Interview with Trickbaby for the Film BLUFF MASTER

[Tony]

“Abhishek (Bachchan) and his wiggly hips and his intense gazes, is hot!”

The celebrated U.K.-based band, TRICK BABY, is in the news because four of their compositions feature on the soundtrack of the eagerly awaited Abhishek Bachchan-Priyanka Chopra starrer, BLUFF MASTER, releasing worldwide on December 16. What’s more? They’ve even shot a special video with Bachchan Junior for the film!

An EXCLUSIVE interview with the London-based pop group:

How did director Rohan Sippy touch base with you?

I think he saw us open the show at the MTV Style Awards last year in Mumbai - we busted a 10 minute mega mix on front of Rekha, Hrithik, all the Khans were out, Bipasha and John were swanning around. It was a big night for us, rubbing shoulders with legends of the Indian Cine biz and some of India's finest biggest music makers.

What was the initial feeling when he approached you to score the music of BLUFF MASTER?

We were chomping at the bit to do it - especially when Rohan sent us the first track to re-mix - Mehmood's "Sabse Buda Rupaiya", it's such a cheeky song and by the time Trickbaby deconstructed it and put it back together again, it turned out real nice and funky. Our music is a bit “soundscapey” anyway - we're big mood mongers - so it's a marriage made in heaven. It's also an honour to work with the Sippys and Rohan is such a maverick with his edgy fresh approach to movie making - I think we have a lot in common! (laughs)

How many Trick Baby songs are original compositions for BLUFF MASTER and how many are modified existing tracks of trick baby?

So we did the re-mix of “Sabse Bade Rupaiya”, re-versioned a track called "Nine parts Of Desire" in Hindi especially for the movie. “Indi Yarn” and “Neela” are also in the film in their original form. Apart from “Sabse…” the rest are on our first album "Hanging Around"




What was the brief that Rohan gave you?

Largely it was a "Just do what you do and have fun with it” brief - he threw in a few reference points like James Brown, The Whispers,Parliament, Earth Wind & Fire that gave us a good indication of where he was musically - we knew he wanted big drama, horns, strings, fat bass so that's exactly what we gave him!

Comment on the large involvement of British-Asian composers in Bollywood - Bally Sagoo, Rishie Rich, Juggy D, etc.

While we are not in favour of the Indian Film Industry constantly re-inventing the old classic numbers in a re-mix style for their soundtracks (at the risk of losing our ability to write great new songs and nurture new writing and singing talent) we think it's great that British Asians and Asians World over for that matter are getting a look in and an opportunity to contribute to what is a significant part of our culture and heritage - we grew up on films like Mother India, Sholay, Silsila, Pakeezah.

Can you recall any memorable experience(s) in Mumbai while shooting for the video?

Our last visit to Mumbai was more than memorable - it was life changing - we got stuck in the floods on infamous torrential Tuesday - weaving down Marine Drive that was a parade of bobbing umbrellas as far as the eye could see. We hung out with Jackie Shroff dreaming up TV formats, listening to Jethro Tull and Abida Parveen til 4 am, we danced with Abhishek and we even hooked up with the Big B.

Are you hoping to score more tracks for Bollywood titles?

Certainly! It’s a pleasure! Bring it on!

Any anxieties about BLUFF MASTER?

Absolutley not - the movie rocks, the music rocks - what's to fear - I think it's a mould breaker and "Sabse Bada Rupaiya" in particular is gonna be big - I can feel it. During the shooting for the video sequences everyone said as much from the make-up team to the tech hands - I mean EVERYONE couldn't help but sing it, dance to it and smile to it - now for me that suggests a winning formula!


Tell us about your equation with Abhishek and Priyanka?

Abhishek and his wiggly hips and his intense gazes, is hot, Priyanka in all her perfection is hot, Trickbaby's beats are smokin'! So all in all it's going to be a rollercoaster ride - hold on tight!

(Based around the song writing partnership of Saira Hussain and Steve Ager and the musicianship of Jeevan Rihal (harmonium/keyboards and additional vocals), Vikaash Sankadecha (percussion) and Emre Ramazanoglu (drums), the U.K.-based Trick Baby has evolved into a genuinely unique and celebrated band.)

The tracks on the ensemble album have been composed by Aneela Mirza, Sameerudin, Araash, Trick Baby and Vishal-Shekhar. Abhishek Bachchan pays a tribute to the legendary Mehmood in the hit, Sabse Bada Rupaiya (remixed by Trickbaby of the UK), already playing on television and on the music charts.

