Rajiv Menon next with Aishwarya and Abhishek
Mani Ratnam’s is not the only Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan film in the works.
Talk is that Chennai-based adman, cinematographer and director Rajiv Menon has zeroed in on the star couple in his second Hindi project tentatively titled Dhun.
According to our source, Abhishek and Aishwarya have been finalised for Rajiv’s movie, which will be produced by Eros Entertainment.
Love in reel life
It’s a music-centric love story which will be filmed in Mumbai and London. AR Rahman will compose the music for the movie scripted by Menon and Bhavani Iyer (Black).
Menon confirmed the news, stating, “I was toying with the film’s storyline when I was doing the cinematography of Guru. I had narrated the story idea to Abhi and Ash.They liked it and wanted to hear the script once I had written it. Recently, before Abhishek went to Miami, they were finalised.”
Date scare
Shooting for Dhun will start only in February 2009, informs Menon, since the couple will first wrap up Ratnam’s film. Then Aishwarya will shoot for Shankar’s Robot with Rajnikant.
Trade talk was that Saif Ali Khan was initially considered Dhun. To that the director says, “How did you know that? There was uncertainty about Abhi’s dates. Eros, which is working with Saif for another project, and had discussed Dhun with him. He liked the subject and was interested in being a part of it.”
All’s well
Subsequently, Bachchan Junior’s dates were sorted out and he signed up for Dhun.
“I didn’t ever meet Saif for the film specifically. Eros had spoken to him about it. They’ll be in a better position to comment on that part of the story,” Menon riposts.
Menon, who’s currently completing a commercial for a tea brand, is also scripting a comedy. So will he make that as a quickie before Dhun?
“Can’t say. You never know,” he signs off non-committally. Menon had directred Minsara Kanavu (dubbed into Sapnay), with Kajol and Prabhu Deva, over a decade ago. With Aishwarya Rai and Tabu, he had directed the Tamil film Kandukondain Kandukondain nearly eight years ago.
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Thanks Akshay! 
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"Jesse: did you ever post a review of the music of Sakkarakatti? I might have missed it…"
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Thanks rockstar, this is along the lines of what I was expecting from this movie.
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*** rating
another review on the predictable line.
good thing is that reviews are better than those of Tashan.
this should be enough.
Comment by satyam on 1 May 2008:
Well I am a great fan of Kandukondein Kandukondein. Rahman, Rajeev Menon, Abhi-Ash seems a no brainer!
Of course we’ll now see Abhi-Ash in a Rathnam film and a Menon film. Abhishek really has one foot planted in the South!
I and Qalandar were having this discussion not so long ago but looks like Abhishek will soon have had Rahman composing for his films more than anyone else in Hindi.
To get back to the film this is also interesting because Menon doesn’t direct very much.
Comment by beld o beld on 1 May 2008:
abhsihek seems to be surrounding himself with quality to make up for ……
but hey satyam - dont you think this abhi-ash thing is getting overdone. guru barely scraped through, sarkar raaj may have a chance bcoz of the theme but i would prefer to see abhishek with someone else, wouldnt you
Comment by Fari on 1 May 2008:
This film sound perfect for Aish. A musical. It’s been a long while. I loved Menon’s Kandukondein Kandukondein with Ash so looking forward very much to this one!
Comment by satyam on 1 May 2008:
And if the reports are true Rathnam’s film is an intense love story while this one looks to be something in a lighter vein.
Comment by satyam on 1 May 2008:
Beld: I don’t call a 50 crore film scraping through! Or a worldwide more than 100 crore grosser scraping through. But we’ve been through this before and I’m not going to re-litigate this!
Abhishek is going to appear twice with priyanka in Drona and Dostana, with Sonam in D6, with Vidya Balan in Pa. So while Abhi-Ash will be seen a fair number of times I think he has enough volume for this pair not to dominate. Rohan Sippy’s film should start at some point and that should have a different actress too. If these Talisman stories are true (and Bachchan confirms it) again there should be a different actress there.
