(7KM music) The official word on "Kalinka"

As reported earlier, "Darrling", the song that accompanies the trailer of 7 Khoon Maaf is based on a Russian folk song called "Kalinka". This news report makes the additional clarification and assuages any potential misgivings about plagiarism:

Vishal confirmed using the Russian track, "Yes, it is based on Kalinka, which is a centuries-old Russian folk song. In fact, original Russian words have also been used in the song as one of the husbands happens to be a Russian." He adds, "It has been used in a lot of films around the world." We hear that he even flew down four Russian singers to sing the Kalinka song. They are also given credit in the album.

Vishal, Shah Rukh Khan, Chetan Bhagat (OMG!)

I guess it's time to come out of denial and actually report this as befits this blog. Apparently, Vishal will be adapting Chetan Bhagat's "Two States" with Shah Rukh Khan, thus resulting in a combination that one would not have guessed days ago. Just how this will turn out, we'll wait and see, but a certain sense of disbelief at Vishal using CB material is a little disconcerting. Such sentiment earlier has been restricted to his choice of actors (and must confess, these have been unfounded), so time will tell.

The guys at 'Fight Club' are also none too impressed with this development (2nd half of the post).

7 Khoon Maaf - the trailer

Earlier today, "VBFan" told us about the official poster of "7 Khoon Maaf" and soon after, Punit Jha posted the link to the first trailer on the Gulzarfans Y! Group. On first viewing, this one is as good as Kaminey's trailer (impressive that Indian film-makers too can cut such trailers):



Striking notes:

* Can't figure out the main voice in the song, but there's Usha Uthup in the mix (she's also acting in the film)

* A cross-dressing John Abraham!

* Nice to see Annu Kapoor in a film after a long hiatus

* Great European lilt to the tune

* Oh, and looks like the official title is "7 Khoon Maaf".

Enjoy.

(Poster from Bollywood Hungama)

Update (25 Dec): Fight Club finds the base folk Russian song on which "Darrrling" is based (a Russian song called Kalinka).

Karan Johar not in Saat Khoon Maaf

Now KJO as a wife-beating sex maniac in Saat Khoon Maaf was an inspired choice and would have been great piece of casting. I am sure it would have earned Karan Johar a zillion brownie points and weirdly would have dampened the whispers about his 'leanings'.

Of course, Karan Johar can't even fathom the concept of such characters, forget embodying them. The guy thinks "My Name is Khan" was a massive creative leap for him! The frog in the gilded well is now a Director in Bollywood.

Kaam Ka Plot: a made for TV flick with a bit of Vishal

Vishal's friend and Mid-day film critic Minty Tejpal wrote and directed "Kaam Ka Plot" a tepid thriller featuring Ranvir Shorey, Sandhya Mridul, and Vinay Pathak, which appeared on TV a couple of weeks ago. Promoted as having music by Vishal, it had one song, which, truth to be told, was largely uninspired and unnecessary. Lyrics by Munna Dhiman and sung by Vishal himself.

Saath Khoon Maaf's music: Suresh Wadkar

Given the film's January release date, the music of Vishal's next release "Saath Khoon Maaf" should hopefully be in the pipeline. Veteran singer Suresh Wadkar was interviewed for the Marathi TV channel "IBN Lokmat" during the Ganesh festival, where he spoke about how Vishal has probably experimented the most with Wadkar's voice. He also mentioned that he's sung a song for 7KM (if I can take the liberty), which came out well.

Wadkar's last Vishal appearance was in Kaminey where he lights up "Raat ke Dhaai Baje".

Dream Sequence: title, casting, story

It seems that "Dream Sequence" is what it's being called. Vishal's film for Ektaa Kapoor's production house has seen a spate of news about its casting muddles. Fortunately (IMO), one established fact is that Deepika Padukone will not be one of the two leading ladies thanks to scheduling problems. So it's just Priyanka Chopra for now.

Speculation is also rife about the leading man: first it was Saif Ali Khan, who later moved out because he wanted Vishal to do a film for him in return (which Vishal declined). Apparently, Abhay Deol was to replace him, but now SAK is back. It's borderline gossip, so just read this news item instead.

The film is slated to be a smaller, more experimental film. Here's an interview with art director Samir Chanda on some of the pre-production work happening in Kolkata. Incidentally, he says the story has been written by Mukul Sharma. If I'm not mistaken, this is the same MS who writes for the Times of India on topics such as science and spirituality, used to run the popular Mindsport column during the bearable days of the TOI, and is the father of Konkona Sen Sharma (who, but for her pregnancy, should have been a shoo-in for the 2nd lead's role).