http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.as...1156296d2d0aecc

Of late, Nitin Desai has been a regular visitor at Colaba Causeway and Cuffe Parade. Armed with a digital camera, sketch books and markers, he's busy taking rounds of the numerous lanes and by-lanes of the adjoining coastal fishing villages/slums of Machchimar Colony. The art director and production designer is recreating Colaba, Machchimar Colony and Arthur Road at his lavish state-of-the-art ND Studios at Karjat, for Mira Nair's film Shantaram, starring Johnny Depp and Amitabh Bachchan. "I have made innumerable trips to Colaba and Machchimar Colony. I have been closely observing the area and taking notes, which will be vital for the set construction. This is going to be the biggest set that I have ever designed," says Desai. However, the real hard work lies ahead as it is hard to impress director Mira Nair.

Desai's association with Mira Nair can be traced back to Salaam Bombay (1988) where he was responsible as an art director. He says, "Salaam Bombay was my first film as an art director. So I have had a longstanding relationship with Mira. We understand each other very well." Interestingly, Shantaram is the 100th film in Desai's career. "It's a wonderful coincidence. I'm glad that I'm hitting the 100 mark with Mira's film."

The real work begins in October when the sets are going to be constructed, and will be completed only by the end of the year. "Mira will approve the final design plan this September. Hopefully, the sets will be erected by December." The cast and crew of the film will start filming in January 2008.

Talking about his rift with Ashutosh Gowariker he says, "We are very close friends and we've known each other since out struggling days. I have been supporting Ashu for all his films, and we are very comfortable with each other."

woohoo Karen thanks for this info! Since we hadn't heard much I was expecting some kind of delay in filming, but this makes it sound like it's progressing nicely! Just so much to look forward to with Johnny projects; it's very exciting! :D

-Donna

YES! GREAT NEWS!
I guess Salaam Bombay is on my Bollywood rental list! :)
Study study... Bollywood.

Thanks Karen :)

And just to clear something up - "Salaam Bombay!" is not Bollywood! ;) It's a film really worth seeing, but Mira Nair isn't a Bollywood director. Most of the financing for her films comes from outside of India. And "Salaam Bombay!" in particular is veeeery far off in style from a Bollywood film.
She's an Indian director, yes, but not specifically from the "Bollywood film industry".

But Depputante, I'm so glad to hear you're studying woohoo It's pure music to my ears :D

Thanks so much for explaning the difference! :)

Good news, indeed! It sounds like everything is going according to plan... :claphands Thanks for the report, Karen, and for the clarification, roz!

OK. I"m notorious for lumping things together under one name for convenience. :shistle

OK, so Shantaram is NOT a bollywood film because financing is coming from the USA. Is that correct? Yes?

Shantaram will however use famous Bollywood actors, and be made in India. Yes?

And I'm going to rent Salaam Bombay for the art direction. (of which I know nothing). :unsure: Study study, art directing!

I think I"ve got it straight now. :)
Johnny is making a huge bridge between the two countries.

Yes all you've said is correct :)
Though there are some subtleties which are even a little more complicated than that...

I mean if you look at American cinema than it's a lot less fragmented. Basically there's Hollywood which at least the way I understand it is the commercial sector and there's American independent cinema which is the non-commercial sector and that's pretty much it, isn't it?

But in India the film industry is more fragmented than that.
The biggest sector in terms of amount of films made is called Kollywood. The production companies are based in Madras which is in South India and the films are made in Tamil.
The biggest sector in terms of money and commercial success is Bollywood. This part of the industry is centered in Mumbai (Bombay) and makes commercial films in the Hindi language.
And there's a third very large sector which is called Tollywood and makes commercial films in Telugu.

And these three are only the industries which are big enough to merit an "ollywood" name. Each of these have their own stars and audiences. There are many other centres where films are made in all sorts of other languages. I think the next biggest is Bengali cinema which is where Satyajit Ray made his films - he was probably the most celebrated director India ever had.
And of course there is what filmmakers in India often call "parallel cinema", which is the more independent kind of films - these usually do not have song and dance numbers.

So far the only Indian cinema that really gets seen in the West is Bollywood and the "parallel cinema". And frankly the little I've seen from Kollywood and Tollywood I don't think it's that interesting (though there are people who disagree with me on that count and I still want to see more because I don't know how representative what I saw was :P ).

