Sankat City
Last day of shooting. We are filming from below, a scuffle between Guru and Shetty, who are at the window of the first floor. I look through the viewfinder, I can’t see Shetty, though he is very much there. Chiru the cinematographer says, ‘damn, he is dark, let me throw some more light on him’. He does so, but Shetty still doesn’t register. He throws some more light and then some more, but still no Shetty, who somehow seems to be sucking up all the light. An assistant glides in and whispers to me, ‘ask him to smile’. Taken aback, I ask him, why? ‘voh muskurayega to uske safed daant dikhenge, phir voh zaroor chhapega’ (When he smiles, his white teeth will shine and he’ll register)…
Thankfully I didn’t have to resort to Shetty smiling, Chiru managed it with lights.
The film is complete and ready for release and I wonder, will Sankat City be able to attract enough attention, will the promos generate enough curiosity amongst the audience, will the film be able to stand on its own on the overcrowded platform. Hope it does, meanwhile, here I am, blogging for the first time, its quite akin to ‘smiling’, trying to register the film’s presence and grab some eyeballs. So here goes…
Sankat City is a wild roller coaster romp through the underbelly of a teeming metropolis, featuring an assortment of zany characters – a carthief, a conwoman, gangster, godman, film producer, builder, actor, his duplicate, mechanic, prostitute, chauffeur, hitman, cabbie etc; desperate men and women shadowboxing with the vagaries of chance and fate, whose madcap antics result in their lives getting inextricably entwined with each other, leading to madness and mayhem.
Money, murder, revenge, greed, fear, deceit, not to mention fun-n-frolic and last but not the least, romance, form the ingredients of this pacy masala comic thriller.
The film started off as ‘Hungama Mumbai Ishtyle‘, got revised as ‘Currytown‘ and finally developed into ‘Sankat City‘. ‘Hungama…’ didn’t happen because of creative differences with the then producers, ‘Currytown‘ because of the next producer’s indifference – every film has its own destiny.
Somehow, from its inception, I instinctively felt that the city wouldn’t be just the backdrop for this comic caper, it would be somewhat like a character. A city gone mad, a few of its desperate neurotic inhabitants, where could it culminate? The garbage dump of course! The idea excited me and I worked backwards, atleast that’s how it started.
Talking about the garbage dump, it was one shoot I’m sure my cast and crew would never forget. Miles and miles of garbage mounds all around us. We not only shot there, but had our breakfast and lunch amidst the dunes. It was hot, the stench was unbearable. We had supplied everyone with surgical masks, which soon started getting discarded as the shooting progressed as they were coming in the way of communication. We had to lug the equipment all over the place, the scene was long, there was some action involved and also crowd, bulldozers and trucks and what is more, the terrain was swampy, we all had to be careful. But we managed it quite well. Though the assistant cameraman did fall into slush while filming and after trudging out, disappeared for a few minutes, but was back in a few minutes having managed a bath, I’ve no clue where he found the water to do that.
While shooting I realized that something is amiss in the way I’d written the scene. I needed a topper, but had no idea what it would be. By late afternoon, there appeared a full moon in the sky. It was quite surreal, right above muck-ridden terrain. I found a way to incorporate it into the scene, there was my topper, made the scene complete.
Kay Kay Menon and Rimi Sen were co-operation personified that day. Cliched line, but then, it gives me a chance to come to the cast. Kay Kay plays Guru, a smalltime car thief and Rimi, a conwoman Mona. Then there is Anupam Kher (Faujdaar) who plays an ex-gangster/owner of a sleazy nightclub Jhoom, Chunky Pandey, who plays a double role, that of Sikandar Khan, a flop actor and Sheshaiyya, his duplicate, Rahul Dev plays Suleman Supari (a hitman), Dilip Prabhawalkar (Ganpat – owner of a dilapidated garage), Manoj Pahwa (Gogi Kukreja – producer/director of B movies), Sanjay Mishra (Lingam – Gogi’s assistant), Yashpal Sharma (Pawan Pachisia – a builder), Hemant Pandey (Fillip Fattu – Faujdaar’s chauffeur), Virendra Saxena (Swamiji), Sunita Rajwar (Gulbadan – prostitute and Filip’s girlfriend), Jehangir Khan (Lovely – Faujdaar’s heavy), Gurpal Singh (Harnaam Singh – cabbie) and Shrivallabh Vyas (Sharafat – fence for stolen cars).
