Mani Ratnam's Ash-Abhi film is not based on Ramayana

Contrary to reports, Mani Ratnam's much-talked about film "Ravan", starring Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, is not based on the epic "Ramayana", said a source.

"The film has nothing to do with the epic 'Ramayana'. It's an urban story," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Ratnam is trying to keep the story under wraps and is taking precautions while shooting. First he shot the film in the jungles of Kochi and now he is stationed in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.

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Abhishek’s Ravana

Abhishek and Aishwarya are in the beautiful jungles of Kochi shooting for Mani Ratnam’s tentatively titled Ravana . For the audience who loved the duo in Guru and longed to have an eyeful of them yet again, romancing each other, here’s a little disappointment.

Unlike what many would have thought and wished for, Abhi will not play Ram but, the character of Ravana. Aishwarya is slated to portray the role of Sita and playing Ram to her will be Vikram, a popular actor from down South. The Ram-Sita-Ravana story will be incomplete without Hanuman and to play the bit, Ratnam has roped in Govinda.

When we asked Abhishek about how he is gearing up for the role he said, “It’s a joke between Mani and me. He got me to put on weight for Guru and now he wants me to lose it for Ravana.”

But there is something more than just the weight training and harsh diets that has made the shooting quite tough. We hear that Abhi has hurt himself and the area from the knee to the base of his shin has been bruised.

To make matters worse, as he is shooting in the jungles, he has to wear trousers, unlike the comfort of wearing shorts while shooting for Dostana . Being into a trouser all day is further abrading the skin. But then, Abhi has loving wife Ash by his side so we are sure things will be ok for him soon.

Abhi has also gone real short with his hair this time. In fact, it is the shortest hair cut he has sported ever on screen and off it, almost like a crew cut.

With Ratnam behind the lens and actors like Abhi, Ash, Vikram and Govinda playing the mythological characters one wonders what is the story of Ravana that Mani Ratnam wants to tell us?

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Abhi - Ash to finally start Mani's film after Diwali

Mani Ratnam's untitled film starring Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will finally take off after on October 29 after Diwali.

The first major schedule with AbhiAsh was supposed to start on October 12 a day after Amitabh Bachchan's birthday. But the Big B fell ill the morning before the shooting, leaving his son and bahu with no choice but to cancel the shoot.

Says a source close to the project, "Mani made it very clear that there was no rush for Abhishek and Aishwarya to return. Having gone through a personal bereavement recently, he knows family always comes first. There was no pressure on the pair to show up in Kochi for the shooting."

Abhishek was very clear about returning to work only when his dad completely recovered. Abhishek and Aishwarya return to the shooting after the festival of lights. There are no Diwali celebrations in the Bachchan household this year because Big B's mom Teji Bachchan passed away last December.

Meanwhile, the unit has packed up in Kochi. Ravi Kissen who plays Abhishek's elder brother says, "We couldn't do any shooting because all my scenes are with Abhishek."

Incidentally, the Big B's schedules would need considerable adjustment when he gets back to work. The project most immediately affected is Leena Yadav's Teen Patti. The Big B was shooting for it when he fell ill.

Says director Leena, "Mr Bachchan had taken the day off for his birthday when he fell ill. Very honestly, his health is far more important than any film schedule. We'll resume shooting only when he has recuperated fully."

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Abhi-Ash starrer not based on Ramayana!

For weeks, there has been speculation that Mani Ratnam's next starring Abhishek and Aishwarya is the modern day version of the epic Ramayana. However, sources close to the project dispel this buzz and reveal that the film revolves around caste-based issues.

A source reveals Abhishek's character comes from the lower strata of society and the film chronicles his struggle and rise from being a nobody to taking a place of power. It is learnt that Ravi Kissen plays Abhishek's brother in the film. "Mani hasn't yet fixed the location for his first schedule, but most likely he will be shooting in the interiors of small villages in North India."

The yet untitled project also stars Govinda, Ranbir Kapoor and Tejaswini Kolhapure and goes on floors soon. "The speculation that the project is titled Ravan is untrue. There are no similarities between the epic and Mani's film. In fact, he has done intense research on caste-based stories in rural India and Abhishek's character will be very dark and intense. The story has Abhishek and Ravi hunt people down and then kill them."

The budget for the film is said to be an astounding 150 crore and Mani has taken five months from each actor for the dates.

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Mani Ratnam's next is a love triangle

Now here's some exclusive info and as always, it's first on 'Bollywood Buzz'.

Mani Ratnam's projects are always a well-guarded secret. In fact, those associated with the film are sworn to secrecy. Right from the star cast to the subject, everything about the film is kept under wraps, away from the prying eyes of the media.

