Back from Shoot

Arun Patil discusses Lucknow with Nahid Khan

Arun Patil turned up today. After two months and more than 8,000 km of road travel to and fro Lucknow (and beyond), he was back in the Garden this morning looking perfectly prim and fresh. He was supposed to return to Mumbai on Saturday evening, but an unscheduled delay en-route resulted in him touching base at 4:00 p.m. yesterday.
Arun was away for the shoot of Muzaffar Ali’s Raqs (The Dance). A period film set in pre-Independent India, it has two freshers, Imran Abbas Naqvi and Pernia Qureshi sharing the lead with Amitabh Bachchan and Zarina Wahab lending support. As a special effects wiz, Arun was entrusted with recreating the ambience of a bygone era with muted lighting and sound devices, besides of course, suitable props for the film's many action sequences.

Khatoon Baig

Clearly, from the stories he had to narrate, this has been a rewarding, if somewhat a hectic schedule. Much of the shoot was done at night time and during the daylight hours, the unit members rested. They got into a spot of trouble with some environmental/ political activists while filming in the Kishanpur Sanctuary of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Lakhimpur Kheri, but that, according to Arun was a minor hiccup which was “taken care of”. It seems some portions of the film still remain to be canned and Arun might have to go join the unit again some time soon.
Meanwhile, Khatoon Baig also showed up for the exercises this morning after a bout of illness – along with Ved Prakash Grover and Nahid Khan. Peculiarly, all three reported identical symptoms of gastro-enteritis -- accompanied by high fever and body ache. An informal advisory has gone out, thanks to some seniors (who should know) to abstain from milk-based (khoya) sweets – at least till such time the summer heat persists.
Jagmohan Papneja:
Dance films have not been a popular genre per se. But how can one forget Muzaffar Ali's Umarao Jaan? It was a nice movie and so were all the songs. Will his upcoming film Raqs be able to revive the magic of Dil Cheez Kya Hai Aap Meri Jaan Leejiye? This remains to be seen.
Harish Wadhwa:
Papneja sa'ab, Umrao Jaan ka toh pataa nahin, Rekha-ji ko hum bhule nahin... I don't mind taking a short trip to the bygone era if I can get to see people like Rekha-ji. Arun has cut down and is looking more handsome in his chiseled physique. Only if he had also developed dole-shole, he could have given a run to Sallu Miyan. Happy home coming, Arun Miyaan.