Paa Is Introducing Amitabh Bachchan!

Yes, that’s how the credit titles of Balki’s Paa will bill the super-icon.

Says the director Balki, “The credits will read “Starring Abhishek Bachchan…Vidya Balan…Introducing Amitabh Bachchan.’ I truly believe this is Mr. Bachchan’s first film, firstly because he has never played a 12-year old. His character is named Auro…No it’s short for Aurobindo. He’s just…Auro! And if there are any members of the audience who haven’t seen him before they won’t recognize him.”

On the sets of Paa, Big B’s transformation into a 12-year old was so complete he behaved like a 12-year old child even when the camera was not on.

“Why 12-year old? Mr. Bachchan behaved like a 10-year old on the sets. He just allowed the child within him to surface and the Big B became Auro, throwing so many tantrums we had to literally discipline him at times.”

So startling and complete was Big B’s physical and emotional transformation that even members of the unit were taken in.

Recalls Balki, “Mr. Bachchan had become an uncontrollable child during the shooting. On the sets he would stomp his feet like a brat and just go on and on whining, ” I want…I want…I want!’ until he got what he wanted. We were frightened by the level to which he took the character into within himself.”

The character is almost toothless.

“Auro has just 4-5 teeth in his mouth. Mr. Bachchan’s gummed grin has to be seen to be believed,” says the disbelieving director. “No matter how prepared you are as filmmaker to work with this all-pervasive idol of an actor you are still aback by what he does to his character.”

Auro in Paa is a chocolate addict. Mr Bachchan’s health doesn’t permit him too much sweet stuff. “And still when the camera was on he was constantly nibbling and chewing on chocolates. We had to often pull those bars of chocolate away from his hands. You see, chocolates are good for the metabolism level of those who suffer from Progeria. So Auro had to be shown constantly eating chocolates.”

A big charity premiere of Paa for the Progeria Research Foundation is being planned. But beyond that, Balki and the Paa producers AB Corp Ltd don’t intend to make an issue of this rare genetical disease in the marketing.

Says Balki, “Progeria won’t be a star-attraction in the publicity campaign. Yes Mr. Bachchan’s character suffers from the rare disease. But the film is not about the disease. The Progeria Research Foundation is very particular about the way the disease is projected to the public.”

So should Big B get ready to receive all the debutant awards next year?

Laughs Balki, “I sure hope the awards would honor him in the child’s category or the debutants’ category.”

Amitabh starrer ‘Paa’ to release on Children’s Day

Director R. Balakrishnan, also known as Balki, has decided to release his role-reversal drama “Paa”, starring Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan, on Nov 13 as a tribute to Children’s Day.

“It’s a film about a child within a man and a man within a child. And I can’t think of a better tribute to a child than Children’s Day,” says Balki, who completed shooting the film in England recently.

Balki has shot his two feature films - “Cheeni Kum”, an unconventional love story between a 30-plus woman and a 60-plus chef, and now “Paa” - in Britain because he loves the country.

“We shot ‘Paa’ in my favourite location England. Throughout the stint in Cambridge we were at sea never on land. I love shooting in London. If I have my way, I’d shoot all my films there,” he said.

Balki took up the challenge of projecting the Big B like never before in “Paa”.

“In ‘Cheeni Kum’, I really didn’t have to do anything. I made him play himself. Here in ‘Paa’ I had to bring out that child within him which has always been there. We tapped that part of him. It wasn’t easy for Amitji to play a child at heart.

“Fortunately, Abhishek and Vidya Balan too are extremely intelligent actors. Vidya has played such a charming mom. Throughout the film they behave as if Amitji is their son. For Abhishek, this was his chance to get even with his dad,” said the director.

Any regrets about not casting Tabu again?

“After what she did with Amitji in ‘Cheeni Kum’, it wasn’t possible to cast her in Vidya’s role.”

Balki is not bothered with how the audience will accept the two actors in reversed roles. “There’s no point in making a film if it doesn’t push envelopes. I won’t do a film that doesn’t challenge me and my actors.”

