Abhishek-Asin in Ashutosh’s next

Ashutosh Gowariker has decided on Abhishek Bachchan and Asin as the lead pair for his next film, Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey. The movie is based on the Chittagong Uprising and will have Abhishek Bachchan play Surjya Sen. The shooting of the film will begin around 25th November. This movie, unlike Ashutosh’s earlier films, will be produced by PVR Pictures and not UTV.

Why Gowariker cast Priyanka for 12 roles in ‘…Rashee’

Bollywood director Ashutosh Gowariker, whose “What’s Your Rashee?” premiered at the Toronto Film Festival here Saturday, said he chose Priyanka Chopra to play the role of 12 brides-in-waiting to rule out beauty as a dominant theme in the film.

In “What’s Your Rashee?” (What’s your sun sign?), which is based on Madhu Rye’s Gujarati novel “Kimball Ravenswood”, Priyanka plays the role of 12 girls who meet bride-hunting NRI Yogesh Patel played by Hurman Baweja.

Yogesh, who has been flown in from Chicago by his parents to get married within just 10 days on the advice of the family astrologer, gets responses to his matrimonial advertisement from 165 girls. But since he cannot meet all of them in 10 days, he picks one from each sun sign to meet.

Asked why he didn’t pick 12 different actresses for the 12 roles, Gowariker said at a press conference here: “If I had cast 12 different actresses, the audience would have wanted the fairest to win (Yogesh’s hand) and thus beauty would have taken importance.”

But he didn’t want the choice of bride to be made on the basis of the beauty, he said.

“I didn’t want beauty to play an important role. When I read the novel, I thought why not have the same girl play the 12 parts? I felt that if I cast 12 different girls, beauty will take precedence. To rule out beauty as a factor, I wanted to assure the audience that Yogesh is going to get the same girl.

“Once you are sure about it, you just sit back and watch how the relationship develops between Yogesh and each girl with a different sun sign, and which sun sign he finally chooses,” the filmmaker said.

Gowariker said his film is as much about sun signs and romance as empowerment of India women.

“‘What’s your Rashee?’ may seem a romantic comedy, but layers below it is about the girl getting the chance to speak her heart, and express her desires and ambitions. The film reflects the empowerment of women in India today,” he explained.

The director said the film has deepened his interest in astrology.

“Before making this film, I was concerned only with my own sun sign Aquarius. But after the film, I now understand that each sign has its own qualities. My way of looking at even my childhood friends has changed.

“If my friend is a Cancerian, I now take care not to offend him, knowing that his sun sign is the emotional type. So I think in romance and relationships, that extra astrological information can be helpful for more bonding,” he said.

The film is set for commercial release Friday.

Comparing me to Rahman not fair: Sohail Sen

After teaming up with music maestro A.R. Rahman in hits like “Lagaan” and “Jodhaa Akbar”, director Ashutosh Gowariker has roped in budding composer Sohail Sen for “What’s Your Raashee?” and the young musician says drawing comparisons between him and the Oscar-winning genius wouldn’t be fair.

“I never had in mind that I will be compared to Rahman. That shouldn’t happen at all. He has been in the industry for so long and I’m just a beginner; so any comparison with him would not be fair,” Sen, who has composed 13 tracks for “What’s Your Raashee?”, said.

“I’m a great fan of Rahman. I have been listening to his music over the years and he is just like an idol for me. He is an encyclopaedia of music,” Sen added.

The 25-year-old has got music in legacy from his father Sameer Sen, a well-known name in the field of music in Hindi films, but says creating songs for the Priyanka Chopra, Hurman Baweja-starrer was not a cakewalk.

“Creating 13 different songs, each for one particular zodiac sign, was a difficult task. We had to maintain distinctiveness. Initially I was nervous. But when Ashutosh-ji and Javed (Akhtar)-saab briefed me and we started working on them, it became better.

“But we did our homework too before starting on the work. We worked on the album for more than one and a half years,” said Sen, who had earlier composed music for the 2008 movie “Sirf”.

Asked which was the most difficult number to create, he said: “‘Chehra jo dekhe hain’ was the most difficult song. We had themes for every song, but in this song we had to collaborate and merge every theme… it was a big task, but we managed,” said Sen, who has also lent his voice to a few songs in the album.

“What’s Your Raashee?” is about a young man who is told to find his dreamgirl within 10 days to save his family from utter ruin. He meets two girls from each sun sign every day so that he will get 12 chances to fall in love, three days to make his final decision and tie the knot on the 10th day.

Priyanka plays 12 different characters, depicting the 12 zodiac signs in the movie set to release Sep 25.

Most films have four-five songs these days — won’t it be a minus point to have 13 songs in the film?

“I don’t think that having 13 songs in one album in a time like today will be a minus point because every song is essential for the film. The songs and the script go hand-in-hand.

“I don’t think the audience will have a problem. As far as I am concerned, it was a plus point for me since I got a chance to showcase my talent and create music in so many different genres in one album itself,” said Sen.

So do you consider this a landmark film for yourself?

“Absolutely. It was a dream to work with a filmmaker like Ashutosh Gowariker,” Sen said.

Sohail Sen’s music impresses in ‘What’s Your Raashee?’

