Pyaar, maar, naach, gaana... R...Rajkumar style!
Rajkumar aka Shahid Kapoor on Prabhu Dheva and R... Rajkumar...
"I've had the best time shooting with Prabhu sir. I feel he's the 'Mawali King' of Bollywood — no one can make these loud, vibrant films in heartlands the way he does. As an actor, this movie challenged me. I've never essayed a role like this before, so I had to work harder to get the nuances right. Despite being a trained dancer, I had to 'unlearn' everything to work with Prabhu sir's choreography."
On Sonakshi Sinha...
"Sonakshi is one of the easiest people to work with. Apart from being very punctual, she is always jovial, so it's a pleasure working with her. Having worked with Prabhu sir before, she picked up his steps faster than me."
Pritam and Prabhu Dheva create high-tempo music
The movie marks the coming together of Prabhu Dheva and music director Pritam for the first time and the duo has come up with some foot-tapping music. Pritam says, "It was a challenge to work on the film since Prabhu Dheva loves high-tempo music that's rustic, yet appeals to a contemporary audience. Out of all the tracks, my personal favourite is Sari Ke Fall Sa. It is beautifully picturised and has unique choreography. I've enjoyed watching it every time I've seen it."
Chanda aka Sonakshi on Prabhu Dheva and R...Rajkumar
"Prabhu sir had told me about this film while we were shooting for Rowdy Rathore. I loved the story and immediately told him I wanted to be part of it. It's a fun entertainer that will have you clapping and whistling."
On Shahid:
"Shahid is the most dedicated actor I've met. He completes 10 years in the industry this year, but still shows the same kind of enthusiasm and sincerity. He'd spend the entire day shooting, doing some hardcore action, performing challenging choreography, getting injured and then, at night, he'd still hit the gym!
Producers' notes
Viki Rajani says, "There's pyaar, maar, naach gaana... Prabhu Dheva understands the pulse of the audience and this film includes all the elements he has popularly come to be associated with." Sunil Lulla adds, "The feedback we've received on the songs and the trailers has boosted our confidence."
Director's cut
Prabhu Dheva says, "People have always asked me how I manage to make such rowdy films, especially since I'm a shy person. Interes-tingly, this time my hero, Shahid, is someone who has not played macho roles. To direct him in an action entertainer was even more challenging. The film needed an actor never seen before in a full-fledged action avatar and I felt that Shahid was perfect to essay that character. My films have all the ingredients — love, dance, romance, drama, comedy — because we Indians love seeing these emotions on screen. Though a romantic-action flick, it is has been presented differently and that is what sets it apart."
Behind the scenes trivia
Shahid went through rigorous training with experts to perform some death-defying and hand-combat stunts, including a 40-men attack action sequence.
The makers roped in designer Kunal Rawal to style the actor in a complete mix-and-match look — everything from his shoes to the pockets of his shirt were customised to suit the character of Rajkumar.
Though Shahid successfully matched steps with director and ace choreographer Prabhu Dheva for the song Gandi Baat, he had to give several takes and ended up hurting his feet
10,000 beer bottles were used to design the set where the song Gandi Baat was shot.
Sonakshi's introduction scene will see her attempt some hardcore stunts, including beating up goons and smashing glass bottles.
While shooting at a lake near Filmcity, the team once got a scare as a leopard had crawled into the area where a crucial scene was being picturised.
The film has invented a new slang -— a mawali style 'Thappi', i.e Thappad + Pappi.
R...Rajkumar, produced by Eros International and NextGen Films, releases December 6.
