On the sets of Priyanka Chopra's Karam!

Madh Island, on the outskirts of northwest Mumbai, has been a favourite haunt for filmmakers for years. Close to Mumbai, the beach houses plush bungalows and sprawling resorts, a large number of which are rented out to Bollywood.

Shubham bungalow is one of these, and it witnessed the final shooting schedule of Harry Baweja's romantic thriller Karam, which releases on March 11. 

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Starring John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra and Bharat Dabholkar (in a special role), this film is directed by Sanjay F Gupta, the cinematographer on films like Mujhse Shaadi Karoge and Qayamat. It is written by former rediff.com staffer Suparn Verma.

The day's schedule involved canning a song and dance sequence for a Sonu Nigam number -- Koi aisa alam ban ke aye ho.

John and Priyanka were kept busy in the afternoon, dancing to Vishal-Shekhar's tunes and the steps laid down by choreographer Bosco.

The fact that this was their first film together was not evident from the way they were giggling away during the shooting, while Bosco was playing the hard taskmaster.

The shots were being taken in various parts of a fort.

Dressed in a pair of white cargo trousers and an off-white embroidered shirt, John also wore a carefully

grown stubble. 

"For a change, my real name matches my reel name!" he exclaims. "I play a professional hitman in the film. Priyanka plays my wife. During the course of the film, John realises that what he is doing is not correct and wants to lead a normal life."

But as is often the case, things are never that simple in the Mafia.

Bharat Dabholkar, playing the lead villain, Captain, does not let John quit his gang and takes Priyanka hostage.

John outlines his situation. "I am given five targets to kill in just 36 hours to save my wife. If I succeed, I get my wife back. If I fail, " he trails off.

"I was quite nervous about the film initially since it rests entirely on Priyanka and my shoulders. But I saw some rushes, and was very happy. Full credit goes to the director. He has dealt with the romantic scenes and portrayed the husband-wife relationship very well."

John is not required to dance much for this song. Tell him this, and he responds, "I am not comfortable with dancing in the true sense of the term. But I want to create my own style. I am more comfortable with action scenes."

Sporting a revealing off-shoulder blue gown, Priyanka looks relaxed. She recently won a Filmfare award for best actor in a negative role for Aitraaz.

"Though this is the first time I am doing a film with John, I have known him since my modelling days. My character Shalini is madly in love with her husband. Once I come to know that John is a professional killer, we part ways. The film, despite being an action thriller, has got a number of emotional scenes."

Priyanka adds she is very comfortable working with Sanjay F Gupta, since he was the man behind the camera in her previous hit, Mujhse Shaadi Karoge. "Two parameters are very important to me while signing a film -- the banner and the subject. Karam qualified on both counts."

Priyanka is also all praise for the music by Vishal-Shekhar, "The songs are very catchy. My favourite is Tinka tinka."

Adds producer Harry Baweja, "I liked Priyanka's performance in Andaz, and wanted to cast her in Qayamat. But due to some date problems, it did not materialise. After that, Karam happened and we could work together."

Harry says he opted for John because he has the perfect combination of romanticism and masculinity.

Karam has been entirely shot in Mumbai. Explains Baweja, "The film is based on a real story. And, frankly speaking, in real life, how many people go to foreign locales at the drop of a hat? That's why we shot the film here."