Sweethearts Candy Blog's

Starring: Mithun Chakraborthy, Mahesh Manjrekar, Riya Sen, Gulshan Grover, Seema Biswas, Ashwin Chitale, Ayesha Kaduskar, Meghan Jadhav, Ritwik Tyagi and Hardik Thakkar
Director: Girish Girija Joshi
Rating: ***

Four kids staying in the same building – Laddu (Hardik), Priya (Ayesha), Ritesh (Ritwik) and Karan (Meghan) feel threatened by a beggar staying near their building. They nickname him Ravan for his scary appearance.

Forever intrigued by the bag he always carry with him, the four friends devise various plans to steal it and find out what is inside it but all their plans fail as Ravan (Mithun) outsmarts them every time. Finally they decide upon building a small tree house in their building compound so that through it they can keep a watch on Ravan who stays on the road across their building.

Ram (Ashwin) who works as a labourer on the upcoming new constructions in their complex, comes to their aid and helps them build this tree house. But after many more attempts on stealing Ravan’s bags, the five kids end up being friends with Ravan and their tree house starts becoming the night abode for him.

But, danger comes in form of ruthless builder Bakshi (Gulshan Grover) who decides to raze the tree for making way for a new gate in front of it for his commercial purposes. He takes aid of Gupta (Mahesh Manjrekar) his contractor on the site. How the five kids with the help of the homeless Ravan give a fight to Gupta and his cronies to save their tree forms the rest of the film.

While there was always a risk of sounding preachy when films carry a strong message, debutante director Girish has successfully managed to avoid that by subtly yet strongly incorporating his message through a neatly woven screenplay.

The best thing about Zor Lagaa Ke is that the children in the film behave their age unlike typical filmy kids and their behaviour in this film is definitely relatable. Girish and his writer’s team have come up with some really good emotional moments especially in the second half.

The lighter moments, such as the Superheroes, Mahabharat and Sarkar take offs have been imaginatively woven. The various tricks employed by Ravan and the five kids to shove away Bakshi and Gupta from cutting their tree house are simply hilarious.

But the big twist in the climax is the master stroke. Bapi Tutul’s music is melodious with some real good lyrics by Amitabh Verma with the pick of the lot being Sapnon Ka… number. Most importantly none of the songs hamper the pace of the film.

The film deserves full marks in the acting department. Each single kid has leaves you very impressed with his/her endearing act.

While Ashwin Chitale the child star of India’s Oscar entry Shwaas is simply superb in emotional moments, the burly Hardik and also Meghan, Ayesha and Ritwik enact their parts naturally. Mahesh Manjrekar is the most entertaining amongst the adults.

The constant bearing he has maintained of his mannerisms is howlarious. Seema Biswas is remarkable as usual. Gulshan Grover is menacingly good. Riya Sen manages a cute cameo. But it is Mithun who towers over the film with his absolutely brilliant acting.

This old war horse has proved yet again that if you give him a good role and a nice script and he will show you why he is such a multi National Award winning actor.

Zor Lagaa Ke…Haiya is a film for you and your children and of course the child in you, so just don’t miss it. Very rarely sensitive yet entertaining children’s films are made in India. It is a fine effort by debutante director Girish Girija Joshi and deserves a huge applause.

Actress Riya Sen, who made her Bollywood debut in 2001 with "Style", a sex comedy and later went on to wear revealing clothes in "Jhankaar Beats", says that people will hardly find her wearing a mini-skirt.

"I am very fussy about my clothes and very moody as well. One will never catch me in a mini-skirt just like that, " Riya said after walking the ramp for designer Ranna Gill at a recently held Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) here.

The surprising fact was that she sashayed across the ramp wearing a "mini-skirt" with a short jersey top teamed with a big necklace to jazz up the look.

The 'Tarzan' boy has suddenly become a 'Hero'. What say?
(laughs) I was always one. Something really interesting came up and I am very happy to be a part of Heroes.

You haven't acted in many films, and all of a sudden Heroes comes your way to be the only big film in your career so far. Is it a blessing?
I am very excited to be a part of such a huge film. It's like a blessing, you're right. I am quite fortunate to share the same screen space with all the biggies. I can't wait for Heroes to release right now.

So you've joined the bandwagon too huh? Six pack is back.
(laughs) I am not a guy who is just going to bulk it up. It's just that in the film, there is one particular song where I and Sohail are shown as strippers. So, for that sequence I had to go topless or should I say shirtless (laughs).

I needed to work out for that song and I am very sorry to say but I don't have a six pack as of yet. I've got a very achievable and a real body. It's not a body who somebody will look and say - Oh wow!

