Can't wait. I hope it doesn't get postponed.

Shamrat, "Being Cyrus" does not have any songs hence there will be no release of a soundtrack.

I know there is no music but surely there will be a release of the score. There is a piece of music in the trailer and on the website that has caught my attention!

Oh sorry shamrat, I don't know when the BGM is releasing. Anyway, here's a preview of "Being Cyrus".


from indiaglitz.com




Being Cyrus - Have you checked in a stranger lately?

Exclusive by Joginder Tuteja, IndiaGlitz [Friday, February 24, 2006]


Have you checked in a stranger lately in your house? If so, then think again because that could well be a life changing decision of yours!

This is what the caption for 'Being Cyrus' says - "Who you let in can change your life"

Saif Ali Khan has done various interesting films in the past with last 5 years establishing him as an actor of substance. In his endeavor to do films based on varied concepts, he features as a central protagonist, Cyrus, in his first ever English film 'Being Cyrus'. Produced by Miracle Cinefilms & Serendipity Films, 'Being Cyrus' is a coming of age film that marks the debut of Homi Adajania as a director while Salim Sulaiman provide the background score for the movie.

'Being Cyrus' is a story of six people and is set in a 'Parsi' household of Sethnas. Sethna family is headed by Fardoonjee Sethna [Honey Chhaya], an aging man, his two sons Dinshaw [Naseeruddin Shah] and Farokh [Boman Irani] and their wives Katy [Dimple Kapadia] and Tina [Simone Singh]. At one point of time the entire family stayed together but over a period of time internal conflicts drove them to live in separate households. Dinshaw and Katy lived in Panchgani (a small hill station near Mumbai) while Farokh and Tina stayed with Fardoonjee at an old building in Mumbai that was completely in ruins.

Dinshaw was a sculptor by profession and on meeting upon a complete stranger Cyrus [Saif Ali Khan], he allows him to stay at his house as a paying guest cum sculpting apprentice.

Cyrus comes close to the family and soon finds himself to be an integral part of Sethnas. Meanwhile an extra marital affair starts to begin in the household. Tension grows, skeletons start coming out of the closets, something bizarre happens and layers start unfolding one after another.

A deep rooted secret starts to unravel and mystery around the character of Cyrus starts engulfing everyone. Who is he? Where has he come from? What's his agenda?

That's not all as Farokh, Katy and Fardoonjee too get embroiled in the strange incidents that start happening around them.

And then there is a murder!

'Being Cyrus' takes various shades in its 90 minutes duration. Is it a drama? Or a family movie? Is it a comedy, a thriller or a deep rooted psychological drama?

Made in noir film making genre, 'Being Cyrus' is a film about mind games where an audience continues to guess about what's in store for him at every instance. Crimes happen but no one is sure about its motive and the execution till the end strikes on your face. One string joins another and finally the suspense is revealed.

As per the film makers, 'Being Cyrus' is an obsessive, inconclusive, disorderly, and strangely humane story about an outsider struggling to get inside himself. It’s a thought provoking film that will take the audience through a journey of emotions with alarming twists.

'Being Cyrus' releases on 24th March.

Rediff has a great layout for "Being Cyrus". Here it is.



When Saif fell for Dimple

Saif Ali Khan had a good 2005. It saw him picking up a National Award for Hum Tum, lapping up applause for Parineeta, and raking in the moolah with Salaam Namaste.

This year, even as the actor jumps into intense gear with Vishal Bhardwaj's Othello remake Omkara, first he has a chance to go quirky.

Here's a look at Saif Ali Khan's peculiar next release, Homi Adjania's Being Cyrus.




Meet Dinshaw Sethna.

Naseeruddin Shah plays this eccentric sculptor has-been, a man who lives reclusively around the Panchgani hill station in Maharashtra.

Dinshaw, a blissful admirer of marijuana, meets a stranger, Cyrus (Saif), and decides to let him into his house.



