Bollywood veteran Manoj Kumar is upbeat about donning the director's hat once again in his golden jubilee year in the industry for an "Indo-Pak" love story.
The actor-turned-filmmaker may have moved on from the "Om Shanti Om" controversy, but maintains that what Shah Rukh Khan did was "dirty".
"Though I had three subjects in mind, I decided to first go with 'Indo-Pak: A Love Story'. The film will not revolve only around patriotism. It will have a human and romantic angle," Manoj Kumar told IANS over telephone from Mumbai.
"The film will highlight that there is a lot of commonalities between the two countries. We have the same features, our food is similar and, after all, a few years ago we were one single country," said the 71-year-old actor, who was known as 'Mr. Bharat' for his patriotic films like "Upkaar", "Shaheed" and "Purab Aur Paschim".
Manoj Kumar said he chose such a theme as he was born in Abbottabad, a town of the North West Frontier Province now located in Pakistan, adding that he would take a few Pakistani actors for the film.
"I was inclined to this subject since I have lived in Pakistan and now am living in India. I know the cultures of both the countries," he explained. He is donning the director's mantle after 1999 when he made "Jai Hind".
Asked if he still had any grudges against superstar Shah Rukh for the spoof on him in Farah Khan's 2007 film "Om Shanti Om", he said he had moved on but asserted that what Shah Rukh had done was wrong.
"Shah Rukh did a dirty thing. When I reacted he then visited me, apologised and said he will remove the scene from the film, but he did not keep his promise. It was not that I get angry with people on everything, but I have to protect the image of Manoj Kumar. Later when he removed the scene, I dropped the matter," Manoj Kumar said.
"It's been two years and now I don't have any grudges against him. He is just like a younger brother to me," he added.
Manoj Kumar had objected to the spoof on him in "Om Shanti Om" and filed a lawsuit to get the scenes deleted, but the issue was later settled out of court.
Manoj Kumar said he would like to cast new faces in his new venture though he likes Aamir Khan best among the current lot of heroes.
"I like Aamir's work and I'm particularly happy that he is doing less and only meaningful work, but for my film I want fresh faces," the Padma Shri awardee said.
"I am negotiating with a few actors, but nothing is confirmed as of now. I have decided to take one or two actors from Pakistan for the film," he said.
Asked if he would like to act in his film or take up other acting assignments, the yesteryears actor said: "I will never impose myself on a script. If there is a suitable role for me in a film, then I will do it; otherwise I won't push myself into it."
"As far as signing any other film is concerned, I have always been very focused about the kind of work I want to do. In 50 years I have worked in only 42 films. I have always believed in quality and meaningful cinema and not quantity. If I get something like that, I will do it," he added.
After replacing Aishwarya Rai thrice - as the actress with most Internet downloads, ambassador of a jewellery brand and now as the Indian face of Barbie - 24-year-old Katrina Kaif has proved how young actresses in Bollywood are giving their 30-plus colleagues a run for their money.
Not just Aishwarya, Katrina has also replaced 33-year-old Sushmita Sen for an endorsement deal with shampoo brand Pantene.
Noted film critic Saibal Chatterjee says this is a "normal phenomenon" in the industry.
"Actors have a very short span of life as most of them start early and by the time they cross 30, the nature of the roles they get are more mature than candyfloss stuff. So the industry is always on the lookout for young blood," Chatterjee told IANS.
Other young actresses like Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Sonam Kapoor and Genelia D'Souza too are walking away with the lion's share of films and brand endorsements in the industry these days.
Deepika has been cast instead of 35-year-old Aishwarya in Kalpana Lajmi's "Singhasan". She has also bagged the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) ad from 34-year-old dimpled beauty Preity Zinta.
Like Katrina, Bollywood's size-zero girl Kareena, 28, nudged Aishwarya out of the Filmfare Top-10 Power list. And 'Masakali' girl Sonam Kapoor has succeeded Aishwarya as the Indian face of cosmetic brand L'Oreal.
After the success of "Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na", Genelia D'Souza has become a sought after name and replaced Preity and Rani Mukerji as the brand ambassador of Cadbury's Perk and Fanta respectively.
These apart, Kareena took on the mantle of doing a full-fledged role opposite Aamir Khan in "Three Idiots" after Kajol walked away.
"When Rekha and Hema Malini turned older, Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi replaced them. When the latter two became slightly older, Aishwarya Rai and Rani Mukerji took their place and now these two are being replaced by Katrina and Priyanka. It's a cycle - even these actresses will be dethroned some day," said Chatterjee.
Said Priyanka, who was cast in "Dostana" after Aishwarya declined the offer: "Age is nothing but a number. You can't generalise in terms of age, but no one in this industry is indispensable. Someone takes over from somebody. I have and I'm sure it will happen to me too at some point."
Apart from Tabu, Preity and Sushmita, a lot of the older actresses - Bipasha Basu, Aishwarya, Rani, Lara Dutta, Kajol and Shilpa Shetty - are making few appearances on screen.
