After seven years, the bunch of rascals are back with new antics. This time it’s a twist with a difference, as Rohit Shetty has now made a haunted house as his universe to evoke giggles in
Golmaal Again.This time, we have Tabu and Pariniti Chopra as the fresh faces, adding a twist to the tale. But it’s the camaraderie behind the camera that remains the backbone of the film and has given it the status of being the most popular franchisee the country has ever seen.
The ambience on the set, which often got translated on to celluloid, could be explained in one anecdote that director Rohit Shetty recalls: “The film also has Neil Nitin Mukesh. When he joined the crew and was about to start shooting for the film, it was Arshad who started singing Chandi jaisa rang hai tera. The song made Neil so nervous that he could not shoot for the entire day.”
The set of a Rohit Shetty
film often resembles a college as he is armed with a team of more than 10 assistant directors and a crew of more than 200 people.According to Pariniti Chopra, the cast and crew of Golmaal Again were a bunch of hooligans where people got ragged without them actually knowing that they were being ragged. There is a slight change in the film this time—Golmaal Again doesn’t show any cars being blown up—which is a kind of hallmark of any Rohit Shetty film.
Ask Rohit and he says that he was completely annoyed with inserting such a sequence. “I make a film whose length is two hours. The sequence with the cars blowing up is just for a couple of minutes but in media, it’s projected as if the entire film is filled with such sequences. That’s the reason I have kept myself away this time.”The film plays on all the images that have become iconic over the years and one of them surely remains the introduction scene of Ajay Devgn from his debut film Phool Aur Kaante. Ajay stands atop two bikes as he makes his entry.
“It’s the same thing and that’s what inspires me. I prefer to do things on my own and it surely is an iconic image. Now with all the precautions we take on the sets, things are more secure,” explains Ajay.
Arshad has been a regular with the Golmaal franchisee and has featured in all the installments till date. Known for his comic timing, the Golmaal series allows him to showcase it to the maximum.
He and Ajay remain the two senior-most actors from the series. Arshad believes that working with Ajay is fun. “Ajay is one of the most secure actors I have ever come across. We often make fun of him and that also percolates in the film and he never minds it. It’s great to work with him as he has no issues regarding anything.”
The basic story of Golmaal Again struck Rohit during the making of Singham. But it took almost three years to flesh it out in the form of a screenplay. This time the film also talks about Ajay’s background story—the time when his character spent his childhood in an orphanage.
Arshad is kind of an expert when it comes to doing sequels. He has been part of two of the best-known comedy franchisees of the country—Munna Bhai and Golmaal series. At the same time there are also many franchisees, which have horribly gone wrong.
So what could be the reason? “When people take sequels for granted, things go wrong.
It’s actually far more difficult to make sequels than regular films. The thing is when sequels come out, you have to prove yourself because the previous one had already proved itself,” explains Arshad.
Ajay has seen the growth of the Golmaal franchisee from the time it first hit screens in 2006. The first Golmaal was more of an action flick but with the passage of time, it slowly assumed the shape of a comedy film.
“We had never imagined that Golmaal in its first installment would become a huge success and spawn sequels. Of all the Golmaal series, I personally like the first one and this one. I have issues with the second one but people still loved it,” reveals Ajay. The expectations from the film were sky high and the seven-year wait had also given reasons to cine-goers to expect some novelty this time. And the film seems to have loads of it.