Ajith to do another film with Boney Kapoor after 'Pink' remake

When we first heard the news, we thought, ‘what an unlikely collaboration’… a flashy Bollywood filmmaker, a reticent south actor, and a remake… we wanted to know more. And since Ajith remains forever elusive, we reached out to Boney Kapoor to know how he managed to get Ajith to play a lawyer (it’s the remake of the Bollywood film Pink, being directed by Vinoth, and Ajith will play the role Amitabh Bachchan essayed in the film).And that’s how we ended up being invited to Boney’s office in Chetpet.
The thing that has your attention as soon as you enter the office is a life-sized portrait of Sridevi. The other walls have paintings she used to sketch, posters of films she had acted in, and those that were produced by her husband, Boney. “I can feel her presence all around, and it’s like she’s right beside me,” begins Boney, who reveals that he’s got plans down south, for, after the Pink remake, he will be doing one more film with Ajith. Surprised, we ask how he zeroed in on Thala…
“Our relationship with Ajith goes way back,” he begins, “Shalini had worked with Sri in quite a few films, and we had met the couple together on quite a few occasions as well. We were looking for an actor from the south for a cameo in Tamil and Telugu versions of English Vinglish, and when we requested Ajith, he consented immediately and came down to Mumbai to shoot entirely at his own cost. At around this time, Sri and I got talking about doing a film in Tamil. She had started her career from the Tamil film industry and we've wanted to do Tamil and Telugu films because this is where she got her initial fame and stardom. Even I had a strong association with the south — I’ve done several remakes in Bollywood, and also produced few of Ram Gopal Varma’s Telugu films. My first independent film, Hum Panch, was directed by Bapu, and it was the remake of a south film. I've remade several films of Bhagyaraj, and Anil (Kapoor, his brother) had done Mani Ratnam’s first film. But the kind of bonding that we developed with Ajith was amazing. It was while discussing the possibility of making a Tamil film that Sri wished he’d act in our home production. We met post English Vinglish and a few ideas were thrown around. I met some directors he suggested, but nothing worked out till about a year-and-a-half ago, when he asked, ‘Why not do Pink?’ Sri was delighted because she felt the content was appropriate for today’s time. She also felt that Ajith could bring in whatever is required to make the film work in Tamil. Unfortunately, this mishap happened and I was left to take this project forward all on my own, sans Sri. This is the beginning of a new journey for us; it’s almost like a dream come true. Had she been around, she would have been…”
It takes Boney a few seconds to regain his composure. Then he continues, “I’ve had the opportunity to work with some really passionate talents in the Hindi industry. But here, it’s not just passion, it’ s also love. I found it quite amazing that an actor whom I have met on a few occasions, thanks to my wife, has developed this kind of bond and respect… this is like an ode to Sri, that’s how I see it. I can see it in the kind of respect Ajith is indirectly showing Sri. He is fulfilling her wishes. So, I don’t want to let her down. We are doing two films back-to-back. This one will be completed by March-April, and will release in May. The next one should begin by July and release in 2020. The journey looks exciting.”
Talking about his association with Vinoth, Boney says, “Vinoth is an exciting talent. Even before we thought of Pink, Ajith had asked Vinoth to meet me in Mumbai, and he narrated an idea to me. In fact, that script is ready as well. He has his own way of working, and between him and Ajith, they beautifully worked it all out — the likely cast and technicians. That made my job easier. Almost all the actors have been penciled in; they are orally onboard. We just have to look at the nitty-gritty. Cinematographer Nirav Shah, composer Yuvan Shankar Raja are all part of the film.”
Buzz is, Amitabh Bachchan will be making a cameo in this film. “No, it’s not true at all. We are maintaining the spirit of the film, but Vinoth has restructured the scenes keeping the Tamil audience in mind,” he states.
Boney says he has been frequenting Chennai since the 70s, and says he has fond memories of the city. “I’ve imported several south directors to Mumbai, so I am well-acquainted with the place, the technicians, the artistes. When I had signed Sri, there was a point when I called my Mumbai friends — Javed Akhtar, Ashok, Indra Kumar and Satish Kaushik — to see Enga Chinna Rasa in the theatre, which we remade in Bollywood as Beta with Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit. And since almost all of us were huge fans of Sri, there was a curiosity about her. I had been to her house because I’d signed her for my film and so, that visit to Chennai kind of became like a tour for them, and I took them around, showing her house, places where she shot… that’s how crazy I was about her,” he smiles, “I used to find an excuse to come down to Chennai just to see her. One day, I just followed her, and was surprised to see that her car left the studio and stopped at a petrol bunk, and a vendor came and gave her ice cream. She must have been a regular there. That’s when I realised that for a person who was conscious about how she maintained herself, she had a sweet tooth. Later, we’d go on long drives to have badam milk and kulfi. A couple of times, we’ve come down to Chennai to only have jellos. Sometimes we’d come to Chennai to have food from this star hotel. I used to call the chef from the airport to tell him that we were coming and request him to keep the food hot. There are so many memories…”
So, do his daughters — Janhvi and Khushi — speak Tamil at home? “Even I have picked up a few words from the staff at the hotels here. I used to talk to Sri’s mom because she was the one dealing with her film commitments. So, I picked up some Telugu as well. That’s how I won her confidence. I was one of the few producers from Mumbai who shared a good rapport with Sri’s mom. I was with her when she was operated upon in New York. Her mom was fond of me, and when Sri was reluctant to do a certain film, her mom would tell me, ‘Boneyji, ask her to do the film, na’ ,” he recalls. “The girls can’t speak Tamil or Telugu, but they follow the language. At Sri’s home in Chennai, they speak Tamil and Telugu. So, she was keen that the girls pick up the languages. However, though the trips were frequent, they were not long enough, and somewhere, they missed out on this. Janhvi regrets that she didn’t pick either of the languages. But I am sure that when she gets to do films, she will learn it because she is familiar with them.”
Which brings us to the rumours of Janhvi signing a Tamil film. It’s not true, he says, and adds, “I’m definitely open to her doing south Indian films, provided we get a proper script and set-up.”