The prospect of a young man sharing her roof intrigues Dinshaw's wife Katy, played by Bollywood's Mrs Robinson, Dimple Kapadia. Not able to compete successfully for her husband's affections against a temptingly rolled-up joint, she decides to concentrate her affections on Cyrus.



The Sethnas are an extremely dysfunctional family, and the film shuttles between the Panchgani house and an old Mumbai building where live the other Sethnas -- Boman Irani and Simone Singh. Things were relatively normal, but Cyrus' entry as an outsider shakes up the Sethnas' fragile web of relationships. And everything unspools, rapidly.



Generating laughs on the international festival circuit, Being Cyrus seems like a rather intriguing dark comedy. The ensemble cast is incredibly talented, the script sounds fresh, and the theme is different -- even if it has Saif doing an Akshaye Khanna, ie - falling head over heels for Dimple.

Homi Adjania's directorial debut, Being Cyrus is slated to release on March 24.

Homi talks about "Being Cyrus" some more.



--------------------------------------------------

from thetelegraphindia.com


‘My film is caught in a time warp’


Screen On & Off




Saif Ali Khan in a scene from Being Cyrus


Why was Being Cyrus locked up in the cans all this while?

My producers are in the process of making a whole lot of movies and so they were testing the market abroad all this while. Especially with focus groups in Europe. In fact, Being Cyrus was being screened at exclusive festivals in the last three months to gauge the response in the international market. That’s the only reason we were prolonging the release date.


Won’t the images look dated, having been shot a couple of years back?

Not at all, because the film itself has a unique look. Being Cyrus has not been shot in a madly modern way. In fact, it is in a kind of time warp. So, it really doesn’t bother me that the film is releasing after so long. Also, no other film has been made in the meantime with the same storyline.

What is the storyline of Being Cyrus?

It is adapted from a short story by Kersi Khambatta. The two of us banged it out into a screenplay. It is about this guy Cyrus, played by Saif Ali Khan, recounting a bizarre chapter in his life when he landed up on the doorstep of the Sethna family. All the family members are completely wacko and have their own agendas. They all try to use Cyrus as a pawn to carry out their dreams. Now, Cyrus himself has his own agenda.

So is it a collision of cultures?

What I have tried to explore through Cyrus is what happens when you are suddenly confronted with a different set of individuals. They are different from his system of values, they have a very different moral fibre. I have also treated the film very casually, tried to strip it down to as simple as possible. As an audience, you laugh at these characters who are not doing the “right” things. There is no social message as such.


Did you write your characters with actors like Saif, Naseeruddin, Boman and Dimple in mind?

I have to thank my producers for giving me the cast I needed to make Being Cyrus. The performances in the film are quite incredible. All of them except Cyrus are these extreme characters and they all blend in so well. The joy of a director is to watch his actors not acting. They just threw away the lines. I guess the reason they all agreed to do the film is because of the opportunity they got to do something different. Also the fact that the film was shot in 32 days flat and each of the main actors had to give around eight days each.


Call it luck or foresight, your leading man is now a superstar…

Saif had already done Hum Tum when I signed him for Being Cyrus. Saif’s character in the film was the toughest to play. Cyrus’s self-conflict is tremendous — he doesn’t know who he is or what he is doing, he is not sure what world he’s come from or what world he’s getting into…

Saif is very understated in the film, he has interpreted the character beautifully. He has, in fact, withheld his character to project the bizarreness of many a situation. Off camera, Saif has phenomenal sensibility of the film and his characterisation. Before each of his scenes he would want to know the motivation of Cyrus.


And then there’s Naseer…

He is a joy to work with. He was very clear about what I wanted from him and that’s what he likes. Everything should be like clockwork. The little bits of magic that he brings to the movie is amazing. In some situations, like in a long, long scene where he has just one dialogue, Naseer is just there and you know he’s there. He enjoyed the film so much that he would come back to just hang out on the sets even if he didn’t have any shot on a particular day.

What’s next?

Many, many more movies, I want to be in it hook, line and sinker. I have written two more scripts but haven’t decided which one to make next. I am also continuing with my scubadiving and recently, did a bit of photography of some olive ridley turtles.