To be continued (if the readers like it), meanwhile let me cut and paste a few quotes which kind of embody the film –
The city is not a concrete jungle, it is a human zoo.
A city is a large community where people are lonesome together.
All cities are mad: but the madness is gallant. All cities are beautiful: but the beauty is grim.
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
Welcome to PFC Pankaj!!
Long awaited. I like the title Sankat City than the other two. Gives an idea what it could be. But, after hearing so much about Urf Professor and its non-concurrent running storylines, i am sure Sankat City will be one helluva ride.
Likhte raho. Who is Shetty?
Wonderful!!!..Pankaj Advani…welcome to PFC..no need to smile..the limelight is on you only…
welcome to PFC and jai Ho to Sankat City!!
Sheshaiyya! Kannada/Telugu name!
Very rare in Bollywood!
Welcome Pankaj sir!
Keep blogging, looking forward like hell to Sankat City, the poster resembles a bit of Sin City, and that kinda makes it funnier for me
Dying to watch it! Keep us updated.
Welcome to PFC sir…Off course we are waiting of your more blogs …
welcome to Pfc Pankaj ! eagerly awaiting release of Sankat City…when is it due for release ?
Welcome Pankaj!waiting inline with others
Good on you, Pankaj! Its fun to read about what went into the making of the film…! Your film made us laugh- hope the producers laugh all the way to the bank! ;-p
Honestly, I wasn’t aware of you or ur film Urf Professor, till it was discussed here. SC seems interesting…I liked the quotes. And how did you manage to get Dilip Prabavlkar for the role..
Do pen ur thots….Plz keep writing here (there will b readers np @ that) n all the best!
Well, from the second poster i thought it’s an dark neo-noir flick, but seems to be a more like dark comedy!! Wish u luck for Ur Directional debut!!
Congrats Pankaj..Your maiden bakchodi was excellent..Keep it going..
being an engineer in waste disposal i am surprised how the entire crew could spend so much time shooting in the dump the entire day. it takes extraordinary will to be able to stand there for a few minutes alone. i think i know based on the pictures, where exactly you shot the scenes. now i have to see the movie just for the garbage dump scene
but want to leave a note that i am a big fan of your work. saw urf professor years ago at pune festival and could never get over it. will watch sankat city first day without fail
Congrats Pankaj, with Sankat City on it’s way!I know you must’ve heard this a lot but I’m a huge fan, and saw Sunday and Urf Professor(fantabulous).And me and all my friends will definately watch Sankat City the day it hits the theatres.
Cheers!
Welcome and Blog more….need some serious spectacular insanity here…..Urf Prof. being one….neeedddddd mooreeeeeeeeeee
Now that’s what i call title:Bakchodi. Must have had a fairly active campus life. And Pankaj, with the kind of starcast u have managed to put up, keep ur worries about attracting eyeballs aside. Plus from ur description of content the film looks quite zany and a mad caper. With the awesome cast to top it up I am sure u have a winner on ur hand. Jus let us know when it is releasing and i will be sure there as loyal audience for first day first show.
i would also like to use this opportunity to thank u for writing my favorite and a truly beautiful movie kabhi haan kabhi naa. All the best.
hi Pankaj
Looking forward to watch this one… When are you planning a release?
ram
Welcome aboard Pankaj.Your write-up has enhanced myc curiosity for Sankat City.Hoping to see this one soon.Keep sharing your experiences with us.
Welcome Pankaj, Have a great time here..and yeah, keep them rolling in!
Sankat City promises to be a mad caper.
Welcome aboard!
Welcome Sirji….
Welcome Pankaj. Wud love to read something on KKNN from you. Its one of my all time favourite.
Cheers !!
Ashu
Welcome aboard. Will be eagerly waiting for your movie? When is it being released?
frikkin maha-awesome bakchodi… this is as desi it gets! welcome sirji.. stay here & multiply the insanity! loved the post totally. waiting for more… thanks a lot PFC!
Looking forward to the movie already.
sounds like a very cool film..looking forward
@all – thanks for the warm welcome and words of encouragement. hope you all enjoy sankat city. oz and pfc team – salut!
