Will the magic work?

With Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic Yash Raj Films turns to the supernatural to negate its spate of box office disasters.

If ever there was an actress in Bollywood who would pull off the role of an angel sent from heaven to spread happiness on Earth, it is Rani Mukherjee. Go back to some of the roles that she has assayed and you will notice a string of holier-than-thou and miss goody-two-shoes staring back at you. So when e+ got the opportunity to speak to Mukherjee about her release Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, which hits theatres in the UAE today, our curiosity got the better of us and we ended up asking her whether or not she got tired of playing such angelic and impossibly-perfect roles.

"Frankly, actors don't get to choose the roles, the roles choose us. And somehow, taking up a role of vamp who backstabs and backbites is not something I may be able to pull off," she says. So was it love-at-first-script when director Kunal Kohli approached her with his role in Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic?

"At the risk of sounding clichéd, I must admit I fell in love with the script as soon as I read it. I believe that a superpower, not necessarily in the form of an angel, protects me and I am sure the majority of people believe in angels or a superpower just like I do," she says.

Seconding her opinion was director Kunal Kohli, who said that when it came to treating viewers to movies that spelt clean entertainment, there was a drought. His project was high on the feel-good and optimism factors, he added.

Directors say

"Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic is a great all-round film that is blend of fantasy and fiction. In this day and age, viewers are dying to be treated to some good humour and entertainment and my aim was to do just that," explains Kohli.

Making his task easier were Mukherjee and Saif Ali Khan who agreed to be part of his project as soon as they read the script.

"Rani and Saif were my first choices. And I think they have done a wonderful job," said Kohli. Incidentally Kohli, who has also turned producer with this movie, says he enjoyed calling the shots. So much so that he arranged for a private screening for Khan after the actor requested for it.

The grapevine has it that Khan has become a tad edgy ever since the debacle of his previous release Tashan. It was believed that he was disappointed by the way in which his role shaped up and did not want to be disappointed in Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic too.

"Yes, it is true that I had arranged for a private screening for Saif. I think it's a fair demand by him and as a producer I had the liberty to make that choice," Kohli says.

With the producer-director being so understanding, it is no surprise that Mukherjee, who has enjoyed a longstanding professional association with Kohli, goes into lyrical overdrive.

Going back for more

"I was the actress for his first directorial venture, Mujse Dosti Karoge. And what I like best about him is that he gives adequate space to the actors to assay their roles," she says.

Continuing in the same vein, she went on excitedly about how she learnt to fly in the movie. "At first, being tied to a harness high up in the sky was scary. But after a point, I began enjoying the experience."

As rewarding as the experience was for the director and the actors, the next few days will prove to be a litmus test for the Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic team. Mukherjee and Khan could do with a hit and so could Kohli.