While some say that they have made a personal choice to do just a few roles in a year, others like Shilpa and Preity are shifting gears between acting and business after they chose to be part of the cricket extravaganza, the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Preity, who recently featured in offbeat films like "The Last Lear" and Deepa Mehta's "Heaven On Earth", says she might get back to her bubbly, girl-next-door image, only if she gets a role with substance.
"I will do masala movies for sure, but I would like to have substance in them. I can't do just the glam chick any longer. I've been there, done that. It just doesn't inspire me any more. I have to leave that for the other girls to do. That's the way one grows," she had said.
But right now she has only one film in her kitty - Jahnu Barua's "Har Pal".
Tabu, 38, who has been absent from the silver screen after "The Namesake" and "Cheeni Kum", too has only one film "Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai". Similarly, Rani also has just one project in hand - Yash Raj Films' tentatively titled "Hadippa".
And 34-year-old Kajol, who drifted away from the scene after marriage, is doing only Karan Johar's much-hyped film "My Name Is Khan".
"I am not going to do four films a year. I will work, but at my own speed," Kajol had earlier told IANS.
After marrying actor Ajay Devgan in 1999, Kajol cut down on her film roles and makes occasional appearances on the silver screen.
However, Aishwarya's kitty still seems full - the Padma Shri awardee is shooting for Mani Ratnam's "Ravana" with husband Abhishek Bachchan, Tamil film "Endhiran" (earlier titled "Robot") alongside superstar Rajnikanth and Vipul Shah's "Action Replay" opposite Akshay Kumar.
The United Kingdom has emerged as a major market for Indian films, thanks to the presence of over two million people of south Asian origin who ensure that at least one Bollywood film figures in the UK top ten chart regularly.
Indian film producers have woven into story lines themes that touch upon the life and times of the Indian diaspora here. Thus, films such as "Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge" have proved hits not only in India but also in the UK. On any given day, Indian films are being shot on several locations across the country.
Five Indian films figure in the ongoing 51st London Film Festival (Oct 17 to Nov 1). They are: "Four Women" directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, "Frozen" directed by Shivajee Chandrabhushan, "The Last Lear" by Rituparno Ghosh, "Mahek" directed by K. Kanade, and "The Voyeurs" directed by Budhadev Dasgupta.
During the last year, Indian films generated 16 million pounds (about $33 million) at the UK box office. The strength of the UK market for Indian films has forced producers and directors to either shoot here or incorporate British Asian themes and idioms.
This month, two Indian films - "Bhool Bhulaiya" and "Laga Chunari Mein Daag" - entered the UK Top Ten Chart. The situation has reached such a pass that it is considered normal for an Indian film to collect a million pounds from the box office.
Pervaiz Alam, editor of India-EU Film Initiative, told IANS: "Now Indian film distributors have also become conscious of the fact that that they have to join the mainstream of the film distribution network in the UK.
"India's giant entertainment company, Adlabs, became the 21st member of the Film Distributors Association (FDA) in October 2007 - only the second Indian company to do so after Eros."
Three major film companies from India - Eros, Film India Company and UTV - are listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange.
Mark Batey, chief executive of FDA, said: "The strength of our association is reflected by the fact that 97 percent of the 800 million pounds box office collections in the UK last year came from the FDA members. Two percent of this amount, 16 million pounds, was generated by the Indian films.
"The year 2006 saw 500 film releases from 33 countries in the UK, including 200 films from the US. The UK was next with about 65 productions, followed by India and France with 53 and 30 films, respectively.
"It is a regular feature now to see Indian films featuring in the weekly top ten chart of the UK. In a year, the top 20 films tend to be UK or US films with very wide, cross-market appeal whereas Bollywood is inevitably a niche market in the UK, albeit an important and growing one."
There have been instances when more Indian than local films were released in the UK. A record 74 Indian films were released here in 2005, compared to 61 UK productions.
Upbeat about India's presence in the UK film sphere, Batey said: "The Indian film market is huge and offers amazing opportunities to all. This is the reason more and more international companies are looking for partners in India to take advantage of the developing situation."
Earlier this year, the India International Film Awards (IIFA) were staged in Yorkshire. Several regional developments agencies in the UK have been sending teams to Mumbai to court Indian film producers and offer incentives to shoot films in their region. Tourism figures suggest that tourist traffic from India is higher to places in UK that figure in films. Tourist officials have also brought out a 'Bollywood map' of Britain.
However, as in India, UK film authorities have also had to grapple with piracy. According to the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), piracy is a business that generates over 270 million pounds a year for criminals.
In 2006, FACT seized over 1.5 million pirated DVDs and its in-house forensic services team assisted the police, trading standards, and revenue and customs in examining close to one million DVDs.
Batey said: "From the seized products we understand that Indian films are equally affected by piracy. FDA is constantly working with distributors to evolve ways and means to stop piracy."
Indo-Asian News Service