EXCLUSIVE: Milan Luthria reflects on his journey on his 25th anniversary as a filmmaker; analyses his past works: “Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai’s first draft had dialogues like ‘Apun tere ko bolta hai’. I said right away, ‘Ram Gopal Varma can make this film. I can’t’”

Milan Luthria completes 25 years as a director on February 19. In 1999, on this day, his debut directorial venture, Kachche Dhaage arrived in cinemas. Since then, he has given novel yet entertaining films like Taxi No 9211 (2006), Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai (2010), The Dirty Picture (2011), Baadshaho (2017), Tadap (2021) as well as the recent web series, Sultan Of Delhi (2023). As he celebrated his 25th anniversary as a filmmaker, Milan Luthria spoke exclusively with Bollywood Hungama about his journey and what drives him.

EXCLUSIVE: Milan Luthria reflects on his journey on his 25th anniversary as a filmmaker; analyses his past works: “Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai’s first draft had dialogues like ‘Apun tere ko bolta hai’. I said right away, ‘Ram Gopal Varma can make this film. I can’t’”

Milan Luthria began by saying, “For a person who was groomed under Mr Mahesh Bhatt, I wanted to make my kind of a film. I didn’t want to make his kind of films. He accepted my point of view very nicely. He offered me a couple of films when I was with them. I told him, ‘Sir, I’ll become like you’. I learned what I had to and I wanted to do my own thing.”

He explained what drew him to the idea of Kachche Dhaage, “I had an interest in doing a Western-meets-desi kind of cinema. This was also the period we had not seen a two-hero film for a long time. I grew up watching Deewaar (1975), Sholay (1975), Trishul (1978), Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978) etc. These films had action, strong heroes, beautiful women, music, good locations etc. Kachche Dhaage brought that era back. Many heroes had stopped working with each other. There was a competitive spirit. Hence, this film came as a double bonanza. It had Ajay Devgn and Saif Ali Khan. It also had Manisha Koirala, who was a huge star at that time. I then became comfortable with the two-hero set-up and repeated it in Taxi No 9211, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, Sultan Of Delhi etc.”

He continued, “The second achievement was that it was a road film. Nobody had attempted a story where the characters were constantly on the move. Hence, this was a novelty. The characters are on trains, horses, bikes, jeeps etc. It was a difficult shoot. We shot in Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Pune etc. We had to keep on shifting locations.”

Milan Luthria then revealed his mantra, “Break the clutter, whenever you can. Don’t do what the others are doing. Do what you believe in, even if it is not being done. For instance, no one would have thought of making a film like The Dirty Picture. Kachche Dhaage broke that myth ki ‘if XYZ are making this kind of film, then ABC also has to follow him’. That’s how you stand out. And you have to be relevant. I am not someone who believes in milestones. Milestones are just good memories. You have to leave the memory behind and move on with the times. Nevertheless, today, it’s fun to revisit and see all these photographs again.” The interview was being conducted in Milan’s office where he nicely displayed well-preserved posters of Kachche Dhaage while he went down memory lane.

Milan Luthria further said, “To keep yourself fresh is the number one priority. And you cannot stay fresh if you are constantly indulging in film industry gossip and conversations. Then, you would walk on the same path as others. Just because a particular kind of film has clicked, you don’t have to do the same. And this is very common in our industry – people start following a trend until that trend breaks. I have always kept myself like a sponge. If I come across an idea and it makes a connection with me, then I don’t care about cast, genre etc. Taxi No 9211 was a completely unexpected film then. I never thought that I’d do a war-based film like Deewaar (2004). It was a great experience. Unfortunately, it was released at the wrong time when a couple of war films had not done well.”

He added, “When Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai came my way, I wondered, ‘Now what do I do with the gangster genre? Am I making Company (2002) again?’ The first draft had dialogues like ‘Apun tere ko bolta hai’, ‘Aisa nahin karne ka’ etc. I said right away, ‘Ramu (Ram Gopal Varma) can make this film. I can’t’. When I was asked, ‘If not this, then what?’, my answer was, ‘Let’s refer to Salim-Javed’. This is how we changed the language, flamboyance, look etc. That gave a fresh experience to the viewers.”

Milan further opened up, “Then, The Dirty Picture happened. People called it ‘porn’ and ‘filthy’ and that I have gone mad! But we believed in it. The bottom-line is – stay away from the churning of the business. Maintain your individuality. Secondly, you can never get lazy in this business. You have to be fit and sharp. You have to work very hard.”