Most of Mira Nair's film have very little financial or artistic input from producers in Bollywood (or in India), so other Indian filmmakers - although they are very happy with the way she has promoted Indian cinema and "The Namesake" got a great reception in India - do not really consider her films to be part of the Indian film industry. Which may seem a little weird, but it kind of makes sense once you start delving deeper into what is considered Indian cinema.

It's kind of a bit like I personally don't consider Roman Polanski's "The Pianist" to be "Polish cinema", even though Roman Polanski is a Polish director and there were many Poles working on the film. But while I would recommend that film, I don't think that you'd get a particularly good idea of what Polish cinema is like from that.

Of course the borders of all of this can be murky. Just like with American films now it's not always so easy to say if the film is Hollywood or independent cinema. But there is definitely a lot of fragmentation in Indian cinema and once you delve into it more it *does* make sense ;)

I don't think of Roman Polanski as a Polish director. I think of him as, among other things, a European director. To my knowledge he's never filmed in Poland, or in the Polish language. (correct me if I'm wrong) He started out in Hollywood and he'd probably be working there today if he could. Someday he will be invited back I hope. Meanwhile he's done just fine elsewhere, and, in fact, I think his cache has increased since he left.
Mira Nair, on the other hand, has used India as a location, and has included the language (which one/s?) in her films. So she's sort of a bridge between the two worlds, as people have already mentioned. Also, the movies that I've seen of hers tend to have bits of "ollywood" in them, like dance sequences and close-ups of the actors' eloquent eyes. I can understand why she'd be mistaken for an 'Indian director'.
It's the work of Satyajit Ray that I'm most familiar with...Bengali. That style is sooo different from what we think of as Indian film now! It's very slow, for one thing, with the camera lingering over landscapes and panning horizons. The color is muted (which may have been intentional or merely a practical matter), not wildly colorful. And the music is what I'd consider to be classical ~ often single instruments like a haunting flute or eerie sitar ~ and the music isn't used abundantly; there are long spells of silence. Overall, those films evoke a completely different mood and sensibility. As I recall, Ray worked a lot with the
Kapoors, who I believe had quite a lineage of actors to their name. Are any of
them still on the A-list?
Thanks again, roz, for all the info! :thumbsup

Thanks for the info, but boy-howdy am I confuzzled now. LOL :blink:

Polanski's first feature film "Knife in the Water" (which I still haven't seen *blush*) was an 100% Polish production. He also made a number of short films in Polish while he was still living in Poland.
Since then indeed his films have been international, although "The Pianist" could easilly be argued to be a Polish film IMO. It was shot almost completely in Poland, spoke of Polish history and even had a bit of Polish language in it in the background. Furthermore it was partly financed by Polish money and had a lot of Polish talent in it - many of the background actors, the cinematographer, the set designer, the main executive producer (Lew Rywin), the composer.... etc.

I think she's mainly used English and Hindi. There was quite a bit of Bengali in "The Namesake" I think.
The dance sequences that I've seen in Mira's films have been very not "ollywoodish"... I mean I've only seen a few of her films - "The Namesake", "Vanity Fair", "Monsoon Wedding", "My Own Country" (though I hardly remember this one), "Salaam Bombay!". You might be referring to other films, but the dancing that was in "Monsoon Wedding" and "Vanity Fair" (and I don't remember any in the other films I saw, but maybe there was some) was used in the films in quite a Western way IMO. I mean if you look at something like "Pride and Prejudice" you'll have quite a bit of dancing there too. But it's an integral part of the plot.
And personally I've never considered close-ups of eyes to be particular to Bollywood :) (and actually from the little I've seen Bollywood, Kollywood and Tollywood tend to have quite different approaches to camera use, so I don't think you can group the "ollywoods" together in this case :)).
I think Mira's style is much closer to India's "parallel cinema" than to any of the "ollywoods".
I think she is influenced by Indian cinema and obviously she touches Indian issues, so it is all blurry in that sense, but I do think that once you watch some big budget Bollywood productions it's quite obvious that her cinema is very different to that :) But yeah, one could make a case for slotting Mira Nair into the art house part of Indian cinema.

The Apu trilogy is an amazing piece of cinema :)
I have no idea what Bengali cinema is like today. But I did see a Bengali film called "The Wrestlers" a few years ago and it was definitely of the slow, not colourful kind with no song and dance numbers (it was an art house film festival though, so I'd hardly expect something more commercial there). I think that you'd find films more in that kind of style in India's art house cinema.

lol, oh dear... Let me know if I can clear something up :D The divisions can be a bit blurry and they definitely are in the case of Mira!
As for there being divisions in the first place, just remember that each of the "ollywoods" produces more films than any European country except for maybe France. And there are so many different languages, religions and cultures in India that perhaps it would be weirder if the film industry wasn't fragmented in this way.