@ravi – sheshaiyya happens to be from hyderabad. come to think of it, Faujdaar is himachali, Lovely haryanvi, Mona bengali, Ganpat maharashtrian, Lingam tamilian, Gogi from UP and so on and so forth! saare jahaan se achcha…
@jMonk – shubh shubh bol, sankat city pehli release hai meri! :-) will surely write about my ‘journey’.
@jehan – does it resemble sin city poster? if it does, the resemblence ends there, though i’m a big fan of sin city.
@jkd – hope the producers do laugh their way to the bank, abhi ghar ki murgi daal barabar waala maamla hai.
@sudhir and cherish – releasing sometime in june, atleast that’s what i’ve been told, most probably 19th june.
@aarti – glad you liked the quotes. have worked with dilip prabhawalkar earlier in a few projects. thought he was apt for the role and he graciously agreed to do it.
@debu – we shot the scene at gorai dump, which i’ve heard, is being converted into a park.
@dr nisheeth – aapke munh mein ghee shakkar!
@om – shetty is played by wilson.
@kaustubh – its a comic caper.
“Money, murder, revenge, greed, fear, deceit, not to mention fun-n-frolic and last but not the least, romance, form the ingredients of this pacy masala comic thriller.”
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No RAPE? LOL!!! :-)
I wonder whether the cast knew of the garbage dunes safari at the time of signing the film… Anyways Pankaj… all the best!!!
rape sequel ke liye chhod diya.
nice to revive the stench full day of dump yard via ur blog..is 19th June the D-day?
hahahah… great… pehle bakchodi… baad mein asli action… more power to u!
Even I thought of Sin City from the red font and background theme.
Having read the discussions on Urf professor ( not been fortunate to see it yet), expectation from Sankat City is high.
More Bakchodi, please.
Cheers!
Welcome to PFC Pankaj. I know what I’ll be doing on June 19th, I’ll be laughing away in a theatre somewhere nearby.
Was it difficult convincing your cast to shoot in a garbage dump? How many days did this shoot last?
wow…..nice to see u here and your projects looks provoking enough..but before i go further ..let me have this opportunity to tell you that…..kabhi han kabhi na was a Masterpiece…and this will remain…..hope to see more shades of your inner soul…..:-)
Welcome Pankaj. Interesting cast, we need more of this stuff….Keep it coming!!!
Hi Pankaj welcome to PFC.Must say the posters of Sankat City are really innovative.And the story sounds interesting too.Will surely watch it.
Welcome to PFC! Looking forward to the film and also looking forward to reading your next write-up!!
Can we have a screening of Urf professor for pfc members@bangalore?
Great cast, seems like a roller coaster ride.
The garbage dump shoot was a fun read.
apt name for a b-grade movie assistant ;-)
Nice to see you quote Desmond Morris. “Human Zoo ” is one of my favorites.
19th June booked!
With a fantastic title, fabulous cast, and a brilliant writer-director, watching Sankat City is a treat worth looking forward to. The YouTube trailer was great !!!! Looking forward to the music by musical legends Ranjit Barot and Sukhwinder Singh !!
Geetha, can you please post a link to the trailer on YouTube?? Thanks!
@Nisheeth, Deepak and other fans of Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa – I’m just a co-writer, the film is entirely Kundan’s baby.
@cherish – sure, let’s have it.
@geetha – music is by ranjit barot, sukhwinder singh has sung a song.
@arun,gajendra – garbage dump scene was in the script, the actors had read it and they had no qualms doing it. the shoot lasted a day.
@all – thanks for the responses.
hey pankaj,
for a first timer even co-writing with a director of calibre of kundan shah is a tremendous achievement. that too kabhi haan kabhi naa. I really feel it is his best work after jaane bhi do yaaron. So bro u deserve all the credit and accolades u are getting. Kundan is a mAassive Film-maker and already has his place under the sun.Its high time u get yours. So no justifications needed and required. Its great enough accomplishment to work with Kundan Shah and when he let u Co-write it automatically becomes ur baby too. So accept the praise in all humility and make some great movies for us.
yeh to wakai ‘bakchodi’ thi!!
@ Pankaj: welcome to PFC. sir, Urf professor was a hot topic for discussion a month back on PFC, thanks to Oz enlightening us abt it.
