Matru ki Bijlee ka Mandola - the first trailer

Where have we been? It's been over a year since this blog posted anything; now it returns with the trailer of Vishal's next directorial film.

Here is the teaser to "Matru ki Bijlee ka Mandola":

From this, we glean the following tidbits:

• The film is slated to release on Jan 11, 2013 (so there's another three months to go)
• We now know how to pronounce "Matru" (it's "मटरू")
• There's Shabana Azmi as well, returning to work with Vishal after playing the eponymous role in his debut film "Makdee"
• No surprises on the musical credits: Gulzar saab, Clinton Cerejo et al.
• The two-seater airplane is almost out of Tintin
• Though perhaps lacking the immediate impact of trailers for Kaminey and even Saat Khoon Maaf, there are enough intriguing elements: just what is the Meena Kumari complex? What's with the pink cow (or is purple? Should we ask Seth Godin)? And will Imran Khan's Haryanvi accent hold?

And to remind you that the origins of this film are in a Haryanvi play recommended by Pankaj Kapur himself.

Update:
A post on the Fight Club blog with some more nuggets.

The new Bond movie and the Seven Deadly Sons

The irreverent moifightclub blog provides a complete list of doomed husbands in Vishal's upcoming Saath Khoon Maaf (original source: The Hindustan Times). They are:
Naseeruddin Shah, Irrfan Khan, John Abraham, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Russian actor Alexander Dyachenko, Annu Kapoor and Vivaan Shah (Naseeruddin Shah’s son).

Ruskin Bond's cameo is also confirmed, thanks to a note from the writer himself. Writing in Outlook, the quiet great man talks of his admiration for his director, the toil behind a film, and of being unable to make an offer that Vishal couldn't refuse:

I offered to sing and dance, but I was gently told that I should stick to writing.

Read about the latest 'Bond movie' here.
(There's an funny - unrelated - anecdote at the end of the diary.)

Casting the net for Vishal's next and "Ishqiya"

Film websites are almost certain that Vishal Bhardwaj's next directorial venture will feature the likes of Shahid Kapur and Priyanka Chopra. This may raise a few eyebrows among Vishal's fans (), but one will give him the benefit of the doubt, considering the same happened with "Omkara" when the unlikely casting of Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, and Ajay Devgan was announced.
Source article: Bollyspice.com

Ishqiya
More certain is that Vishal, in addition to Shantaram, also has another music score being written. This time, it's for long-time associate Abhishek Chaubey, who has been with Vishal since "Makdee" and also co-wrote "Omkara". Billed as a crime-thriller, Vishal is also co-producing the film, while Gulzar will pen the lyrics.
Source article: Mid-Day.

"Julia" on hold?

News is that "Julia", Vishal Bhardwaj's next planned venture, is in some trouble. The news report could not pinpoint what the problem is, which is variousy attributed to problems with UTV or with dates of some of the leads. The film, rumoured to be based on yesteryear star "Fearless" Nadia was also to star Franka Potente.

"Julia" would have been a change for Vishal, whose 4 directorial features have been children's films or Shakespearean adaptations. We'll watch this item in the coming days.

Previously on "Julia": George's post on the announcements.

Update - 3 Jan 08
Sudarshan points to this Rediff page which suggests that the film's production may be stretched, but there's no mention of shelving the film, which is good news.

Update - 8 Jan 08
Put the shelf back up again. This article says Julia is not happening, talks (rather scarily of an Omkara prequel), and says Vishal is in Pune to write. (I could go find out if someone knows where he is.)

"Blood Brothers"

Vishal's short film "Blood Brothers" was reportedly aired earlier this month on NDTV 24x7 on the occasion of World Aids Day. If anyone has seen this, please do leave a comment - most interested in knowing how it turned out.