Here's an article from TimesofIndia.






The PROJECTION ROOM


Being Homi




This year will see the birth of yet another brand new edgy director. His English film, Being Cyrus, is intelligent, witty and most importantly, immensely watchable. Homi Adajania in a duologue with Jitesh Pillaai

HE should have been in the movies. Acting, that is. He chose to make a film instead. Instead of being eye candy, Homi Adajania chose to give us food for thought. The English film, Being Cyrus, directed by the 34-year-old, marks the debut of this off-kilter director.

Made in 32 days on a shoestring budget, Cyrus starts off as a comedy of manners about an idiosyncratic Parsi couple and ends up exploring the dysfunctional and edgy side to human beings. A taut story by Kersi Khambatta and the director himself, shot in a film noir by Jehangir Chowdhury, the mordant and biting drama stars an ensemble cast including Naseeruddin Shah, Dimple Kapadia and Saif Ali Khan. Shah inhabits his character of Dinshaw Sethna with easy felicity and the expertise of an actor to the camera born. Dimple, as the witless Katy, makes a superb comeback of sorts. In the eponymous role, Saif Ali Khan grabs you in his maw and then socks you in the solar plexus in a way we’re not going to forget for a long time. Boman Irani is the scene-stealer as the cantankerous Farokh. And what do you know, the British editor Jon Harris who cut the cult film Snatch lent his expert scissors for Being Cyrus too. Produced by the Times Infotainment Media Limited, for those numbed by mind benders like Kya Kool Hain Hum and No Entry, Being Cyrus might just be the bright new beacon. Screened at festivals in New York, Paris, Israel, the gushing reviews at the International Film Festival in Lyon in France said, “…The film is quirky and intriguing, worthy of the great Hitchcock. Funny, touching and sometimes frightful, Being Cyrus is a wonderful intro for the filmmaker and demands respect.”

To shift focus to the director du jour, Adajania describes himself as the maverick who moonlighted with ad films for a quick buck, then became a travel writer, of course, before turning his attention towards scuba diving! He’s bungee jumped on the Tibet border, ridden a scooter through Vietnam, gone deep-sea diving in Mauritius. In between, he’s also plucked out a fakir from India and made him a rage at the Venice festival. In short, Adajania has fallen off the map many times over. Pico Iyer would approve. “Life is too short, man,” Adajania drawls, “I’ve done everything wild, wicked and mad... I’d be sued if I started telling you what. I love the uncertainties.”

But beneath all the bawa bluster, lurks a sharp ticking mind ready to detonate. Though, she’s yet to see the film, Dimple Kapadia, calls her director, “tremendous, he’s just too good”. Naseeruddin Shah has seen the film twice and is badgering the director about its release too, while Saif Ali Khan has waxed poetic about the film in every recent interview of his.

A product of Mumbai’s Cathedral and John Connon School and St Xavier’s College, Adajania wanted to pursue a degree in English literature. His bad attendance made him opt for political science instead. So is Adajania a drifter and dysfunctional like Cyrus? “Not dysfunctional, maybe dark,” he parries, “I’ve done so many things in my life. I think I’ve finally found my calling.”

He’s already scripting his next English film and a period film in Hindi, for which he hopes to line up an ensemble cast yet again. Adajania is also honest enough to admit that right now, he lacks the skill and the drive to make supersuccessful chiffon cinema like that of Karan Johar’s films. So will a Being Cyrus, releasing on March 24, work with an audience numbed by the hooch of commercial cinema? Adajania is quick on the draw, “Those who have seen the previews have loved it. And I know they’re not gushing. I’m sure a film like this will find its audience. I’m almost certain about that. As for Karan Johar’s cinema, he’s superb at what he does. I always end up crying when I watch his movies.”

More bluster fills the air, he regales me with whimsical Parsi tales, shows me out-takes of the film. It’s raining good times. Suddenly, I’m worried that he’ll chuck it all up and take yet another scooter to Vietnam. Just like Cyrus.

