Ajay, Abhishek refute ‘Bol Bachchan’s’ woes

Bollywood glamour had Dubai once again in a tizzy this weekend as a bevy of stars descended on these shores to promote yet another potboiler aiming to cash in on the burgeoning NRI diaspora and Emirati fans that Indian cinema boasts.

This week saw a red carpet welcome for the “Bol Bachchan” lead cast of Ajay Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan, who put their star power to good use by peppering the media proceedings with humour and witty anecdotes.

The glamour quotient was provided by the less vocal and possibly media shy, Asin and Prachi Desai.

Talking about the film’s telling title, namesake Bachchan revealed that director Rohit Shetty never even revealed his intentions when he first approached the actor for the role.

“Rohit only mentioned the ‘Bol Bachchan’ title after narrating the script to me,” laughed Bachchan. “The term itself is slang in India for someone who tells tall tales.

My dual character in the film was the perfect backdrop for this, especially since one of the two roles I play in this is called Abhishek Bachchan.”

“Bol Bachchan” is inspired from the 1979 Amol Palekar classic, “Golmaal”, which saw the veteran actor play a dual role in a comedy of errors.

However, quiz the film’s makers and they deny the new film is a remake, despite purchasing the rights of the original.

Said Devgn: “‘Golmaal’ was a great film and it should receive its due credit if we are drawing inspiration from the original. However, Rohit’s film is different from the original, so we can’t say “Bol Bachchan” is a remake – far from it, in fact.

“We have taken into account that the original was a 1970s film, and the decades have changed, the demand today is different, the mindset is changed and so has the audience.”

The actors, who have embarked on a marketing blitzkrieg of late to promote the July 5 release, have also been on tenterhooks with “Bol Bachchan” embroiled in a legal tussle in India with producer Raju Shah claiming that production house Ashtavinayak owe him Dh24 million in dues.

But co-producer Devgn refuted the claim, stating that the media was misinformed of the equation, with rights of the film having been sold off much earlier to the legal brouhaha that has been all over the news.

“I would like to clarify that the legal case between Ashtavinayak and Raju Shah has nothing to do with “Bol Bachchan”. In fact, the rights of our film are with Fox Star Studios and have nothing to do with Ashtavinayak,” he stressed.

While Fox CEO Vijay Singh did not confirm the amount, sources state that the film’s rights had been purchased for a whopping Dh62m.

The buzz surrounding the comic caper has generated quite an interest amongst fans it appears, with even an “Ice Age 4” spoof generating hits on YouTube where Devgn and Bachchan are seen doing voiceovers for Sid and Manny mouth with witty one-liners from the Bollywood film.

Bachchan was quite impressed by the video, saying: “It is such a fantastic compliment to see these iconic “Ice Age” characters mouth Hindi dialogues. YouTube is a great marketing tool today to reach our film fans, and this spoof proves just that.”

Meanwhile, the film’s two female leads who had been silent thus far, finally mustered up stories, revealing anecdotes of how the Devgn, Bachchan and Shetty tortured the two by forming a posse of villains.

“The trinity of the villains had us terrorised and survival was only possible by Prachi and I sticking close together,” revealed Asin.

“However, I was spared the worst, but Prachi was forced to undergo an initiation ceremony.”

The demure Desai stated: “On the first day of shoot, I was to perform a three page scene opposite Abhishek, where I am required to be very angry. However, during every take, Abhishek and Rohit would burst out laughing, forcing me to do 27 takes in total.

“And it was only a few days ago that I was told it was all an act to rile me up.”

Set in Rajhastan, “Bol Bachchan” sees Bachchan and Asin play siblings who are forced to move to a tiny village when they lose their ancestral home in a legal battle.

"Upon reaching the village, a twist in the tale sees Bachchan forced to take on a dual persona to impress Devgn’s character of the most influential landowner in the village.

Many critics are saying this film is a make or break for Bachchan, who hasn’t delivered a hit film in two years.

Meanwhile, no stone has been left unturned to create a wow factor for the comedy, with director Shetty even roping in Bachchan senior, the legendary Amitabh, to perform the film’s title track.

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