Shedding his underworld gangster image, which he portrayed in ‘Risk’, actor Vinod Khanna will now don the avatar of a mentor in producer Anjum Rizvi’s latest musical ‘Fast Forward’. The film is directed by Zaigham Ali Sayed.
“For this role of a guide to youngsters, who are competing to showcase their dancing skills, Vinod has lost much weight.This time he does not sport a beard,” enthuses producer Anjum who has produced films ‘Ahista Ahista’ and ‘Charas’ and also completed a songless thriller ‘Wednesday’ (Naseeruddin Shah and Deepal Shaw).
Anjum adds, “The film will have dance and music. We have hired Sonia Jaffer (Mahesh Manjrekar’s partner in ‘Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa 1’) to choreograph all the dances in ‘Fast Forward’.”
Is Mahesh too featuring in the movie? “Yes, but he does not pair up with Sonia. He plays a negative character who is at loggerheads with Vinod,” informs Anjum who has cast actors Rehan Khan (‘Awarapan’) , UK-based Sabina Sheema ( Zee Cinestars Talent Hunt winner), Akshay Kapur (‘Alag’), Bhavna Pani ( ‘Dil Vil Pyar Vyaar’) and Siddhant Karnik ( ‘Breaking News’ ) in the film. As in TV reality dance-shows, the young cast has been religiously rehearsing for the past three months.
Vinod says, “Interacting with the youngsters has made me feel like a newcomer all over again. Playing a mentor is different from what I have ever played before.”
Anjum hopes to release the movie early next year. The music of the film has been scored by DJ Akbar Sami. Incidentally, Vinod who celebrated his birthday last week, was once Amitabh Bachchan’s arch rival.
DNA India