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Ameesha is too big an actress for my films,” says Vikram Bhatt
He’s heading a Rs 100 crore film production company but Vikram Bhatt has no roles for ladylove Ameesha Patel. The filmmaker is busy casting newcomers in exciting films which he is betting on to not only resurrect his career but also change the dynamics of the ‘star system’ in the industry. Ask Vikram about his plans for casting Ameesha and he replies, “Ameesha’s too big an actress for my films.” That’s a surprising statement coming from her beau, we comment. “Ameesha’s on a good wicket right now,” reiterates Vikram. “Her Honeymoon Travels is a hit. She’s doing a film with Yashraj. And she’s doing a film with Priyadarshan titled Bhool Bhulaiya that’s coming up. So she’s batting well.”
And what’s happening on the personal front, we ask. Any good news? Any marriage plans in the offing? “Nothing is happening on the personal front. No news is good news right now,” laughs Vikram. “Marriage isn’t on the cards for a long long time. Ameesha’s career is going great guns now and I don’t want her to be bogged down by controversies, or any stress. She should just concentrate on her career and do as well as she is doing.”
Did he think Honeymoon Travels would be such a hit? “I thought it was always an interesting concept. I didn’t know of it as a hit at first, but when I saw it for the first time, I knew it was going to work. In fact, I told Zoya (Akhtar) that it would work.”
Apparently, this is exactly the kind of cinema that Vikram Bhatt plans to cash in on with his Rs 100 crore company. Did he feel that marketing was the key to promoting such low budget films? “That’s a whole debate by itself,” says the filmmaker. “It is not something I can tell you as an answer to a single question. But let’s put it this way. There are just about seven to eight stars who pull in the crowds just on their solo names. After that the solo brigade stops. So what happens is the moment you don’t get these seven or eight stars you start compromising on the level of the script. You start saying, let’s have a two hero script, or a three hero script because you know that the guys you are going to get are not going to sell solo. Then you start paying them their monies and you realise that their selling price is the same as that of a newcomer. So why not tap really good talent and promote it with the same money? If you have a high concept that the audience wants to watch then a new starcast can work. People saw Kasoor, they saw Raaz, but people didn’t see Deewane Hogaye Pagal . My film Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage flopped inspite of having Hrithik Roshan, so what is it that works? You just have to make a good film, that’s it.”
