Aamir is not a copy of Cavite..
As written early on in a piece by oz, it is not a copy of Cavite.. the fact is the film was written even before cavite probably had a release, much before No Smoking and i promised to RK that we will get the film made provided you help me out in NS. Right from the beginning it has been discussed how it is a copy, on PFC, and i didn’t bother to react because i knew and even on PFC i had said that RK never saw the film even after he was accused the first time and chose to stay away from it, after all the clarifications, UTV and me decided to go seek permission from the original producers, just in case, and we even went and got that. The film that’s made by RK is something that all first time filmmakers should be proud of and should judge after they see the film, basic similarities in concepts thought simultaneously around the same time don’t make any film a copy and even similarities don’t exist. The damage that such an article does is that MID-DAY picks it up and destroys the morale of a filmmaker who is proud of not going the safe route, risking it all, goes out on a limb to make an independent film with a first time crew and a tv actor.
Aamir is as much a copy of Cavite as Dombivali Fast is of Falling Down and No Smoking was of Cat’s Eye..Only this time i am the only one on the team of Aamir who has seen Cavite..
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Hmm… bhai, at IFFLA HQ there was this discussion.
Can we close this?
Anurag bhaiyya, The film maker should be above all these silly stuff of what the industry thinks and just do his job. Hey Babys and Krazy4’s are blatant copies but no one cares, all that matters is the moolah at the box office.
Ultimately, the audience will know the truth. Everyone knows Sajid Khan’s copy & direct capabilities but he is still now one of the hottest directors!! HAHAHAHA!!
Ohh…….Dont bother about MID-DAY…….That newspaper seems to be on a pay-roll of certain ppl…..Who have no business else other than destroying other’s Image…….Nowadays the reaction to Mid-day Articles is “Oh it came on Mid-Day….then it must be totally fake info”…
And if u say that its not a rip-off then we ARE willing to believe u…!!
And with Rajeev in the film,you dont have to worry,He’s got a hugeeee fan-following and the forums are already abuzz with comments of watching the film first day first show…..!!Even Im dying to watch Rajeev on the big-screen !!
But the incessant delays are disheartening….Plzz dont delay the film soo much !! “Best Of Luck To U All”
forgive my ignorance:
I believe Rajeev is the lead act in Aamir… but how is Rajeev so popular?
Please explain, someone?
Gopi, Ask the countless numbers who is used to wait for 11 pm to watch Rajeev in a serial. you will get your answer.Aamir’s primary audience is going to be a gang of girls who are huge huge fan of rajeev.
I do not know whether a film maker is supposed to react to ‘all these silly stuff’ (as referred by Machchar)! Pointless it may seem, but there is a keen desire to make people know how horribly they are going wrong. I shouldn’t judge whether that is ‘worth it’ or not, for on those lines nothing… absolutely nothing is worth an explanation!
I respect the sentiments shown by you… it is discouraging to see someone else who doesn’t even have a hint of what things are all about getting into a brazen display of witty commenting (and shun the modesty by the way!). I am not trying to back you up Anurag, yet I feel everybody has a right to say.
@Gopi…..Rajeev is a super-rocking Tv Actor with a Magnanimous fan-following……U should sometime visit India-forums.com….He is the only actor (in both in tv and films) to have around 5 fanclubs…….Each of his on-screen pairings with the 3 actresses he has worked with are adored and have an enviable fan-following…….Apart from a fanclub for his film and one just simple on his name…….hahahaha!! Its just too good !! Apart from the fact that he is one of those rare people who replies diligently to the emails his fans sent him!! So ppl just love him !!
Where have you vanished? Why are there gaps between blogs… ? Forget ” NO SMOKING ” & ” TZP “, lets get working to get your best released… ” PAANCH”. Honestly, it is & will remain your best. It won’t be stale even after 15 years hence.. trust me.
