Watch out for Soha, Shahid in 'Dil Maange...'

  • IndiaGlitz, [Tuesday,November 02 2004]

It may not have the trappings of a star-studded bonanza, but "Dil Maange More" certainly figures among the most anticipated films to be released in December.

The romantic misadventure about three girls and a boy who thinks he's found true love was a sell-out with its artistes and the producers, Fourth Wall Productions, when director Anant Mahadevan narrated the subject to them.

"It got us excited from the moment Anant discussed the subject with us. It is not a copy or remake of any other film nor is it an adaptation. The subject has a fresh approach. The fact that Anant had already got a confirmation from Shahid Kapur, who was fascinated by the subject, gave us all the more reason to act on it immediately," says producer Nikhil Panchamiya.

Shot in the exotic locales of Goa and Malaysia, besides Mumbai, "Dil Maange More" also marks the debut of Soha Ali Khan, who according to Panchamiya has given a great performance.

He reveals that the decision to cast the three heroines, Soha, Ayesha Takia and Tulip Joshi, was made after a lot of planning. "The three have similar roles in the film in that it is the story about who eventually succeeds in getting the guy as against who gets the girl," says Panchamiya.

Shahid's decision to prioritise the film over all his other assignments gave the film an added curiosity value in the trade. "I guess that was due to the subject and the fact that it was a solo-hero film, considering that he's not working in a Yash Chopra or a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film."

According to him, Shahid's presence in the film has definitely given it an added edge. "There's no doubt that he has a crazy fan-following among teenagers. When we shot in Goa, he was mobbed by a 150-strong crowd of teenagers."

"Today we are releasing the film four months ahead of schedule, which is a big achievement in itself. We started on June 6 and finished shooting the film on Oct 12 in four months and five schedules," says a jubilant Panchamiya.

Unlike other producers who sell the distribution rights of their films during their under- production stages, Panchamiya has chosen the option of not selling the film yet to buyers.

"We deliberately decided not to sell the film for the rest of India, except Mumbai, where we are releasing it, because we wanted the distributors to see the promos before buying the film."

The smart move has been made by Panchamiya to ensure that the film gets its deserving price in the market.

"It is an advantage as far as pricing is concerned. The promos reflect the freshness and the novelty about the film. We have just released the promos and they are already generating curiosity," he says.