But it is true that ‘repetition’ clearly does not bother Abhishek when it comes to his father or his spouse.
Comment by satyam on 1 May 2008:
Incidentally another story I saw on IBN today (and I see theskeptic has just referred to it) is that both Bachchans (father and son) will appear in a movie based on Mujib’s life with Abhishek playing the younger Mujib and Bachchan the older one. Now this story I think is pretty much bunk. Would be extremely surprised if this were true.
Comment by satyam on 1 May 2008:
The only thing I think Abhishek needs to do is have an intense, dramatic role every year. Guru in ‘07, SR in ‘08. He should have something along these lines in ‘09 to keep the base happy. Probably Rathnam’s film does that. Rathnam has never given Abhishek anything less than seminal.
Comment by beld o beld on 1 May 2008:
>>Beld: I don’t call a 50 crore film scraping through! Or a worldwide more than 100 crore grosser scraping through. But we’ve been through this before and I’m not going to re-litigate this!
hear, hear! you fell into my trap dude
long time since we heard you talk about Guru…lol
Comment by Eire on 1 May 2008:
satyam and Fari: I’m in agreement that Kandukondein Kandukondein was a very well turned out film. I rather enjoyed the film’s script and performances. It was a good adaption of Sense and Sensibility.
Abhishek, Aishwarya, Rajeev, and Rahman is a great combination. This film does indeed come across from the description as a light cinematic fare which I think can work.
Abhishek is paired with Priyanka in two upcoming films(Drona and Dostana). He is paired with Sonam in Dilli 6. Abhishek is also paired with Vidya in Pa. So he has other pairings. No worries.
Comment by Eire on 1 May 2008:
“”Abhishek is going to appear twice with priyanka in Drona and Dostana, with Sonam in D6, with Vidya Balan in Pa. So while Abhi-Ash will be seen a fair number of times I think he has enough volume for this pair not to dominate. Rohan Sippy’s film should start at some point and that should have a different actress too. If these Talisman stories are true (and Bachchan confirms it) again there should be a different actress there.”"
I’m in agreement. This is the gist of what I stated.
“”Incidentally another story I saw on IBN today (and I see theskeptic has just referred to it) is that both Bachchans (father and son) will appear in a movie based on Mujib’s life with Abhishek playing the younger Mujib and Bachchan the older one. Now this story I think is pretty much bunk. Would be extremely surprised if this were true.”"
I’m in agreement that this news articles is indeed likely to be utter rubbish. It seemed to have come out of nowhere. I think its bollocks.
Comment by Fari on 1 May 2008:
And if Aish and Abhi are going to do movies together I’d rather they do them with Rathnam and Menon than the likes of YRF or KJo.
Comment by beld o beld on 1 May 2008:
again rajeev menon is an unproven commodity in bollywood. he may face the mani problem of making the transition to hindi movies. its all about sensitivities.
Comment by akshay shah on 1 May 2008:
“The only thing I think Abhishek needs to do is have an intense, dramatic role every year. Guru in ‘07, SR in ‘08. He should have something along these lines in ‘09 to keep the base happy. Probably Rathnam’s film does that. Rathnam has never given Abhishek anything less than seminal.”–Totally agree Satyam…he needs atleats ONE of these films a year..
Did Rajeev Menon also direct SAPNAY?
In terms of actresses, I think Abhishek has a fair split between films with Ash and non-Ash flms….I quiet like the Priyanka-=Abhi pair from BM!
A.Shah
Comment by beld o beld on 1 May 2008:
yes akshay - i think you are right on sapnay
>The only thing I think Abhishek needs to do is have an intense, dramatic role every year
on the contrary - he needs one hit out of this genre sometime. remember what happened to ajay devgan - he did his intense roles in legend of bhagat singh, gangajal etc and fizzled out in all other roles.
in a sense you can never become a mass star just doing intense roles
Comment by satyam on 1 May 2008:
Akshay: Indeed Minsara Kanavu was dubbed in Hindi as Sapnay. I dislike this film though I believe it did reasonably well in Tamil.
