Vinod
Chopra
Films'
Talismaan
starring
Amitabh
Bachchan
now
also
includes
Abhishek
Bachchan
and
Sanjay
Dutt.
Talismaan
is
a
romantic
fantasy
adventure
inspired
by
epic
novel,
Chandrakanta,
written
in
1892
by
Babu
Devaki
Nandan
Khatri.
It
interweaves
and
mixes
elements
of
magic,
fantasy
and
war.
The
shooting
of
Talismaan
will
commence
from
early
2009.
There
are
rumours
that
Talismaan
is
inspired
by
Lord
Of
The
Rings
and
Harry
Potter,
but
director
Ram
Madhvani
says,
"Vinod
gave
me
a
book
to
read
Chandrakanta,
written
50
years
before
Lord
Of
The
Rings
and
100
years
before
Harry
Potter.
I
was
amazed
at
its
ideas
and
fantasy
elements.
He
set
me
off
on
a
journey.
Talismaan
is
a
love
story,
a
fantasy
and
uses
magic.
It
has
a
unique
Indianness
and
yet
is
modern
and
contemporary.
It's
time
we
had
a
fantasy
film
we
can
call
our
own
and
one
we
can
be
proud
off.
Talismaan
is
my
attempt
to
do
just
that."
When
quizzed
about
rumours
about
Talismaan
being
shelved
because
of
its
costly
budget,
Ram
states,
"If
the
film
was
shelved,
believe
me
I
would
be
the
first
to
know.
We
are
proceeding
as
per
schedule.
The
film
is
very
heavy
on
special
effects
etc
and
therefore
a
lot
of
time
is
being
spent
on
pre-production.
The
storyboarding,
concept
art
etc,
requires
detailing
and
research.
It's
not
a
film
you
write
the
script
for
and
then
go
on
the
floors
to
shoot
it
straightaway," he
concludes.
Amitabh
Bachchan
says,
"Yes,
we
(Abhishek
and
him)
are
in
talks
and
should
finalise
shortly.
It
would
be
unethical
to
talk
about
it
till
then." Sanjay
Dutt
says,
"Vinod
sir
and
Ram
narrated
the
script
to
me
and
I
was
blown
away.
Talismaan
is
a
journey
I
am
looking
forward
to."
Chandrakanta
is
the
story
of
prince
Virendra
Singh,
who
is
in
love
with
the
princess
of
a
rival
kingdom,
Chandrakanta.
Thrown
into
this
love
story
is
a
magical
maze
in
an
old
abandoned
fort
which
guards
a
huge
treasure
trove.
Virendra
Singh
and
Chandrakanta
have
to
ensure
that
their
love
wins
against
evil
villains
like
King
Shivdutt
of
another
kingdom,
who
wants
to
capture
the
treasure.
Also
after
the
treasure
are
'aiyyars'
or
super-spies
who
have
the
magical
powers
of
transforming
themselves
into
another
person,
and
are
experts
in
all
modes
of
warfare.
Story first published: Thursday, May 22, 2008, 11:33 [IST]