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Posts tagged special chabbis
Neeraj Pandey to depict the Sukh Ram case in Special 26
03 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Soumyadipta Banerjee (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 23, 2013)
In 1995, reports surfaced of then Union Telecom Minister Sukh Ram being involved in the manipulation of bids to facilitate purchase of telecom equipment by certain private firms at the cost of millions of rupees to the country’s exchequer. A year later, a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) raid uncovered nearly Rs 3.66 crore stashed away in the minister’s official residence. Found guilty of favouring a Hyderabad-based private firm, Sukh Ram, along with two others, was convicted in 2002.
Now, Neeraj Pandey will depict this real-life CBI raid on screen as part of his much awaited film Special Chabbis.
A source told Mirror, “Neeraj wants to recreate the CBI raid, which revealed Rs3.66 crores at Sukh Ram’sofficial residence at 12, Safdarjung Lane, Delhi, on August 16, 1996. Much of the money was packed into suitcases and kept in the puja room, sharing space with bottles of scotch. The CBI sleuths found there were mainly high-denomination currency notes amounting to Rs 2.45 crore. At the time, Sukh Ram’s daughter, who was at home, could not offer any coherent explanation.“
Akshay Kumar and Anupam Kher will play the CBI officers who raid the minister’s residence in the film.
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An upcoming film recreates CBI raid at former telecom minister’s house
Jayoti Soor (DNA; January 23, 2013)
Neeraj Pandey’s Special 26 isn’t just based on a real-life fake CBI gang that looted the rich and corrupt people. It also has a More >
Akshay Kumar debuts as a singer with Special 26
04 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
BOMBAY TIMES (January 17, 2013)
Akshay Kumar rapped with Snoop Dogg for his film Singh Is Kinng (2008). And now, in Neeraj Pandey’s Special 26, he’s taken his passion for singing to the next level. The Bollywood superstar, who calls himself a “bathroom singer” with a keen ear for music, has rendered the romantic song Mujh Mein Tu with a rare honesty. The music of the film, which also stars Anupam Kher, Jimmy Shergill and Kajal Aggarwal, was released yesterday.
On his playback debut, Akki says, “In Singh Is Kinng, I just did a few lines with Snoop Dogg. But this is technically my singing debut. Frankly, you have to credit my director Neeraj and music composer MM Kreem for this song. Kreem sahab made me sit at the harmonium for six to seven hours and urged me to give it a try. He said, ‘Akshay do not bother about the sur and taal. You just sing with sincerity. I will do the rest.’ I blindly followed his advice and I would like to dedicate this song as a Valentine Day gift to all lovers.”
Says Kreem, “Mujh Mein Tu is a very energetic song and though Akshay’s version is not yet in the album, we plan to include it soon. When we were working on the softer, orchestrated version of the song, I thought it would be good to get him to sing. I spoke to Neeraj, who was excited, but asked me to first check if Akshay’s pitch was good. He rehearsed the song for 15 days and we recorded it in less than an hour’s time. He has a rich voice and I am happy with the outcome.”
Adds Neeraj, More >
With the New Year, Akshay Kumar has a new approach to his films
04 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Kunal M Shah & Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; January 10, 2013)
It’s a brand new year and Akshay Kumar has some spanking new plans. Buzz is that the actor wants to make a marked change in the way he approaches his films.
Sources say that Akki no longer wants to be associated with action and comedy films only and wants to experiment with other genres. Word is that he also wants to do one film per year that has a social message woven around the storyline.
Akshay says, “I never wanted to put a tag on myself but aisa ho gaya. First I did a lot of comedies and than I did a lot of action films. With OMG Oh My God I want to completely change gears.” The actor states in the past he has even pleaded with his directors to give him a change of scene. He says, “No one ever heard me and my pleas fell on deaf ears. I did so many films where I only played a cop and it was difficult to change that.” And small budget films are also a part of his big plan. He says, “The script has to be good. Even for Neeraj Pandey’s Special Chabbis I have only taken half of the remuneration that I normally charge.”
I am not mentoring any heroine-Akshay Kumar
04 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Interviews
Akki punches holes in reports that he has been lobbying for a few co-stars and tells us why he loved playing the consummate scamster in his next
Prachi Kadam (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 8, 2013)
Askhay Kumar, who worked hard on his image of a swashbuckling hero for more than a decade, is keen to throw it all up in the air. Even as his Special Chhabbis readies for release, the actor, who has been grabbing attention with his new avatar in the film, makes it obvious that off the screen too, he is keen to be seen in a different light. Among other things, he refuses to be projected as someone who has been mentoring’ his young heroines, or even lobbying for his socalled favourites, whether it is Katrina or Sonakshi. Between his shots for the under-production remake of Murgadoss’s Thuppaki co-starring Sonakshi Sinha, the actor takes umbrage when we ask him if he had indeed been instrumental in roping her in for the film. “I’m just an actor and all these decisions are taken by the producers and directors. And given that I am neither the producer, nor the director of this film, how and why will I suggest anyone?” he shrugs, looking visibly agitated. He even gets the producer involved in the discussion to corroborate his point.
