There’re two films on newsroom activities being readied right now. But neither Ram Gopal Varma’s Rann nor Shamim Desai’s Raftaar 24x 7 can use the stand-alone title 24×7 because that’s a title patented by NDTV. Although Sanjay Dutt has finally agreed to let the Big B have the title India for Rann. But the title problem remains unsolved.
Percept Pictures not only owns the title India 24 by 7 they’re also going ahead full-throttle with the completion and release of their own media film Raftaar 24 by 7 which stars Aditya Pancholi as a suave very stylish media baron. A poor man’s version of the media baron played by the Big B in Rann.
While Ram Gopal Varma is busy putting together his own film on a media war there’s a war of another kind brewing for the film from behind the scenes.
Debutant director Shamim Desai’s Raftaar 24 by 7 is being rapidly readied for release . It stars Aditya Pancholi as a suave media baron while Emran Hashmi plays his favourite protégé
Rann features the Big B as the media baron while Riteish Deshmukh plays his protege.
Both the films are about the conflict between bona- fide news and semsationalism in contemporary times. And Percept Pictures seems determined to make the best of the interest generated by the media theme in Ramu’s Rann.
Interestingly Aditya Pancholi who plays a pivotal role in Raftaar 24×7 was also meant to be part of Rann .
Pancholi was replaced by Mohnish Behl in Rann.
Could it because Ramu wanted to avoid any overlapping between the two media films?
Says Pancholi, “Yes I was part of Rann. But I’m not in it. Ramu’s film takes a panga with the media. Raftaar 24×7 is something else altogether.â€
By Subhash K Jha
