Band Baj Gaya Dubai mein!

Shaadi Aapki, Kharcha Hamaara Contest was also held at Dubai.

Yogesh and Betcy were the winners for the Band Baajaa Baaraat wedding Contest conducted By YASHRAJ Films in "Band Baaja Baaraat" Ishtyle in association with 105.4 Radio Spice , Fulltoo Twisted ,and Dream Advertising.

The whole wedding was Sponsored by Radio Spice.

Grand Wedding was on a Dhow Cruise on the Creek side of Dubai , with all Band Baajaa and BAARAATI ,mehendi and Pheras . well attended by over 250 guests.

A free wedding reception was given to the couple and an after party at the Keva Lounge on 10th december 2011

Ranveer says - Everybody should get a supportive co - star like Anushka!

Thank God, no one says any more than my debut was financed by my father. That to me is my biggest victory," says Ranveer Singh.

Ranveer Singh is spoil for choices. "I think after Band Baaja Baaraat, I need to do completely contrasting character. Someone who is not loud, opinionated and unsophisticated."

The suffering of waiting is over for this debutant who came in from the outside. "Not since Akshay Kumar and John Abraham has there been a male lead from outside the industry getting such positive reactions. I just hope my example encourages talent from outside. Because right now the perception is outsiders don't stand a chance. I had no reference like mine to give me hope when I was going through my struggle period."

One call from Yash Raj changed Ranveer's life. "It was completely out of the blue from the casting director Shanu Sharma. I remember I was out on date when Shanu kept calling. I avoided her calls for as long as I could because I had other things on my mind at that moment. Imagine if I had not taken the call from Yash Raj for a fling that lasted exactly ten days! Anyway, the next day I was at Yash Raj doing two scenes. I got called back in three days. Later Adi Sir (Chopra) told he had made up his mind immediately..."

Ranveer is pleased he didn't get a conventional romantic debut. "The story in Band Baaja Baaraat is terrific. And my character Bittu was so much fun for me to play because he's so far removed from my own world. It was more than I could ever ask for. I was more than happy to be a simple character in a simple story. Not too many newcomers can dream of a break like Band Baaja Baaraat, certainly not someone unconnected with the film industry."

Catty elements within the industry had spread the rumor that his father, a prosperous business man, had financed the film.

Confesses the young polite actor, "Yes that hurt on several levels. Such ugly rumours took away from my pleasure at being the first solo-hero to be launched by Yash Raj. Ya…it was upsetting. My father and my family's pride that I had made it on my own got blunted when it was said that they financed my debut film. It was like taking away from my little achievement. I was upset more for my parents than myself. I was also upset for Yash Raj. Did they need my father's money to make a film? The entire film industry knows Yash Raj doesn't need to do all this. It's absurd. They don't need anyone's money to make films. Certainly not my father's."

Ranveer maintains he is "very good friends" with co-star Anushka Sharma, though they bickered non-stop like their characters in Band Baaja Baaraat. "She and I are very good friends. How can I change that truth just because it sounds clichéd? Neither of us is bothered with what people say."

Says Ranveer, "We came from two different schools of filmmaking. I'm a trained actor. She never attended any acting school. As a model she had faced the camera before acting and had already done two films before Band Baaja Baaraat. She is a one-take actor. I believe in lots of rehearsals. And that was very annoying for Anushka because her first take was the best. We had to reach a middle ground before we could get along. In hindsight I feel I was rehearsing more than necessary because it was my first film. I learn from her to be spontaneous. But the fact that we had to be at loggerheads on screen was certainly helped by our constant friction in the sets about our approach to acting."

Ranveer hopes every newcomer gets a supportive co-star like Anushka or else he is "screwed".

As for the rumors about Ranveer and Anushka, the promising newcomer says, "I was too much into my work to even think about those rumors. I just wanted to perform well. That was my only concern. I've never been in a serious relationship so far. And now my career has just started."

He sighs and says, "It feels cool. I had told my father a long time ago that I'd be an actor. My dream has come true. But my family is not used to the gossip and rumors."

And to think Ranveer thought of changing his name because there was already a Ranbir around. "I am glad I didn't. This is my name. This is my destiny. I'm just so happy."

He's signed for three films with Yash Raj. "But it is non-exclusive. I was waiting for my first release and so was the industry. Now they know I wasn't signed because my father paid for my dream. Adi too has plans for me though I don't know what they are. He loves playing poker with people."

Source: Bollywood Hungama

'BBB' Buzzer is on!!! Go...Go...Go

Anuradha SenGupta doing Gupshup with the crew of Band Baaja Baaraat.

Sukanya Venkatraghavan says, "Band Baaja Baaraat" is real, racy and fun loving Movie.