The acclaimed filmmaker then talked about the filmmakers who inspired him and why he doesn’t want to jump onto the box office discussion bandwagon, “My idols are Yash Chopra, and also Ron Howard, Clint Eastwood and Martin Scorsese. They are still making phenomenal films. Obviously, they are not asking ‘Uss film ki kya opening lagi’, ‘Monday ko drop hui kya’. This is not a filmmaker’s conversation. Martin Scorsese put up a post the other day, ‘What’s the problem with the world? Why are we only talking about numbers? We are filmmakers. We need to talk about the story, characters, music, locations’. I’d like to follow these guys and see where they are going. They have stayed so brilliantly with the times.”

Milan Luthria admitted that there’s a lot of hard work in film direction but he enjoys the experience, “It comes with a hundred headaches of casting actors, controlling the budget, finalizing script, finding hit songs, promotions, doing the background score, getting good costumes etc. Then, you also need to get along with your producers, technicians, distributors and journalists. You have to be cordial. As they say, keep it simple, stupid (smiles).”

He also added, “You also want to realize that, there’s nothing really great about you. There are many that are better than you and there are many who will be better than you. Just give your best.”

Milan Luthria then once again gets back to analysing his past projects and also reveals that a fresh project is on the anvil, “I did Tadap as it was a remarkable story. For a young romance, it had a remarkable twist. Tara Sutaria did such a great job. Ahan Shetty is a fine performer; look at what he did in the climax. Unfortunately, the film was released in the Covid times. It was also exciting to do Sultan Of Delhi. And now, there’s something exciting coming up. It’s almost locked. It’s a film and it’s something that I have not done before. And it’ll be mounted on a big canvas.”

Also Read: Milan Luthria once confronted Ajay Devgn for committing for a shoot date; the actor told him: “Your film will start in two months”

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Bade Miyan Chote Miyan actors Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff flag off the Marathon at Atal Sethu

Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff, who are currently gearing up for the release of their highly-awaited action entertainer Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, came together to promote a fit lifestyle by attending a marathon in Mumbai. The event, which is held on February 18, is a one-of-a-kind 5 kms marathon that will happen on the recently built Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link or better known as Atal Sethu. Akshay and Tiger joined the huge crowd in the run and also boasted their morale with a small speech.

Bade Miyan Chote Miyan actors Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff flag off the Marathon at Atal Sethu

Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff made a power-packed entry in their high-range bikes and also interacted with the audience by giving a speech and encouraging them to complete the run. Akshay left the audiences impressed with his Marathi skills and said, “Are you ready? I am really happy that everyone came.” He also joked that if you run beyond 5 kms we will reach Panvel which left everyone in splits. On the other hand, Tiger decided to wish luck to everyone and added, “I hope sab paani pee rahein hain dabake (hope everyday is having ample amount of water). Please stay hydrated”. Followed by this, the actors were seen flagging off the event which kicked off at 4am on Sunday and will continue till 12 pm. As they made their ways towards their cars, the two actors also greeted a few fans who were running the marathon.

Speaking of their film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, the film is expected to feature Prithviraj Sukumaran as the antagonist with Akshay and Tiger essaying the role of military officers. The film features Manushi Chhillar and Alaya F as the leading ladies with Sonakshi Sinha in a special appearance. It is slated for release in April 2024, during Eid.

Also Read: From Bade Miyan Chote Miyan to Yodha: 5 keenly awaited action films arriving in the remaining first half of 2024

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Rajkumar Santoshi opens up about cheque bouncing case; says, “Easily solvable. My lawyers are on it”

Raj Kumar Santoshi who is currently shooting his 18th directorial undertaking Lahore 1947 has apparently been given a two-year sentence in a cheque bouncing case. When I contacted him hours after the court verdict Santoshi said, “It is nothing, don’t worry about it. This is a farzi case. No dum in it at all. It’s a price one must pay for being in the limelight. Since you are a name, news is quickly made out of non-news.”

Rajkumar Santoshi opens up about cheque bouncing case; says, “Easily solvable. My lawyers are on it”

So was it easily solvable? Is Raj Santoshi not going to jail? “Easily solvable. My lawyers are on it. And I am not the least bothered. Let the law take its course. I trust the judiciary completely. Let’s talk about better things. With your blessings I am now shooting for my latest directorial Lahore1947. In fact Shabanaji is joining the shoot from tomorrow. I haven’t worked with her before, and I am really looking forward to it.”