Thanks everyone for bearing with me :)

rozoweskarpetki, thanks for your Aug.24 update. :thumbsup
I understand much more better now.

I already knew the 'animal' of Indian Film had segments based on the language used, and that they compete with eachother, but didn't know their ~ollywood names.

In a certain Indian newspaper I've been looking at, the Cinema section does have subsections of Indian Languages, and one for English.

I have seen The Pianist also, so know exactly what you're saying.
It didn't teach me much about Polish society, but was a great film nonetheless.

I guess then there IS cause for concern if the Hollywood Strike happens. Because the Producers are Hollywood based. :( I wonder how much impact a producer based strike would have if a film is being made overseas? I cannot imagine Johnny walking a picket line... :ph43r:

Thanks, roz, for clearing up my misconceptions about Polanski and 'The Pianist', which I didn't realize was filmed in Poland! I thought it was filmed in Germany, or possibly the Czech Republic. :blink: I didn't link the story to Poland either, but it was a fantastic film.

Since I've seen no 'ollywood' movies, but only heard about them, I guess I concluded that the dance sequences in Mira Nair's films, such as 'Vanity Fair', were
at least somewhat of a nod to that genre. The sequences didn't seem to be that much a part of the story to me, and they were definitely 'Indian' in feel and tone. Now I know there's more of a difference - thanks!

In my very cursory study of Satyajit Ray and that more classical variety of Indian filmmaking, the actors' eyes were considered to be a very prominent part of the storytelling. I think GDR mentioned it in Shantaram, that Indian cinema is unique because Indian actors can 'shout with their eyes'...

We have an accord about the Apu Trilogy! :thumbsup

In terms of the Hollywood strike - correct me if I'm wrong but I thought it was writers and actors going on strike, not the producers? As far as writers go, it's not so important for Shantaram because the script should be ready by then. As for actors - we don't know how many Hollywood actors they're going to cast and is Johnny going to support the strike? If they take for example a French actor for Didier, a German actress for Karla etc. then it might be a very minor issue for Shantaram.

"The Pianist" is actually based on a autobiography by the same title. Władysław Szpilman was a real person.
It takes place in the Warsaw ghetto and they shot all of the Warsaw sequences over the summer in Warsaw. They rebuilt the whole ghetto not where it was originally, but in a rundown area of Warsaw and it was amazing to see. The set designer got loads of compliments from elder people who remembered those times and they all said that he had recreated the ghetto very realistically.
In Poland it was quite a shocker that Polański took the subject up. He is Jewish himself and it's my understanding that while he was very young at the time, he had himself escaped from the Cracow ghetto and some of his family died there. But he had never touched the subject or even discussed it publicly before.
I think the film does show Polish/Jewish society quite accurately although I found the English rather disconcerting. A lot of the time I felt like so much of the surroundings and behaviours were Polish that it just felt so weird to have it acted out in English. IMO you can get a bit of Polish culture from the film, but definitely it's a look at Polish/Jewish society "from the outside in" and there's something Western about the feel of it, so I'm not surprised that the connection with Poland wasn't evident :)

I think Mira Nair is a bit more set in Indian culture than Polański is in Polish culture, but I think there's still a bit more of the "from the outside in" perspective in Mira's films than in most of the films made in India.
As for the dance sequences - Parlez, watch some Bollywood films and make up your own mind :) Maybe you'll disagree with me :D But I think there's no lip-synching in Mira's films (and it would be very unusual for Bollywood to have a dance sequence without lip-synching) and also I do think the dancing is part of the narrative in Mira's films when in Bollywood it very often isn't. Even when they don't do a sudden change of scenery, the plot usually goes on as if nobody had just broken into song. And I think Bollywood dance sequences are usually much crazier ;) I found a clip on youtube from a mainstream Bollywood film which has quite a bit of dialogue (with subtitles) before the song, so you can see what I mean. It goes from a dialogue at a bazaar in India where Shahrukh is putting on bangles onto Kajol's arm to suddenly a song in the scenery of Egyptian pyramids (not to mention how many times the scenery changes!):
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ILaK-1X87nI
I've seen this kind of thing repeatedly in the "ollywoods", but don't ever remember seeing such a sudden change of scenery in Western cinema.