There's talk in the industry circles that Mani is making a costume drama, but that's far from true. The truth is, the film is a love triangle and will star the GURU team of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan with the top actor from South, Vikram. The shooting is expected to commence shortly.

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Busy Bahu!

Ash chooses film with Abhi, delays two Holly projects

Apparently, Aishwarya Rai has been offered two Hollywood films, which she has verbally committed to doing. One is Roland Joffe’s Singularity opposite Brendan Fraser and the second is Chaos, which also stars Meryl Streep. Multiple sources reveal that Ash has agreed to be a part of both these films.

The glitch is that Ash has given bulk dates to Mani Ratnam’s film (with hubby Abhishek), which starts this year-end. Which has left her Hollywood producers wondering if they should wait for her dates or look for another actress.

A source reveals, “Ash is not taking on too many projects. At the moment, she is committed to doing Shankar’s Robot and Ratnam’s untitled film. She has also allotted two months to the The Unforgettables tour in July. So there is a time crunch.”

One worry that dogs her Hollywood agent is whether Ash wants to work less after her marriage. The buzz about her cutting down on work and spending more time with family is making the makers in the West wary. “The Ben Kingsley film with Bipasha hasn’t yet taken off and will take time. Meanwhile, the producers of Singularity and Chaos are waiting for her to revert.”

It is learnt that Singularity has been delayed because the actress asked for the final draft of the script, “Ash wants to be hands-on with her Holly films. She wasn’t too happy with the final outcome of Last Legion, and now wants to make sure every project turns out to be exactly the way it is related to her.”

The delay with Robot happened because of the untimely death of the film’s writer Sujatha. “Ash is struggling to divide her dates evenly between Robot and the untitled film with Mani Ratnam. This is causing her delays to commit to the Hollywood films,” concludes the source.

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Aishwarya wins best actress for Guru

Kareena Kappoor might have bagged Screen and Filmfare Awards this year but Aishwarya Rai is not far behind. She has been awarded as the Best Actress for Guru in The Fifth Annual Central European Bollywood Awards.

She has been appreciated for her outstanding work in Mani Ratnam’s Guru . An elated Aishwarya says, “I am happy to be honoured by Annual Central European Bollywood Awards. It’s like double celebration for me as my film Guru too has won Five Awards in different categories.”

Mani Ratnam’s Guru had 14 nominations in several categories out of which the film managed to win in categories like Best Script, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Singer and Best Actress. Faran Khan’s Om Shanti Om has been declared as best film of the year.

Reshma Kelkar, Indiatimes Movies

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No Ranbir in Mani Ratnam's film

The rumour that Ranbir Kapoor will be joining the cast of Mani Ratnam's new Hindi venture has everyone associated with the film in a puzzle. "We've no idea where that started, or what it means. Ranbir doesn't feature in the cast of Mani's film at all" says a source close to the project.

The source further adds, "There is another male lead required in this Abhishek-Ash love story. But it must be someone older than Abhishek So, Ranbir is ruled out."

Could it be the old Mani favourite Madhavan who has done five films with the Tamil maverick? Maddy shoots down this rumour. "No. I'm certainly not a part of Mani Sir's new film. He hasn't asked me and I wouldn't be able to even if he did, because I've no dates from September when he shoots his Hindi film." A sense of disappointment that Mani has switched favourites? "Not at all!" Maddy laughs. "Mani and I have done five films together. He needs to work with other actors and I need to look at other directors."

Subhash K. Jha, Bollywood Hungama

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Mani goes shopping for actors

Mani Ratnam was recently in town for a reason. The director met up with top actors to start the casting for his next film. He has already finalised Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan for the lead pair and is in talks with other actors for the supporting cast.

Topmost on Mani’s list is Saawariya star Ranbir Kapoor. Apparently, when Ranbir heard the director was in town he was keen to meet him. Says an industrywalla, “Mani was quite impressed with Ranbir.

He’s watched Saawariya and liked his work. He has a role in the film that’s perfect for Ranbir. He hasn’t signed him on yet, but the chances of it happening are very real.”

Even though everything is hush-hush about the project, it is learnt that Mani was scheduled to start this particular film before Guru. “It’s a love story with strong characters. Even though Abhi-Ash have verbally agreed, they still have to sign on the dotted line. He wants to go on the floor as soon as his cast is in place, since the script is already ready.”

Mallika Sherawat who did an item song in Guru is also in talks with Mani for the project. “Mani likes to work with people he’s very comfortable with. He loved what Mallika did with the Maiyya Maiyya track and is considering working with her as well.”

The film is yet untitled but is scheduled to be dubbed in Tamil and have a release in the South as well.

Author: Tushar Joshi | Image Courtesy: Mid-Day | Source: Mid-Day

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