Emphatically dispelling all reports of how he may have been helping Sonakshi find the right roles with Rowdy Rathore, OMG Oh My God and now Thuppaki, Akshay adds, “That I am mentoring myself is more than enough. Besides, with such a stalwart as her father, do More >
Akshay Kumar goes into Aamir Khan mode
04 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Kunal M Shah (MID-DAY; January 5, 2013)
Akshay Kumar, who has always been known to be superstitious about his films and has never believed in keeping private trial shows, is now all set to follow the other AK’s example and bend his own rules for his February release Special Chabbis with multiple trials.
A source informs, “Akshay is busy shooting for his films till the 23rd of this month and once he finishes the first schedule of Vipul Shah’s remake of Thuppaki and Milan Luthria’s film, he will start showing the film to his Bollywood camp. Akshay is one actor who does not believe in having trial shows for his film and this will probably be the first time for him. He always kept a show a day prior to his release for the entire industry but this time around, it looks like he will have at least 8 to 10 trials.”
The source further said, “There are a couple of reasons for that. Akki is very confident. He has rarely done realistic films and is eager to see how the industry welcomes him in this different genre.”
Akshay’s ability to listen is a rarity-Neeraj Pandey
04 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Neeraj Pandey on the actor being the first choice for his upcoming film
Hiren Kotwani (BOMBAY TIMES; January 3, 2013)
Akshay Kumar and A Wednesday director Neeraj Pandey, who come together for Special Chabbis are from different schools of cinema. The actor is mainstream by choice while the one-film-old filmmaker was instantly deemed hatke.
Interestingly, Akshay was offered the role four years ago but things didn’t work out then. “Over a year ago, the producers suggested I hear the script again. I did and wondered why I had said no. I told them we should start shooting ASAP,” says Akshay.
About casting the actor, Neeraj says, “We were clear he’d be the best choice. Unfortunately, there was a communication gap, but in the end, it turned out as we wanted. I believe in anti-casting. So breaking the kind of image Akshay has, as an actor, was the trigger.”
That’s also why the actor won’t be doing action scenes in this film. Akshay quips, “I’m doing ‘mind action’… something I’ve never done before. The film shows how this guy’s mind worked. He could con people with the snap of a finger. These kind of people are the biggest action masters. They don’t use kicks and punches to get what they want.”
The actor asserts that he found common ground with Pandey by becoming “a director’s actor. Everything I’m doing in the film was taught to me by Neeraj. Every moment in the film is like a joyride. Once it starts, you can’t do anything. The machine does everything, including reaching you More >
Why Natwarlal family’s keen to see Special Chabbis before release
04 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Jayoti Soor (DNA; January 1, 2013)
On reading the media reports that Akshay Kumar’s character sketch in Special Chabbis will borrow elements from India’s notorious conman Mithliesh Kumar Srivastava better known as Natwarlal, his family has approached the makers asking to see the film. Natwarlal was a famous Indian con man known for repeatedly ‘selling’ the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort and the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Till the end, no one was able to catch him and when caught he would escape. He remained a mystery till his death. Sources reveal, “Natwarlal’s family is keen to see how much of his life has been borrowed and in what light he has been shown. In fact, they were surprised to read the news and thus want to see the film.”
Special Chabbis, directed by Neeraj Pandey and to be released in February, is said to be an edgy heist drama. The film is based on the real-life daring heist dated 19-March-1987, where an unknown man posing as CBI officer Mon Singh recruited 26 men and executed a daylight raid on the Opera House branch of a reputed jewellery shop in Mumbai, and disappeared with jewellery worth lakhs.
Neeraj Pandey’s homage to late Bobby Singh
04 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
The filmmaker dedicates Special Chabbis to his cinematographer
Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 27, 2012)
Cinematographer Bobby Singh’s sudden demise in Goa on Tuesday evening has left the film industry in a state of shock and grief. So much so, Neeraj Pandey, whose film Special Chabbis had Bobby as Director of Photography (DOP), has decided to dedicate his film to the late cinematographer.
Said Neeraj, “I’ll do what I have to do. Bobby and I were too close for me to make public gestures. My grief is very personal. Bobby and I worked together for the first time in Special Chabbis. But it seemed as if we knew each other for years. He promised me that the next film we did together would be even more absorbing. And see how he has broken his promise.”
Special Chabbis is very different from Neeraj’s first film, A Wednesday. “It’s an unapologetic entertainment-oriented thriller. Unlike A Wednesday which had a deep socio-political significance,” said the director. The film represents Bobby’s ebullient spirit to the hilt, according to him