Ready for action

Ruwini Jayawardana

Bollywood hunk Salman Khan is currently shooting his latest film, romantic comedy, Ready in Sri Lanka. The Anees Bazmee project also stars Ghajini star Asin,

Manoj Pahwa, Anooradha Singh, Sharat Saxena, Manoj Joshi, Rajiv Kachroo, Mithilesh Chaturvedi, Eva Grover, Paresh Rawal and others.

“We visit countries in search of various locations like hills, forests, beaches and dunes because we cannot get all of these sites in one country. Now we have it all within two hours reach. That is how beautiful Sri Lanka is,” Khan told the media. He also noted that the South Indian film industry’s threat to boycott the film once it is released does not affect his decision. Rather, he stated, that it is the film producers who will feel the blow if such an attempt is put to practice.

“South Indian films have been shot in Sri Lanka in the past and Sri Lankan artistes have worked together with Indian filmmakers and actors. Stars like Hrithik Roshan, Anil Kapoor and Govinda were here for IIFA 2010. Their films did not suffer due to such threats. Nobody likes controversy. We are actors, not politicians. We promote peace and goodwill,” he stressed.

Asin too added her comments.

“This is my second visit to Sri Lanka. I do not look at our relations on a short term basis. This is a step which will boost the film industry in both countries,” said the svelte beauty who had starred opposite Khan in London Dreams.

Ready will be shot for 30 days in areas in and around Colombo. Around 60 percent of the film will showcase Sri Lanka’s picturesque locations.

This will not only motivate foreign filmmakers to select the island as a suitable location for their films but it will also promote Sri Lanka as a tourist destination since alot of moviegoers like to spend their holidays exploring the scenic locations which have been sighted in their favourite movies. “The Ready shoot is one of the first outcomes that Sri Lanka will reap after IIFA.

It was a delightful phenomenal experience staging the awards in the country and we have had a lot of positive feedback. Showcasing the beauty of countries to filmmakers is a part of the IIFA initiative,” IIFA director Abbas Joseph said.

NFC Chairman Kumar Abeysinghe added his views by saying that the country is now seeing signs of the revival of cinema. Nearly 80 Sri Lankan personnel are involved in Ready which is line produced by Chandran Ratnam’s Film Location Services. They also handled past productions like Ajit Pal’s Victory and Ram Gopal Varma’s Agyaat. Bazmee is the maker of Hindi blockbusters like Welcome, No entry, Benaam, Dewangee, Pyaar Toh Hota He Tha, Hulchul and Singh is King. His latest project is produced by Rajat Rawail and Kishan Kumar.

Ready was scheduled to be shot in Mauritius before the team decided to shift to Sri Lanka. The movie will release in July 2011. It will premiere in Sri Lanka and India.