The screen's on fire

Kunal Kohli's highly anticipated film finds itself in the eye of a storm, but he still has enough reasons to be optimistic.

One of the most awaited films of 2006, Kunal Kohli's Fanaa has been in the news for reasons both good and bad. It marks a comeback for actress Kajol, who is facing the arc lights after nearly six years.

Starring alongside her is Aamir Khan, who himself makes films so infrequently that a new movie featuring him is always an event.

Though Kajol and Aamir shared screen space in Indra Kumar's film Ishq, this is their first romantic pairing "" quite unusual considering how long they have both been in the film industry.

Interestingly, Kajol opted out of her buddy Karan Johar's project Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna to star in Kohli's Fanaa. "It was a dream to get Kajol and Aamir to essay the lead characters in Fanaa. Maybe this pair will never be repeated again unless a solid script comes their way. Both chose Fanaa because of the script," says Kohli, who started working on the film last year.

Despite an enviable cast and the prestigious Yash Raj banner producing the Rs 30 crore film with exquisite shots of Poland, Kohli's voice sounds strained for obvious reasons.

Initially multiplexes were against releasing the film as Yash Raj films demanded a larger share of the profits from them. Luckily, four big players including Adlabs, PVR, Shringar and Cinemax have decided to screen the film and also give a cut of nearly 7-10 per cent to Yash Raj Films. This means that an increase in ticket prices is inevitable.

Kohli clarifies, "We never asked theatre owners to increase ticket prices. We only asked for some profits, especially as we provide them with high-quality films. We were asking for better terms only if the film does well at the box office." Kohli can breathe easy on that front.

According to trade reports, the film released with 650 prints is all set to rake in Rs 3.5 crore on its first day with Rs 1 crore coming from the Mumbai territory alone.

But in Gujarat, Fanaa will not be released in the state because of Khan's strong views on the Narmada dam issue. The central government has decided not to interfere in the matter too.

"It is the death of democracy. If Aamir as an individual wants to make a point, why can't he do that? Is it necessary to mix an art form with politics?" Kohli snaps.

He may have a point. According to a Star News-A C Nielsen survey, a majority of people in Gujarat want to watch the film.

The survey states that nearly 63 per cent of the people in Gujarat want to watch the film as compared to 33 per cent who don't want to watch it because of Khan. Nearly 52 per cent of the people do not agree with BJP's appeal to boycott Fanaa.

More than feeling sad, Kohli is "annoyed at the attitude of people making a mess of a simple movie for which the cast and crew have worked so hard". Which is why he feels that the creative time during the making-of-Fanaa was his best phase.

"Prasoon (Joshi) and I used to work on the lyrics of the songs after having whisky," laughs Kohli. Then he enjoyed writing the dialogues of the film late into the night and sitting in the sound-recording studio with music directors Jatin-Lalit who also scored music for his previous hit film Hum Tum.

Was he comfortable getting the duo to compose music, especially when they were battling personal problems and eventually decided to part ways? Didn't it affect the music? Kohli clarifies, "The music of Fanaa is fantastic and I was personally involved with it. As far as Jatin-Lalit are concerned, they don't let professional commitments suffer because of personal turmoil. "I feel sad that they have parted and hope they will come back together," he adds.

Kohli, who was born and brought up in Mumbai, says he always dreamt of making films and being part of the film industry. A graduate in Economics, he was involved in school and college plays but says, "I was invariably thrown out because of my mischievous ways."

While his first film Mujhse Dosti Karoge flopped at the box office, Hum Tum marked his first hit as a director. How has Kohli grown from Hum Tum to Fanaa? "Actually I've only just realised that Hum Tum wasn't too bad a film. I believe in moving quickly from one film to another," he says.

And how does he react to all the controversies faced by Fanaa? "I'm here because I love making films. I don't want to gain any mileage, issue statements and have my pictures plastered everywhere. I just feel sad that my film had to go through all this," he says. With Fanaa, he has one major regret of not being able to shoot completely in Kashmir.

"There was a bomb blast when we were there and there were rumours that we could be attacked. I wanted Kashmir to be a part of my script but it was just too difficult to get permission from the concerned authorities," he rues.

With Fanaa going through such a choppy ride already, let's hope the director eventually finds reason to smile.

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Synopsis
"The film is about making choices," explains Kohli. Zooni Ali Beg (Kajol), a blind Kashmiri girl, ventures out into the world on her own for the first time and meets Rehan Qadri (Aamir Kha ), a local tour guide and an incorrigible flirt. Zooni enjoys every moment of her time with Rehan. Things are going fine till she realises Rehan has a dark side to him "" one that can not only change her life but also destroy it.

TRIVIA

This is Kajol's first film after her marriage. She was offered Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna by Karan Johar but since she was required to stay away from her little daughter Nysa on a 90-day schedule in New York, she chose to do Fanaa.

The film has been shot in Kashmir, Old Delhi and Poland.

Fanaa has music by Jatin-Lalit. This is their last film as a duo.

The film also stars Rishi Kapoor, Tabu and Shiney Ahuja.

A unique promotional campaign was devised for Fanaa where the actors interviewed each other and spoke about the film. The programme was aired simultaneously on NDTV, Sony and MTV.