My choice of actors for your movies.. & hopefully.. you can do a Zanjeer ( Not a remake )… Beg, borrow or steal… get Abhishek Bachchan to work for you… with your scripts & directions & the boy’s abilty.. am sure you’ll be a deadly combination. … My note may sound weird.. but you know me… I trust my instincts & it always has come true.
The very best for everything you do… ( Write in an email if you get time.. )… Regards, VIVEK
It is nice to know that this is a original. We will watch him first day, first show and a few more subsequent shows.
Once will definitely not be enough.
All those stills and the few articles, tell us about the immense hardwork, dedication, and also the desire of all those involved in the making of AAMIR, to do something different.
AAMIR come soon.
FEW QUESTIONS-
1) who reads MID-DAY?
2) the people who do, and before you say anything i know theres a lot of people who does, but is their opinion even worth anything. those guys probably wont go in to see the movie any ways.
3) why isnt more being written about the making of and about amir.
frankly i dont care if its a copy paste or not, as long as utv and our very ouwn anuraag kashyap says its worth the money i’ll go and watch it first day.
About things printed in the media…I’ve worked as a news anchor on a regional channel. Reporters have deadlines and targets to meet. And obviously as a result, there are times when they write just about anything they can lay their hands on, sometimes without the necessary research.
Mid-day always(not sometimes) writes everything without any research whatsoever….This is something I have been noticing from quite a lot of time……Every actor…Be it tv or films loathes mid-day…..hahaha!! So I believe the opposite of what that trash of a newspaper says !!
To be honest, Anurag… I am expecting something outrageous from you… defying the lines of “No smoking”! I am tired of seeing actors rant- give us a stuff that defies human imagination- that is shocking and is with a bare minimum of actors… something that Kubrick did in the 60-70 era!
But again, I would not like you to follow what any random comment maker like me has to say!
Looking at the comments from Rajeev Khandelwal’s female fan following at the previous post:
http://passionforcinema.com/on-the-sets-of-aamir/
I think the fim has little to worry about.
-0-
For a different view on Cavite:
http://oggsmoggs.blogspot.com/2006/08/cavite-2005.html
There is a paper in Delhi called Punjab Kesari. And there’s a magazine called Manohar Kahaniyaan. I stopped reading them when I was young enough.
Then I came to Maharashtra. while reading Mid-Day, I had a familiar feeling. Don’t really know why?
Aamir is baised on indian novel which make it much original than the hollywood film and I don’t think Aamir is a copy of ”Caviate” or any other film….
Anurag,
Good to see you back after long time. Especially in this ‘blog in the time of every celebrities’ new marketing tool’ days, they have at least not failed to notice you as the pioneer (http://www.buzz18.com/features/movies/its-aamir-vs-amitabh-vs-anurag/54701/0).
Talking of blogs, I have a reco for all CAT-GMAT-UPSC candidates in search of perfect reading comprehension passages to go through Big B’s blogs. It really amazes me to see that an actor with nearly forty years of pure imbecile acting experience can have such Dickensian command over the language. But your blog, I hope still does not glow from such pseudo-erudite spectrum. So, keep writing and keep enlightening us with mind bending movies.
All the best,
CBM
heard that u hav a lot of dvds,nd u r really proud of it…
wat amazes me is dat even after gettin exposed to so much of world literature and cinema and music et al…why do you hav to even get inspired by a film to write another film?
see i understand that you think you guys are against these mainstream filmakers like yash raj and johar but you gotta come up with something which is original(dun temme dat Mahesh Bhat’’s nuin is original philosophy please!)
i am gettin a sense Anurag dat just because your have to so called represent this new genre of filmakers ,who do not get inspired by Hollywood cinema but world cinema,you are tryin to support them blindly.
if it is a godamn copy then say it is…
and please why did u use the word that RK has taken some unsafe way/?
he has got Rajeev Khadelwal and his storyline is INSPIRED BY
Cavite…wow how unsafe this!I am overwhlemed!