Saif talks exclusively about "Being Cyrus".



from mumbaimirror.com


Saif on his first English-language film



The actor sheds his Bollywood tag for Being Cyrus



Subhash K Jha



* I know if I want to do a film in three minutes

You've mustered up the courage to do unconventional films.

I think Omkara and Being Cyrus are as different from each other as they are from conventional cinema. Even Salaam Namaste wasn't conventional, though it was mainstream because it was a Yashraj production.

You have a very unusual release coming up?

I loved 'Being Cyrus'. Honestly speaking, whether it's a Vishal Bharadwaj's or Homi Adajania's film, I feel I've moved to a different level as an actor. I might have been a little unsure at the beginning of the project, but instinctively, now I think I have started getting it right. Being Cyrus is my first English-language film. It's a different kind of cinema. It's a quality film. It should be evaluated in its own space.

Is Being Cyrus your first non-mainstream film?

I've been offered quite a lfew offbeat films. I know in three minutes if I want to do a film or not. Some directors continue to ask me even after I refuse. The reputation of being indecisive about selecting roles is a good thing if it keeps away people whom you have already refused. But invariably it doesn't.

People's interest in Being Cyrus is primarily because of your presence?

That sounds like a huge burden to carry. I must warn people Being Cyrus is not my regular kind of movie. I've done what I was expected to. If they expect me to do comedy and sing songs, similar to what I did in Salaam Namaste or Hum Tum then they'd be disappointed. I'll be seen without my shirt, though. (Laughs) It's a bit of a noire thriller. I say 'bit', because it only took 20 of my shooting days and it has been shot amazingly by cinematographer Jehengir Chowdhary.

Did it allow you to expand your horizons as an actor?

It did, actually. Homi was very insistent on not being filmy.

Did you hit it off instantly?

No. Initially he used to irk mewhen he gave instructions like, 'Don't stand like a Bollywood star'. I finally told him this film would get released only in Bombay Gym. That's when the ice broke. We laughed together. Homi gave me back something that I had lost – my sense of humour. I remember I was sitting at Natraj studio when Homi came to narrate the script to me. At that time my first thought was, it would be fun to do a film in a language in which I think. At the same time it sounded like an interesting and brave effort. I realised there was no money in it.

Is money a decisive factor for your selection?

It is certainly one of the factors. Why not? I've seen actors trying to live on commitment. It doesn't work. Often actors waste their time doing films that have no impact. There was no money in Being Cyrus. But I was impressed by the production. I think today after doing films like Being Cyrus and Omkara I will do movies because I feel they're right, those films that allow you to call yourself an actor.

In Being Cyrus you have got to share screen space with very accomplished actors.

That was one of the things that attracted me to this project. Boman Irani is a Parsi. I've always got along well with Boman. In fact, I started doing a different kind of acting in an unusual cinema when I did Darna Manaa Hai with Boman.

These Indian directors are sadly mistaken if they think their film being in English is going to make it acceptable for foreign audiences. Foreign audiences actually prefer foreign films to be in a native language. They're used to reading subtitles and I think they may actually take it less seriously if made in English. They see it as Indians trying to please western audiences.

However, I believe this film is set in the Parsi community of mumbai and I think the Parsi's speak English the majority of the time, which probably justifies the English dialogue. We don't see much films about the Parsi community, maybe this'll change that.

Looking forward to this one, hopefully it would be something new. This is not a bollywood film right?, it looks more like an alternate film.

Being Cyrus is a unique attempt

Indrani Roy Mitra | March 23, 2006 16:49 IST



A feature film by a photographer has a few advantages. It is crisp, taut and precise, and rarely suffers from avoidable fluff. Being Cyrus falls into this category. A debut venture by director Homi Adajania, it is sure to take you by surprise.

You cannot help gasping at the way it weaves a gripping tale set among a small but intriguing Parsi community. In sharp contrast to Bollywood masala films, Being Cyrus, in its 90 minutes, makes sure you remain glued to the screen and think of nothing but Cyrus (Saif Ali Khan) and how he vibes with five other colourful characters in a bizarre yet interesting gamut of repartee.

