Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor in Case No. 99

By: Letty Mariam Abraham, IndiaFM
Thursday, November 29, 2007

Praful Parikh calls himself the comedy master. Surely, you cannot deny that after you see the films he has written which include Shola Aur Shabnam, Ishq, Hadh Kardi Aapne and the list is endless. He has also written the upcoming Welcome starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif. Praful has now gone ahead and ventured into direction with Only Meetings.

“Only Meetings is a comedy film, on the lines of Masti and No Entry. The film will feature debutant actor Shael Oswal and other actors like Johnny Lever, Vinay Pathak, and Rajpal Yadav. The lead lady opposite Shael is yet to be finalised. Incase we are unable to get a known face then we would resort someone new. I have already begun taking auditions also for it and short-listed some talented people," says Praful. His films are known for its music and composition. “The music director is not finalized; however I have already taken two of Aadesh Shrivastav"s songs, in addition to that Shael will be singing a song in the film." adds Praful who will also produce the film along with a Delhi based producer.

Shael Oswal is a pop singer who has released a couple of music albums in the past. So, how was finalised as the hero of the film? “According to the story I needed a face which looks simple. As his role is a fusion, i.e. he will look simple and down to earth but portray the character of a thorough flirt. Since I had already planned to take a new comer for the film, Shael fits the bill perfectly. When you do a film with known people the film may become predictable, which was something I wanted to avoid. The subject of my film is very strong and I am confident about it," says an exhilarated Praful.

What about your other upcoming projects? “I am directing a film with Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, and Arjun Rampal. The film was produced by Mr. Rizvi, but was delayed due to some problem. The film is titled, Case No. 99. Technically this would have been my first directorial debut unlike the film with Shael. However, both the films would go on within two months time. I have also written Welcome, which is an out an out comedy film. I had done the story of Sanjay Sharma"s Jaane Bhi Do Yaron but due to some misunderstanding, I left the film. Then I am even doing a film for Aadesh Shrivastav titled, Bati Gul, Blackout that has Om Puri, Paresh Rawal, Boman Irani, Rajpal Yadav, and Anupam Kher."

He further adds, “Now that I have started directing, I have to concentrate a lot on those projects. And direction does not come easy."