By:
Upala
KBR,
Mid-Day
Monday,
August
13,
2007
After
the
success
of
Shootout
At
Lokhandwala,
Apoorva
Lakhia
is
busy
with
his
next,
Mission
Istanbul
(produced
by
Ekta
kapoor,
Suniel
Shetty
and
Shabbir
Boxwala)
-
a
fast-paced
action
thriller
based
on
international
terrorism.
The
film
will
be
shot
in
a
start-to-finish
schedule
of
60
days
in
Turkey.
A
chat
with
Lakhia
on
MI,
the
cast,
Vivek
Oberoi
and
bellydancers!
Why
is
Bobby
Deol
not
doing
Mission
Istanbul?
Bobby
couldn't
work
out
the
dates
as
our
film
got
delayed
by
20
days
(from
Oct
1
to
Oct
25).
Zayed
Khan
has
now
stepped
in.
Tell
us
something
about
Mission
Istanbul.
Mission
Istanbul
is
a
fastpaced
action
drama
on
a
big
canvass.
In
Mission
Istanbul,
our
main
character
journeys
through
notorious
terrorist
acts
in
the
recent
past.
For
a
war
sequence,
we
have
tied
up
with
Turkish
government
and
they
are
providing
us
with
tanks
and
helicopters.
Shabbir
Ahluwalia
and
Shreya
Sharan
are
also
part
of
the
film.
Is
it
true
that
Vivek
Oberoi
charged
Rs
4
crore
for
the
film?
No.
When
the
producers
and
I
approached
Vivek
Oberoi
and
asked
about
the
money,
he
said,
'How
can
I
ask
for
money
from
you
guys
after
Shootout?" Vivek
loved
the
script.
Rizwan's
character
is
totally
different
from
Maya
Dolas,
and
Vivek
will
take
it
to
another
level.
There's
speculation
about
Abhishek
and
Vivek
coming
face
to
face
in
Mission
Istanbul.
How
will
you
handle
that?
They
don't
have
any
scenes
together.
Abhishek
has
a
guest
appearance.
I
know
both
exchanged
messages
after
they
saw
Shootout,
so
I
don't
think
there
is
a
problem.
Will
there
be
music
in
Mission
Istanbul?
Yes.
Anu
Malik
is
doing
the
music.
There
are
three
situational
songs.
There
is
also
an
unconventional
item
song,
which
we
are
cutting
with
a
scene.
We
have
a
part-Turkish
part-Hindi
track
rendered
by
a
very
famous
Turkish
singer.
The
belly
dancers
used
for
a
song
sequence
were
so
hot!
How
did
you
feel
when
you
heard
the
news
of
Sanjay
Dutt
going
to
jail?
I
was
saddened.
He
was
my
senior
in
school
(Lawerence,
Sanawar)
and
a
humble
person.
My
entire
school
fraternity
-
3,000
of
them
-
wrote
letters
to
him,
which
I
delivered
to
Manyata.
He's
strong
and
will
come
out
a
winner.
Did
you
expect
Shootout
to
be
a
hit?
No.
I
didn't
expect
it
to
do
so
well.
In
the
beginning
people
were
classifying
it
as
a
massy
film,
but
the
overall
response
has
been
fantastic.