The Asian News Blog

Everyone knows how close Sanjay Dutt is to his daughter Trishala so it was no surprise then that he found his role of a father in Kidnap very close to his heart as he identified with his character of Vikrant Raina.

In Kidnap, Sanjay Dutt’s character is kept away from his daughter (played by Minissha Lamba) first by his wife (played by Vidya Malavade) and then by a kidnapper (played by Imran Khan).
When contacted, director Sanjay Gadhvi said, “I think it was in 2002 or 2003 when Adi (Aditya Chopra) and my writer Shibani (Bathija) saw an episode of Farooque Sheikh’s Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai on television.
“Sanju baba was the guest on that show. Shibani was completely bowled over by baba’s love for his daughter Trishala and could see the pain and angst in his eyes.
“She called me immediately to say that we had found our Vikrant Raina. I caught the episode later and couldn’t agree more! Vikrant Raina was written for Sanjay Dutt!”
Gadhvi adds, “During the shooting of Kidnap, Sanjay was reminded of his own daughter everytime he’d look at Minissha.
“He’d keep asking me what he would do if his daughter ever got kidnapped in real life. In fact, the scene in Kidnap where he is separated from his daughter is one of his favourites and the closest to him.
“It was so real-life for him that he actually broke down. His ties with Trishala have grown stronger over the years.”
Sanju had such a great time shooting for Kidnap that he wants to play a father once again. He is keen to do a Hindi version of Steve Martin’s comedy, Father of the Bride.
Kidnap is an Indian Films – Studio 18 worldwide release. It releases on Wednesday 1st October, 2008.

From Shah Rukh Khan to Sanjay Dutt – the Chak Dey India captain, Vidya Malavade, has now been cast opposite Sanjay Dutt in the much talked about Kidnap.

Revealing how she bagged the role, she smiles, “I had a phone call on my birthday in March last year. It was from Sanjay (Gadhvi), the director of Kidnap, asking me if I wanted to play Sanjay Dutt’s romantic interest in the film.
“I read the script and absolutely loved it. I knew I had to do it and agreed almost immediately. I look at Kidnap as a wonderful birthday present.” Adds Malavade,
“I trust Sanjay (Gadhvi) blindly. I’ve known him for a long time. In fact, he’s one of the first few people I met on entering the industry, the other being Ken Ghosh. I’m really proud of Kidnap.”
Elaborating on the film, she remarks, “It’s an engaging edge-of-the-seat drama, which everyone will enjoy. The response to the promos has been fantastic and I can’t wait for it to release.
“It’s SD’s (Sanjay Dutt) first release of 2008 and Imran’s first after Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Thankfully, I will be in Japan on an assignment till the release of the film so that will quell my nervousness and anxiety to some degree!”
Ask Vidya about the difference between Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Dutt, she laughs, “Shah Rukh is full of energy and life. SD is more reserved and chilled out. Beneath the deadly Dutt there is a soft and tame being. I call him a gentle giant.
“I absolutely admire him and enjoyed working with him in Kidnap. We’ve even got a brilliant song together, sung by Adnan Sami – it’s called Haanji. Check it out!”
Released by Indian Films – Studio 18 worldwide, Kidnap is out in cinemas on Idd, Wednesday, 1st October, 2008.

THE festival season’s most anticipated release Kidnap sees two of the lead actors caught in an unusual situation.

Typically, Bollywood heroes and heroines are caught singing romantic duets.
But Kidnap essentially traces the complex relation between a kidnaper and his victim, leaving little scope for a budding romance in the initial reels of the film.
What made this situation more difficult to enact was the fact that Imran and Minissha got along like a house on fire from the first day of the shoot!
At times, the director Sanjay Gadhvi would have to intervene and keep the actors away from each other for an entire day especially if they needed to shoot an angry scene.
On one such day, Imran insisted on practicing a knife stunt with Minissha before the actual shoot.
She readily relented and even suffered cuts on her fingers while rehearsing. But that didn’t stop them from giving a bone-chilling take in the end.
Of course, Minissha still chides Imran about her injury by saying that he hurt her only to avenge his loss in a card game they played on the sets!
Being released worldwide by Indian Films – Studio 18, Kidnap is out in cinemas on Eid, Wednesday 1st October.

With the promos of the forthcoming Kidnap doing the rounds aggressively on television, the film is in the news for being the most keenly anticipated one on Eid this year.

That Kidnap is Sanjay Dutt’s first release of 2008 and Imran Khan’s second outing after his immensely successful Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, makes it even more special. Kidnap also happens to be directer Sanjay Gadhvi’s first film outside the Yashraj camp for whom he made smash hits like Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, Dhoom and Dhoom:2.
But not many are aware that Kidnap was Gadhvi’s first choice and not Dhoom. He reveals, “Dhoom was a small stopgap film which Adi wanted to make with new stars. Ditto for Dhoom:2, which I had to direct because the demand for a sequel was extraordinarily high. After directing Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, my heart actually lay in making Kidnap. However, Sanjay Dutt, who had been finalised for the lead, did not have immediate dates so we decided to hold on to Kidnap till such time.”
Finally, after Gadhvi quit Yashraj on completing his three-film deal with them, he took the script of Kidnap to his new producers, Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision, who loved it and agreed to back it almost immediately.
Kidnap is out worldwide on Thursday October 2. It is an Indian Films – Studio 18 release.