She knows what she wants and that is what I admire about her," says director-producer Farhan Akhtar of Reema Kagti, who makes her directorial debut with Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd (HTPL).
The film revolves around six couples who go on a packaged honeymoon tour to Goa, and stars Shabana Azmi, Boman Irani, Amisha Patel, Karan Khanna, Ranvir Shorey, Dia Mirza, Abhay Deol, Minissha Lamba, Kay Kay Menon, Raima Sen, Sandhya Mridul and Vikram Chatwal.
Incidentally, Reema assisted Farhan in his earlier films, Dil Chahta Hai and Lakshya.
"Her script is from the heart," Farhan adds. "She has dealt with a huge cast very responsibly. Since she was filming around the same time as I was filming Don, I did not have the chance of seeing her direct. Whatever I did hear about her is very positive."
For Reema, the shoot is a blur. "It was very hectic," she says. "The next time I do a film, I will go at an easier pace. There were so many locations. We were shooting quite a bit everyday in Goa. It's just a matter of managing the logistics of having so many actors everyday," she says.
"But every stage from scripting to promotions was an amazing experience. I am nervous but optimistic and excited to see what the response is going to be," she adds.
The first time director admits that her parents' honeymoon experiences have played a role in the making of the film.
"The basic idea of taking a honeymoon and treating it in a non-romantic unglamorous way came from my parents. They went on a bizarre honeymoon and I have grown up listening to those stories where pretty much everything went wrong," she adds.
But she hastens to add that HTPL is a charming comedy. "It is about love but not in the usual romantic mode. I have made an effort to de romanticise and deglamorise that aspect," she says. "It's a four-day trip that explores their relationship. Written in a radio show format called Pyar Ke Lamhe, the characters get to reveal secrets about their past and stuff like that."
Before the film makes it to the theatres, here's more on the six couples.
Amisha Patel and Karan Khanna "Pinky is your quintessential romantic girl who lives in a self-created pink bubble," Amisha explains. Everything about her is pink -- her dreams, aspirations, clothes, umbrella, handbag, camera, accessories, pen... She is a lovable innocent character who talks non-stop. She is obsessed about her hair, make up and look."
"She is this fair Punjabi wife who has come to Goa but does not want to get tanned. So she covers herself from top to bottom with a pink dupatta, sunglasses and an umbrella," Amisha, who loves the colour pink in real life, adds.
"She's colour coordinated and gets her hubby Vicky (Karan Khanna) to do the same. She wears a little 'P' pendant for her name and makes him wear one with a 'V'," the actress laughs.
Karan Khanna, meanwhile is Vinod Khanna's nephew, who costarred with Mallika Sherawat in the flop movie Bachke Rehna Re Baba.
The actor, almost in Mallika-mode, jokes, "I used to take off my clothes at the slightest instance while on the sets!"
Of course, it was just for a swim, his favourite sport.
Boman Irani and Shabana Azmi "Avan Contractor, who created my look for Honeymoon, understood the character and gave me a reason why I should have that Beatles kind of hair do. I was impressed by her," Boman says.
"My character Oscar is Catholic guy. In his time (1960s and 1970s), he would have been a dude, a singer, a dancer and a Casanova. He is frozen in time and tries very hard to enjoy life even today when his bones are creaking," the actor adds.
"Despite his sad past, he is a very happy person and tries hard to bring sunshine into the life of his Muslim bride (Shabana Azmi), who has also gone through hard times," he says.
Shabana adds, "It's only in India that you can have six couples going together on a honeymoon. I don't think it happens anywhere else in the world. Like the other couples, we too are on a honeymoon, though we are much older than them," the actress says.
"Boman's character is very charming. He is always trying to impress the wife and comes up with shayari that he mispronounces, which is very cute," she smiles.
"Boman has an insatiable curiosity. He is a real film fan and has a huge appetite for Hindi cinema as well as international cinema. He was always asking me funny questions. Under his mild demeanour, he can be deliciously wicked," the actress continues.