I do think that the best Indian actors express a huge amount with their eyes :) And indeed that gets commented on. And I never did any reading up on Indian cinema from that angle, so you may be right. But I only remember seeing close-ups of eyes in Bollywood near the beginning of the films. They usually tease the audience a long time before they do a proper shot of the main character's face, so a close up where you can see only the eyes is a popular shot. But I'll try to pay more attention to this in the future :)

Johnny is a member of the SAG and has been vocal in his support of issues in past negotiations. I remember he made a statement in support of (or was it against?) at least one issue that was published in the Hollywood Reporter a few years ago. I don't remember the exact issue but it was supporting then president's Melissa Gilbert's position. I mention this to show he would surely support any labor issues ratified by the union. Does anyone know if non-US actors who work in US cinema have to be members of SAG? I've always assumed so but don't know. Despite its strong Indian flavor, Shantaram is a Hollywood film, financed and produced by Hollywood with a director who lives/works at least some of the time in the US. Nair is very possibly a member of the DGA, the other union which will be involved in negotiations. It's good that Shantaram will most likely be filmed prior to any work action that could result from the various labor negotiations.

You are quite right Fan! And I do appreciate your post about this. Johnny did, to the best of my memory, come out in support of then Pres. Melissa Gilbert's position, and also to the best of my knowledge, most all actors are members of SAG and if they aren't, then they are working towards their SAG points and card. I would also bet that Mira Nair is a member of the DGA. The entire film industry is very union oriented and you are again correct in saying that Shantaram is a Hollywood project. Fingers crossed that it does get made prior to any possible strike.

Strikes are often talked about and sometimes carried out, a lot of the time negotiations happen before any strike happens.

FANtasticJD and Karen thanks for explaining that cause I was very confused about this :) I checked and Mira Nair *is* a member of the DGA (you can search members on their website).
If negotiations don't have a satisfying result then when is the strike scheduled to happen exactly?

And another maybe odd question... Does this mean that any Indian or otherwise foreign talent on Shantaram have to register in the American Unions to be able to work on Shantaram? How does that work?

Roz ~ Truth be told, I thought Speilberg did a better job of bringing that period of history and Poland to life than Polanski did... But "The Pianist" has a more universal sensitivity, vis a vis the artist and his art, which makes the story seem less about Polish society, while "Schindler's List" has more of a specific setting and message, IMO. Also, thanks for the clip ~ I see what you mean about the dance sequences! :thumbsup Also, good question about how the strike in Hollywood would impact international actors hired to work in American projects...?

FAN and Karen ~ thanks so much for the enlightening info about the Hollywood unions and the strike. It's good to know, though rather disturbing and worrying. :unsure:

Please don't panic. The "threat" of a stike somehow tends to get people to the negotiating table. And both sides know that too. Also both sides would lose money and no one wants that. lol

I am not that well versed on the rules and regs of non-US workers and US unions. I will see what I can find out. FantasticJD? Do you know anything?

I haven't seen "The Pianist" and especially "Schindler's List" for a while now, so they're not fresh in my memory and I therefore find it hard to argue the case :) But I think there were all sorts of little things in "The Pianist" which I automatically associate with Poland and people from abroad might not.
For example we have a total obsession about Chopin in Poland - which I think isn't obvious to people abroad.
And for me some of the exteriors very clearly pointed to Warsaw.
And then there's stuff like the lighting and cinematography which were done in a very Polish style (Poland has always had a strong tradition of cinematography).
Also I think the film caught the atmosphere of the Polish/Jewish intelligentsia of the time extremely well - something I don't think Spielberg even attempted much.

I agree that when you look at the actual story of the two films then "The Pianist" has a more universal feel. But I also think that when you look at the details then Polański put in a bit more "Polishness" into his film.

Parlez, do let me know if you ever get round to watching any Bollywood. I'll be very curious to hear what you think :)

Karen - thanks very much :) It's not important, I was just curious if you knew.

