'Hrithik: My first choice'

Bharati Dubey

It's all about timing. Producer Boney Kapoor, being a shrewd businessman, knows the ropes of the film industry.

That is why he decided to delay the release of his film Koi Mere Dil Se Pooche, from coinciding with Karan Johar's Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.

"I didn't want to take a chance. I knew we would only get the leftover theatres across the country. My distributors agreed with me. Why would people watch my newcomer film when they got to see so many superstars in one film alone?" he asks.

Boney Kapoor's latest marks the debut of Esha Deol. It has Aftab Shivdasani in a 'different' role. And it has Boney's younger brother Sanjay, who essays the role of the villain for the first time.

"We also have the support of Jaya Bachchan, who lends stablility to my film. I'm very happy with the way things have shaped up. But the world will decide its fate on January 11," states Boney. "You know, I was the first one to sign Jaya Bachchan in the mother's role, about two years ago. This was right after she won acclaim for her performance in Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Ma. We took time to cast the other actors."

Why Esha, you ask. "I was looking for a face which the audience could identify but which was vulnerable and mystical. Esha was perfect -- is Hema Malini's daughter. Here was an opportunity for me to work with a youthful replica of the Dream Girl."

"Hrithik was my first choice as hero of KMDSP," the producer elaborates. "But then he became so big that my film would be dwarfed by his presence. So we had to drop the idea."

"Since we had a new girl, it seemed more logical to take on a fairly new face to make the plot look convincing. Now Aftab already had two releases last year. I think he would have made a better impact and would have been in a better position had he waited for my film.

"Before we finalised Aftab, we had even considered Sanjay [Kapoor] as hero and Ajay Devgan as the villain. Ajay turned it down. And we realised Sanjay was too old to be cast opposite Esha. Besides he had done the romantic hero to death. I think his new avatar has been well received.

"Some of Sanjay's films haven't done well and the media has been very unfair to him. That happens especially when you have a lineage; you are automatically compared to your antecedent," says Boney, defending his sibling.

"Sanjay was wonderful in Prem. Unfortunately for us, the film didn't do well. Agreed, he has had his share of bad films and some bad roles but if he was terrible, Sirf Tum wouldn't have worked. Sanjay hasn't managed to bag outside projects because everything in this industry is weighed by your success. I can only say that Sanjay has grown tremendously as an actor."

None of Boney's next four relases star his other sibling Anil Kapoor. Though he does admit that plans for an Anil Kapoor starrer are on the anvil. For now, Boney has just announced his next film Dil Chor with Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor, directed by Satish Kaushik. Boney explains, "Some newspapers reported that Amitabh Bachchan was part of the cast. I would love to work with him but he is certainly is not starring in this film."

His next release after Koi Mere Dil Se Pooche will be Company, a joint venture effort with director-producer Ram Gopal Varma. That will be followed by Khushi [Kareena Kapoor and Fardeen Khan] and Shakti [Karisma Kapoor, Sanjay Kapoor and Nana Patekar].

Khushi is 70 per cent complete. Shakti was to be wife Sridevi's return vehicle. Boney says, "I bought the rights of the film for Sridevi but she became pregnant with our second child. So I approached Kajol for the role. She agreed but her dates clashed with the K3G schedule and she wanted to spend time with her ailing mother-in-law. That's when Karisma stepped in." Shakti is almost complete.

Will his wife ever return to the screen, you inquire. Ever the diplomat, Boney says: "That's something you will have to ask her."

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'Anil is not my identity': Meet Sanjay Kapoor
Esha: 'A long time for stardom'
Vinay Shukla on directing Esha
Koi Mere Dil Se Pooche: A slide show
Koi Mere Dil Se Pooche: On the sets
Koi Mere Dil Se Pooche: Music review
Dream debuts: A slide show