Barfi! turns to B-schools for help

MUMBAI: In July this year, Friday the 13th, to be precise, Ranbir Kapoor will return to the theatre. This time the Rockstar, who wowed us with Sadda Haq… will be seen playing a deaf-mute with co-star Priyanka Chopra, who plays Jhilmil, an autistic girl. The film will also mark the debut of South star Ileana D’Cruz in a parallel role.

The pre-conceived notion is that Barfi!, earlier titled Silence, is heavy on melodrama. But Ranbir is quick to dispel the misconception. Barfi!, is a fun, family film, a romantic thriller,” asserts the actor. “It’s about two dysfunctional people who bond together in the nicest of relationships, one that is sweet, touching and heart-warming.”

While Ranbir admits that he had to resort to a lot of sign language in the film given that his character, fondly called Barfi!, doesn’t have a voice, he clarifies that it won’t be difficult to interpret his lingo. “It’s more like a game of dumb charades that we play at picnics and parties. Anurag (director Anurag Basu) was very clear that he didn’t want the sign language to get too technical. It’s more about acting out and expressing through my face and hand gestures, that’s it.”

Shikha Kapur, senior vice president, marketing, UTV, endorses the fact that Barfi! is a “happy” film, primarily targeting the youth. With this in mind UTV, which produced the film is trying to enlist the support of the youth. “Last week, at Cine Pact, a city college fest, we interacted with an eclectic group of youngsters from India’s top 20 business schools who came up with some interesting ideas on how we could promote an out-of-the-box film like this,” says Shikha.

The student crowd was informed that even though Ranbir is a deaf-mute he’s not a Lachaar Bechara (object of pity) but a Chalu Chaplin. With this in mind, they were asked to come up with a marketing pitch for Barfi!,. “We’ve picked the 10 best and plan to involve them while brainstorming on promotional activities.”

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Why Karan Johar is in awe of Rishi Kapoor

MUMBAI: Filmmaker Karan Johar is all praises for veteran actor Rishi Kapoor, who has portrayed two completely opposite characters in two of his productions - Agneepath and Student Of The Year. "When you watch Agneepath and then when you watch Student Of The Year, you will see the versatility of Rishi Kapoor. You will be surprised to see that he can do two extremely different parts in the same year," the 39-year-old producer-director said here at a recent event.

While Agneepath hit theatres Thursday, Johar's directorial Student of The Year is expected to release in the middle of this year.

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Aamir Khan’s set burnt

MUMBAI: Late on Monday evening, actor Aamir Khan’s TV show set, that was erected at Vrindavan Studios, Madh Island, caught fire. According to eyewitnesses, an electrical spark, caused by a short circuit, was the reason for the fire that broke out in one corner of the studio and within minutes had spread. Not only the set but also shooting equipment worth crores was gutted.

Fortunately, the Bollywood star who is producing and anchoring the show, wasn’t on the sets at the time of the mishap.

Sources close to Aamir Khan Productions reveal that earlier in the evening, the show’s crew and a couple of production hands from the channel had been to the sets for a reiki.

There were only 20-30 people on the floor at the time, working on the lights and the final touch-up of the sets. Suddenly, one of the crew members spotted a spark but before anyone could react, it had turned into an uncontrollable blaze that spread through the place, charring wires and extension cables.

Fortunately, since there weren’t too many people around at the time, there were no casualties. In fact, no injuries were reported and everyone is safe. Six fire brigades were at the studio trying to bring the fire under control.

Towards the end of the week, another set of crewmembers will be visiting the sets to take stock of the situation. Once they have surveyed the damages, reconstruction work will start soon so the yet-to-be-titled show can start rolling.

The spokesperson from Aamir Khan Productions, in an email, states, “It’s an extremely unfortunate incident. We were really lucky that none of our unit members was hurt in the accident.”

The spokesperson from Star Plus, the show’s broadcaster, says, “We had taken ample safety precautions but the fire still occurred. Thankfully, it was brought under control immediately and no injuries were reported.”

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