Ghanchakkar: Getting hot in here

Emraan and Vidya team up for Ghanchakkar.

MUMBAI:

After their pairing in the sizzling film The Dirty Picture, Bollywood’s serial kisser Emraan Hashmi and retro bombshell Vidya Balan have been cast opposite each other for a second time in the comic-thriller Ghanchakkar and the two hope to rock it. Balan, who just got a taste of being the reigning queen of Bollywood, as she bagged Best Actor (female) award in almost all prestigious award shows, hopes that this film will give her another award-winning performance and strengthen her image in the fickle Bollywood industry.

A UTV Motion Pictures’ project, the quirky film is expected to go on floors in August and will be directed by Rajkumar Gupta, who worked with Balan in No One Killed Jessica. Ghanchakkar is a film that revolves around the story of Sanju (Hashmi), an ex-con man who has a very relaxed and chilled out attitude but has a taste for finer things in life. The only problem is his ambitious wife (played by Balan).

Gupta, who claims Ghanchakkar is one of his “best projects till date”, says a lot of thought went behind casting the two actors in the movie. “As a director, you always visualise certain actors for the roles and if you are not required to compromise on the casting, you have won half the battle,” said Gupta. “This is the first time I am going to be working with Emraan, who, I think, will do complete justice to the role and this is the first time the audiences will see him essay a role of an eccentric man.”

The director is extremely positive about the future of this film, since the actor-couple has already wooed audience with their crackling on-screen chemistry. “Having worked with Vidya before, she was definitely my first choice for the role. It’ll be a delight to get her to work in an entirely new genre in a totally different avatar and in a quirky, mad, outside the box role. The two leads and their chemistry between them will take the viewers on a rollercoaster ride,” he added.

The actors themselves are equally excited to launch into this experience and are hoping to relive their former success that came with The Dirty Picture. “As an actor, all you want to do is reach out to the audiences with diverse yet entertaining roles. Having said that, the story, the director, the co-actors and producer, play an extremely critical role while selecting a film. With Ghanchakkar, it all just fell in place,” said Balan. “When you have worked with an actor before, there is a certain amount of comfort that is brought to the table. Emraan is a brilliant co-star and together we hope to rock it,” she added.

On the other hand, Hashmi stated, “I jumped on board when Rajkumar offered it to me. It’s a brilliant story factoring all the essential components — its humourous, thrilling, edgy and entertaining, which is sure to connect with the audiences. It is undoubtedly going to be a challenging role for me because it’s something that I haven’t attempted before. And now to add to the excitement, Vidya and I will be seen on screen together again and I am sure, under Rajkumar’s apt direction, we will recreate the magic on screen,” concluded the actor.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd, 2012.