Any film which stars a perfectionist like Aamir Khan builds up a great buzz around it. He has provided us some of our greatest hits in the last few years, and there is a kind of expectancy built up around any new release of his. In 2010 we are eagerly awaiting the release of his wif, Kiran Rao’s maiden directorial venture Dhobi Ghat.
Not much is known about this film, apart from the fact that it stars Smita and Raj Babbar’s son Prateik Babbar in it. The film is based in Mumbai’s famous Dhobi Ghat locality, a crowded area full of families which live in close proximity to each other.
It is believed that there are 4 leading characters in this film and Aamir is just one of them. According to the rumour mills, she was not willing to give him a role in this film, since it is a rather low budget film, and she felt that there was no role that suited him. But in a role reversal that should have delighted her, he pleaded with her to let him play one of the characters in the film. He told an interviewer that it took a lot of wooing on his part, and a reluctantly permitted screen test before she allowed him to join the cast.
The film’s story has been kept under wraps and not much has been leaked to the media. Apart from the fact that Aamir play a painter in the film, the roles played by the other actors such as Prateik have not been revealed.
Kiran Rao has begun her career as a director with this film. She shot in real locations, “guerrilla style” as they call it, so that it would not catch the attention of the media or the general public. Monica Dogra, who plays the female lead, said that it was “harrowing and exciting at the same time”. They were dodging crowds and shooting the film with a small crew so as not to attract too much notice.
The film is now in the post production stage, and is likely to be released in the middle of the year. Let us hope that once again a film which stars Aamir, albeit in a small role, will entertain us and make us want to go back to the movie halls and multiplexes.
Leave a Reply