Abhishek Bachchan who is gearing up for the release of his new film ‘Players’, an official remake of Hollywood film ‘Italian Job’, said the story of 'Players' is the same as of ‘The Italian Job, but its screenplay is completely different. Apparently, the screenplay is written keeping in view the suitability of the Indian audience. Speaking with the media during the promotion of the movie in the Capital, Abhishek said he didn’t think the remakes make any trend. After all, India produces a thousand films a year and, out of this, four or five are remakes. He believes ‘Players’ is more of a creative choice than following a trend.
Tracing the background of the movie, he said when Abbas-Mustan saw ' The Italian job’; they felt like producing this for the Indian audience. When asked about the social Networking becoming platform to promote the film, Abhi said he didn’t think so. “Social networking isn't just for promotions. It is a platform to exchange ideas and interact with fans... A little bit of promotion is fine but he didn't think promoting the whole film is advisable”, he said.
At a packed South Delhi mall on Thursday, it was all Baby B ka Bowlbala. That was because Abhishek Bachchan stood out among his colleagues and 'bowled' the crowd over as he, Bipasha Basu, Sonam Kapoor and Neil Nitin Mukesh promoted their upcoming film "Players" at a bowling alley there.
They had to change their shoes to start with. "Oh God, I'm going to look crazy in these shoes with this dress," Sonam said to Abhishek, who was also changing sitting next to her. "Oh, you mean you don't look crazy otherwise?" retorted Abhishek, laughing. After some more good-natured ribbing, AB decided a warm-up session was in order. He bowled... and scored a strike! There was a huge round of applause as AB swaggered around, arms spread out in triumph, and told Sonam and Neil, "You guys should quit now, I think."
Finally, Sonam decided to go barefoot, as her size of shoes was not to be found, and the teams were announced - Abhishek and Bipasha, and Sonam with Neil. That's when AB discovered Bipasha wasn't playing! We later heard her tell Sonam, "You're not as short-sighted as I am, so go ahead." So we guess that's the reason she chose not to play. Either that, or the lady was too much in love with her bubblegum pink stilettos! But she cheered the players from the sidelines.
So poor Abhishek had to play for Bipasha too, but he took to the task seriously. So intent was he on the game that after the eighth round, he removed his jacket, and shooed Neil away so that he could concentrate. But it paid off - beating his co-stars by a whisker, AB won the 'tournament'!
There was a quick press conference post this, amid squealing kids and squabbling parents. In fact, in the middle of all this, one little something was heard telling a guard, "Aap toh bodyguard ho. Aap dila do autograph. Aapko kaise nahin denge?"
Anyway, the questions ranged from who their inspiration is (to which Bipasha said her mother, and Neil said Nutan and Waheeda Rehman!), to whether there were any catfights between Sonam and Bipasha. AB had to leave midway, but someone asked Sonam, Bipasha and Neil if they were to be a part of a game, which game it would be. "WWF," said Bipasha promptly, "These precision games are not for me, lekin kisi ko maar-vaar ke kuch karna ho toh jeet jaungi!" "Talking competition," said Sonam. "I can talk to anyone about anything and I can talk a lot!" "Shooting or archery," said Neil, to which Bipasha interrupted with, "Not WWF?" Promptly, Neil said with a wicked look, "Sure. If I'm fighting with you, I'd welcome all the punches and kicks and beatings."
Soon after this, they all stood up to leave and they were followed till the lift by screaming kids, onlookers and the shutterbugs. As they left, the actors were discussing what time to meet to go to a party! Some energy, wot say?
Bachchan Jr added he loves performing thrilling stunts and will be seen doing a few in Players. “I loved my role in Dhoom and Dum Maaro Dum. For this movie, we travelled around the world and you will see some major stunts being shot in New Zealand, Russia and Auckland. Action-thrillers fascinate and excite me no ends,” he shared.
In Players, Abhishek, Bipasha and Sonam will be seen depicting the characters of auto experts who make money by stealing gold through Internet while Neil plays the character of a hacker who skillfully helps them in these activities. “I can assure you that twists here are more than what you would have seen in other movies so far. Since the movie involves a lot of action, you would see the coming together of thrills, some daredevil stunts and suspense. It will definitely hold the audience and one won’t be able to predict anything before hand. You would be continuously guessing about what would happen next,” informed Abhishek before bidding goodbye for he had a flight to catch. “I got to go as Beti B is waiting,” said he. Has the Bachchan family decided on a name for the latest entrant to their khandaan? “Not yet,” he replied.
