BOMBAY TIMES (June 20, 2012)

 

1. To capture the true essence of romance, director Kunal Kohli became Shahid and shot an entire love song with Priyanka Chopra. The depiction helped Shahid and Priyanka bring out the perfect expressions.

2. For a drunken scene in the film, Shahid’s reference point was Amitabh Bachchan who has done some memorable scenes in movies like Amar, Akbar Anthony. “Shahid being a teetotaller was in a dilemma to how to portray a drunkard. I told him that Amitabh is teetotaller too, and he could draw inspiration from him,” says Kunal.

3. For the song Jab Se that shows the 60s era, Shahid came up with steps at the spur of the moment, and there was no choreographer. During the 60s the late Shammi Kapoor would choreograph himself and come up steps with impromptu, his body moving graciously with the rhythm of the music. It was a challenge for Shahid to do the same.

4. When the lead pair went to Melbourne Cricket Ground, they were taken to an ongoing football match. The coach came with a couple of balls and taught the actors the rules of Aussie football game; a game that is unique to that country. He taught them to play after which SK, PC spent the next half hour playing on the ground and having great fun.

5. In the scene with the sheep, the unit was  asked to get some grass for them as they kept eating Shahid’s fingers.

6. Shahid and Priyanka were constantly challenging each other through the making of TMK. When they were shooting the 1910 bits, they had a paratha-eating competition and when they were shooting the 2012 bits they got into a burger-eating match. As part of it all, they decided to also try the cuisine of the era they were working on, out of fun!

7. There is usually some acrimony or trouble on a set during a film’s making, but the sets of TMK were so harmonious that one day Shahid asked, ‘why is everyone so happy with everyone else? Yaar, koi toh argue karo!’.

8. The Hum Se Pyaar Karle Tu step of lifting the kurta and shaking it was the idea that came from Sasha because he figured it would be a fun thing to do. He wanted to do it once, but Kunal and gang liked it so much they decided to use it throughout.

9. The 1960’s film era was recreated with Bombay’s vibe. They got trams etc, and the actors used the same adaa and tehzeeb. Shahid took tips from the stars of the 60s — whether he was the poor, young man like Raj Kapoor, a debonair dancer like Shammi Kapoor, or someone haazir jawab like Dev Anand. When you watch TMK you’ll notice that the hues of each one of those greats are all there.

10. Youngsters had come from all over Australia to catch a glimpse of Shahid and Priyanka during their Melbourne visit. One 16-year-old girl started crying saying she has been a crazy Sasha fan since she was 7. She said she wouldn’t stop crying till SK gave her a big hug, which he did.