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is there any way for those on PFC who havent yet watched it, to have a private screening of sorts in mumbai/pune or any other preferred common location?
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wow. sankat city on 19 June. hope its not a staggered release like Frozen. cant afford to miss it…
Great post Pankaj. You had screened Urf Professor for us at our script writing course in Xaviers. Urf Professor rocked and I’m sure Sankat City will too. Looking forward to your movie.
hey ashwin, i remember that screening! satyendra, no idea what kind of a release is being planned, but pl do go watch the film.
Don’t have a good tagline for the posters. Guys, Any suggestions?! Need it ASAP!! Can’t provide more info at the moment except for the 2 posts.
Just looking at different characters in the poster…the below one rhymes to torture…sounds bad but could not avoid posting it… :-)
What happens when Natkhat, Chatpat, Vikat, Janjat and Ganpat meet at Sankat…City
Some options…
Love 4 life. Lust 4 money.
Maal mila, daboch liya!
Sab ki lagegi (my fav)
maal hai to taal hai
locha? lafda? love?
Ab tera kya hoga?
paise ke pyaar mein paagal
BOLE TO EKDUM JHAKKAAAASSSS
(lemme know if the thought is in the right direction)
Tag lines never made any sense….so a few senseless suggestions
“Sin is not Sinister enough – Sankat City”
“Sankat se no Vimochan – Sankat City”
“What you call hell, we call it home – Sankat City” (ok, this is straight from Rambo)
“Do ya feel itchy, jhand? – Sankat City” (this was really bad, I agree, Dirty Harry my just pull one on me)
The city never sleeps…neither is it awake..
Everyone is happy in… ‘Title’
Gandhgi se jab aaye Sughand..
Chor Machaye Shor…
If I go by Urf Professor dialogues
then it can be really wild.
“Sankat City – Lund Se”
censor friendly
“Sankat City – Iss se”
Comedy of all tragedies
Kahani ghar ghar ki…
Sab Kushal Mangal in…’Title’
@ram,magic,fu man chu – nice ones. MORE SUGGESTIONS PLEASE… loved ’sab ki lagegi’, ‘locha lafda love’, ’sankat se no vimochan’.
Too many crooks boil the fish…
No one is alone..but everyone is lonely in.. (straight lift from your line itself :-) ..I hate copying)
Chain reaction..
Ek akela is shehar mein…
Aur tera kya hoga Sheshaiyya.. (for a poster which would feature Chunkey)
YAY! u liked 2 of my options!
Here are some more…
Jeene bhi do yaaron
Rehna hai to sehna hai
Bhaagte raho…
Bachke jaaoge kahan?
Shehar ka locha. Shehar mein locha.
Mangta hai to le lo
Masti masti mein lag gayi
Few more NG ones.
Sankat City – Fakkt City
(fakt means “only” in marathi, and if u say it in one go…sounds like FUCK THE CITY)
Sankat City – locha labada love-da di da!!!
Sankat City – Seema Samapt
Sankat City – Sankat Se, Sankat Ki, Sankat Ke liye
Sankat City – Sankat mein Sankatmay
Sankat City – Seedhe Raste Ki yeh Tedi hi chal hai
Sankat City – R-Rated
Sankat City – Kat Le!!
Sankat City – Yeh Pishab karna mana(strike the mana off)hai!!
Sankat City – saab maaf!!!
I dont think u need a tagline. the short and succinct title is more than catchy. why waste it with adding cheesy stuff?
Dr. Fu Man Chu : cool ones oye!
@fu man chu – Fakkt tagline?
Ho Gaya Kalyan
Trouble has no boundries
Magik’s “Sub ki lagegi” hit the sweet spot for me. not sure if censor would pass “lagegi”
Trouble Unlimited
Aapka Shehar. Aapka Sankat.
Sankat se Sankat tak
okayyyy the last two came out of a sleepy brain… i’m off for some chai
Sankat, Uncut!
Ghusna hai Aasaan, Nilkana Mushkil..’Title’
Ek baar ghus gaye, to samjho phans gaye..
Aila..Dimaag Chori ho gayi.. (in Tendulkars voice)
Kaun banega crorepati aur kiski chaddi phati…
Ekdam Tragedy, Anokhi Comedy..