Alrite Anurag…It can be a coincidence that the films share same synopsis…It also can be a coincidence that they are shot on same dingy locations…but how about they sharing so close trailer aswel…and not only that, The protagonists name here is AMIR and, in Cavite its ADAM…in cavite, the films title is based on the name of the city..in Amir its name of the lead!
..and finally if u dint buy right from “Cats Eye” for “No Smoking”, why was it necessary for “Amir” to do so??…Its more sounding like a possessed father saying that my son is not guilty!
Slash.
i don’t think you read what i wrote. you have an already formed opinion and you really don’t read. Though aamir is not a copy of cavite still to shut ignoramuses like you the rights were bought of cavite. It’s the first card in the film.
Second NS was not based on Cat’s Eye and even after seeing both the films you think so, i really would say please stay disappointed.Thank you
Aadish- I hope you really read again what i write and i do not have to prove anything beyond saying that the date that the copyright of aamir script was registered is before cavite was even made, so wait till you see the film or shut up.
Mr. Kashyap, all I can say is GOOD FOR YOU for standing up for your amazing work! I admit I know nothing – other than what I have been reading here – of this whole Aamir/Cavite issue. But seriously, these days so many films, books, songs, etc. etc. have some similarities, which doesn’t necessarily mean they are a ‘copy of’, as is so often implied. It’s one thing to say “Ek Ajnabee” is a copy of “Man on Fire” – it’s nearly frame per frame, but still manages somehow to be more visually appealing than the original, in my view – but beyond that… We are humans, we sometimes are bound to thing alike, two people can have a similar idea… And No Smoking ROCKED! And are we talking about the Japanese movie “Cat’s Eye”? Have people seen it? How can it even compare?! Anyway, I am reminded of something I once heard: “Those who can do, do and those who can’t, become critics…”
NO, Steven King’s… I got it now. Anyway, still standing by my words.
Nina,
The only film with which I really saw a similarity of No Smoking is probably by a very less known Russian director of modern times known as Andrei Tarskovky and the movie was called ‘Mirror’. Now if you ever watch that movie, you may curse me as the storyline in ‘Mirror’ has nothing to do with smoking/quitting.But it is the same style of the disconnected yet mellifluous narration that has made No Smoking a very special film. And that is the whole point. Who has given the dictum that a movie should be similar to another one if only it borrows the plot? Movies, like different creed,sex and culture of an individual can have a soul of its own which our Mumbai/Los Angeles fed paradigm may not justify always. So I saw glimpse of ‘mirror’ in Fellini’s ‘eight and half’ , of ‘eight and half’ in Anurag’s No Smoking and of No smoking in ‘God Knows What’. The only difference is that where Fellini, due to his acess to international audience, went out to be recognized as a classic movie-maker, Anurag’s movie was left to be washed away by our very own Bollywood sycophants(read Khalid Mohammed).But still I hope, that the small seed that Anurag has sown with his Black Friday(or even for that matter with Paanch) will someday really bring ‘Nouvelle Vaugue’ of Indian Cinema. Let’s wait for that day.
Regards,
CBM
CBM thank you!!! Great words, by a very well-informed person! I will now watch “Mirror” and won’t curse you if the story has nothing to do with NS, promise. But seriously, everything always has something similar preceding it, right?! I mean, nothing is truly original and sometimes, when it is, as in the case of “Black Friday” then it takes for other projects to come after it to prove its worth. See a book like “Maximum City”, which makes the film even more poignant, once you have read it… Anyway, I strongly believe in Indian Cinema and the innovative new messages that its cool and thought-provoking filmmakers are sending out. Lets see where the journey takes us…
i think every film is inspired from somewhere or the other.and your story about is different.anyways if rajeev khandelwal is there in your film then it will be different and make it more diffrent and wonderful with its skills.i will watch your movie just because of rajeev khandelwal……………
rajeev khandelwal is better than srk……..
rajeev khandelwal rocks…………………..
