When love ends: What happens to the Ranbir-Katrina starrer Jagga Jasoos now?
This is not the first time that a pair in love has enthusiastically signed a film only to later find that love has gone out the window. ‘Jagga Jasoos’, that strange-sounding film about a boy-man detective was a project beleaguered from the beginning.
The story of how ‘Jagga Jasoos’ (JJ) got itself into a deadlock makes for a great movie script. When the film was announced two years ago Ranbir Kapoor-Anurag Basu-UTV were seen as a super-winning team especially after ‘Barfi’. Basu was on the top of the world. He suggested another out-of-the-box venture, this time minus Priyanka Chopra, but with Katrina Kaif playing the female lead instead.
When 'Jagga Jasoos' was announced, the love between Ranbir and Katrina was at its acme. Who would have known it (love) would evaporate in no time at all? What would remain is a residue of bitterness and coldness. But that came later.
When the project was put together Ranbir, who had since his debut in ‘Saawariya’ acquired a reputation for unorthodox stardom, grabbed the opportunity to do a detective flick that would take him from age 18 to age 40. Ranbir even turned co-producer with his pal Anurag Basu.
So far so good. Then the team got even more ambitious. They decided, why not do a full-fledged no-holds-barred musical, like ‘The Sound Of Music’ and ‘My Fair Lady’ where the characters converse in music. However, after 30 percent of shooting the team decided the musical format was not working.
So hear this. They undid the entire shooting. Scrapped what was shot and re-shot, this time in the normal format.
It is significant to note here that Anurag Basu’s ‘Barfi’ with Ranbir too had undergone a substantial stint of re-shooting. Finally though, it all came together in ‘Barfi’. Not this time! ‘Jagga Jasoos’ has gotten itself into a serious mess. Now with the fall-out between Ranbir and Katrina the project is on the verge of collapse.
Reveals a source in the know, “Ranbir and Katrina have tried to be professional about it. But the shooting is not working out. The biggest loser in this whole tangle of the personal and professional are UTV who have already invested a substantial amount of money in this project. They stand to lose close to Rs 30 crores if ‘Jagga Jasoos’ is shelved. With two back-to-back under-performing films ‘Tamasha’ and ‘Fitoor’, this a financial blow that UTV could do well without.”
‘Jagga Jasoos’ is not the first project to suffer because of a fall-out between the lead pair. K Asif’s ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ went through a similar crisis after Dilip Kumar and Madhubala fell out
But that’s another story.