Raj Santoshi’s lawyer Binesh Patel states that they will appeal against the magisterial court’s judgement. “First of all, the court has stayed its judgement for 30 days granted Mr. Santoshi bail after we sought time to appeal against the judgement at a higher forum,” Patel said, adding, “The prosecution didn’t produce any documentary evidence to prove that Mr. Santoshi had taken money at all”

Furthermore, as per Santoshi’s lawyer, “The prosecution itself has admitted that a third party had collected the said money from the complainant. In-return the third party had provided altered eleven cheques of Rs.10 lakh each, which Mr. Santoshi was not aware of it. The magisterial court overlooked these facts and ruled against us. Therefore, on the ground of invalid and false claims, alterations happened in the cheques, the fact that the complainants do not want to present or call-in the said third party who had collected the money, about Mr. Santoshi does not know. So we shall appeal at a higher forum with the above highlighted points and even more.”

Also Read: BREAKING: Rajkumar Santoshi sentenced to two years in jail by Jamnagar court in cheque bouncing case

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Raveena Tandon honours late father Ravi Tandon with chowk inauguration in Juhu; see pics

Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon recently commemorated her late father, Ravi Tandon, by inaugurating a chowk dedicated to him in Juhu, Mumbai. The event, held on what would have been Ravi Tandon’s birthday, was a heartfelt tribute to the filmmaker, who passed away in 2022 due to respiratory failure.

Raveena Tandon honours late father Ravi Tandon with chowk inauguration in Juhu; see pics

Joined by her mother, Veena Tandon, and her daughter, Rasha Thadani, Raveena Tandon shared poignant moments from the occasion on her social media platforms. Posting glimpses of the event on Instagram, she captioned the photos with a heartfelt message, “Happy Birthday Pops #ravitandonchowk 17 February 2024.”


As per ANI, during the ceremony, Raveena expressed her sentiments, stating, “Today, we celebrate not just my dad’s birth anniversary, but his enduring legacy in the world of cinema. The dedication of the Shri Ravi Tandon Chowk is a testament to his passion, dedication, and love for filmmaking. It’s a proud moment for our family, and I am deeply grateful to everyone who has supported and honored his memory. May his cinematic brilliance continue to inspire generations to come.”

On the professional, Raveena Tandon was recently seen in the thriller drama Karmma Calling, portraying the role of a 90s actress who orchestrates the elite social scene in Alibaug. The series also starred Namrata Sheth and Varun Sood.

Also Read: Raveena Tandon says she was confident about playing Indrani in Karmma Calling; speaks on watching Revenge

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Photos: Alia Bhatt, Shaheen Bhatt, Tamannaah Bhatia snapped at the airport

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Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR to lock horns during action sequences in April 2024 in Mumbai for War 2: Report

While Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff played sleek spies in the YRF action entertainer War, fans are excited to see the franchise return with the superstar headlining the cast. However, RRR fame Jr NTR and Kiara Advani have joined the cast, who will be essaying key roles in War 2. Now, the latest update on that front is that the film is going on floors in Mumbai in April 2024.

Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR to lock horns during action sequences in April 2024 in Mumbai for War 2: Report

Ayan Mukerji conducted two schedules last year in Spain and Abu Dhabi respectively. Now, he is set to bring Hrithik Roshan and Jr. NTR for an extensive schedule which will be action-packed. According to Mid-day, a source said, “Ayan and Aditya are pulling out all stops to make sure that the face-off is a spectacular sequence. The Telugu actor will join the shoot in April-end, after he completes Devara: Part 1. The producer-director duo have planned a nine-day schedule, during which the two actors will shoot the portion that will include hand-to-hand combat and martial arts. While this sequence will begin on a set in Mumbai, a part of it will be shot in an international locale.”

Before he locks horns with Jr. NTR, Hrithik Roshan will shoot his solo portions throughout April 2024. The source further said, “Hrithik’s entry scene will be canned at the start of the schedule. The makers have planned an equally massive action entry sequence for Jr NTR as well. Knowing that action will be the USP of War 2, Ayan and Adi have roped in 11 international stunt coordinators, including Steve Brown, Spiro Razatos, Nikita Rozenko and Miguel Juzgado, who worked on Rambo: Last Blood [2019].”

The film will be released around Independence Day 2025.

ALSO READ: Siddharth Anand BREAKS SILENCE on Ayan Mukerji directing War 2; says, “YRF’s doors are always…”

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Photos: Karan Johar and Pavitra Punia snapped at the airport

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