Paisa, Pyaar, aur Pagalpan…
Pankaj you can open the film with this super.
“Every city in the world always has a gang, a street gang, or the so-called outcasts”
- Jimi Hendrix
Sorry not passing gupt gyaan just muft gyaan
Sorry for all the bugging but Sankat City has got PFC pumping
Me thinks, the Sabki lagegi sounds too much like “Sabki Bajegi- Radio city”; might have spill off effect.
1)Ek shehar sau bimar
2)Andher nagri , har koi raja
3)Pure sheher ko shendi
4)Ek kela is sheher mein
5)Lene ke dene padgaye
@all – more muft gyaan please.
Murder, revenge, greed, fear, deceit and a suitcase full of money!
It’s a jungle out there ( Now WHERE have I heard this before? Too lazy to google it! )
A web of lies and deceit…
Makdi jaal…
Loved ‘Sab ki lagegi’…very apt indeed.
By the way- what does the winner get??
talking of muft…
Freedom is not for free at…Sankat City
Muft mein sair karo..( Ticket ladki se lagvao)
Ek Sankat lo Two Free…
Buy 1 worry get 2 Free at…
Magik @60 – ‘Rehna hai to sehna hai’ is the best tagline i have heard yaar!! for the next few months this is going to be the favrt. takia-kalaam in our office….iski goonj hafton sunaai degi…..
@ Varalika – ‘Its a jungle out there…’ I heard tht in Underbelly – an aussie crime drama.
Rehna hai toh sehna hai is great. Good one Magik!
My two cents (poor attempts):
Sankat City – Adult(e)rated
Sankat City – Welcomes you / mein aapka swaagat hai
Sankat City – Khud apna kacchra (rubbish)saaf karo
Sankat City – Oye teri… (hatt tichya)
i hope to see “Sankat” soon. Has it been released in USA yet?
I find Pankaj’s work very psychological.
What I am curious about is this:..and this is a question for all the folks who have seen this film…
“Do you come away feeling like you’ve just “claimed” the darkness? Or that you should “claim the darkness?” Is there a certain sense of satisfaction in the fact that you the viewer or the creator/s of this film has/have acknowledged this darkenss?
oh..wait..maybe Sankat hasn’t been released yet. sorry hanh..thoda confusion ho raha hai. btw…any one who hasn’t seen “Urf..” yet ..should make sure they see it.
Congrates……It was Big deal to complete “SANKATCITY”….At Last you have done it….My bestwishes…”SANKATCITY” will rock in cinema halls.
@Varalika – the winner gets a treat at Shanghai!
@Ami – Googly chhodi toone! how’ve you been? guys, click on her ID, leads to a nice site of her paintings.
@Azazel – thx.
A much awaited movie from a director par excellence!!!!
Simply love the music…cast…story..director…everything..can’t wait for the release!
Sounds Great Movie…..egarly waiting for the release. Best of Luck Pankaj.
I know… SANKATCITY is going to rock the theaters……All the best
best of luck for sankat city…
Hi! Super Cool Promo!!! waiting eagerly to watch the film!!! All The Best & Cheers
@Rachna, her split personalities and others – thnx for the good wishes!
Hi Pankaj, from the poster and the kind of description you have provided this movie looks suspiciously similar to Frank Miller’s SIN CITY and the SPIRIT.
I will hold back on my judgement till I watch your movie but if that turns out to be the case in the end then sir, no matter how good your movie is it will still be a copied product. Just like Gajini was last year.
@Saurabh – judgement hold karo.
I’ve seen the promos & the movie looks very promising..
having trouble finding the trailers
when is the movie releasing?
@ligne, http://passionforcinema.com/tag/sankat-city/ tags on the left that are marked as trailers are what you are looking for. Enjoy
Seen the promos and am taking 20 people along! cant wait for it 2 release!!
ALL THE BEST!!
With each promo and teaser that I see, my excitement is building up. Don’t know if I will get any sleep on 9th July out of feverish anticipation. Have already told every known acquaintance, pal, buddy, relative, colleague about the release. Will capture and interview responses of viewers outside the hall for you ..
Pankaj hope you get well-deserved, much-awaited accolades for it!
Loved the movie. My review is posted on PFC here.