Madhavan signs films with two young promising directors

Bollywood Hungama / May 04, 2009

There are good things happening for Madhavan when it comes to his Bollywood stint. He has now signed films with two young promising directors - Navdeep Singh of ‘Manorama Six Feet Under’ fame and Aanand Rai who has earlier directed Strangers - and both the films are slated to go in floors soon. 

"Yes, I have signed films with both Navdeep and Aanand. These are my kind of directors because for them what holds utmost importance is a concrete storyline. I saw that in 13B and this is why I worked with director Vikram Kumar. I got a similar feeling when Navdeep and Aanand narrated the scripts of their respective films to me. I was simply blown over and had no hesitation signing up for the films", says Madhavan from Bangkok where he is currently lodged for a business trip. 

When released ‘Manorama Six Feet Under’ [Abhay Deol, Gul Panag, and Raima Sen] had got terrific reviews but was a box office flop, mainly due to horrific promotional and marketing strategy. Same was the case with ‘Strangers’ [Jimmy Sheirgill, Kay Kay Menon, Nandana Sen, and Sonali Kulkarni] which arrived at theatres sans any promotion though critics were much kinder. However, over a period of time, the films have been doing quite well on home video, especially ‘Manorama Six Feet Under’ which has gained a cult status for itself. 

While Aanand Rai's film with Madhavan is interestingly titled ‘Tanu Weds Manu’, the name is yet to be decided for the Navdeep Singh project which is produced by Mukesh Talreja and Nikhil Advani. In fact, this is the fourth film in which Mukesh Talreja and Nikhil Advani are collaborating after ‘Salaam-E-Ishq’, ‘Chandni Chowk To China’ and ‘Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai’ (which is currently under production). 

"Once I wrap up ‘Three Idiots’, I begin shooting for the Navdeep Singh project in the month of August", informs Madhavan who also has ‘Sikandar’ lined up for release. Incidentally, ‘Sikandar’ was all set for release in March before the producers v/s multiplexes strike released in an array of releases in the same month, hence resulting in ‘Sikandar’ to be moved ahead. In addition, Madhavan has also wrapped up the shoot of ‘Teen Patti’ which has been directed by Leena Bajaj (who had earlier made ‘Shabd’ with Sanjay Dutt and Aishwarya Rai). 

"I have just returned from the London schedule of the work. With legends like Amitabh Bachchan and Sir Ben Kingsley, it can't get bigger and better. I am so eagerly looking forward to the release of the film", states Madhavan. Well, one looks forward to what more does Madhavan have to offer in months to come, what with his biggest film of 2009, ‘Three Idiots’ (directed by Rajkumar Hirani and co-starring Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Sharman Joshi), being all set for a December 2009 release. Moreover, he has also been signed by Sahara and Shemaroo for a project each. 

"All these projects should be getting on floors soon. 2009 and 2010 are certainly looking promising and I can't wait to begin shooting with Navdeep and Aanand. Hopefully, we should be having some good quality movie outings ahead", signs off Madhavan.

Source: http://www.screenindia.com