RADIO SARGAM FEATURE: BOOM
A Radio Sargam Special

Indian cinema is bravely moving away from Bollywood conventions and producing more ambitious movies aimed at a growing international market. The groundbreaking director Kaizad Gustad became one of the pioneers in this new wave of cinema after directing and writing the acclaimed thriller Bombay Boys in 1998. After receiving heaps of praise for his debut, Kaizad is now back with his follow-up, which features a higher budget, a bigger star cast and far greater expectations from the audience.

Titled Boom, the movie features an impressive cast star including the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Shroff, Zeenat Aman, Seema Biswas, Gulshan Grover and Hollywood scarlet Bo Derek. It will also mark the debuts of three Indian supermodels, Padma Lakshmi, Katrina Kaif and Madhu Sapre, who have featured in campaigns for the likes of Coca-Cola, Ralph Lauren and Moschino. They are also famous for their love lives, with Padma having a relationship with author Salman Rushdie and Katrina linked to Bollywood superstar Salman Khan. An exciting soundtrack supports the project, featuring original music by Mercury Award winning artist Talvin Singh, Bollywood's Sandeep Chowta and UK producer Rishi Rich amongst others.

"Boom is my very first independent English movie and features a very interesting cast who are perfect for their roles," explains Gustad. "It's an interesting combination of people, from Amitabh Bachchan to Jackie Shroff to Bo Derek. Putting them together it quite an experiment. There are no good guys in the film, everyone is just trying to outdo each other. The story brings together the fashion world with the underworld and all hell breaks loose along the way. If it's a new ride you're after, Boom might be your ticket. Just don't bring your mother!'' The last statement refers to some raunchy scenes which are featured in the movie and may shock loyalist Bollywood fans who have grown up on a diet of watching their favourite hero and heroine coyly running around trees and singing romantic songs to each other.

Despite being a fairly new director, Kaizad has managed to attract some top names for the film, which has helped hyped the project. "The story was original and so agreeing to act in the project wasn't a tough decision," says Bollywood star Jackie Shroff, whose wife Ayesha also happens to be producer of the flick. "Kaizad is an old buddy of mine and as a director I think he is better than most. I'm glad that I managed to work with him on this project because originally he offered me a role in Bombay Boys but at the time I was too busy with other commitments. This time around he got my attention after telling me about my character Chote Miyan who is a fast-talking pimp. Since Boom is based on the modeling world, it has a lot of gloss. The media has written about the supposed exposure in the film but that's not enough to lure the audience because they are regularly exposed to such things nowadays. As long as the end product is good then the audience will watch it. Boom should reach out to a wide audience because lots of people enjoy Hinglish films these days and the market has really opened up."

Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan is also excited about his foray into Hinglish films. "I think Kaizad Gustad has carved a special niche for himself and Boom will further reinforce that. We spent a lot of time together before filming figuring out various details. It was a fantastic experience working in something offbeat and the crew was all very professional and organised. I play an underworld Don who interacts with these two ladies who have become smugglers. I don't actually have anyone opposite me although I am interested in Padma Kakshmi's character. The film's dialogues and scenes are totally tongue-in-cheek but the humour is different from any comedies I have done in the past".

Boom is initially set amongst a prestigious diamond-encrusted fashion show. However things go horribly wrong when a scuffle breaks out between the models on the catwalk, resulting in a hidden stash of diamonds suddenly being revealed. The valuables were stolen by Abdul 50/50, a notorious gangster from Mumbai who got his name because he gets fifty percent of every dodgy deal he makes. The diamonds were due to be smuggled to Dubai by his men on the night of the fashion show, where they would be collected by Abdul's two elder brothers, including the fierce and ruthless Bade Mia. However the models now have their hands on the diamonds and Abdul is promptly ordered to get the loot back no matter what method he must use. Before long a cat and mouse game begins between the gangsters and the models to claim the antique diamonds.

WRITTEN BY ROBEEL HAQ