The film is an intense psychological drama that shakes you to the core and leaves you thinking long after it is over. The director's expertise lies in the fact that the film's intensity never lies heavy on you. He deftly brings in some much-needed comic relief every now and then.




The plot revolves around Dinshaw Sethna (Naseeruddin Shah), a dope-smoking retired sculptor, struggling to make both ends meet with his aged yet voluptuous wife Katy (Dimple Kapadia) at a dilapidated house in Panchgani. Dinshaw opens his house to a stranger called Cyrus, supposed to assist him at his pottery school. It initiates a new chapter in the Sethna family story.

Cyrus regularly shuttles between two dysfunctional units –- Dinshaw and Katy's Panchgani home and an old building in Mumbai where Dinshaw's aged and much neglected father Fardoonjee Sethna (Honey Chhaya), his brother Farokh (Boman Irani) and way-too-young wife Tina (Simone Singh) live.

As Cyrus treads through the complicated households, the cracks begin to show and he soon realises there are far too many skeletons in the cupboard and too much swept under the carpet. As Katy pours herself all over Cyrus in her attempt to win his passion and make him dance to her tune, Cyrus decides to play a different game altogether. His is a complicated round of chess, with each member of the Sethna family a pawn in his hands.

As you are taken in by the profundity of the film's build up, a shocking twirl of events towards the end is sure to leave you dumbfounded. It will be unjust to give away the denouement. Instead, I suggest you watch the film.

Some delightful performances make the director's work a lot easy. Naseeruddin Shah wears the callous look of a forgotten artist with effortless ease, whereas Boman Irani as his scheming, blunt and quarrelsome brother could not have been more perfect. Boman, it seems, is getting better and increasingly unique with each role. A blend of humour and malice, his Farokh Sethna is sure to strike a chord with the audience. Simone Singh ably compliments Boman's presence, playing his naïve and oppressed wife to the T.

Hats off to Manoj Pahwa for a brilliant depiction of Inspector Maninder. Armed with some hilarious lines like 'I am suffering from shoulder bone disallocation (read dislocation)' or 'We, policemen, have to see death every day', he stands for incurable verbal diarrhoea. I can't think of any actor playing this role better. A particularly memorable scene involves him dealing with too much cream in his tea.

The sole actor who fails to satisfy happens to be Dimple, who systematically overacts, much to the audience's chagrin. Saif with his brooding eyes and snappy lines seem just cut out for Cyrus' part. It feels good to see one of the brightest faces of masala films playing such a different role. Honey Chhaya as the elderly Sethna is also superb.

There is some slick camera work, accentuated by an effective use of black and white. For instance, I loved the top shot with Saif lying in a bed of dry leaves. It was a nice way to launch the film. The editing seems a bit jerky at times, but this could be either intentional or amateurish. Andrew Belletty (sound design) and Salim-Suleiman (music) deserve special mention for lending the film a haunting flavour.

Dream sequences are cleverly interwoven into the main plot, lending credence to its conclusion. Being Cyrus has on offer some great comic moments, notably Boman's tiff with his neighbour over her pet dog which takes his car for a lamppost and his ordeal at the bonesetter's clinic.

Drifting from done-to-death ingredients like raunchy songs and extraneous fight sequences, Homi Adajania shakes the audience with his first film and raises a lot of expectations. Essentially meant for multiplex viewers, Being Cyrus introduces us to a talented debutant. And a fresh style of cinema.

Rediff Rating:


***

Perfect four-star review from Times Of India.


‘Being Cyrus’: Saif and Co. breathtakingly dark & different!

