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****With SP. Attraction, by PREITY ZINTA! MUSIC by S'E.L and POETRY, DIOLOGUES by JAVAID sahab, also helping EX Wify! with SCREEN PLAY!
An DONT FORGET to WATCH! our OWN DUGGU! in SP.appearance! Trying to wear, SRK's shoes!
(((Watching Amitabh Bachchan shoot))))
The sets of Honey Irani's Armaan boom with the Big B's resonant baritone:
Set No 2 at Filmistan Studios, Mumbai, is reverberating with a familiar voice: the booming, unmistakable baritone of the Big B.
Amitabh Bachchan is advising a Dr Akash on what could happen if Dr Akash did not operate on the patient Sonia, lying on the table. If Dr Akash does operate Sonia, chances are that he may not succeed. He would then have to face the repercussions: the stigma of a failed doctor from the medical fraternity and the society at large.
A pindrop silence follows.
Bachchan's voice creates magic even as the crew and onlookers wait with bated breath --- even a sigh is not allowed on the sets as the shoot is being taken with sync sound.
"Cut! Good shot, Amitji," yells the director.
In her 'director' clothes --- black trousers with a flowing shirt --- writer-turned-director Honey Irani is all smiles. Pleased as punch at the shot, she rushes to Bachchan with glee.
Meanwhile, Dr Akash (Anil Kapoor) and Sonia (Preity Zinta) takes a breather.
We are on the sets of Irani's maiden venture Armaan, produced by Dinesh Gandhi. The film also stars Randhir Kapoor, who plays Preity's father, and Gracy Singh.
This love triangle is set against the medical background. As Irani puts it, "My script suited the medical profession the best; the situations fit perfectly with the medical field. Also, you get tired of business tycoons and industrialist families." And so you have Bachchan playing veteran neurosurgeon Dr Singh, who dreams of owning a state-of-the-art, sophisticated hospital.
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Sharing his dream is his son Dr Akash Singh, played by Anil Kapoor. Bachchan holds forth, "We are in the process of collecting funds to make our dream come true when I die. That leaves my son in a dilemma, primarily because of the complexities involved with the two ladies in his life. The scene which I am shooting has me coming to my son's aid when his wife Sonia is battling with death.
"Since this scene comes after I die," Bachchan continues, "it is shot as though I am an angel come to guide him," adds Bachchan about his character. Dressed in a black designer churidar-kurta, his shiny white wig does lend him an ethereal aura.
"This look is restricted only to the film," he smiles, as hairstylist Avaan Contractor fiddles with errant strands.
"I love to be on this set, kyunki har do minute mein ek khoobsurat si ladki aakar mere baal banati hai [every two minutes a beautiful girl comes up to me to do my hair]," he is heard saying jokingly to his director.
Shot over, Bachchan starts reading his lines, correcting the grammar, adding words, editing some, while the 20-something Assistant Director watches haplessly.
This is the first time Bachchan is working with a woman director who, he says, "I cannot see [what] with this new system of watching the shots on the television monitor and giving instructions on the mike."
This is also the first time Bachchan is working with Anil Kapoor. Though Kapoor acted as the Big B's son in the Dilip Kumar-starrer Shakti, the two did not have any scenes together. This time, it is a special feeling as the two actors hug each other warmly.
Not wanting to be left out, Preity wants her share of affection and Bachchan, like an indulgent father, embraces her too.
Written and directed by Irani, Armaan has dialogues by Javed Akhtar. "He has helped me with the screenplay as well. It helps. Being a writer, Javed could observe certain nuances which I missed out on," states Irani, who seems thrilled at directing her own script. "It is a great feeling," she says.
The film has music by the Dil Chahta Hai trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, while it has its hairstyles by the DCH girl Avaan. Arjun Bhasin has designed the costumes.
Look around the sets and you see women all around --- young, no-nonsense, yelling instructions and working meticulously. "Yes, there are more women here. With no offence meant to men, I feel women are more observant than them. They can spot more details than men. They are meticulous, organised and do their work faster. Here on this set, they give hell to the rest of the unit. I always tell him that one of these days, a crane will fall on our heads," Irani guffaws.
To be shot in Mumbai, Mussoorie and Mauritius, the film will have its last schedule by the end of this year. Armaan releases May 2003.
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