Director
Apoorva
Lakhia
is
all
set
for
his
upcoming
release
Mission
Istanbul
which
will
hit
the
screens
on
25th
July.
After
basking
in
the
glory
of
immensely
successful
Shootout
At
Lokhandwala,
Apoorva
is
extremely
excited
for
his
next
action
outing
Mission
Istanbul
based
on
international
terrorism.
While
his
Shootout
At
Lokhandwala
was
inspired
from
real
life
gun-battle
between
gangsters
and
Mumbai
Police,
Mission
Istanbul
is
close
to
reality
but
not
real.
It
is
a
fictional
story.
Mentions
the
director,
"It's
a
totally
fictional
film
which
is
based
on
the
world
plagued
by
terrorism
and
it's
about
a
character's
growth.
It's
a
journey
where
Zayed
Khan
travels
from
being
a
normal
reporter
to
maturing
into
a
man
because
of
the
difficulties
he
is
faced.
And
how
with
the
help
of
Vivek
Oberoi
they
come
across
some
vital
information
and
they
want
to
show
it
to
the
world."
Till
date
we
saw
the
tall
and
lanky
actor
Zayed
mostly
in
the
characters
of
soft,
easy
going
young
lad.
But
with
Mission
Istanbul
he
will
be
seen
in
an
altogether
different
shade.
Zayed
has
really
worked
hard
for
this
film.
In
fact
the
actor
had
put
on
11
kgs
just
for
the
climax
scene.
When
we
asked
Apoorva
about
this
he
said,
"Yes
that's
absolutely
true,
because
Zayed
had
to
take
on
Nikiteen
Dheer
(Jodhaa
Akbar
fame)
who
is
a
crook
in
the
film.
Nikiteen
is
6
feet
4
inches
tall
and
built
like
a
rock.
So
we
thought
it's
necessary
for
Zayed
to
put
on
bulk
and
match
up
the
physical
terms
of
Nikiteen
in
the
climax.
We
had
to
make
it
look
realistic.
So
he
really
worked
hard
and
managed
getting
there
and
looks
fantastic
in
the
film."
Like
his
Shootout,
even
Mission
Istanbul
is
an
action
packed
film
with
breathtaking
out
of
the
ordinary
stunts.
In
fact
Apoorva
made
Vivek
and
Zayed
jump
from
a
four
storey
building
to
give
it
a
brush
of
reality.
"It's
nothing
about
out
of
the
ordinary.
All
the
stunts
are
realistic,
what
you
and
I,
if
faced
with
certain
situation
would
do.
Yeah,
they
(Zayed&Vivek)
jumped
from
a
4-storey
building
onto
a
moving
truck;
they
also
jumped
from
a
5
storey
building
onto
a
helicopter
and
also
jumped
from
a
helicopter
into
-20?
freezing
water.
But
that
was
required
as
per
the
script",
reasoned
Apoorva.
Abhishek
has
been
a
regular
element
in
Apoorva's
films
in
some
or
other
manner.
Right
from
his
first
film
Mumbai
Se
Aaya
Mera
Dost
Abhi
has
been
a
regular
feature
of
his
movies.
While
in
ShootoutEk
Ajnabee
Abhi
had
a
brief
role
than
in
Mission
he
has
been
roped
in
for
an
item
song.
In
fact
the
good
pal
Abhi
did
the
item
song
for
free.
When
we
asked
Apoorva
about
Abhi's
item
song
in
MI,
he
promptly
agreed,
"Abhishek
is
a
very
good
friend
and
if
he
can
be
a
part
of
any
of
my
films
I
consider
myself
pretty
fortunate.
Infact
I
am
looking
forward
to
work
with
him
soon.
I'll
be
working
with
him
in
a
Vashu
Bhagnani
film
which
will
roll
on
next
year
only
and
we
both
are
pretty
excited
to
work
again."
Apoorva
has
been
known
for
action
filled
movies
with
less
importance
to
woman
characters.
We
asked
the
director
about
the
same
and
he
said,
"Shootout
was
based
on
a
true
story
so
I
couldn't
have
a
woman
character
there.
But
on
the
whole
I
like
making
macho
films.
I
love
that
genre.
I
like
making
my
men
look
good.
And
I
am
very
happy
with
that."
But
Mission
Istanbul
would
see
a
woman
among
these
macho
guys.
When
we
asked
how
this
new
girl
Shweta
Bhardwaj
is
placed
among
the
male
gang,
Apoorva
replied
aptly,
"Shweta
has
a
'macho'
character
in
this
film.
She
is
playing
an
'action
heroine',
she
is
doing
lot
of
actions
as
compared
to
what
our
heroines
normally
do.
So
we
wanted
someone
new
for
this
character
who
could
be
trained
and
mould
in
a
manner
we
want." Was
it
difficult,
"Yes
it
was
difficult"
says
the
director.
He
further
adds,
"She
has
done
a
fantastic
job
overall.
She
also
had
to
become
an
ace
driver
to
drive
a
Mahindra
which
is
very
heavy.
I
am
happy
with
her
performance."
Since
the
film
deals
with
the
grave
issues
of
global
terrorism,
Apoorva
chose
turkey
as
hotspot
destination
for
Mission
Istanbul
and
shot
extensively
there.
"Yes
we
have
shot
almost
95%
of
the
film
in
Turkey
and
remaining
5%
in
Mumbai
and
Jaipur." Apoorva
said.
Infact
the
music
of
the
film
also
has
the
Turkish
feel.
The
music
of
the
film
is
outstanding
and
perfectly
matches
the
film's
plot.
The
director
infact
roped
in
Turkish
singer
for
one
of
its
song.
"Since
the
film
is
being
shot
in
turkey,
we
thought
it
would
be
interesting
to
have
all
the
cultures
together
and
therefore
we
roped
in
Turkish
singer
Ege
to
sing
the
romantic
song
'Jo
Gumshuda'
with
the
music
of
Anu
Malik.
We
also
got
Tanyeli
-The
Turkish
belly
dancer.
Plus
we
have
few
Turkish
actors
as
well."
Not
many
will
know
this
but
Apoorva
wanted
Zayed
Khan
to
make
only
a
guest
appearance
in
Mission
Istaanbul.
And
when
we
confirmed
about
the
same
with
Apoorva
he
said,
"Yes
I
wanted
to
cast
Zayed
for
the
role
which
Suniel
Shetty
is
playing
now
because
Bobby
was
supposed
to
do
my
film
first
but
somehow
Bobby's
date
didn't
work
out
and
than
I
just
had
a
word
with
Zayed
and
eventually
it
went
to
Zayed."
Story first published: Monday, July 21, 2008, 10:32 [IST]