Rarely do you find a love story that is so full of life and bouncing off the walls. Band Baaja Baarat is one of the freshest cleverly written films in recent times. It has an energy about it that makes you want to do the balle balle. So Shruti (Anushka Sharma ) and Bittu (Ranveer Singh) meet and then decide to start a wedding planning business sorry biness as Bittu might say. There is definite attraction and Bittu tries to line maro initially but Shruti will have none of this love shove. It’s too complicated. And the first rule of partnership – No mixing business with pleasure. And what are rules if they don’t get broke, really. So when Bittu and Shruti realise that, things go awry. Very. And then there is heartbreak, havoc, shouting, lots of shouting and ultimately a climax where the guy does get the girl. Obviously yaar!

The fun of BBB lies in its robust dinchak Delhiness. The colours, the language, the people, even the way relationships are played out. Shruti is go-getting, no nonsense and a firebrand and you cant but love her. As Bittu says turn her inside out and maybe some heavy limbed himbos will tumble out because she is so not just your average girl next door. Bittu is street-smart, endearing, exasperating, can’t pronounce ‘business’ but knows how to run one with brilliant instinct. He also knows that he may not be as smart as his partner but he plays a perfect foil and is there for her in the most heartwarming fashion.

The first half is stupendous, with some fast racy writing and even though the story is fairly pat down and predictable you enjoy the telling of it. The second half dips in comparison and there is too much of band baaja baarat before these two impetous very similar yet so unlike soulmates actually get together. But they are so likeable you don’t mind the wait.

Debutant director Maneesh Sharma creates such real and spontaneous characters that they prop up his occasionally bumpy narrative with the same cleverness that they run their shaadi ka business. The dialogue by Habib Faisal who also wrote and directed Do Dooni Chaar another Delhi based film is crackling, insouciant and full of life. The styling of the film is unapologetically riotous and vibrant.

Anushka Sharma is awesome to simply put it. She is ‘theeki’ and right there in the moment at all times. This is an actress to watch out for. Ranveer Singh makes a marvelous debut. His Bittu really works. Ranveer has a comic and emotional timing that cannot be ignored. There is tremendous potential here and one that has been tapped rightly in this film. Watch out for the outstanding chemistry between these two in the scene where they have their showdown and in the earlier scenes when they are getting to know each other.

BBB scores on many levels. It has a very real quality. There is no posturing at all. If the characters are eating Chinese food from a local fast food joint then the sauce does come in those little knotted up sachets and that’s just one of the many things that are authentic about the film. This is undoubtedly your best watch this weekend. Movie mubarak ho sabko!

Sources: FilmFare.com

Wonderfully scripted romcom of this Year!

The inherent flaw with the Bollywood rom-com template is that it doesn’t bother fleshing out characters and making them real, relying mostly on music and chemistry to do the job instead. Which is why we mostly end up with vacant films about pretty people conveniently positioned close enough to fall in love, which they do over several cutesy montages?

Why does she love him? What are they talking about, or bonding over? Who cares, say the filmmakers, see how great they look together as they laugh, as we fade from her punching his shoulder playfully to him making a silly face, all as the music takes turns being playful and mushy and nostalgic. Clearly, the film tells us, these people are in love – ‘oho, why else would they have a song?’ – And we’re just supposed to accept that and see what happens next.

This is why it’s wonderfully refreshing to discover a film as solid as Maneesh Sharma’s Band Baaja Baaraat, a seemingly simple romance which actually makes us care and root for the protagonists. Where the boy is mongrel-rough and the girl is perky-plain, but the relationship they share is relatable and real and worth many a smile. It’s a full-blown Bollywood entertainer, sure, but one with as much smarts as it has heart.

Writer Habib Faisal impressed earlier this year with Do Dooni Chaar, and here as screenwriter he strikes again, creating a flavourful slice of Delhi that makes up in sheer earnest enthusiasm what it lacks in accuracy. Yet the milieu isn’t the film’s strength – clearly Dibakar Banerjee has inflicted a Sai Paranjpe-like love for the capital city among current filmmaking brethren –nor is the story, though it does have some neat little nuances.

The decidedly irresistible characters meet at a buffet line in a shaadi – him scavenger, her custodian – and it is initially impossible to imagine a girl so incontrol even entertaining conversation with a lout so scruffy. She seems inappropriately uppity, he overtly out-ona-limb. And yet they both make sense, as people. As a couple of unlikely, ambitious nuts with enough can-do to make it big. Romance is the last thing on their mind as they share a bed, him watching late-night TV, her coiled comfortably into herself.

There is a hair-saloon style painting of a Bollywood actor outside their office, Amitabh Bachchan’s Vijay looking more dour than usual. Sometimes in the dusk-stretched shadows, he looks almost like Hrithik. Neither looks like Ranveer Singh, who plays Bittoo Sharma, a wonderfully unsmooth leading man. He isn’t in any way traditional, but it’s hard not to get swept up by his dogged, unpredictable enthusiasm. You root for him, hard.

