By:
Subhash
K.
Jha,
IndiaFM
Monday,
July
23,
2007
It's
official.
After
hunting
around
for
a
heroine
in
every
nifty
nook
and
crafty
corner
of
the
film
industry,
Boney
Kapoor
has
finally
zeroed
in
on
the
super-talented
Ayesha
Takia
as
Salman
Khan's
leading
lady
in
the
Hindi
remake
of
the
Tamil
blockbuster
Pokhiri.
Many
names
including
Kangana
Ranaut
and
Deepika
Padukone
were
considered.
"But
we
decided
finally
on
Ayesha.
Both
Sridevi
and
I
feel
she's
an
under-utilized
bundle
of
talent,
just
waiting
to
explode.
We
saw
her
in
Nagesh
Kukunoor's
Dor
and
decided
she
was
it.
No
two
ways
about
it.
The
girl
will
go
very
far
if
she
watches
her
steps," says
Boney.
However
there's
a
bigger
reason
that
talent
that
made
Ayesha
the
'it'
girl.
"We
wanted
to
pair
Salman
with
a
heroine
he
has
never
worked
with
before.
I
want
to
create
an
aura
of
freshness
around
Salman
through
the
cast
factor," divulges
Boney.
"Therefore
Ayesha
with
whom
Salman
has
never
been
cast
before.
We've
also
got
Om
Puri,
Mahesh
Manjrekar
and
Siyaji
Shinde
to
play
the
other
roles."
The
crew
of
Wanted
Dead
And
Alive
leaves
for
Bangkok
on
July
25
to
shoot
two
songs.
"Interestingly,"
divulges
Boney.
"We've
got
Prabhu
Deva
who's
himself
a
choreographer,
to
direct
and
his
brother
Raju
Sunderam
to
choreograph.
I
don't
think
we've
ever
had
such
a
combination
before."
The
music
for
Wanted
Dead&Alive
is
by
Sajid-Wajid
whose
partnership
with
Salman
goes
back
a
long
way
to
Pyar
Kiya
To
Darna
Kya
and
Tere
Naam
where
they
shared
the
billing
with
Himesh
Reshammiya.
Adds
Boney,
"Salman
is
a
rare
4-
am
friend
in
the
industry.
If
you
want
he
can
be
there
for
you
at
any
time.
He
stood
by
me
when
my
production
house
was
going
through
a
low
and
did
No
Entry
without
talking
about
the
money.
I
feel
Wanted
Dead&Alive
couldn't
be
made
without
Salman."