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The new mantra... Om Jai Jagadish!
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Vashu Bhagnani may never make "Bawandar" but that is simply because he is happy making the likes of "Biwi Number One" and "Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan" and laughing all the way to the bank. His last couple of forays to the box office may not have yielded fruitful results but with "Om Jai Jagadish" round the corner, it is difficult to keep him down or out for long, as ZIYA US SALAM finds in the course of this conversation in Delhi this past week... .
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HE IS a hardcore businessman. Making profit is obviously the first of his priorities. He makes no bones about it. Like most men in the business of cutting corners to enhance profits, his language is littered with four-letter words. He does not mind it, only softens a bit at the sight of a member of the opposite gender. Like most others of his ilk, he is the feudal sort - dictatorial to those below, servile to those above. A constantly ringing mobile phone keeps him occupied - he switches on effortlessly from English to Hindi and certain words which mean the same irrespective of the language -- as does the unkempt growth on his round face - he scrubs his unshaven jaw with the irritable constancy of purpose. Life has begun to leave its imprint on his countenance. He maintains an unabashedly rotund figure even as his belly threatens to precede his feet. A gold chain and more than a couple of rings adorn his skilful fingers. His hairline has just begun to recede - he is slowly grooming his son, now into his late teens, to carry the torch forward. He is unlikely to be seen reading V.S. Naipaul or appreciating M.F. Husain's works but absolutely certain to be at ease with films like "Coolie Number One" and "Biwi Number One" - after all he has produced them.
Yet it is difficult not to like him. He is affable, has a way with words, knows his limitations of intellect, is candid enough to admit his mistakes, brave enough to try out new permutations to make things click - he claims to have launched some 20 new artistes in Bollywood, including some technical hands and has just provided young Tara Sharma with her first film. Politeness may be an alien virtue for him but he is at home with honesty. Erase the appearance and you get across to a man who knows what he is doing - and that is something one cannot say about very many people in Bollywood.
At the moment he is busy with the post-production work of "Om Jai Jagadish", his latest assembly venture that marks the directorial debut of Anupam Kher. The film, Vashu Bhagnani informs - yes, we are talking about him - will hit the theatres this coming July. And is sure to be the much needed shot in the arm the beleagured Abhishek Bachchan - now probably on an extended run of generosity - is so badly striving for. "He does not have to turn back after this film. It will be a path-breaking film for him. Haven't you seen the promos of the film yet? The way he walks, the way he dresses, the way he carries himself, everything is so different. He will forget the past with this film. He has given a fine performance here," Vashu Bhagnani gushes about the man who has not yet found fortune knocking at his door. But Vashu is on no journey of charity. It is just right words on the right occasion, as Diya Mirza would surely have discovered by now.
The shrewd businessman and the experienced film-maker that he is, Vashu firmly denies rumours of any rift with Anil Kapoor or any display of professional tantrums by the star. "I have not had any problem working with Anil Kapoor. He is a professional artiste. He is a mature man. I am a commercial film-maker. `Badhai Ho Badhai' was his own production but if some people are suggesting certain things it is their viewpoint. It is like one newspaper saying one thing and the other another."
Vashu Bhagnani...films for commerce, films for entertainment
However hard he may deny it, Vashu has not had the best of times with his stars in recent months. A few months ago in November last year he was quite eloquent with his praise for Diya Mirza - who had then just had her first two Bollywood releases with "Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein" and "Deewanapan". Vashu Bhagnani had then called her a "pretty actress who will prove people wrong". Now after Diya Mirza parted ways with "Om Jai Jagadish", he says: "What can I say about Diya? She worked with us in two films but it was not a lifelong contract. As far as my film is concerned, I think Tara Sharma has done a fine job. One cannot bound anybody forever."
But then Diya Mirza and Anil Kapoor are not the only problems dogging Vashu Bhagnani in recent weeks. His latest film comes in the heels of the box office debacle of his last two films - "Rehna Hai Tere Dilm Mein" and "Deewanapan". "No, there is no pressure as such though one would have liked those films to do better. `Rehna Hai... got a bad Press initially but picked up through word of mouth. `Deewanapan' did not do as badly as some others at the time of Diwali when it was released. But I realise there is a difference. Those films were in a separate category. There were new artistes in those films whereas here I have mature, experienced artistes - like Waheeda Rehman and Anil Kapoor besides Urmila Matondkar, Fardeen Khan, Mahima Choudhary and others - who have given good performances."
He also denies that the film was ever scheduled for release in June. "What can I say when people write imaginary things. The film had not even been completed when some people said that it is being released in the coming week. We have only now finished post-production work. The film took 15 months to complete and is now ready for release."
Incidentally, Anupam Kher reportedly left 32 films as an actor to complete his directorial responsibilities in "Om Jai Jagadish" - spelt with an extra `a' just like other films of Vashu have been due to some astrological calculation. "Yes, I understand he would have refused quite a few things simply because direction is a big responsibility. But I had full faith in Anupam Kher and the film will vindicate that."
Yes, his claims may be a shade hard to swallow all the time but he has courted success with enviable consistency. Over the past seven years he has given six hits. If he aspires to notch up the seventh with his latest, he cannot be faulted for he has given films which were frowned upon by purists, loved by the masses and had the cash registers jingling at the turnstiles. And that is what matters. Here's praying for success! Om Jai Jagadish... .
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