Anushka Sharma, harmlessly likeable in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and atrocious in Badmaash Company, is perfectly cast here as Shruti Kakkar, creating a character with both pluck and pout. They are smashing protagonists, and while each gets some photogenic time, that’s not the point. It’s about love, not the stars, as Bittoo tells a bride sobbing over SRK unable to dance at her wedding finale.

That this message comes from the country’s starriest banner is welcome news indeed. As is the fact that it has churned out a bona fide romance, a realistic tale of ambition and rules and morality, one that is both progressive and modern but intelligent enough to not rub our noses in it.

Even the final speech – that staple of romantic comedies worldwide, the maudlin soliloquy that redeems one protagonist while showing the other the light – is here handled deftly, talking about love as lifeforce, as spirit, as enjoyment. As mauj.

When things look bleak for our heroes in BBB, actor Manish Chaudhary conveniently comes to the rescue, like he did almost exactly a year ago in another great early-December YRF release, Rocket Singh: Salesman Of The Year. Now, the Manish Chaudharys of the world might not be as easy to stumble upon, and business might not be quite as easy to excel in as YRF shows us, but at least the dream they conjure up is one worth fighting for.

Source- Raja Sen's Editorial in Mumbai Mirror.

Ek Aur Phattang Interview! Jaon Jaon Dekho Dekho.

Rocking the Theatres Worldwide!

Exclusive Interview of Ranveer & Anushka.

Check out the video of 'BBB' Grand Wedding of Manpreet & Mandeep.

Band Baj Gayaa Dhinchak wala!

Go watch this feel good, fun film that has slipped in quietly into multiplexes minus any band baaja, shor-wor, marketing sharketing… and stolen hearts. Goes to prove one simple truth — an original always scores. You don’t need obscene budgets, item songs, mega stars or aggressive/innovative promotional activity when the movie itself is terrific. Word of mouth is by far the most powerful tool in this business. And going by the buzz, last Friday’s modestly made Band Baaja Baraat is bound to score a bull’s eye at the box office. It may do the trick for Yash Raj Films, the same way that a sleeper hit once salvaged RK Films with Bobby, which starred an unknown called Dimple and the bossman’s teenage son (Rishi Kapoor) as lead players.

In BBB, Aditya Chopra has sensibly picked a taaza mazedaar team and introduced a kudda (Ranveer Singh) who is as Panju as a tandoori kukkad. Here’s a debut that holds much promise and is worth noting since the young man is not a filmi son, brother, son-in-law, nephew, cousin, step-son. But the guy can act and dance with the best. His sense of timing is terrific, and his macho-crudo character who insists on talking with his mouth stuffed with bread-pakoras, is as authentic as sarson da saag. But beyond the lead players (Anoushka Sharma’s spirited Shrutti is adorable), it is the crackling dialogue (Habib Faisal) that’s the real star. Maneesh Sharma, the debutant director rarely misses a cue — the casting is spot on, especially the flower supplier and the snootybitchy Sainik Farms wedding planner who cons her clients by short changing them all the way — whether it’s on the lilies or the lights. Combine this simple story of two Dilliwalla youngsters who are partners in a ‘binnas’ (‘Shaadi Mubarak’) and dying to move up the pecking order, from dhinchak Janakpuri weddings put together for a couple of lakhs to staging multi crore super extravaganzas at massive havelis — and you get a charming, uncomplicated, zabardast entertainer. A veritable kitschy mithai shop brimming over with hazaar goodies.The director and art director have got every tiny detail right, and even the ensemble cast (guests at all the shaadis) are well picked and perfectly costumed. Vaibhavi Merchant’s choreography sizzles — and how. Don’t be surprised if Anushka displaces Sheila and Munni with her tawa hot moves. And yes — Ranveer can dance, saala!

After watching BBB, once again I thought about all these ‘important’ movies with monstrous budgets that sink at the box office and everybody loses money and face! What a colossal waste — of talent and big bucks. Then there are the other time pass ‘entertainers’ with Godzilla budgets that also flop miserably and money goes straight down the tube. The other weird category involves super productions running into crores and crores where audiences don’t ‘see’ the money (meaning, while watching a Jodhaa Akbar, the scale and vision are enough to justify the stated cost. Ditto for a Robot). Most of the rest are pure junk — shabby at all levels. It is the superstar actor who eats up all that lolly — and then doesn’t deliver. Which is why the success of a BBB is vital to keep the film industry machine well-oiled and moving. Here, the script is king. Which is really what defines cinematic success. BBB demonstrates yet again (like DDLJ once did), that if a production house sticks to its core competence and to subjects that are in its dna (Panju shaadiwaadis, bhangra beats and gori-gori kuddis in patialas romancing hard core pappeys in tight-tight jeans ), the formula works big time. Delhi has never looked this irresistible, seductive and fun — a major feat in itself.

