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Cricket with the bookies
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Emraan Hashmi creates a stir with ‘Jannat’, a film that deals with betting and Woolmergate
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Film-makers are a divided lot. Some are playing safe choosing not to release their films fearing that the IPL season will translate into lower audience turn out at the cinema halls. There are a few who are taking that leap of faith and test the waters. Mahesh Bhatt belongs to the second category.
Jannat, his latest offering, will hit theatres on May 16. The driving point is cricket and the murky world of betting. “There were four to five stories we were considering but somehow things weren’t gelling. Then Woolmergate happened and I got the crucial link to my story,” first-time director Kunal Shivdasani discloses to us, while kickstarting the film’s promo tour in Hyderabad.
Jannat does talk about betting and the story includes a coach who is killed under suspicious circumstances. “I am not making a film on the Woolmer incident. We mixed fact and fiction,” says Kunal. A protégé of the Bhatt camp, he’s assisted their earlier productions and chose betting as the subject for his first film.
“Everyone loves cricket in this country and in the late 90s, the issue of matchfixing and betting raised its ugly head and things haven’t been the same since then. This is the first time a film will talk about betting. We shot in Cape Town when a cricket match was on. The impact on the screen is terrific,” actor Emraan Hashmi says.
Not easy
Doing a film on betting hasn’t been easy though. “Those involved in betting were not willing to speak. I tried to convince them that I am neither a cop nor a reporter and just wanted to make a film. I visited a few ‘shady’ bars in Mumbai to meet these people and get to understand their terminology. I even paid one guy Rs. 5000 to come home and speak to me for half an hour,” says Kunal. “We drew from real life incidents and gave a dramatic spin. Talking to bookies helped us how the rates are decided, how it changes as the game progresses and we got that into dialogue form.”
The promos have irked Navjot Singh Sidhu who recently lashed out at the makers of the film for mocking him through the film. “If I wanted to take potshots at Sidhu, I would have used a turbanated guy. Sidhu is irked by one of Emraan’s on-screen statements about former cricketers which says there’s little difference between ex cricketers and prostitutes –– dono ki jawani katam to khel katam. Sidhu should see in what context the dialogue has been used. Sidhu is looking to gain popularity out of this film,” says Kunal, who will be directing two more films for the Bhatt camp.
“The film works at different levels. I play a small time gambler who turns to betting lured by money. The core of the film is actually a love story,” says Emraan.
The films breaks a few barriers here as well. Emraan’s love interest, Sonal Chauhan, is a call centre employee who has no qualms with a live-in relationship and pre-marital sex.
SANGEETHA DEVI DUNDOO
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