Another ongoing leitmotif in Balki’s cinema is the music of Ilayaraja.

“He’s god. He has been a major source of inspiration. I don’t think India has known a better music composer. Sadly one-half of India has not heard him enough.”

For “Cheeni Kum” Balki specifically asked Ilayaraja for tunes from his Tamil films.

“I wanted Hindi moviegoers to hear those times. Even in ‘Paa’ I’ve transposed some of his South Indian tunes into Hindi. It’s not that important to be original. It’s more important to do what you believe in,” he said.

Balki is miffed that the Big B’s Progeria look has been leaked out. “Fortunately that’s only a part of his look. No one came on the set to see how he looks on camera. The makeup person was given a computer-generated picture of Amitji. He improvised a lot on that and added traits from real Progeria patients.”

Progeria is an extremely rare genetic disease of childhood characterized by dramatic, premature aging.

Vidya Balan vanishes in Cambridge!

Vidya Balan proved to be more adventurous than her sedate image and serene personality suggest.

Recently while shooting for Balki’s Amitabh-Abhishek starrer Paa in Cambridge, Vidya simply disappeared into thin air! The crew returned to Mumbai without her. Laughs Vidya, “It’s nothing so dramatic. Yes, I did stay back in Cambridge. I simply had to. I had no choice.”

Shooting for Balki’s Paa in Oxford and Cambridge proved to be too lovely an experience for the actress to leave behind. After the whole unit left, she decided to stay for an extra week.

Recounting the experience Vidya says, “I just couldn’t help it. Just being in Cambridge shooting was not enough. I felt a deep connect with the campus and the environment. I just wanted to walk around the campus with books in hand so I’d look like a student.”

Once the shooting was over, Vidya decided to stay over. “Luckily I’ve a friend in Cambridge. I stayed with her, and her husband. It was the most enriching experience of my life. Just the air and the feel of the place are so special.”

Vidya now intends to buy herself a quiet escape route. “I can’t afford a place in Cambridge. But I know of a place near Mumbai that offers the same climate and topography. But I am not revealing it.”

Vidya Balan signed up for Yash Chopra’s next?

There is a strong buzz in the industry circles that Vidya Balan has been signed by Yash Chopra for his directorial next. It is the same project which was supposed to star Aamir Khan along with Preity Zinta. But while, Aamir is still being non-committal about being approached for the project, other news making the rounds is that Preity has been replaced by Vidya Balan.
Sources are claiming that it is a love story spanning ages, but is completely different to what Chopra’s last directorial effort Veer Zara was. Incidentally, Veer Zara also had its lead pair Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta playing characters both young and old. Sources further claim that Yash Chopra intends to begin this film by early 2010 and make it a grand Diwali 2010 release. He will be finally directing a film after 6 years since he directed Veer Zara (2004).
While there has been no confirmation from both Vidya Balan or Yash Raj Films yet, we can only imagine right now what crackling chemistry it would be of Aamir and Vidya, and to top it all with romance king Yash Chopra directing it.

Vidya, Arshad are good in bed!

Yeah, you read that right! We didn’t say break dance, or ball dance, or anything like that.
Soon you will witness a never-seen-before bed dance performed by Arshad Warsi and Vidya Balan . It all happened on the sets of Ishqiya, and here’s the story. Apparently, Arshad and Vids have a love-making scene in the movie, and our sources revealed that the actors weren’t uncomfy doing the scenes, but strangely, they were embarrassed while doing the bed dance. Post the intimate scene, the pair had to break into an impromptu dance on the bed, and while you’d think it could be so erotic, it’s far from that.

They had to pretend they were playing a guitar, and dance like teenagers at a rock show... all on the bed. With Vids simply wearing a petticoat and a loose shirt. Even the rock band AC/DC (whose dress code — shorts, shirt and a loosely strung tie — made a fashion statement) will probably suffer a complex on seeing this. Those who’ve seen the rushes of the movie claim that it’s a natural and funny. We’ve no doubt that the jodi was good in bed. The dance, we mean. What were you thinking, huh?