Source: Bombay Times.

Band Baaja Baaraat marks the celebration of good cinema.

From the patented wedding planners of Bollywood (Yash Raj Films) comes a love story of two wedding planners which is so nontraditional of the banner, sans any mush or melodrama. That in particular sets the romance apart from the regular feel-good lot and for a pleasant change this love story is not shallow on story.

The ambitious Shruti (Anushka Sharma) with a no-nonsense attitude aspires to be a wedding planner. The aimless Bittoo (Ranveer Singh) wishes to be her partner in business. Though Shruti is initially hesitant, fate brings them together as they start their joint venture Shaadi Mubarak which turns out to be a huge success. While they start with a preset rule of not falling in pyaar for the sake of vyapaar, passion overpowers perspicacity in an intimate moment.

The practical girl falls in love. The bratty boy is bemused and mellows down. As differences crop up, they fall apart only to go their own ways and start their individual endeavours. They are no-good single-handedly until fate gives them another chance to get along as planners for one big fat great wedding.

What makes this wedding planner account engaging is that it is smartly planned in terms of its script and direction. Habib Faisal (director of Do Dooni Chaar) comes up with a well-etched screenplay comprising of real characters and defined conflicts.

There is a distinctive graph to the narrative from the inset of the duo's frothy friendship, to their buildup as business partners, to cupid striking the girl, to their split up and finally the boy's realization of romance. Debutante director Maneesh Sharma gets the grammar of the romance correct and his approach to each scene is very refreshing. Even when he captures the couple in their intimate moment, it's absolutely aesthetic with no trace of titillation.

The first half works towards the rise-of-the-underdog, as the planners establish their business with middle class marriages and upgrade it to elite weddings. But the uniqueness of the film comes out beautifully in the second half. The duo's awkwardness towards each other after their impulsive lovemaking is so subtly summarized.

The cold vibes between the couple during a wedding performance, in clear contrast to their earlier chemistry, is perfectly palpable. The disputes leading to their separation seem straight out of real-life brawls. The pre-climax face-off where Shruti gives a piece of mind to Bittoo is sensible over being sentimental and very well-worded.

On the flipside the love story treads into the conventional zone with the induction of the girl's fiancée towards the end, though thankfully his presence is never felt as he remains restricted to phone-calls. Again he is conveniently cut-off from the plot in the climax, though one doesn't complain much since he was never welcome in the first place.

Habib Faisal gets the Delhi lingo in the dialogues to perfection. The art direction is demanding with a predominant wedding backdrop and the film justifies the requirement. Aseem Mishra's cinematography, Niharika Khan's costume design and Salim-Sulaiman's peppy music aptly capture the celebratory feel of the film.

The lead pair of the film share wonderful chemistry and come up with compelling performances. Anushka Sharma is brilliant in her bold and beautiful character. She looks gorgeous, is natural in her act and is exceptionally good in both lighthearted and poignant scenes. Ranveer Singh shows extra enthusiasm in the initial reels but thankfully doesn't go overboard. He puts in a confident act and has an effervescent charm. Neeraj Sood as Maqsood bhai is good.

Band Baaja Baaraat marks the celebration of good cinema.

MSN five reason to watch "Band Baaja Baaraat"

1. In recent times, one has not come across such crackling chemistry between a movie's lead pair. While Anushka Sharma has portrayed Shruti with all heart, newcomer Ranveer Singh is uninhibited as the adorable Bitto Sharma, who tries to "patao" the girl but ends up as her business partner.

2. The movie is essentially "Delhi Unplugged", right from the language to the casually overstated nature of the characters and the extremely middle-class morals of the lead pair. A delightful scene where the duo wake in bed after a night of romance where the girl feels she should get domesticated and the guy thinks of the episode as a "kaand" is hilarious.

3. If Faisal etched out utterly adorable and believable characters in 'Do Dooni Char', his dialogues in 'BBB' is what keeps you hitched for most of the time. The characters become believable only because the dialogues they mouth are believable. What's more it's a welcome break from the "lafda" and "bidu" overdose in movies dishing out Mumbaikar fare.

4. The script is racy enough to keep you glued to the seats for most part of the movie and the dialogues once again make for those interesting interludes where it raises enough laughs without traversing into total craziness and chaos. Unlike some of the recent comedies, the laughs are more situations than forced.

5. There is an earnestness in the entire cast and the crew in making this movie plausible and interesting at the same time. Of course, one may find fault with a few situations that are contrived to say the least, but at two hours and change, it doesn't become an affront to the senses.

Band Baaja Baaraat is easily entertaining, breezy, fresh and fun..