Abhay Deol and Minissha Lamba Abhay Deol and Minissha Lamba play a sweet couple (Apsi and Zara) who never argue. Aspi is Parsi while Zara is Muslim.
Filming in Goa was special for Abhay. "I have always liked Goa. My debut film Socha Na Tha was shot there so it has a special place in my heart," Abhay says.
For him, the film was all about the couples finding common ground. "All the couples have their own individuality and this film is about finding a common ground among all the differences," Abhay says. "My character is a polite well-mannered Parsi boy who keeps his hair well oiled with a middle parting."
Minissha claims that HTPL has got moments of humour even though it is a dramatic film dealing with real issues.
Lamba, like Farhan, was all praise for the director. "Reema had to co-ordinate 12-14 actors everyday, which requires considerable skill," she says.
"At times, the atmosphere was fun but hectic with moments of stress and tension. She is on cue with everything and would end up doing someone else's job on the set too," the actress recalls.
Working with Abhay was fun for the actress. "It was nice to work with him," she recalls. "He would joked about how lucky he was that I was such a lightweight, so it would be easier to do the tango with me," she smiles.
Ranvir Shorey and Dia Mirza "I worked with Reema Kagti in Lakshya so I was very touched when she offered me this role in HTPL," Ranvir says. "I play a Gujarati businessman who has an arranged marriage and cannot adapt to things like love and marriage. He is a very cut and dried non-romantic guy. I have lived in Mumbai all my life and known many Gujarati businessmen and people like the character I am portraying. I prepared for the body language but otherwise the role was quite easy."
As for Dia Mirza, she says, "I play a girl from Gujarat who thinks she is forcibly married to a terrible man. She cries a lot in the film and is not happy. Working with Ranvir was superb. He played Hitesh so obnoxiously that it was easy for me to cry and feel disgusted at being tied to a man like him!"
Dia will be seen next in Apoorva Lakhia's Shootout at Lokhandwala.
Kay Kay Menon and Raima Sen Kay Kay and Raima play a Bengali couple Partho and Milli.
According to Kay Kay, who plays a very reserved, nerdy and uptight husband, the film will leave one smiling. "There's a song (Sajna vaari vaari) when you see me break loose by dancing in a frenzied way which is a catharsis of sorts," the actor says.
"Farah Khan (cheorgrapher) was kind to me. I would rather not do aerobic kind of dancing. I find it too labourious and soulless as the concentration is more on the steps. I had a chat with Farah and she agreed to let me be and guide where required," he recalls.
As for his co-star Raima, acting in the film was fun. "I have done some really funny things like parasailing in a sari, and then there is this entire boxing sequence with Kay Kay," the actress says.
"In the song Sajna vaari vaari, Kay Kay is supposed to be intoxicated and that's why he dances the way he does. The whole dancing bit was impromptu. Farah was there to choreograph the song and when she would say 'action', he would do these weird movements, and all of us were supposed to copy him. It was fun. I think Kay Kay will shed his image of being a serious actor with this film. Oh, and by the way, we kiss on screen!" the actress exclaims.
Off screen too, the actress seemed to have a good time.
"The 12 of us really got along with each other. We were staying at Cida de Goa resort and every evening, we would get together and play badminton, carom or party near the swimming pool. At other times, we would just stroll on the beach," the actress recalls. "Instead of waiting or sitting around between the shots all of us would start playing dumb charades."
Sandhya Mridul and Vikram Chatwal Sandhya plays a contemporary Mumbai girl Madhu who is married to Bunty, an NRI from America played by model-turned-actor Vikram Chatwal.
For those who don't know Vikram, he is an American hotelier with Indian roots, and is said to have dated supermodels like Gisele Bundchen and Kate Moss. Chatwal has done six films so far, including Ek Ajnabi and One Dollar Curry.