The film releases worldwide on December 16

[Tony]

Ramesh Sippy’s Bluffmaster! Starring Abhishek Bachchan as Roy Kapoor
Priyanka Chopra as Simmi Ahuja & Riteish Deshmukh as Aditya Srivastav
written by Shridhar Raghavan directed by Rohan Sippy




Roy is a professional conman, who has raised his work to the level of an art. The only true thing he has in his life is his love for Simmi-someone who is so rooted, honest & sincere, that he can’t bring himself to tell her the reality of who he is. But when his past catches up with him, she cannot forgive him for the deceit their relationship is built on. He loses her forever. That’s when Aditya Srivastav enters the picture. He is the counterpoint to everything that Roy is- as frantic as Roy is calm, as dumb as Roy is smart, as messy & untidy, as Roy is smooth. They have only one thing in common- Aditya is a conman too. At least he thinks of himself as one. In Roy’s book, he’s an embarrassment, but on that won’t go away.

Despite himself, or maybe to take his mind off Simmi, he agrees to teach Dittu the rules of the game. In that process, he melts & warms up to the boyish charm of his ‘student’. That’s when his world is spun upside down- he is forced to face facts that are a slap in the face. Suddenly Roy, who prides himself on being able to cheat anyone & anything, is pushed into a corner from where there is no exit.

For the man who wears so many masks, he is now left with no alternative but to take them all off and finally reveal his real self. With an outstanding ensemble cast comprising of today’s hottest and most sought after stars- Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra (ably supported by Riteish Deshmukh, Boman Irani and Nana Patekar) and a soundtrack featuring a dazzling array of international & local talent, director Rohan Sippy’s Bluffmaster! Promises an exhilarating roller coaster ride full of laughs & emotions that are quite unprecedented.

The story & script of Bluffmaster was developed by writer Shridhar Raghavan over twelve months, but then director Rohan Sippy was faced with the challenge of shooting the film from start to finish in exactly 50 days.

This is Rohan Sippy's second film as a director with Abhishek Bachchan, who is unquestionably India’s most saleable star today. However, Rohan had a senior actor in mind for the role of 'Roy' when the story was being developed. "We wanted to cast Abhishek in the role of Dittu who sort of plays a sidekick to Roy but has an equally substantial role in the film," says Sippy.

The shooting was scheduled to commence by January 2006 but Abhishek had a bombshell in store for Rohan Sippy and his team when he called him for an urgent meeting on may 1st, 2005. Abhishek informed them that Karan Johar had shifted the shooting schedule of his film Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna from May to September 2005. Which meant that he was going to have to adjust all his other films’ dates accordingly, thereby pushing the start of Bluffmaster beyond mid 2006?
"unless- we started production in 6 weeks from the time AB declared that he was available in mid June and wrap production on the film in august 2005! "recalls Sippy. That seemed to be the only way out for Sippy who says, "feeling a bit like the kamikaze pilots must have before getting into their fighters, I jumped into the metaphorical pit, and said yes!".

"Given the circumstances, it made as much sense to offer him the role of Roy and find a younger actor to play dittu, "says Sippy. He felt that in the duration the script had been written, Abhishek had developed in his career to fit the bill of the title character "which is a much trickier and more subtle role to essay…" explains Sippy. "Roy’s character is very intelligent and yet vulnerable, and a perfect counter foil to Dittu who is all sound and fury with no brains, "he continues.

Very soon the rest of the cast fell into place. "it was my first time working with all the cast excepting Abhishek. And without exception, they have all been revelations. Their preparation, attitude & performance has been flawless, and they have all been great team players, which are essential in attempting to capture the spirit of an ensemble film," says Sippy.

After Sippy had found his Roy, he went scouting for his Dittu and he found him in Riteish, who slipped into dittus shoes effortlessly and made him extremely endearing in spite of dittu being this moronic apprentice to Roy. "The beauty in dittu's character is that there is more to him than meets the eye… he seems clueless and seeks inspiration for small thefts from popular Hindi movies, but he pulls it off without getting into trouble,"

"Riteish is focused and had a lot of suggestions on the set to improvise. Because he is such a manic character in the film that it is very important to have inputs from him. He was pushing the boundary to keep things as edgy as possible, "says Sippy.

Abhishek and Rohan treated him like a younger brother and Riteish would seek advice from AB and hold on to every word he said with sincerity.
Nana Patekar, known to be a no-nonsense actor who takes his job very seriously, was already working with rse on another film, Milan Luthria's taxi 9211, and so the production house already had a rapport with him. So Ramesh Sippy and son Rohan went to meet nana "and i put forward the worst narration of my life, "laughs Rohan. At the end of the narration nana said, "you are a bad narrator- but a sincere one!, "reveals Rohan. Nana liked the role of Chandru and enjoyed the promise it held….it was different to what he had done before.

Speaking on his experience with nana Patekar, Sippy says, "it was an absolute delight and inspiration to work with Nana, he is so thorough and focused and such a well prepared character that rarely did we go above one or two takes for a shot. Plus he brings so much to the table in terms of adding to the character and working on its finer nuances."
"Priyanka came to the sets without knowing anybody and she became a part of the team with ease. Priyanka is very young and for her this was a very fun unit to work with. She enjoyed the company of all the other girls in the unit who were her own age, "informs Sippy.

