Anil cancels Durban premiere

By: Upala KBR, Mid-Day
Friday, September 29, 2006
Anil Kapoor was preparing for a grand launch of his debut home production, Gandhi - My Father, on Mahatma Gandhi's birthday on October 2 in Durban, South Africa. His plans have now been cancelled.

Says Ajay Gupta, Managing Director, Sahara Computers, "Due to technical reasons, it had to be cancelled. Mr Nelson Mandela was also expected to attend. The premiere has now been cancelled at the request of Mr Kapoor."

Finishing touches

Anil Kapoor, who is currently in London, prefers to be non-committal about the affair.

He says, "The premiere didn't get cancelled. My director, Feroze, is a perfectionist and technically we were not ready for a premiere. Some finishing touches need to be added to the film, which he's completing in Los Angeles at the moment."

About whether Nelson Mandela was to attend the launch or not, Kapoor says, "We had thought of inviting Mr Nelson Mandela. That was among our plans, but of paramount importance is that the film be completed first and also be technically perfect."

When will they release the film? "We should be able to release the film by December, if all goes well," says Kapoor.

Noble cause

Last year, Kapoor had met the South African statesman and said it had been a dream come true.

"I was in South Africa shooting for a film and was scheduled to return to Mumbai in two days. On July 13, I finally had the opportunity to meet him at his residence. We chatted for more than an hour. I could barely control my excitement. My friend Ajay Gupta and Yusuf helped arrange the meeting."

After returning from London, Kapoor will hold a press conference on birth registration in Mumbai. He had launched UBR Plan India's campaign for universal birth registration (UBR) in July this year. Plan India aims to achieve 100 per cent birth registration by 2010 and has roped in Kapoor as its goodwill ambassador.

What's Gandhi - My Father about?

Akshaye Khanna plays Mahatma Gandhi's eldest son, Harilal. It is a cinematic adaptation of Feroz Khan's critically acclaimed play, Gandhi Viruddh Gandhi.

The play explores the personal anguish of Mahatma Gandhi and his son and is based on actual accounts inspired from letters written by the Gandhis, on articles written, newspaper clippings, Harilal's biography and the Gujarati novel, Prakashno Padchhayo by Dinkar Joshi.