Okay, now I'm curious to know more about Polish cinema and cinematography! (Also, what did you think of "The Ninth Gate"?) Polanski obviously had a different story to tell in "The Pianist" than Spieberg wanted to get across in "Schindler's List" (and no doubt Spielberg's budget was bigger than Polanski's) so comparing them might not have been a wise choice on my part. I imagine that a film made, say, in my state of Colorado would automatically be recognizable and have extra layers of meaning to the people living here, moreso than to those not living here. Everyone would get the idea and flavor of the Western setting, but it would be more significant and appear more unique to Colorado residents. "The Pianist" has an almost surreal, timeless quality about it, which is one of the things I love about the film. It makes you realize that Szpilman's story could be (has been) replicated across time and place; the apolitical artist caught in a web of politics and war is a very compelling story, no matter what. But now I'm even more appreciative of the movie, knowing specifically where and how and with whom it was made! :) Thanks for the background info!

Polish cinema has a few gems here and there, but it's not all that interesting IMO :) Sure, there are countries with a smaller culture of cinema than Poland and there are certain cinematic traditions here, but even so our cinema isn't flourishing.
One random Polish cinema fact which I found very surprising when I heard it, is that before World War II Poland was the biggest centre of cinema made in the Yiddish language. It's weird because nowadays there are absolutely no signs of this in Poland. That whole part of culture has totally died out.

I have embarrassingly enough still not seen "Ninth Gate" *big blush* I've wanted to, but somehow I never got to it. Maybe you'll motivate me now to rent it next week and I'll get back to you on this :)

I think "The Pianist" and "Schindler's List" is a very interesting comparison actually :) I just wish I remembered both films better. And I checked on imdb and "The Pianist" actually had a larger budget! Mind you, there's 10 years difference, so maybe if one adjusted it by inflation it wouldn't make that much of a difference. However, certainly "The Pianist" had a bigger budget than most European based films can dream of.

If I saw a film set in Colorado I really wouldn't catch any subtleties of that! I mean I've never actually thought about it much, but now that you mention it, whenever I watch an American film it makes absolutely no difference to me which state or city it happens in! So yeah, I absolutely agree :)

I found this on the SAG site:

SAG is an American union. Foreign actors who reside in the US or who work here a significant amount probably can join the SAG. From the blurb above, it sounds like each situation receives individual consideration. My guess, and it is strictly a guess, is that actors who live and work all the time outside the US, don't need to be SAG members when working in an otherwise SAG film...and most Hollywood films are union films. Do Indian actors have their own unions? If so, then the film would abide by their terms and conditions.

I've had considerable experience working with unions in the past. When, for example, a manufacturing company has production facilities offshore, they abide by the laws and union rules of the country in which the facility resides. If a US worker is temporarily reassigned to an offshore facility, their compensation and benefits can be handled in several different ways depending on the length of their assignment and any individual contract issues and union rules. I assume with the SAG, since much of their members' work can be overseas, they maintain jurisdiction on work conditions, benefits, pay. In other words, the US-based performers will be protected and bound by union rules as long as it's a union film. Accepting non-union work can, depending on circumstances, get the actor in trouble with the union. If a strike is called - and I consider that unlikely - the union members on the shoot will be bound by the strike. I think it's possible that the production itself may need to be halted if it is deemed a union shoot but don't quote me on that. It sounds like Shantaram will be filmed prior to any potential work action. The only concern would be if the DGA goes on strike. I assume that would mean that Nair wouldn't be able to do post-production work during the strike period. ???

The main impact of the strike threat, even if a strike doesn't happen, is that much work will be rushed into production early and other film plans may be dropped or delayed. There will be few projects planned for next summer/fall. Not many studios will gamble on planning a major production that will run into a possible strike period. Demand for actors will be high in the forthcoming months. Since some films will be hurried into production, some actors may lose out on roles because they've already been nabbed for something else. Other actors will benefit. Many people in the industry will have a lean period next year. There will be a lull in available work as rushed projects wrap and new projects are delayed while the industry waits to see how labor talks progress. Small independent projects may benefit if a strike isn't called since their pre-production ramp-up time wouldn't be as big. It's going to be interesting.

FANtasticJD - big thanks for that :) It cleared up a lot of things for me.
As for whether Indian actors have unions - I don't know, but I think so. Certainly the make-up artists working on feature films have a union (there was some controversy recently about the union discriminating female make-up artists - that's how I know), so I assume actors do too.

Thanks FAN !!! :thumbsup
I'm glad to hear union issues may be cleared up before Shantaram shoots.

If not, It's sad to hear that Mira, the producer, being a member of the Director's group, and probably part of SAG, would be bound to stop production.
I can't imagine filming without a director.