WHAT'S IT ABOUT: It's a tried and tested formula that works. To borrow a cliche, bring two opposites together and they're bound to attract one another, sooner rather than later.

Shruti Kakkar (Anushka) is the sorted-out middle class Dilli girl who has her future all planned out. She's a go-getter, knows what she wants and is focused on getting it. Bittu Sharma (Ranveer), on the other hand, is a roadside Romeo-type, care-a-damn yet streetwise slacker who wants to prove to his farmer dad that he can make it on his own.

Bittu decides to hitch his dreams to Shruti's wagon and offers to be the brawn to her brains. He tags along wherever she goes. Their first stop is at the 'site' of a biggie wedding planner, Chanda Ma'am. They realise just in time that the lady in question conducts her business in a not-so-honest manner. A disagreement and blame game later, Shruti walks out and Bittu follows.

They then open their own wedding planning bijnes called Shaadi Mubarak. They get a gang together -- a flower decorator and a caterer -- and start work. They begin small, with galli mein shaadis moving on to flashier clients simply by word-of-mouth.

One successful big wedding later, they have a private party at their dukaan. The two, who now share a close friendship pop champagne, dance, get drunk and make love. The next morning, she's in love. He's just freaked that she is.

Why? Remember how Shruti had a one-track career plan? Can't mix business and love, goes her oft-repeated line. Bittu forgot that under that 'independent' 'no-nonsense' exterior was a girl who wanted to be treated like a guy should treat her. The boy calling their special night together, a 'kaand' and a 'mistake' breaks her heart.

She steels herself but finds herself unable to keep their personal and professional equations apart. She decides to write him out of the business and a nasty separation follows.

They become competitors with little or no individual success. In the end, it takes a hotel magnate's pre-condition to get them to come together. Work together on his only daughter's wedding and there's a crore-full bounty. If not, their lives can only go from bad to worse with creditors milling around their shops.

They take up the offer after much persuasion by common friends and get to work. Will they find it within them to work together as partners again?

What's hot: Debutant director Maneesh Sharma brings Delhi alive like few filmmakers have in recent years. His confidence with his craft shows. And if you wonder why Dilli seems more familiar and apna-sa than ever? It's because Habib Faisal (the Do Dooni Chaar director co-writes). Despite the loud, garish overtones (that's why we call them big fat Indian weddings, no?), the film's feel never grates. The script is mostly fluid with the rare weak moments but what really holds up the two-hour flick are its lead pair. For someone who's two films old (Anushka) and a debutant (Ranveer) to entertain with josh and a fervent energy without a single big name in any frame calls for appreciation. Also, the score by Salim-Sulaiman is mostly phatte!



What's not: You see it coming a mile away. They squabble, work together, part ways, come together and eventually marry. But I wonder ¦ why is Bittu non-committal in the first place? I'm scared of hurting her, he says. So he does care. She doesn't then she does. But does Bittu have to be browbeaten into saying yes to love and later, marriage? Also, one would've appreciated a little variety in the weddings shown. No Christian weddings, kya? Couldn't there be a different twist to the usual white wedding? Also, does dhaba food count for all catering. We are never told if the jovial Sardarji is adept at other cuisines.

What to do: Go watch it. It's easily entertaining, breezy, fresh and fun. Watch it simply for the vibrant energy it exudes.

Shubh Mahurat - Minty Tejpal Of Mumbai Mirror says.

In many ways it is quite fitting that the ultimate marriage movie, with a plot involving non-stop shaadis on screen, should come from the Yash Chopra stable, known for its lush, syrupy romantic sagas.

Unfortunately of late YRF has been producing a succession of lame duck horses, not expected from the industry leader, but they finally get it kind of right with Band Baaja Baaraat, a fun, honestly made movie, with an engaging storyline, superb dialogue and sassy music, ably handled by debutant director, Maneesh Sharma.

Then, the lead pair of Anushka Sharma and debutante Ranveer Singh looks fresh and has an easy natural energy, which makes the film worth watching.

Band Baaja Baaraat is entirely shot in Delhi, and the director gets the flavours of the city just right. Bittu Sharma [Ranveer Singh] and Shruti Kakkar (Anushka Sharma) are studying together in college.

Ranveer comes from a rich farm owning family from Saharanpur and stays in the Kirori Mal hostel, while Anushka lives with her middle class parents in Janakpuri.

Even as the boyish Ranveer is busy goofing off in college, trying to resist going back to his orthodox family, the ambitious Anushka is dreaming of starting her own business, that of a wedding planner. When an attempt to patao her fails, a desperate Ranveer offers to be her business partner. At first Anushka refuses, saying then love-shove will start, and she believes 'vyaapar mai kabhi bhi pyaar nahin'.

