Who says its only aspiring actors and actresses who get auditioned?
Pic: Sonam Kapoor with the dove, Masakali, in Delhi-6
While shooting Delhi-6, director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra auditioned hundreds of pigeons to find the one that could sit on Sonam Kapoor’s head in the Masakali song without flying off a hundred times. When Rakeysh Mehra couldn’t pin a single garden-variety pigeon down, he then proceeded to audition doves, at the suggestion of AR Rahman.
At Rakeysh Mehra’s request, 12 white doves were shortlisted. The chosen one was a white dove for Assam, for which Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra is said to have shelled out Rs 13000 a day. The dove, called Masakali, features in the chartbuster Masakali song, in Delhi-6, with Sonam Kapoor. And unlike Chicka, the pug, in the Vodafone ad, it does not have to work like a, well, dog. No running behind buses with a tie in the mouth, fetching stuff, following little boys and girls. A dove’s life is a lot better than a dog’s life, alright.
Photo: Abhishek Bachchan in Delhi-6 with Masakali perched on his shoulder
Masakali has also proved to be the star of Delhi-6 so far. So much so, that actress Sonam Kapoor, whose name is Bittu in Delhi-6, is hailed by the name Masakali or Kabootari whereever she goes, much to her irritation, understandably.
Pic: Sonam Kapoor, Masakali, and Abhishek Bachchan in Delhi-6
Delhi-6 stars Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Waheeda Rahman, Om Puri, Atul Kulkarni, Rishi Kapoor, Tanvi Azmi, and Divya Dutta. Delhi-6 is about an American-born Indian, Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan), who brings his grandmother (Waheeda Rahman) to India, where they live in old Delhi’s Chandni Chowk area, the place she loves best.
A still from Delhi-6
As he is drawn into the melee of colors, flavors, smells and quirky inter-relationships, that typifies the true character of Delhi, Roshan understands why his grandmother loves the city so much and in the process realizes his own identity. Spirited Bittu (Sonam Kapoor), on the other hand, can’t wait to escape from the conservative life she is forced to lead.
Delhi-6 is an intensely personal movie for Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. In his director’s note he has said, “For me it’s much more than a movie. I have dipped the pen in the ink of my childhood memories, and setting them against today’s contemporary India, have tried to weave a story.”
Delhi-6 will be released on February 20, 2009. The movie was supposed to release on February 13, 2006. Some reports says that the release date of Delhi-6 was postponed because AR Rahman had yet to complete the background score for Delhi-6.
Delhi-6 has been directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and co-written by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Prasoon Joshi, and Kamlesh Pandey. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has previously written and directed Aks (2001) starring Amitabh Bachchan, Manoj Bajpai, and Raveena Tandon.
He has also penned the script and directed the 2006 blockbuster hit Rang De Basanti starring Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Madhavan, Soha Ali Khan, Atul Kulkarni, and Kunal Kapoor.
Prasoon Joshi is the lyricist of Delhi-6 and has penned the famous Masakali song. He has written lyrics for movies like Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par, Fanaa, Black, Ghajini, and Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic.
Kamlesh Pandey has to his credit the story of Rang De Basanti. He has written the dialogues and script of movies like Aks, Zinda, Yuvraaj, and Thakshak.