Behind The Scenes: Aladin

The ‘souls’ of Aladin This snap is indeed embedded in my heart in gold. This has the main cast in sets of the study room. This also was the last day of our principal photography of the film. It’s only after this, that we began our year long post production. Aladin, Read More">the film is nothingRead More

The 'souls' of Aladin

This snap is indeed embedded in my heart in gold. This has the main cast in sets of the study room. This also was the last day of our principal photography of the film. It's only after this, that we began our year long post production. Aladin, the film is nothing but the resultant of days and nights of hard work, that has been put by each one of the member here. I take immense pride to say that it is due to the incessant efforts that was taken by every single member of the crew that made Aladin a possibility! Hats off to each and every member of the Aladin team!

Don’t mess with the Ringmaster Sanjay Dutt had so much fun playing the lovable villain that he came up with some mannerisms which were so insane, Read More">that it left me simply stunned. He instantly came up with the pelvic thrust in the scene where Genie Genius gets trapped in the lamp. This snap is memorableRead More

Don't mess with the Ringmaster

Sanjay Dutt had so much fun playing the lovable villain that he came up with some mannerisms which were so insane, that it left me simply stunned. He instantly came up with the pelvic thrust in the scene where Genie Genius gets trapped in the lamp. This snap is memorable because, it was during this time, that Sanju baba came up with the limerick 'Lamp ka maalik…main hoon Genius'... His voice was so wickedly good that I convinced him to sing the 'Giri giri' song by himself.

It’s a date! Even though actor Sahil Khan played the antagonist in the film, he brought out such a great style, energy and goofiness to his character Kasim, that I ended up liking the character almost as much as Aladin! Even though Sahil has great comic instincts, in this sequence, he was nervous as hell, Read More">Read More

It's a date!

Even though actor Sahil Khan played the antagonist in the film, he brought out such a great style, energy and goofiness to his character Kasim, that I ended up liking the character almost as much as Aladin! Even though Sahil has great comic instincts, in this sequence, he was nervous as hell, because he was going to be interacting with Mr. Bachchan for the first time: in the film as well as on sets! What is so memorable about this situation is that, on the day of the said shoot, Riteish pulled a prank on him (Sahil) by saying that Mr. Bachchan was in a bad mood. So, Sahil was literally shaking when this hilarious scene in the restaurant played out. I, as you can see, was on to the joke. All said and done, I have to say this that no one else could have played Kasim the Sahil Khan did.

Showing us how it’s done… Mr. Bachchan was a bit apprehensive at first, about the way in which I wanted to shoot the song ‘Genie Rap’. With two Aladins in the picture, dancing became not just a physical but also a stressful mental activity. We had to majorly depend upon the two monitors, of which, Read More">Read More

Showing us how it's done...

Mr. Bachchan was a bit apprehensive at first, about the way in which I wanted to shoot the song 'Genie Rap'. With two Aladins in the picture, dancing became not just a physical but also a stressful mental activity. We had to majorly depend upon the two monitors, of which, one showed the actual dance while the other showed a mock up of what the final shot would look like with the two Aladins. It was sheer hard work, but Mr. Bachchan was so taken with the challenge, that he went that extra mile and helped us to achieve what we wanted. And the coolness and popularity of the said track is a testament in itself of his energy, charisma and the incredible dance moves. Behind us (in spectacles) is my partner-in-crime Sirsha Ray, whom I fondly address as the 'Cinematographer of the Gods'. Aladin looks as good as it does, only because he worked twice as hard as me, to make it look that way.

How do you direct God? Trust me guys, I’ve never felt this nervous and thrilled as I was, when I directed Mr. Bachchan for the first time. I just couldn’t sleep the entire night. Finally, realizing that I’ll probably not be able to speak, Read More">I took the help of my highly detailed storyboard. But theRead More

How do you direct God?

Trust me guys, I've never felt this nervous and thrilled as I was, when I directed Mr. Bachchan for the first time. I just couldn't sleep the entire night. Finally, realizing that I'll probably not be able to speak, I took the help of my highly detailed storyboard. But the fact remained that Mr. Bachchan was so amazing - he put me at ease right away. He is completely a director's actor. He listens and does everything that the director wants him to. In this snap, I'm instructing him about his first interaction with 'Aladin', where he is trying to explain to the boy that he's now entitled to three wishes. The incredible chemistry that Mr. Bachchan and Riteish shared right from the word 'go', is really something to watch out for.