Movie: ‘Being Cyrus’
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, Dimple Kapadia, Boman Irani, Simone Singh
Direction: Homi Adajania
Rating: * * * *

At the surface, ‘Being Cyrus’ is about the underlying secrets of a fading monolith, but scratch the surface and there are plenty of connotations to last you well through your viewing afterthoughts. The hallmark of a good film is when different people can take back different messages, when the message itself is not as simplistic as reading out of a poster; that is precisely the genre that this film by debutant director Homi Adajania belongs to. It is coming-of-age, it is cool, it is urbane but far greater than that it is humane and unapologetic while, at the same time, brilliant in its execution and performances.

The story of the film revolves around a seemingly dysfunctional Sethna family, led by by an eccentric sculptor Dinshaw Sethna (Naseeruddin Shah) and his neurotic, adulterous wife Katy Sethna( Dimple Kapadia) who reside in the quaint and picturesque hill station of Panchgani. The scene keeps swinging between Panchgani and Mumbai where the other half of the family - father Fardonjeee Sethna (Honey Chhaya) along with brother Farokh (Boman Irani) and his wife Tina (Simone Singh) live in an old dilapidated building, reminiscent of the city’s characteristic Parsi edifices.

Enter Cyrus, as Dinshaw’s sculpting apprentice who joins him and Katy in their home where gradually all the cracks within this ‘happy’ family begin to open up. Gradually, the layers of complex and opposite interests within the family begin to unravel with Cyrus getting involved with Katy. Greed and adultery take over and malice is on the cards. But Cyrus is not without his own issues. In fact, as the film progresses Cyrus emerges as the character with the most shades.

While all the six characters are starkly in contrast with each other, none of them are without their share of concerns. The film which starts off as a painless comedy gets darker and more intricate as the story moves on. Katy believes she is tricking Farokh and Cyrus into playing her game to secure, among other things the old man Fardonjee’s property. But Cyrus is in a game of his own. The emotions keep vacillating with every move fascinating the watcher till the last scene.

What accrues is a fully rewarding film noir experience that has its share of everything ? fun, drama, love, thrill and vengeance. Its hard not to be impressed by the maturity of treatment and the realistic cultural ambience that the debutant director manages to create. Inspite of a predominantly Parsi backdrop, the film never slips into the clich?s of imitation (accent and mannerisms); yet seems so authentically Parsi in its flavour. The fast paced nature of the film is enhanced by its crisp length.

The ensemble cast led by Saif Ali Khan is immaculate. As the obsessive, multi-layered Cyrus, he pulls off one of his best portrayals to date. Dimple Kapadia as the scheming wife and Simone Singh as the downcast homemaker are both first rate. As the underrated duo, Naseeruddin Shah and Boman Irani evoke a rare sense of timing and finesse associated only with great actors. In fact, the entire cast seems to have gone a notch above in their reputation with this endeavour.

The story and screenplay shared by Homi Adajania and Kersi Khambatta shows enough verve and passion to tell it like it is. Be it in the narrative twists or the dialogues, the script never loses sight of its ultimate conclusion.

The editing by Jon Harris and cinematography by Jehangir Chowdhary is well in sync with the mood and genre of the film. Salim and Sulaiman are competent with their background score.

There is an aspect of Homi Adajania’s direction which is akin to Asian filmmaking pros Ang Lee (‘Brokeback Mountain’) and Wong Kar Wai (‘In the mood for love’). Like the latter, Homi seems to have a tendency to explore the struggle of outsiders trying to find meaning in a world of strangers. And that is a quality that should hold him in good stead. The less than two hours long, English thriller is a gratifying experience for all those searching for the almost ‘Utopian’ movie experience. If you have been craving for a truly ‘different’ movie experience, this one’s your safest bet.

R2 DVD on pre-order from play:

http://www.play.com/play247.asp?pa=pfa& ... tle=924486

BEING CYRUS US Collections:

Who do you believe ??

Indiafm reports:



Boxofficemojo reports:

Rana, let's put it this way. Boxofficemojo is an internationally reputed box-office website. Taran Adarsh is a damn fool.

I'm just really surprised that "Being Cyrus" is officially the highest grossing weekend opener ever for an English-Indian film. For a film of this nature to make more than 2 crores in the opening weekend is truly mindboggling.