The story of the movie — a romance set under the backdrop of the floods that destroyed the upper reaches of the Himalayas in 2013 — seemed just like the kind of project which would get a star daughter noticed as someone who is more than just a commercial face. But things haven’t really gone according to plan and it has nothing to do with Sara. Rather, it is the director and the producers who seem to be in conflict mode, turning the making of the movie into a crisis.
The main issue seems to be the amount of time the director seems to be taking to finish the movie. According to the producers, shooting was supposed to be over in four months, but it is now almost a year and a half. Also, there were issues about the money that was being spent and, from the director’s standpoint, attempts to interfere with the creative side of the movie. All of which has come to a head with the producers now taking legal action against Abhishek. Allegations against him also include rude behaviour towards everyone and high handedness. He had unilaterally made a tweet that Kedarnath would release the same time as Shah Rukh Khan’s Zero, something which would patently affect the business of the movie.
On the other hand, Abhishek has accused the producers of not making payments on time. In the middle of all this is Sara’s career. Her mother Amrita reportedly gave a dressing down to Abhishek for the issues that had been created. Sara herself is reportedly trying to come up with a backup option by trying to get a role opposite Ranveer Singh in a movie directed by Rohit Shetty, a failsafe sort of option. But there is competition from other star daughters. Sridevi is reportedly keen for her daughter to get the role. If it ends up being a clash of Bollywood dynasties then it is anyone’s guess who gets to bag the movie. Things needn’t have arrived at this pass if only Kedarnath had got made, but for that the producer and director need to come to a compromise soon.
Collateral damage
India has just had one of the biggest banking fraud cases in its history with a jewellery business owner scamming a public bank for over Rs11,000 crores. The magnitude of it has come as a shock to the system, but normally Bollywood wouldn’t be part of the news. As it turns out, a few stars found their name dragged into it. They had no part in the case itself but were brand ambassadors for the companies involved in the fraud.
The biggest name that cropped up was that of Priyanka Chopra. She had a three-year contract with one of the brands. But once the news broke, Priyanka tried to disconnect herself from the issue. First there were rumours that she was going to sue them because they had not paid her. And then there were clarifications that she wasn’t doing that, instead she was looking at terminating the contract in the light of what had happened.
The other stars from Bollywood who had endorsement contracts with jewellery brands connected to the case were Sidharth Malhotra, Kriti Sanon and Kangana Ranaut. They haven’t lost anything themselves, but there is always a hit to the reputation when something like this crops up.
Success formula
Padman, Akshay Kumar’s latest, is not a blockbuster, but it has earned enough in one week to be called a hit. Collections stood in the Rs60-70 crore range and chances are it might inch its way to Rs100 crore. That makes this his fourth back-to-back hit. Akshay has perfected a volume based model of doing three to four movies in a year while the Khans — Aamir, Shah Rukh and Salman — do one or two. While they get the big Rs200 crore and Rs300 crore blockbusters, the total revenues from Akshay’s movies across a year are just as large as theirs. This is a smart way of going about it because it reduces the risk from a single movie. If Aamir or Salman only do one movie in a year then they need it to be a huge hit. If it does not work then it is a big blow all around. When it comes to Akshay, even if a movie flops, he can still bank on the other three that are on the anvil. It is a formula that has worked very well for him, making him the fourth superstar in town after the Khans.
Curious recruitment
Everytime people think a truce has been called between Hrithik Roshan and Kangana Ranaut, something emerges to rake it all over again. The last time, it was Hrithik’s turn to launch a serious fusillade when he went all out in a publicity blitz to explain his position in the bizarre dispute in which Kangana alleges that there was an affair between them and he says they had no contact whatsoever, forget a relationship. And now just when things seemed like it had calmed down again, the waters have got murky again. Reportedly, Hrithik had a parting with his manager recently. Guess who that manager is going to work for now? Yes, she has been hired by Kangana. That obviously gives Kangana an information pipeline into Hrithik’s financial interests.
Will she use it to get back at him? The manager says she has made it clear to Kangana that she wouldn’t discuss Hrithik with her. But then that might be all just for public consumption. It is hard to not see an angle in this recruitment considering the history of the two parties. Also, the issues between them seem to gain momentum when Kangana has a movie about to be released. Her next is slated to hit the screens towards the end of April. And so Hrithik might be on tenterhooks as to what controversies will be raked up.
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