My big fat desi wedding!!
By Subhash K Jha Monday, 23 January , 2006, 15:38

One of the unending joys of watching Nia Vardalos' screen adaptation of My Big Fat Greek Wedding was to savour the cultural clash between the lovers' parents. Now, in My Punjabi Nikka, director Sohail Khan brings Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor as the culturally opposed Muslim–Punjabi lovers.

And for the roles of the fathers , producer-director Sohail has planned to sign Feroz Khan and Dharmendra who were last seen together as Saira Banu's warring suitors in B.R. Chopra's Aadmi Aur Insaan more than three decades ago.

"The roles of the two fathers have been written with Ferozeji and Dharamji in mind. I can't imagine any other two actors playing the parts. I've sounded them out. And now I'm waiting for their green signal. And then we're on," says Sohail Khan who's currently doing frantic pre-production work for two large productions.

"In November I start David Dhawan's film with Salmanbhai and Govinda. In December, we go into My Punjabi Nikka. That's why I had to back out of Harman Baweja's film, to be directed by Vikram Bhatt. Believe me, I was really keen to do it. Harman is a really nice kid. And it killed me to finally back out. But I had warned my good friend Zayed Khan (who's also in the cast) a week before that it would be really hard for me to accommodate Harman's film in my schedule. I had even made it clear that I'd be willing to stay on the project if they couldn't find a substitute. I was really amazed at the speed with which they found a replacement for me. It didn't even take a few hours, I believe!"

Sohail is focusing entirely on his production plans. "I'm not going to feature in the cast of my either production, with David Dhawan or the one that I'm directing(My Punjabi Nikka). I've burnt my hands in trying to act and produce at the same time."

However, Sohail is currently acting with big brother Salman in writer-turned-director Rumi Jaffrey's comedy God Tussi Great Ho. "I love doing comedies. I enjoyed my cartoonish role in David Dhawan's Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya. Rumi is also writing My Punjabi Nikka. My comfort level with him is great."

My Big Fat Indian Wedding!
By Our Correspondent ©2005 Bollyvista.com

Sohail Khan's remake of 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' titled 'My Punjabi Nikaah' will feature Dharmendra and Feroz Khan as the warring daddies!

We're sure their sight, for starters, will evoke sufficient humour!

Feroz-Dharmendra to star in a film

Actor director Sohail Khan is making a Hindi version of My Fat Greek Wedding titled My Punjabi Nikaah. The role of the fathers he has written keeping Feroz Khan and Dharmendra in mind. "I have already narrated the script to them. They have yet to get back to me," revealed an excited Sohail khan. Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor will play the main lead as the Muslim-Punjabi lovers. Sohail informed that the other film to be directed by David Dhawan starring Salman Khan and Govinda would hit the floors in November. "Just to focus on these films I was compelled to opt out of Harman Baweja's project. It burnt my heart out of Baweja's venture but I had no choice."

Source: b4u.com

Big daddies at work
Subhash K Jha

Feroz Khan-Dharmendra to play warring dads in desi My Big Fat Greek Wedding

One of the greatest joys of watching Nia Vardalos' screen adaptation of My Big Fat Greek Wedding is to savour the cultural clashes between the respective fathers. Now, in My Punjabi Nikka, director Sohail Khan plans to recreate this magic, by signing Feroz Khan and Dharmendra for the role of the fathers. Both were last seen together as Saira Banu's suitors in BR Chopra's Aadmi Aur Insaan more than three decades ago. Sohail has also brought in Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor as the culturally opposed Muslim-Punjabi lovers.

“The roles of the two fathers have been written with Ferozji and Dharamji in mind. I can't imagine any other actors playing the parts. I've sounded them out and now I'm waiting for the green signal from them. And then we're on,” says Sohail who's currently neck-deep in pre-production work for two of his productions.

“In November I will start David Dhawan's film with Salmanbhai and Govinda and in December, My Punjabi Nikka will begin. Due to these commitments I had to back out of Harman Baweja's film to be directed by Vikram Bhatt. I was really keen on doing it. Harman is a really nice kid and it killed me to back out of it. I had even made it clear to them that I'd be willing to stay on if they couldn't find a substitute.”

For these films, Sohail will be focussing entirely on production. “Neither am I going to feature in my production with David Dhawan nor in My Punjabi Nikka. I've burnt my hands trying to act and produce at the same time,” he says. However, Sohail is currently acting with Salman in writer-turned-director Rumi Jaffrey's comedy God Tussi Great Ho who is also writing the script of My Punjabi Nikka. “I love doing comedy. I enjoyed my cartoon-like role in David Dhawan's Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya. I share a great comfort level with Rumi,” he says.

'My Punjabi Nikaah'

By Taran Adarsh, April 20th, 2004 - 1100 hrs IST

Just when you thought that Sohail Khan was busy pursuing his career as an actor [while MAINE DIL TUJHKO DIYA, I - PROUD TO BE AN INDIAN and KRISHNA COTTAGE have released, LAKEER is due for release shortly and ARYAN and TEAM are in under-production stages!], Sohail has done a somersault yet again.

Come October and you'll see the director [AUZAAR, PYAAR KIYA TO DARNA KYA, HELLO BROTHER, MAINE DIL TUJHKO DIYA] turned actor turned producer [for I - PROUD TO BE AN INDIAN and LUCKY, Sohail handed the directorial reins to outsiders!] directing a film once again.

Currently in Russia [LUCKY is being shot there], Sohail has decided to wield the megaphone of his next venture. The film, titled MY PUNJABI NIKAAH, will star big brother Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor essaying the main leads [did Sohail opt for a different title like MY PUNJABI NIKAAH after the Hollywood blockbuster MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING?].

Though Sohail revealed the gist of the story to this writer, it would be unfair to reveal it at this juncture - even before the film has taken off. But we'd like to reveal in brief the character sketches of the protagonists: Salman is the son of a Nawab in the film, while Kareena plays the daughter of a judge.

“It's a love story with plenty of light moments,” Sohail reveals, “I was hooked on to the script the moment I heard it.” That explains why Sohail didn't want to let go of the opportunity of directing the film.

So what happens to KISAAN, the project he was to start with Salman, to be directed by Puneet Sira? “That's on hold for the time being. We'll start the film next year,” he enlightens.

Meanwhile, the controversy pertaining to Jeetendra's remarks in a section of the press [vis-à-vis Sohail's attitude during the making of KRISHNA COTTAGE] has been put to rest. “Jeetu-ji called me the very next morning after the article appeared to clarify his stand, stating that perhaps the journalist misconstrued what he was trying to state… I trust him [Jeetendra] completely,” Sohail states.

Continuing in the same breath, Sohail states that the veteran also informed him that “I [Sohail] was like Tusshar” and the fact that it was he who suggested Sohail for the film “was proof enough of his confidence in my abilities.” Sohail adds that the controversy has ended from his side!