Beld: Au contraire I think Kandukondein is very much like a Bollywood film but with a lot more ’sensibility’ (pun intended)!
Comment by Ravi on 1 May 2008:
I agree with you Beld, in this genre Abhi needs a massive hit and not just a hit and hopefully Sarkar Raj will provide that.
Comment by satyam on 1 May 2008:
Incidentally the idea that Rathnam wasn’t able to adapt to Hindi is, as I’ve pointed out before, the stuff of myth. Guru did very well despite few masala frills. And Yuva, though more was expected out of it, did a bit more than Company! In either case Devgan was the biggest star though Abhishek’s performance has started attracting some buzz even prior to release. As for Dil Se that wouldn’t have worked in Tamil either! In fact Rathnam’s problem in last so many years has precisely been that his subjects cannot work commercially in Tamil (not enough of a multiplex system). KM would have been massive in Hindi today (changing the political references somewhat) and in fact he was ahead of the curve there. The film played for months in Satyam (chennai) and was a big hit with a certain crowd. It did very well in Bombay with Tamilians and got good reviews around the film festival circuit globally. But TN doesn’t have the kind of market to sustain a KM. Bollywood does in terms of the multiplexes. But Dil Se wouldn’t have been a hit anywhere, then or now.
Comment by Eire on 1 May 2008:
It’s true that an actor can not become a mass star only doing intense roles. However I don’t think Abhishek doing one intense role a year will hamper him. Abhishek has a variety of upcoming films in different genres(Sarkar Raj:intense-drama, Drona:action-fantasy, Dostana:romantic comedy, and Dilli 6:a dramedy). He has been good at mixing with his films.
The new films he has been signed for with Mani Ratnam and Rajeev Menon seem to continue to follow that pattern. I don’t think Abhishek will be trapped into one genre or type of role because of his versatility in acting and in choosing his films.
Comment by satyam on 1 May 2008:
Beld: I do agree but I think so far Abhishek has done more outside his strength genre than within it! In any case he has the variety with D6 or Dostana or Drona (though this too will play to his strengths). But I’m a firm believer in satisfying core audiences.
Having said that there is another core audience for him in multiplexes, that is mostly female, and that loved his BM as much if not more than anything else.
So he really has two bases to please.
Comment by satyam on 1 May 2008:
Also I think ‘intense’ can be married to ‘mass cinema’. In fact SR looks to have something of this.
Comment by Eire on 1 May 2008:
“Also I think ‘intense’ can be married to ‘mass cinema’. In fact SR looks to have something of this.”
I can agree with this assessment.
Comment by Simply Som on 1 May 2008:
line up looks good for Abhishek, perhaps the best amongst the present actors!! movies that could well satisfy both the critics and the audience.
Comment by Mr. Bond on 1 May 2008:
Hi Som
Comment by don123 on 1 May 2008:
Abhishek and this movie looks like a winner but I can’t understand Ash’s priorities at this stage of her life. She has worked in all kinds of films and got all possible accolades there are. One would think she would consider raising a family the top most priority of her life, afer all she is nearly 35.
But it seems movies are still more important to her. Really sad, she is one person I really like as a woman and as an actress.
Comment by satyam on 1 May 2008:
Don123: It’s good for ‘us’, the viewers, that she’s still doing films!
Comment by Jesse on 1 May 2008:
Looking forward to the music here as I’m fond of both KK and MK/Sapnay. Both rank high amongst Rahman’s more “lighter” works.
Comment by Fari on 1 May 2008:
It’s a good thing that post marriage and in her mid 30’s that Aishwarya is still getting great work. For actresses it’s a rarity in bollywood.
I remember the various stories before she married about how she was going to stop working and how the Bachchan’s were going to force this.:-)
She’s doing great and I would think she knows when the time is right to have a family.
Comment by akshay shah on 1 May 2008:
“I remember the various stories before she married about how she was going to stop working and how the Bachchan’s were going to force this.:-)”–Utter nonsense that shit was!!!! They were calling her Bachchans doormat etc….!