Ranveer promises no love, so they start a wedding company together, Shaadi Mubarak. Slowly they organize non-stop shaadis, Ranveer buys a bike, their business increases and so does their friendship.

Eventually one drunken celebratory night, they kiss, fully and actually on screen, clap clap, and then make love, cheers. That's interval, and so far so good,

The next morning after the night before, the equation between them changes. She starts calling him 'tum' and making chai for him, which she never did before, all of which makes the macho Ranveer uncomfortable. He starts distancing himself, until they stupidly fight and divide the company.

This portion of the film is the weakest, and becomes too rushed and convenient. So then they start their individual wedding planning companies, till they are again forced together to organise a big ticket shaadi.

Finally they resolve their differences and live happily ever after. Though the film is full of non-stop shaadis, what saves the film is the smart dialogue by Habib Faisal like 'packaging phado toh andar se dus takde ladke niklenge', and crackling chemistry between Anushka and Ranveer.

The rest of the cast also does a good job, specially Neeraj Sood, and the music by Salim-Suleiman is very hummable, notably Tarkeibein and Aivi aivi lut gaya.

Finally, newcomer Ranveer Singh is a good find, necessary in these troubled times where the big heroes are charging the moon, and yet not delivering. Ranveer has an easy, natural swagger and insouciance, and an overall endearing quality.

That coupled with a muscled torso, handsome jaw and decent acting skills, surely makes him prime hero material. Anushka Sharma continues to impress again, with her bindaas brand of sassy, saucy chick who can kick ass when needed, a quality which more than makes up for her slightly unconventional looks. In the end, Band Baaja Baaraat is a shaadi worth attending.

YRF finally gets it kind of right with Band Baaja Baaraat, a fun, honestly made movie

Nikhat Kazmi gives 3.5/5 - Band Baaja Baaraat

The Delhi belly is being split wide open in film after film. And what a delightful smattering of colors is spilling forth as film makers try to understand what makes the Indian capital -- with its amalgam of cultures and communities -- so charismatic.

Band Baaja Baaraat works smartly as a sociological study of saddi Dilli, with moods, moments and characters that crisply capture the life on the other side of the neon lights. Like Dibakar Banerjee and Rakeysh Mehra, director Maneesh Sharma chooses to look the other way and talk about the earthy, emotional, rough-edged quintessential Dilliwala who peppers his language with street talk, doesn't believe in minding his Ps and Qs, revels in an in-your-face attitude and cocks a snook at the HS (high-society) people...Only because he thinks he ain't less than them, any which way. Bittu and Shruti are unabashedly Janakpuri types. And that is what makes them so warm and vibrant. They meet in DTC buses, gorge themselves on ice candy at India Gate and discuss `binnas' (business) plans on bread pakoras. And yes, high strung and emotional blokes that they are, they do the disco at the drop of a hat, hug tightly when things go right and fight rough when misunderstandings begin.

As long as you view Band Baaja Baaraat as a loving, heartfelt take on what makes Delhi go dhak-dhak, the film holds your attention. The screenplay and the dialogues (Habib Faisal) are spilling over with recognisable nuances and emotions. When Bittu refers to their romantic interlude as a `kaand', a mistake, you cannot help smiling. But when you begin to view the film as a new age romance, it becomes somewhat awkward and rough, primarily because the lead couple can hardly light up the screen with passion and pyaar. As they rightly lay down the rules at the very beginning: No pyar in vyapar....

Performance-wise, the duo do have a spontaneity that is disarming, specially Anushka Sharma who pitches in her best act. Watch her in the morning-after sequence when Bittu hopes she isn't the `chipkoo' types and you'll understand how she's growing as an actor. As the Janakpuri dhin-chak girl, (that's what she calls herself) she's lively and watchable. Thumbs up to all the desi, downtown girls who are grabbing attention these days. Strangely, the music score (Salim Suleiman) doesn't have much to recommend, despite the effervescence of Delhi's bhangra beats.

It may not scorch the box office and may not go down in your must-watch list. Yet Band Baajaa Baaraat engages you with its fond look at fun-loving Dilliwalas.

Blessy Chettiar - Don't miss the Band Baaja Baaraat

Jisse vyapaar karo, usse kabhi na pyaar karo is the rule of business that Shruti Kakkad (Sharma) swears by. She’s a feisty Punjabi kudi, focused yet realistic about her plans of making a career out of planning weddings, armed with a scrapbook of marriage themes, some experience, and dreams of her future venture.

Now meet Bittoo Sharma, bhukkad, lazy, and aimless. The two poles come together to set up Shaadi Mubaarak, a wedding planning agency, in partnership. What follows is a ball of a time they have organising weddings, from taking care of guests to food, decoration, lighting, sound, and whatnot. One wedding after the other and Shaadi Mubaarak breaks into the wedding planning scene in Delhi.