Samir Karnik told me that you got to be real. Whatever you do, people should identify with your character. So my body can be compared to any one else's. Plus, to look like Sohail Khan's buddy, you need to put on a bit of weight. He has a certain screen age which I don't.

So, I had to age up and grow my hair too. Not just that, also a stubble to match up with a man like Sohail. I was very happy when I saw the final look of mine onscreen.

Will Heroes turn you into a Nawab Saab? That's your name in the film right?
You got it. I hope so (laughs). A lot of effort has been put in to make me look like one, but it may turn me into a Nawab Saab, can't say for sure.

You and Sohail Khan are the main protagonists of Heroes. How's the road trip been?
The way you put it isn't right. Honestly speaking, this is a film which is character oriented. There is no protagonist; no main lead, etc. All the actors in the posters are characters.

I play Nawab Saab, Sohail plays Sameer aka Saand because of his bulky body, Salman bhai is Balkar Singh, etc. When you watch the film you will notice that there is no protagonist.

So how was it to be sharing screen space with all the biggies?
Initially, I was very nervous. The first person I met was Sohail Khan. But the first day I met him, he treated me like his younger brother.

He helped me throughout Heroes. He is my real life hero and the best co-star to have. Apart from that, I've worked with Preity Zinta in the 'Cadbury Perk' commercial five to six years back. She is a sweetheart. It was great fun talking to her.

She is always full of beans and always charged up. We were shooting at 3 am and the only voice one could hear was of Preity Zinta who was talking, talking and talking!

You missed out Salman Khan...
(laughs) No I haven't and I can't. I've seen Salman bhai since his Maine Pyar Kiya days. I used to always ape him when I was in school. So I was over the moon to be working with him in this film. He is the perfect buddy one can have.

He invited me over to his gym and we used to work out together. He also gave me some good tips. Then comes Mithundada. We've seen all his great films such as Disco Dancer and Agneepath and he is like a father figure.

I'm sure you can recall some memorable incident with Mithunda.
Yes I do. This happened in Ladakh. Let me tell you that I am a very fussy vegetarian and that I love lady fingers and potatoes. That's why I had a very tough time getting my food right.

Mithundada, somehow, got to know about my fussy habit. He then cooked the best ever 'bhindi ki sabzee' for me yaar! It's the most amazing meal I've ever had. For 15-20 days prior to that, I didn't have a proper meal and on that day, I didn't regret missing those hungry days.

Also, one day we were cracking jokes and Mithuda was laughing so much that we had to call the doctor. But it wasn't serious. He said, "Maine aaj tak kabhi socha nahin tha ki tum saale log mujhe haste haste ludka doge".

We will have to talk about Samir Karnik here. Has he grown 'bade' after 'Nanhe'?
This is a very creative medium and everybody grows from their work experience. That's what I feel. I read Amitji's interview and he too said that everytime he does a film, he learns something new from that.

Samir was so clear in his characters that when he was narrating me the script, I was actually seeing the film. He was clear as to what kind of clothes I will be wearing in Heroes, but it's not that he was not open for suggestions. It was great fun to work with him again.

Heroes is going to be pitted against yet another multi-starrer Golmaal Returns…two totally different genre films but both with A-list actors. Will it be a mad rush at the ticket window?
Even if ten good films were to release in together, every film is going to do well. I think it's all about honesty. The more honest you are to your film, the better it'll work.

Heroes is a different topic altogether with a very sweet message along with some entertainment value. On the other hand, you've got 6-7 big stars. What else do you need to have for mad rush at the box office?

You forgot another USP of Heroes.
What?

Riya Sen…
(laughs) Yes, she plays my love interest. I've never worked with her before and I am also doing another film with her post Heroes. It's nice to work with people who don't have too much of ego. It gives a very positive vibe when you're working with such people. Riya is one of them.

Before you go, we need to know which Salman Khan incident shocked you?
This is an incident which not many people know about. The image of Salman bhai in media is that of a bad boy but he is not like that at all. He plays Balkar Singh, a Sikh, in the film.

We were shooting in Chandigarh. He didn't want to put a fake beard and had especially grown one for the role. The pagdi which he was wearing was not like a ready made one. He also tied it out which used to take at least twenty minutes.

So I remember the two of us sitting in the van and the assistant director comes in and informs us that there had been a change in location. So Salman bhai said, "Oh God, I can't even smoke now".

I asked him, "What happened Salman Bhai, why can't you smoke?" He then replied, "Who is going to take out the pagdi and smoke and then again wear the pagdi?" This goes to show that he respected the turban so much.