Boman Irani was one of the first people Shridhar & Rohan bounced the story off, even before it was in a complete screenplay form. He asked some probing questions at the time, which helped shape the screenplay into its current form.
An interesting revelation about Boman, who plays Dr. Bhalerao, a neurotic doctor in the film, is that he is a really polite and serious person off screen. Even though he is saddled with the task of keeping the audience in stitches with his quirky characters in most films, Boman is a really not so relaxed on the sets himself as he spends a lot of energy and effort getting into the skin of the character.

Along with Abhishek, Priyanka, Riteish, Boman & Nana, Sippy tried to cast one more character in the film- the city of Bombay. The film has been shot almost entirely on location here.
Although Bombay is the capital of Hindi films, it is surprising how rare it is to see it on screen, especially in films with stars. But we were clear that this film would have to be shot in the context of Bombay, the way so many great cities form an essential part of the fabric of films shot there.
Almost every frame in the film seizes a different moment from this magnificent city, still moist with the monsoon showers. Mumbai peaks in beauty during this season that fortunately coincided with the shooting schedule of the film. Rohan tries to capture the city in all its hues and makes such a stunning backdrop of it that sometimes it threatens to take over the rest of the film.
"Mumbai is one of the most beautiful metros in the world. Hopefully some of its strange blend of chaos, madness and vibrancy will come through in the film, "says Sippy 50 locations and 400 recess later.

One particular challenge to the film was the weather and catching the light. "we were in the midst of the monsoon and a good portion of our film is shot outdoors, so every day our locations offered us a new challenge- crowd control, sound, lighting, rain," explains first assistant director Gaurav Chawla. Despite all this they managed to get some spectacularly beautiful skies. In the middle of this race against time, the unit lost a whole week when the Mumbai floods happened. But in the directors own words, "we lost a week which is nothing compared to what others in this city lost."

The film, which balances itself on the knife-edge of laughter and anguish has another powerful ingredient to it and that is its music. "we started off wanting to just get great music and not necessarily go by the old rules so we decided to compile an album and kaveri started taking us through artists from around the world…and from there we took it step by step…acquiring the rights, adding our own touches, changing the lyrics…," elaborates Sippy.

It is unusual for an actor to help in the process of the making of the music of a film in Bollywood. However, Abhishek Bachchan, who has a great ear for music, took a keen interest in the track list of Bluffmaster and would drop in to see Rohan almost every other day to figure out the music and so they put together a list of songs. Boro boro which is a pharsi number by Arash, Jaan de (which became say na in the film) which is a Punjabi track by Scandinavian based artist Aneela Mirza, and tracks like the old Mehmood melody Sabse Bada Rupaiya which UK based Trickbaby used to create the title track of the film "captured the spirit of the film, " says the director. But the piece de resistance' is without doubt, this song composed by Vishal Shekhar to which Abhishek has lent his voice, "AB turned out to be a natural talent and in about 30 minutes we had recorded his vocal tracks and later on we liked that track enough to give it another version with some rap parts thrown in," reveals sippy.

The streamlined production schedule demanded everyone's utmost focus and energy, yet because it was a labour of love, every one tried to push their limits of endurance and perfection. What helped definitely was the average age of all the actors and the crew. Everybody in the team was young the actors, the director, assistant directors, stylists, music composers…. "everybody was so enthusiastic and sincere about making Bluffmaster happen within the schedule,” says Gaurav.

Bluffmaster had its fair share of international representation as well songs from across the world, an aussie cameraman and soundman, a British musician (trick baby) and two Swedish singers. Cameraman Himman Dhamija had just finished work on the rising and was taking a breather when Bluffmaster started. Sound recordist Mark Cornish was braving the unit food and the Indian weather with a smile on his face even though his stomach was not in sync throughout the schedule. The film, however, was shot in sync sound.

It was a grueling schedule for most of the cast and crew. When 16 hour days had become a routine with most of the Bluffmaster team, they outdid themselves towards the end with a 22 hour day. However the whole team came together and filled in for each other by shooting their respective parts while one of the characters was taking a break and so the baton was passed around day after day just so that they could all wrap up the film on time. "We once started shooting at 7.30 am and wrapped up at 5 am the next day. We had no choice because AB's look was going to change for Karan's film and we had our patchwork that had to be done to match his look in Bluffmaster," says Sippy.

On the sets of Bluffmaster, gender equality ruled. "we did not plan it this way but much to everybody's delight it so turned out that we had a 30% all girls crew. We had girls in every department direction, sound, lighting, camera, costume, photography…" informs Gaurav.
Abhishek named this young crew of girls in low slung hipsters and g-strings the chaddi masters! "He would feel protective towards them and advise them to be more appropriately dressed," laughs Gaurav. John Abraham, was working with rse concurrently on taxi 9211 (a more male unit), would enviously call them Rohan's harem!