Fingers crossed for smooth filming at least. :crossfingers

I just hope that they are also making security for all the movie sites a top priority also. Just hearing about the recent terrorist attacks in India makes me fear for Johnny's safety and also the safety of the rest of the cast and also the crew.

Nicci :captainjack

That's very sad about the disappearance of a once-lively Yiddish film genre in Poland...not surprising but still a very sad reminder of the huge cultural contributions that are irrevocably lost to Polish society now. That, to me, is what "The Pianist" is all about, in a nutshell.

Depputante ~ good point about Mira's directing duties...it would be impossible to film without a director me thinks.

deppfan4ever ~ India and Pakistan have been 'at it', off and on, ever since Partition. I don't think there's much risk involved for the Shantaram shoot, which I imagine will take place mostly in and around Mumbai. Other locations will be scouted with an eye to security, accessibility and calm. Nobody would be foolish enough to put any of this project in harm's way ~ least of all the producer! ;)

I know that they will be extra careful when it comes to the security but you have to remember that the kind of people they would be dealing with would let no strength of security get in their way. You also have to remember that these people have hit around AND in Mumbai. I'm sorry but I just cringe when I read about these attacks and knowing that Johnny will be there.

Nicci :captainjack

The union issues probably won't be cleared up before Shantaram shoots. Rather, the SAG and DGA contracts are up the end of June, 2008. A strike wouldn't happen until after the contracts expire so July at the earliest, well after Shantaram is due to wrap. Nair is a member of the DGA but, being a director (not producer), would not also be a member of the SAG which is strictly for actors. It gets very complicated! :blink:

Thanks so very much Fan for sharing all of the ins and outs of labor unions and strikes!!! It's such a confusing situation for the industry to be involved in. It's often a struggle to grasp the over all ramifications of strikes and the negotiating table. I'm so honored that you took so much time to explain things in so much detail! :thanks

deppfan4ever, remember that in India Bollywood stars are much, much bigger celebrities than Hollywood stars and if there's never been a terrorist attack on any of the Bollywood stars, then Johnny isn't a likely target.
And also remember that the terrorism in India isn't anti-American/Western, it's a whole different issue.
IMO there is absolutely no reason for Johnny to be a target of terrorism in India.

And if you're still not convinced then how about Richard Gere who actually put himself in a situation where extremists weren't happy with his presence in India (I assume you heard that story, or no?)? There were big protests against him in India with all sorts of representations of him being burnt, but nobody conducted any sort of terrorist act against him.

Yes I do remember something about Richard Gere.

I think we all just need to let the security people do their jobs. The studios aren't going to put their "talent" and their money in jeopardy. And Johnny's personal security team is quite capable.

So let's don't worry about terrorism when filming.

We don't even know when filming will even start....

Agreed!! :thumbsup

Here's an article I found it's a few days old. So I'm not sure if anyone has seen it yet.

It mentions that filming is to start before the end of the year, and that filming is to be shot in India, China and Australia.

Although I still believe that filming won't begin until next year.


Will Amitabh Bachchan go bald for 'Shantaram'?


Will Amitabh Bachchan go bald for ‘Shantaram’?
22nd Aug 2007 19.45 IST
By Aparajita Ghosh

Mira Nair is trying to do something that no filmmaker in Bollywood has managed so far.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra could not convince Amitabh Bachchan to grow a real beard for Eklavya and hence a false one was used. But Mira Nair might just convince the superstar to go bald for her movie Shantaram .

Based on a famous book of the same title by Gregory David Roberts, ‘Shantaram’ tells the story of an escaped Australian convict who travels through continents and ends up in Mumbai’s underworld.


While Hollywood star Johnny Depp will play the lead role, Amitabh Bachchan has already been signed to play the role of underworld don Kader Bhai.

Reports say Mira Nair is eager to have a bald looking don in the film and has asked Mr. Bachchan to shave his head before the film’s shooting begins.

It is still not confirmed whether Big B has agreed to go bald. If he does so, it will be the first time he would shave his head for a role. Also, it would be difficult for him to shoot for other Bollywood films in his new look.

The film’s shooting is likely to begin before this yearend. It will be shot in Australia, India and China.

Thanks so much Jamie for wanting to share that article. It is here on JDR :thumbsup I know we have a lot of info here and it's hard sometimes to know what's here and what isn't.

:) ok. Perhaps next time I'll have to have a bit of a look around before I post anything.

No worries! ;) I'd rather have an item shared twice than not shared at all! :thanks