Taran Adarssh goes ga-ga over Aamir. Whats the story ?
Read below ..
‘Aamir’: Outstanding effort!
By Taran Adarsh, May 13, 2008 – 08:52 IST
He won innumerable hearts as Sujal in a television show. Now TV’s Numero Uno actor Rajeev Khandelwal is sure to multiply his fan-following with his feature film debut AAMIR. The film also heralds the arrival of a supremely talented storyteller — debutante director Rajkumar Gupta.
It’s not easy to think out of the box. It requires courage to swim against the tide. Rajkumar Gupta does not take shortcuts in his first film. It’s not a love story or a laughathon. It’s not a masala potboiler either. AAMIR is about an ordinary mortal caught in a vicious web.
Shot brilliantly at several locations of Mumbai [DoP: Alphonse Roy; incredible camerawork], the film leaves a hammer-strong impact on the minds of the viewer. The penultimate 20 minutes especially are breath-taking. The culmination catches you by complete surprise, it’s unexpected. Not one of those heroic ends.
Films with unconventional themes rarely find backers, but AAMIR has found a strong name to reach out to millions of moviegoers across the globe — UTV. What’s noteworthy is that on one hand this studio backs films like JODHAA AKBAR and RACE and on the other, provides support to films like AAMIR, which may not boast of great stars or great visuals, but has a great story to tell.
Films like AAMIR reinforce your faith in the new talent that’s surfacing in Bollywood. The entrants — Rajkumar Gupta and Rajeev Khandelwal — have taken a giant leap in their very first film attempt. Kudos!
AAMIR hits the screens on June 6. A detailed review of the film will appear on its release.
How safe can it get! Strong backing, outstanding review, and of course Rajeev Khandelwal. Each and every second is gonna be breathtaking. Bollywood make way for him.
Sorry to be so off topic, but I am waiting for ages that you write something about your short film for Mumbai Cutting! Thanks!
I by the way also think the premiere in L.A was a great success and people love your film! I myself can’t wait to see it.
Hi Anurag,
I need you to work on one of my project. Could you get back to me on my email?
Thanks,
Amit
hi anurag!
i am no film student or even remotelt ralated to your line of work!
but i just wanted to tell yeh that no smoking was a great work! i personally liked it a lot! it was good to see indian acotrs in such a mature film! kudos to u!
(it would rlly good if you could upgrade your animation visuals a bit! i am a diehard comicbk fan,hanuman 2 was an awesome concept! but the visuals…!)
tumbs p! bye!gd luck! keep he good work coming!
hey amir,
i dont understand y da hell r u so jealous of shahrukh khan.Mind it that he is & will always b a much much better actor rather the best actor in the whole wide world.
mind it YANNA RASCALA….
Bad Acting can kill a movie… And by the trailers.. I didn’t like Aamir..eh.. Rajeev’s acting.
Especially, after watching colin farrell deliver a similar role in Phonebooth.
i loved his acting actually. felt very very authentic. loved khandelwal. loved aamir.
AAMIR releasing on the same day as SARKAR RAJ..interesting!On 6th june RAM GOPAL VARMA makes a comeback (though he had not gone anywhere) and RAJ KUMAR GUPTA makes his directorial debut..it’s RGV v/s RKG! Best wishes to both!!
But guys what do you’ll think..will RGV bounce back hard with SARKAR RAJ?
Anurag ji can u plz see this one. this is my first short film.plz give me ur feedback.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfB6rwEjbmc
Dear Anurag…….this is a small letter to u…..
Im a filmgore from Kerala….
Im not a serious film lover who can say your no smoking is a good film…
And the main thing is I never heard about u before when u said fardeen khan is to be banned from bollywood…
I saw satya when I was 17 …..
I dont know tht u wrote satya and yuva still that zee tv show…..
