Salman & The 'A' Factor 
By Taran Adarsh, June 13, 2005 - 06:05 IST
Day 3.
If Salman Khan got too emotional when the Big B officially kick-started the three-day I.I.F.A event [Ash and Salman came face to face here!], Salman seemed to be in an extremely cheerful mood when he staged a rather late entry at the NO ENTRY media briefing.
I've always noticed that Salman starts scribbling nothings on paper when he faces the mediapersons. The moment he entered the conference room of The Grand, he seemed visibly relaxed and expectedly, started scribbling on a notepad.
What are you scribbling, I asked Salman the moment he was through with the Qs and As. “Oh… I always scribble my name on paper, reminding myself all the while who I am,” he tells me. I couldn't help but take the paper and saw what he had scribbled: SALMAAN. A double A? Doesn't he spell his name Salman? So why an extra 'A' in his name? Does the alphabet 'A' signify someone's presence in his life, even after she has drifted apart? Perhaps!
Reproduced here is the scribble, which Salman gladly gave this writer. And I did ask Salman the presence of an extra 'A' in his name. His answer? “Salmaan sounds so much better… Mera mann hain,” he flashed that warm and friendly smile. I didn't want him to elaborate further.
'CHOCOLATE': VERY STYLISH
Prior to the NO ENTRY press meet, this writer witnessed excerpts from the forthcoming film CHOCOLATE, starring an ensemble star cast -- Anil Kapoor, Suniel Shetty, Emraan Hashmi, Arshad Warsi, Irrfan, Tanushree Dutta and Sushma Reddy. Directed by debutante Vivek Agnihotri, who has dabbled in television extensively, CHOCOLATE has been filmed in London from start to end.
“It's a thriller,” Vivek Agnihotri informs me, “Every time I saw films like TEESRI MANZIL and JEWEL THIEF, I often wondered why our film-makers don't attempt films like those anymore. CHOCOLATE belongs to the same genre. But, of course, it's different.”
“CHOCOLATE, in this film, signifies the illegal goods,” Anil Kapoor enlightens me, when I ask the significance of the title, “We refer to lakhs as 'Peti' and crores as 'Khokha', here the illegal goods are referred to as 'Chocolate'. It's a code word.”
HOW SAIF LOST OUT
The normally choosy Anil will have three releases back to back this year -- CHOCOLATE, NO ENTRY and MY WIFE'S MURDER. “Yes, all three are different films,” he smiles. Anil is particularly gung-ho about CHOCOLATE and NO ENTRY. “I was initially skeptical about signing a film with a new producer and a new director. I've literally created my career brick by brick. But when I heard the script of the film, I was convinced. I had to do it, otherwise I would've regretted the decision all my life,” he adds.
As for NO ENTRY, Lara Dutta refuted all speculation about MASTI and NO ENTRY having similar storylines. “There are no similarities, besides the fact that there are three men chasing one woman. But it's a new script altogether,” she states.
Not many are aware that Anil had initially approached Saif Ali Khan to enact the role that is now being essayed by Fardeen Khan. “But Saif wanted to enact my role, which I gladly offered to him. But he felt it would be wrong to take the role away from me,” Anil adds.
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