Predictably, the twist in the tale comes when Shruti’s ‘binness’ rule goes for a toss as she falls in love with Bittoo. The dip in the narrative also comes with the twist in Band Baaja Baaraat.

Debutant director Sharma’s writing is crisp and the story is vibrant and colourful. It successfully carries the Yash Raj tinge of romance and drama against the backdrop of the big fat Indian wedding. The dialogues (by Habib Faisal, who directed and wrote the dialogues for family comedy Do Dooni Chaar) are sharp and conversational. Delhiites will particularly relate to the lingo and the flashy weddings, a status symbol among many North Indians.

Newcomer Singh is impressively confident and effortlessly good at his job. Watch out for this Yash Raj find. Anushka Sharma is comfortable in her skin and carries off the rough-and-tough girl’s part with ease. The lead pair is comfortable and their chemistry striking.

The music is loud, like most other things in Band Baaja Baarat but the peppy tracks could well qualify as wedding staples this season. Notable among the lot are Ainvayi Ainvayi and the title track Band Baaja Baaraat.

Wedding planners Bittoo and Shruti are set with their preparations to welcome you at the nearest theater. Don’t miss this vibrant spectacle that celebrates the great Indian wedding.

'Band Baaja...' is a charming entertainer says Rajeev Masand

'Band Baaja Baaraat' is a rather unlikely offering from Yash Raj Films, a studio that has seldom deviated from its tradition of making extravagant movies featuring larger-than-life stars.

This charming entertainer directed by Maneesh Sharma is set in middle-class Delhi and tells a story of two ordinary characters. Newcomer Ranveer Singh stars as Bittoo Sharma, a Delhi University graduate who'll do anything to avoid returning to his village Saharanpur, where a life of sugarcane farming awaits him. He offers to become partners with his friend Shruti Kakkar, a Janakpuri resident played by Anushka Sharma, who wants to set up a wedding planning business.

Band Baaja Baaraat benefits enormously from its two core strengths - sharp writing, and shooting on location. Both, in fact, give the film and its characters a real, believable feel. Bittoo's strong accent, the way he says 'binness' instead of business, the pair's aspirations to graduate to planning fancy Sainik Farms weddings, and the clever dialogue by Habib Faisal are the kind of little touches that make all the difference in this film.

The first half is immensely enjoyable as Bittoo and Shruti establish their company and their reputation by working hard to organize the best weddings they can. The conflict arises around intermission, when we learn that Shruti herself may have broken that one key rule that she laid down for them before they started out - "Jisse vyapaar karo, usse kabhi na pyaar karo" (meaning: don't fall in love with the person you're doing business with). The second half of the film, unfortunately, loses steam early on. The pair bickers continuously, and logic goes out of the window, only for things to fall comfortably back into place in the last 15 minutes or so.

Yet for the most part, 'Band Baaja Baaraat' works because it's invested with an earnestness that's become increasingly rare to find at the movies. It's refreshing to see mostly unknown faces playing smaller parts like Bittoo and Shruti's flower supplier, caterer, and their own families. In fact, the supporting cast does a competent job of never turning these characters into caricatures.

But at the heart of this film are its delightful leads. The ambitious but straightforward Shruti Kakkar, played with a zeal we haven't seen before in Anushka Sharma's previous roles. And Ranveer Singh as the unpolished but lovable Bittoo Sharma, who steals the film with a confident, uninhibited performance that is the best thing about this film. Both actors share a comfortable chemistry that make this film an easy watch.

I'm going with three out of five for director Maneesh Sharma's 'Band Baaja Baaraat'. It's a romantic comedy done correctly. Fun, but with warmth at its heart. Don't miss it.

Band Baaja Baaraat" is a pitch perfect surprise packet. - Shubhra Gupta

Yashraj Films gets most of it right with `Band Baaja Baraat’, a film which toplines two ordinary characters played by a couple of actors who can make you believe in their ordinariness : two-film old Anushka Sharma is a dab hand at doing the girl next door; and you can’t get more average than newcomer Ranveer Singh.

The actors are a good fit for their characters, DU spare Bittoo Sharma and Dilli girl Shruti Kakkar. A spare in Delhi University lingo is someone who has no idea what to do with his life. Bittoo knows only that he doesn’t want to go back to his sugarcane `bijness’ run by his father and forefathers. What he wants is to become partners with Shruti ( whom he calls Shurti in authentic Dilliwala accent) who in turn wants to become India’s best wedding planner.

