AANKHEN: THE KOMAL NAHTA SPECIAL REPORT
News from the press conference

Director: Vipul Shah
Music: Aadesh Shrivastava
Lyrics: Nitin Raikwar, Prasun Joshi & Praveen Bharadwaj
Producer: Gaurang Doshi
Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Sushmita Sen, Arjun Ramphal, Bipasha Basu, Paresh Rawal and Aditya Panscholi

Aankhen will be premiered in Malaysia on 5th April at the 3rd IIFA awards function. Announcing this at the press conference to declare the nominations for the awards, on 13th March, Wizcraft, the organisers of the awards function said they were thrilled to have the mega movie as the premiere attraction. Last year, it was Aamir Khan's Lagaan which had been premiered at the Indian International Film Awards function which was held in Sun City (South Africa) in June.

Gaurang Doshi's Aankhen stars Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal and Aditya Pancholi, but that's not the only reason it is an 'A' project (look how the names of all the heroes begin with 'A'). It is one of the costlier films made in recent times, the estimated budget being Rs. 15 to 16 crore.

Besides, it is adapted from a Gujarati stage play, titled 'Andhalo Pato' (yes, the play also begins with an 'A'; it means 'Blind Man's Buff). The play had 170 shows and was a sensational hit of its time. It was written and directed by the same persons who have written the film and directed it.

The story and screenplay are by Vipul Shah and Aatish Kapadia, while the dialogues are penned by Aatish alone. Vipul makes his directorial debut on the Hindi screen with this film. Besides plays, Vipul has directed a Gujarati film, Dariya Chhoru, which did not do well at the box-office.

According to Aatish, who was earlier associated with the scripting of Mann and Yaadein..., there weren't too many changes that required to be made to the play as it could be easily adapted to the film medium. As Vipul explained, "When we launched the play, people told us, we were doing the wrong thing as the subject was more suited to be made into a film. After the play became a runaway success, when we started a film based on it, people advised us against the idea, saying that the subject was suited for a play but not necessarily for a film."

The film is about a bank manager who avenges his dismissal from the job, by looting the very bank for which he used to work. To carry out the tough job, he trains three blind guys, played by Akshay, Arjun and Paresh Rawal. When this writer asked Akshay whether he was playing a blind man in the film or a guy with vision but feigning blindness, the actor replied, "No, no, I don't feign blindness, I play an actual andha. Andha, andha, aankhon ka andha." The songs which he and Arjun sing with Bipasha Basu and Sushmita Sen, therefore, must, perhaps, be dream sequences.

Excerpts from the songs were shown at the press conference. The pick of the lot is 'Gustakhiyan'. Not only is the song very catchy but its picturisation is also wonderful. Another song that should become popular is the 'Phatela jeb' number. Yes, you've guessed it right - this wacky song is penned by Nitin Raikwar. While the 'Gustakhiyan' song is composed by Aadesh Shrivastava, the other one has been set to tune by Jatin Lalit. Following differences between Aadesh and Jatin Lalit, the latter have chosen to stay out of the film's promotional campaign. Another tuneful number is the 'All the best' song.

Coming back to the film, Amitabh, perhaps for the first time in his career, plays a negative character from the start to the end. In the sense that he doesn't regret his evil deed even at the end of the drama. There's just no change of heart.

Talking of change of heart, Akshay Kumar, when approached for the role, had mentally decided, he wouldn't do the film as he didn't expect much from the new director; but he had a change of heart once he heard the subject.

Amitabh took the writer-director duo by surprise when he asked for a narration and after it was over, agreed to play the central character then and there. As Vipul revealed, "Aatish, Gaurang Doshi and myself were trembling with excitement when Bachchan Sahab gave us the green signal. We couldn't believe our ears. In fact, we had called on him without any appointment and were actually expecting to be turned down by him. But he asked for a narration immediately and, after listening to the story, told us to get back to him with the complete screenplay. We worked on the screenplay and were ready in 3 days. Once that was narrated to him, he didn't lose a single minute in agreeing to be a part of the project."

The first trial show of the entire film is being held today (March 13) for the crew members. The excitement of making the film is over. Now begins the excitement of seeing it unfold before the public which is the final judge.

As Amitabh Bachchan announces in every promotional trailer of the film, "Something dangerously exciting.. ..". Till the dangerously exciting drama doesn't unfold on the screens, it is an excitingly dangerous game the makers have played. After all, making Bachchan play a bad man is not everyone's cup of tea. Rather, it has been nobody's cuppa tea thus far.