'Shaitan' and later 'Dum a dum mast kalanda�' in David everybody agreed it was innovative but when Sajid Khan used 'Apni toh jaise taise�' in 'House full' everybody was critical and when YRFilms portrayed Ranbir singing to 'Bachna ae haseeno�' Rishi Kapoor's old number everybody felt sentimental. It is for the audience to decide if they will accept 'So gaya yeh jahan�' in Ayushman Khurana's forthcoming 'Nautanki Sala' but time has come to decide where to draw a line between creative innovation and abuse of classic? Writers Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar as we all know have taken strong objection to Prakash Mehra's son Amole Mehra remaking of 'Zanjeer' and are fighting a battle on copyright issue against Mehra in the court. If the duo win and most probably they will, the case will become a warning signal to all those filmmakers planning remakes of old classics that they cannot do so any longer..! And the winner is mythology Indian cinema has finally come of age where language is not longer a barrier. Hindi filmmakers are choosing to make regional films and regional stars are doing Hindi films. Different language actors and filmmakers are making a crossover in different performing mediums like theatre and television. Interestingly nostalgia is not the only attraction for viewers these days. The biggest craze on television at the moment is mythology which is the reason why all the channels are showing mythological serials at prime time. A few years Manhar Gadhia Productions popularised the trend of Monologues on Gujarati theatre with 'Eklo Jaane Re' which launched several budding writers, directors and actors. After the roaring success of the first season, Gadhia experimented with 7x3=21 that featured 7 actors, directors and writers. 'Saat Teri Ekvees' premiered two years ago at Prithvi Carnival again to a full house. One of the performances at 7x3 =21 to receive rave reviews was Mansi Gohil's portrayal of Radha. The producer decided that if opportunity willing he will devote an entire show to the journey of Lord Krishna. The opportunity has come as Gadhia prepares for his third season of monologues aptly titled 'Bahot Nahco Gopal' featuring key players in the life of Krishna like his friend Sudama, wife Rukmini, protégée Arjun, mother Yashoda, friend Draupadi and beloved Radha. Unlike the other seasons all the monologues will be penned by a common writer Mihir Bhutta of 'Dovon ka Dev Mahadev' fame. Mihir was the obvious choice for the subject because of his vast knowledge of mythology and flawless research. 'Bahot Nacho Gopal' premiers at the Vasant Festival at NCPA on March 23 and the unit are rehearsing day and night to make the show a success. An exhausted but spirited Mihir reveals that working on scripts and making the characters come live on stage in just 15mins is a huge challenge but able actors and directors will add their projections and make the journey magical. To add variety some of the monologues will be performed in dance form choreographed by Trupti Thakkar and live music on stage by Uday Mazumdar. www.bhawanasomaaya.com