In spite of all the hard work, the actors of the film managed to find time to pull a fast one to distress their director. Pranks were played on him and they involved great performances from all actors. Sippy had climbed all the way up to the 12th floor of the horizon hotel for a shoot when Abhishek called in a panic, informing him that nana Patekar had ticked off Priyanka Chopra for arriving late on the sets, and she had stormed into her van sobbing and locked herself up. Sippy who was obviously concerned about this altercation between two of his main actors ran downstairs to try and calm down Priyanka. "One minute she was howling with tears running down her face and the next minute, AB and Priyanka were all cracking up having pulled a fast one on me," laughs Sippy who definitely did not find the rush of adrenalin amusing at that point.




Abhishek Bachchan

His success as an actor proves that there is nothing that hard work and persistence cannot achieve. His movies failed at the box office but the actor consistently won over the audiences, little by little. Once that had been accomplished, failure had to but concede defeat and today 'success proudly presents Abhishek Bachchan…. an actor, a singer (lately) and every bit his fathers' son.

Born to two of the greatest actors of their time, Jaya & Amitabh Bachchan, one could say that acting had to be in his genes. With a lineage like his, it is little wonder that he had to work so hard at winning over the audiences. The benchmarks had been set, an entire generation before him by his own father, the super star Amitabh Bachchan. And yet Abhishek, who started with 'Refugee' five years ago, has already given hits like Bunty aur Bubli, Sarkar, Dhoom and Dus and is counted today as one of India’s most bankable stars.

Riteish Deshmukh


Riteish wears two hats one of a qualified architect and another of a young but successful actor. Famous for his impeccable comic timing today, Riteish started his career merely 3 years ago and quickly carved a niche' for himself in an industry where many are jostling for a foot in the door… if not a recognized spot under the sun.

Even though his father has always been active in politics and is, at present, the chief minister of Maharashtra, Riteish was certain that his calling was as an actor from the very beginning. He was launched in 2003 as an actor and since then he has already delivered two major hits at the box office - Masti and Kya Kool Hai Hum.

Priyanka Chopra

She’s perhaps Hindi cinema's youngest actor today and yet in her 23 years Priyanka has already tasted success in overwhelming proportions. In 2000, Priyanka dazzled the world as Miss India & Miss world she then tasted stardom overnight with the success of Andaaz, followed by Mujhse Shaadi Karogi and finally it was with the resounding success of Aitraaz and Waqt that Priyanka secured her position as one of the top stars of Bollywood.

Priyanka is currently filming for “Krrish, Don, God Tussi Great” Ho among many other big banner projects. Among her lesser known talents is her ability to sing. Priyanka Chopra stunned the audiences with the playback singing she did in her movie Barsaat.

Boman Irani

Boman Irani was already a fashion photographer, an ad film maker and an accomplished theatre artiste when he signed Munna Bhai MBBS. He left a lasting impression on the audiences with his performance in 'I am not Bajirao, a play that has been performing for 10 years now, but it was his role in Munna Bhai that made him a favourite with the masses as well as the classes. Boman has also acted in let's talk, Maine Gandhi ko nahin mara, No entry, My wife's murder, Waqt, Veer-Zaara, Main Hoon Na, Darna Mana Hai among others.

Boman is someone the audiences look forward to in every film of his no matter what the star cast….


Nana Patekar
Nana Patekar is 56 years old but he has still not lost the zest for life. At this age he is an actor, director, writer, farmer, painter and a sportsperson.

Acting being his first love, he started his career with a Marathi play Purush in 1980 which still performs and today he stands tall after 20 years, 40 films and 8 national awards.

Known to be temperamental but a perfectionist, this 56 year old actor hopes to represent India at the Olympics. He won a silver medal in this years Gv Mavlankar shooting championship and stood 9th in the national rifle shooting championship.

1) Sabse Bada Rupaiyya / Bluffmaster - Mehmood (Remixed by Trickbaby)
3) Tadbeer Se Bigdi Hui Taqdeer (Destiny Mix) - Geeta Dutt Remixed by Sameeruddin
4) Right Here Right Now - Abhishek Bachchan & Sunidhi Chauhan
5) 9 Parts Of Desire - Trickbaby
6) The Gateway Theme
7) Bure Bure / Boro Boro - Robert Uhlmann & Arash
8) Do Aur Do Paanch - Remixed by Sameeruddin
9) Indi-Yarn - Trickbaby
10) Neelaa - Trickbaby
11) Parde Ke Peeche - Trickbaby
12) Come Fishing - Bluffmaster Theme
13) Right Here Right Now (Hip Hop Mix) - Abhishek Bachchan & Sunidhi Chauhan