After being denied permission to shoot at the Taj Hotel for his film, based on 26/11, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has spent Rs 2.5 crore to recreate the setting at a suburban hotel in Mumbai.
RGV had also been granted very limited access to the CST railway station to shoot for his ambitious project. However, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel at Colaba, turned down his request.
A source was quoted saying that the reason behind the refusal is that the authorities at the hotel are not willing to revisit the unfortunate incident.
Although Ramu was a bit disappointed over not being given complete permission, he decided to shoot the rest of the shooting scenes on a different set altogether.
The filmmaker has gone ahead and recreated the entire lobbt of the Colaba hotel at another suburban hotel in Juhu, which is currently being rented out for shooting films. Art director Uday Singh has created this set, on which about 2.5 crore rupees have been spent.
Ramu, on his part, was quoted saying that it could be traumatic for many to see the recreation of that horrible tragedy and that for him, in the context of the attacks, a five-star hotel is the symbol of human achievement in terms of splendour.
We had reported a few days back that actor turned producer John Abraham was quite keen on producing the sequel to cult gangster flick Satya after learning that maverick director Ram Gopal Varma would be helming the sequel.
However, it now seems that the plans for the sequel might have to wait. Sources claim that Bharat Shah, who had produced Satya, is currently embroiled in a legal dispute with Ramu for monies that the latter allegedly owes the former and this might affect the plans for the sequel as well. A source close to Shah was quoted saying that as Shah had produced the film, he has the right to the film and the title and the sequel cannot take off without his approval, which now seems difficult considering the issues between Varma and Shah.
Satya, a highly acclaimed movie, revolved around the rise to power of an immigrant, who gets entangled in the web of the Mumbai underworld due to certain circumstances. The movie is also known for making actor Manoj Bajpayee a household name for his portrayal of the volatile Bhiku Mhatre.
Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma is so impressed with the trailer of English Vinglish that he cannot stop complimenting its leading lady Sridevi.
R.Balki's wife Gauri Shinde's directorial debut marks the comeback of Sridevi to the big screen after a gap of 15 years. Sridevi was last seen in Judaai in the year 1997 alongside Anil Kapoor.
In English Vinglish, she plays a middle-class Indian woman who struggles with the English language in the US.
Ram Gopal Varma tweeted, "Watched English Vinglish trailer. After 15 year hiatus, Sridevi is looking 15 times more beautiful and seems to have become 15 times better actress."
Known to be a huge fan of Sridevi, the filmmaker has often expressed his wish to make a film with the actress.
Acclaimed filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who is recently riding a wave of success following the release of Gangs Of Wasseypur II might consider maverick director Ram Gopal Varma as his mentor, but Kashyap claims that he has not watched any of Varma's recent flicks!
In a recent interview, when asked for the reason behind this, Kashyap claimed that he just sees the trailers of Varma's films and tells him what he feels about it. Kashyap also added that he fears that if he watches Ramu's films and doesn't like them, he might just walk upto him and tell him things that Varma might not want to hear. Kashyap admitted that he wants to avoid such a situation as he personally still cares for Ram Gopal Varma.
However, Kashyap also hastened to add that he learned whatever he did about filmmaking while working with Varma on cult underworld film Satya and that this experience still reflects in his movies.
Buzz is that actor Nana Patekar is going to play Rakesh Maria in Ram Gopal Varma's film based on the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. Nana is making a comeback of sorts with RGV in the Ab Tak Chhappan sequel. For those who don't know, Nana's role in the 2004 film Ab Tak Chhappan was loosely based on encounter specialist Daya Nayak.
Rakesh Maria was in charge of leading the investigations of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. Sources claim that RGV had also approached Sanjay Dutt and Kamal Haasan for the same role.
Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma will finally start shooting for his film 26/11 from Monday. The director is making sure that the film looks very authentic. The film, based on the tragic incident of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, will have the owner of Leopold Cafe Farzad Jehani playing one of the key roles in the film.
Ram Gopal Varma was quoted saying that the incidents of Leopold, if shown in the context of an eye witness, will be very impactful.
Farzad was quoted saying that since it was his place and his customers and staff that got injured and killed, Varma thought that he was perfect to play the role.
