Milan
Luthria
started
it
with
Once
Upon
A
Time
In
Mumbai,
Akshay
Kumar
is
following
it
up
with
Action
Replayy
and
Madhur
Bhandarkar
is
trying
to
get
the
best
of
the
two
into
his
film
Dil
Toh
Bachcha
Hai
Ji.
'Retro'
is
the
new
word
in
Bollywood.
A
few
weeks
ago
I
decided
to
visit
the
sets
of
Madhur's
forthcoming
comic
caper
to
meet
old
friend
Ajay
Devgn
and
Madhur
Bhandarkar.
The
location
was
Andheri
and
the
reason
was
a
'Retro'
song
being
filmed
on
Ajay
Devgn,
Shazahn
Padamsee.
And
the
woman
who
made
them
dance
to
their
tunes
was
the
svelte
Shweta
Salve.
The
song
was
shot
at
a
place
called
100
in
Mumbai's
busiest
suburb.
The
junior
artistes
including
some
foreign
bodies
(pun
intended)
were
busy
rehearsing
their
steps.
Madhur
comes
from
behind
and
pats
my
shoulder,
"What
are
you
doing
here?" he
asks.
"Came
to
meet
Ajay,
thought
I
would
meet
you
too",
I
answer.
Madhur
orders
for
two
chairs
as
we
sit
comfortably
in
front
of
a
large
table
fan,
the
ones
we
see
in
Indian
weddings.
I
could
see
the
joy
in
Madhur's
eyes
for
he
was
making
his
first
commercial
comedy
movie
with
one
of
the
most
talked
about
jodis
recently
-
Ajay
Devgn
and
Emraan
Hashmi.
"It's
my
first
comic
film
so
I'm
a
bit
nervous
but
I'm
more
confident
too.
It's
a
very
simple
comedy,
nothing
which
is
forcefully
done
or
hams",
he
quotes.
After
looking
at
his
watch,
he
signals
one
of
his
men
to
order
some
tea
or
coffee
for
me.
Madhur
continues,
"And
what's
important
is
the
fact
that
Omi
Vaidya
has
taken
the
film
to
another
level.
He
is
so
good."
Omi
Vaidya
is
the
latest
find
in
Bollywood
after
3
Idiots.
In
no
time,
Madhur
invites
me
to
come
inside
the
pub
where
the
Retro
song
is
being
shot
and
that's
where
my
eyes
meet
the
beautiful
Shazahn
Padamsee.
She
was
sitting
in
a
navy
blue
skirt,
almost
the
knee
length
with
a
white
and
blue
top.
It
looked
more
of
a
retro
dress
to
me.
To
be
honest,
the
entire
setting
was
retro.
The
choreographer
was
busy
showing
the
steps
to
Shweta
Salve
while
Madhur
introduces
me
to
Shazahn.
The
sweet
actress
thinks
and
pauses
and
questions,
"We
met
at
the
Raajneeti
after
party
right?
And
you
are
the
one
who
loved
my
film
Rocket
Singh,
right?"
I
had
no
option
but
to
say
'Yes'.
We
get
chatty
in
no
time
when
she
asks
a
weird
question,
"Have
you
come
here
for
some
gossip
news?"
I
answer,
"No,
not
really.
I
don't
know
how
to
write
gossip
columns
but
you
can
teach
me
how
to
write."
I
ask
her
how
she
felt
being
directed
by
two
of
the
finest
filmmakers
of
our
country
-
Shimit
Amin
and
Madhur
Bhandarkar,
both
who've
branched
out
from
Ram
Gopal
Varma.
"It
feels
lucky.
Am
I
not
lucky
to
be
working
with
the
best
in
the
business?
It's
good
because
they
are
the
directors
who
push
the
envelope
when
it
comes
to
acting.
They
make
you
try
harder
and
harder.
There
is
no
substitute
when
you
work
with
gems
like
these",
she
tells
me.
Within
minutes,
the
lead
actor
of
the
film
Ajay
Devgn
walks
in
and
Shazahn
joins
him
on
the
dance
floor
with
Salve.
Madhur
takes
one
final
rehearsal
before
the
actual
take.
All
goes
well
and
I
meet
Ajay
Devgn
outside
the
pub
for
a
quite
talk.
Ajay
is
in
good
mood.
He
is
wearing
a
pink
pine
stripped
shirt
with
beige
trousers
and
glasses.
We
exchange
a
few
words
and
off
he
sets
the
record
straight,
"Bro,
I
don't
have
much
time
today,
can
we
do
the
interview
tomorrow?"
he
asks
me.
I
reply
in
positive.
He
instructs
his
team
of
some
good
half
a
dozen
men
to
make
sure
that
I
call
him
tomorrow
but
before
he
flashes
off,
the
actor
does
say
something
worthwhile,
"Madhur's
heart
is
like
a
kid's
heart.
He
thinks
from
the
heart
too
and
that's
why
I
am
working
with
him
in
our
first
film
together.
That's
why
all
his
films
have
a
heart.
No
wonder
the
title
of
his
new
film
reads
Dil
Toh
Bachcha
Hai
Ji."
Story first published: Wednesday, September 8, 2010, 16:19 [IST]