Film: “What’s Your Raashee?”; Music Director: Sohail Sen

 Lyricist: Javed Akhtar

 Singers: Aslesha Gowariker, Shaan, Bhavya Pandit, Sohail Sen, Marianne D. Cruz, Tarannum Malik, Rajab Ali Bharti, Bela Shende, Ashutosh Gowariker, Pamela Jain, Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan and Madhushree

Ashutosh Gowariker’s films are synonymous with A.R. Rahman’s tunes, but for his “What’s Your Rashee?”, which has Priyanka Chopra and Hurman Baweja in lead roles, the director has got on board a new composer, Sohail Sen - who has done a commendable job.

From fast pacy numbers to romantic songs to Arabic and folk tunes - Sen, son of music composer Sameer Sen, has packed interesting compostions in the album.

The film has 13 songs, one each for the 12 zodiac signs and one is a mix of all. The young composer has roped in the director as well has his sister Aslesha to sing.

The album kickstarts with a pleasing and soft number “Jao na” crooned by Sen himself along with Tarannum Malik. It is quite intriguing and the part where the song suddenly gains momentum works well for it. It will surely appeal to the younger generation.

Up next is “Aaja lehrate” that has vocals by Shaan and Bhavya Pandit. It is quite fast-paced and has western influences with English lyrics thrown in here and there. But the peppy number doesn’t stand out in the album.

“Bikhri bikhri”, sung by Sohail Sen and Marianne D. Cruz, will have a tranquilizing effect on you. A soft, soothing and melodious number, it immediately strikes a chord with the listener.

Then we have “Mannunga mannunga”. Director Ashutosh Gowariker himself goes behind the mike along with Pamela Jain to sing the song. But the track is unappealing and unexciting.

“Sau janam”, a love ballet by Udit Narayan, Madhushree and Sen, is one of the best songs in the album. A mushy number, it has a strong musical backing and stays with you long after. A great composition.

Next in line is “Aa le chal”. Sung by Aslesha Gowariker, it is nothing extraordinary. An average number.

“Pyaari pyaari” is another feel-good song with some amount of sweetness in it. It is crooned by Alka Yagnik and Sen.

Then there is “Su che”. Soaked in Gujarati flavour, it is sung by Sen and Bela Shende and is a fact-paced track. It was meant to be a fun song but fails to make a mark.

The next number, “Salone kya”, is a song with an Arabic feel. It is sung by Sen and Tarannum Malik. Even though the music is captivating, the lyrics are a big put off and take away the zing from the song.

“Dhadkan dhadkan” has edgy music with a strong musical backing. Once again Sen and Tarannum team up for the song that has a haunting feel to it. The number does impress.

“Pal pal jisko dhoonde” has influences of jazz music. A soft and free flowing number, it is sung by Sen.

“Koi Jaane na” is an interesting number sprinkled with folk flavour. A poignant song, it is sung very well by Rajab Ali Bharti and Bela.

Finally, there is “Chehra jo dekhe hain” by Sen again that is the title track of the film. The song includes samples from the other 12 songs.

On the whole “What’s your Raashee?” is a decent album, even though long. The budding composer has done a good job.

Gowariker shot ‘What’s Your Rashee’ song in one go

Ashutosh Gowariker attempted to do what very few Bollywood filmmakers have done - he shot for an entire song in one go for his forthcoming romantic comedy “What’s Your Rashee?”.

The song “Aaja lehrate” was shot using a five camera set-up and was shot in a continuous take, a source from the sets of the film told IANS.

Set in a pub, the song has been choreographed by Rajeev Surti and features lead actors Priyanka Chopra and Hurman Baweja.

“Shooting the song in one go meant that for every take the actors had to perform the entire song again if anything went wrong. This was extremely tiring for Hurman because of the energy required in his movements. And things went worse when Priyanka fell extremely ill during the filming of the song,” the source said.

“What’s Your Rashee” is based on a Gujarati novel “Kimball Ravenswood” by noted playwright Madhu Rye. It revolves around a young man in pursuit of his dream girl, whom he must find within 10 days to save his family from an unforeseen ordeal. The film is set to release Sep 25.

In 1967, the song “Hothon pe aisi baat” from “Jewel Thief” featuring Vyjayanthimala and Dev Anand had been shot in one go. So also was “Chale jaise hawaayien” in Farah Khan’s debut directorial venture “Main Hoon Na” (2004).

Gowarikar follows Mahesh Bhatt?

The stories of Mahesh Bhatt’s over oops super confidence in the people associated with his films is very famous in B-town. Ghost direction or rather phone direction; followed by no hassles on the sets in his absence, says it all. And one can’t ignore the terrific product showcased at the end.
However, lately quite influenced by his style seems to be Ashutosh Gowariker. Javed Ali who recently bagged IFFA and Radio Mirchi’s best playback singer award for “Jashn-E-Bahara’ reveals about this new avatar of Ashutosh.
“Post the success of “Jashn-E-Bahara’ number, Gowariker sahab has generated a kind of confidence in me. The confidence has gone to such a level that he does not find it necessary to explain me the situation. He anticipates about my good performance, before I step into the recording room,” exclaims Javed. On being asked whether same kind of treatment goes for everyone, Javed diplomatically answered, “Well, that question goes to Gowariker sahab.”
We completely agree with you Javed. That question definitely falls in Ashutosh’s kitty. So, what’s your take on that Mr. Gowariker?