Sammir Dattani seems to be on a high these days, ask him why and he says, ?It?s this buzz in the air!?
.JPG "Sameer Dattani at 8 film press meet in J W Marriott on 21st July 2009 (20)")
And once he starts speaking, you can almost feel that ?buzz? too, because he just can?t stop talking. There is many reason for his excitement, firstly is the Dubai Film Festival he will be going for.
Says Sammir; ?Right now, I?m looking forward to going to Dubai for the Film Festival on December 9 where Mr Shyam Benegal?s ?Well Done Abba? is being screened. To be part of a film by Shyam Babu is any actor?s dream come true. The experience was fabulous the people were fabulous and I got chance to shoot with one of my favorite actors of all time, Boman Irani.?
Well Done Abba is the second film to bring Sammir and Minissha Lamba together. ?I had a guest appearance in Madhur Bhandarkar?s Corporate with Minissha. For Shyam Babu?s film we spent a lot more time together. Minissha is extremely sweet and genuine. But working with Shyam Babu? Now that?s something else!?
That?s not all; there is more reason to the excitement, which happens to be the shoot for Karan Johar?s ?I Hate Love Stories? with Sonam Kapoor and Imran Khan.
Speaking about the Karan Johar (Dharma) experience Sammir says, ?Yes the shoot in on full swing in Mumbai but all I?ll say is, this is the most comfortable unit I?ve worked with since my debut with the Rajshris? ?Uff?Kya Jaadoo Mohabbat Hai?. The director Punit Malhotra knows exactly what he wants. And Sonam is loads of fun to work with. We are all pretty much a bunch of youngsters on the set having fun and working very hard at the same time.?
Sammir was constantly in and out of Mumbai as he?d been shooting in 3 cities. ?Sometimes I wake up in the morning not knowing where I am. I was in Chennai shooting with Shreya Saran for a film. For this film we were traveling to and fro from Mumbai to Chennai to a place close to Vishakhapatnam where there was no airport. Then I had to rush to Jodhpur for a longish stint of Percept Pictures 8. Now I?m back in Mumbai for IHLS (I Hate Love Stories).?
He adds laughing, ?You know what, I can?t sleep without unpacking my luggage no matter what time of the night I reach my destination. People around me think it?s an OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), but I say I?m just plain organized! Lately with my schedule each time I unpack I wonder why I even try, because soon it?s time to pack again. I think I?m going to at least try to learn how to live out of a suitcase for a change! ?
As though waking up in a different city every other day was not enough Sammir underwent a series of spooky experiences while shooting in a Fort in Jodhpur for Percept Pictures? supernatural thriller ‘8’.
?I don?t know what it was, maybe it was the atmosphere of the place or just the atmosphere on set that I carried with me to my room. But I?d constantly feel a presence in my room and caught myself scanning the room a number of times just to make sure it was just me, who was there. I?m not superstitious but when I heard one of the king?s dancers had died in that room, I demanded a change.?
?I know every other place from forts to schools have such legends, but if am working on a horror film I?m not carrying a part of it back with me just in case the dancer girl decides to haunt me for life, just because I decided to share her room,? laughs Sammir.
By Subhash K Jha