And this letter is for……
I think u lost the confidence in u after no smoking….y??????????
if u r going to do some expirement ….or going to express some of your ideas throeugh ur medium …..and failed first by making no smoking…. y u made a film like “Black friday”
when i started seeing films seriously…. 10 years back ….i used to see only malayalam films…….
On that time the regional films got their reputation nationaly and internationaly……
but now the situation changed……
now Indian cinema means bollywood…non acting actors like…sharukh , amithabh,salman, aiswarya, kareena ….are the face of Indian Cinema….
Im in dubai now….I lost the chance to see good films which is coming out from malayalam and tamil now….
And u know another funny factor…
Last year I went to see two films from Bollywood on the release day…first show ….and the main thing u have to remember is films used to release here in dubai before 1 day in India…..
And the films where “NISHABD ” and “AWARAPAN”
And nishabh the Amithabh BAchan film is opened the first show with 5 peoples, who went out from the theatre with shaking their heads for the wrong selection …..And the
housefull first show for Awarapan surprised me …..
first for the rush for a Imran Hasmi film more than a AB film…Secondly he standing ovation from the audiences from all the nations who wher seeing Bollywood films…and even the same situation for GURU also….
So wht is this so called bollywood in the name of sharukh and amithabh and the under rated regional films….
I wrote this to u because of ur comments on the selection of ekalavya over some best regional films …and the daily comments form the most “Successfull directors ” in bollywood abt the so calle doverrated stars…not “ACTORS”
Im missing the best films from malayalam now a days…may be they are disgussed by the recognation they are getting….
Please not stop writing films like satya , yuva, and black friday…make the face of indian cinema with some of tht works……
Bye
Shiras
where is this movie running in sydney, australia?
common producers!! .. i can’t find it releasing anywhere in sydney!!!
you’ve got an audience here !!
[Editor Note(OM): Raj, do not spam the comment section with the same comment on all the posts. Your voice is heard]
Anurag Kashyap,
I am a PhD Student in Cinema Studies at Southern Illinois University (Carbondale, IL) USA. I have written my first feature script that deals with the issues if terrorism and homosexuality in two parallel stories taking place in India and US. I am visiting India in July and would like to meet you with regards to this project.
Kindly Reply at my email ID —
r.amitkumar@yahoo.com
Thanks,
R. Amit Kumar
Anurag,
I had watched Cavite over 18 months ago. It was released in 2005. Do you really expect your viewers to believe that 2 directors got ‘inspired’ (god I hate that word in bollywood) to produce pretty much the exact same movie, except the 2008 version was shot in mumbai and talked in hindi? In this era of DVDs and internet, you cant really expect people to not stumble upon the original. I watched Aamir yesterday and promptly fell asleep after the first 10 minutes since I had already watched Cavite.
Just suck it up and say that you copied Cavite. And while you are at it, go ahead and say that you modified the ending. I liked yours better. You are way too talented to go the Anu Malik et al ‘inspired’ route.
-Cinema watcher of the world.
Dear Mr Kashyap,
Firstly, no one is accusing you of copying no smoking from cat’s eye..we all know that the basic premise is based on “quitters, inc.” by stephen king. and also Joseph K from the trial. cat’s eye is a different take, albeit on the same story, and no smoking is strikingly different. and we all loved no smoking. all said and done, no smoking was and will remain one of the better hindi movies made.
you have acknowledged the fact that you did base (not copy) your movie on quitters, inc.
http://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/oct/30anurag.htm
So why not admit it for aamir? At least don’t blatantly deny it..At least acknowledge the fact that aamir is based on some aspects of cavite.. aamir is not a rip-off and we know it. people make wrong accusations.
but lets face it, it does lift the basic premise and plot points, and thats all i’m saying. rajeev khandelwal needs to improve, mr gupta has done a decent job, but its certainly not fully original.
and, quoting Restless D from an earlier post, You are way too talented to go the Anu Malik et al ‘inspired’ route, so just suck it up and admit it.
oh and also, aamir’s ending was actually better.