A big part of the delight of ‘Band Baaja Baraat’ is the writing which imparts nice little touches to its characters, making them real as opposed to outlined caricatures. The supporting cast is fine. The families of Bittoo and Shruti are played by actors we haven’t seen before. Smart move. So are the brides and grooms who are married off in the course of the film, all of whom who want their weddings to be planned by the duo based in a slummy DDA market in Pashchim Vihar : their company `Shaadi Mubarak’ starts out from Shruti’s `mohalla’ in ultra-middle class Janakpuri and breaches the ultra-luxe gates of Sainik Farms. ‘ Band Baaja Baraat’ navigates surely and smartly through its turf, slipping up when it gets its leads plumb in front of India Gate : I am waiting for the day when there will be a Delhi movie minus such tired markers as India Gate and Red Fort and Qutb Minar.

There are more slips in the second half, where a silly conflict is created between the two which stretches the film for no reason. Till Bittoo and Shruti are heckling each other with high ‘tu-tu-main-main’ verve, all the better to get cosy with, it’s all peppy and fun. Post interval, the film tries for mush,and dips, extricating itself only right at the end.

But both Sharma and Singh, the near pitch-perfect surprise packet of the film, make you smile. Enough reason for a visit.

Pankaj Sabnani says Grove and Celebrate this weekend with 'Band Baaja Baaraat'

We've seen several films on weddings and some of them have been made under the Yash Raj banner (DILWALE DULHANIA LE JAYENGE, MERE YAAR KI SHAADI HAI). But this is perhaps for the first time that a film throws light on the profession of wedding planning.

We must have attended many weddings till now. But apart from commenting about how good or bad the bride and the groom look or the quality of the food, have we ever thought about the efforts that go into organising the various events? Perhaps not. Even I didn't until BAND BAAJA BAARAAT. Right from decoration, to the food, to booking the venues, to welcoming the guests, there are several things that go into a wedding.

BAND BAAJA BAARAAT is the story of Shruti (Anushka Sharma), a final year student who wants to be a wedding planner. She's so ambitious and determined, that she has even fixed the name of her company, 'Shaadi Mubarak'. She meets Bitoo (Ranveer Singh), a chilled out college student who doesn't know what to do in life, at a wedding he has gate crashed into for food. Despite their contrasting personalities, they soon become friends and after sometime later even partners in their wedding planning business. Shruti's rule is simple: Jisse vyapaar karo, usse kabhi na pyaar karo. Their business grows along with their relationship. Shruti breaks her own rule and starts loving Bitoo.

The main reason why BAND BAAJA BAARAAT works is because of its refreshing script. The wedding planning business is not just used as a backdrop. Just like ROCKET SINGH: SALESMAN OF THE YEAR (also a Yash Raj Film), which was about sales, BAND BAAJA BAARAAT explores wedding planning along with Shruti and Bitoo. Debutante director Maneesh Sharma spends almost the entire first half on how they reach newer heights in their business through their good and honest service. It separates the film from being just another love story. In the second half, there's a slight dip in the narrative after Shruti falls for Bitoo. The plot gets a bit threadbare and even predictable. Wish it was much tighter.

There's an interesting blend of humour, drama and romance in the film. It's replete with great scenes like the one in which Bitoo cleverly inquires about Shruti over the phone or the one in which he talks about foreign guests taking pictures of practically everything from a camel to a pigeon. Dialogues and screenplay by Habib Faisal, who is the director of DO DOONI CHAAR, add merit to the film.

Aseem Mishra's brilliant cinematography captures Delhi in a new light. Music composers Salim-Suliman's music is excellent with many eclectic numbers that go well with the film. Ainvayi Ainvayi, Mitra and Tarkeebein are the best.

Anushka Sharma delivers a spirited performance. She suits her role perfectly. But the real star of the film is debutante Ranveer Singh. He has an amazing screen presence and performs his role impeccably. Right from his dialogue delivery to his body language, everything is just right. The chemistry between Anushka and Ranveer totally rocks! All the other actors have performed well too.

Make sure you join the celebrations and groove with this BAND BAAJA BAARAAT. Strongly recommended.

'Celebrate this weekend with Band Baaja Baaraat' - Times Of India

From the patented wedding planners of Bollywood ( Yash Raj Films) comes a love story of two wedding planners which is so untraditional of the banner, sans any mush or melodrama.

That in particular sets the romance apart from the regular feel-good lot and for a pleasant change this love story is not shallow on story.

The ambitious Shruti (Anushka Sharma) with a no-nonsense attitude aspires to be a wedding planner. The aimless Bittoo (Ranveer Singh) wishes to be her partner in business. Though Shruti is initially hesitant, fate brings them together as they start their joint venture Shaadi Mubarak which turns out to be a huge success. While they start with a preset rule of not falling in pyaar for the sake of vyapaar, passion overpowers perspicacity in an intimate moment.

The practical girl falls in love. The bratty boy is bemused and mellows down. As differences crop up, they fall apart only to go their own ways and start their individual endeavours. They are no-good single-handedly until fate gives them another chance to get along as planners for one big fat great wedding.

What makes this wedding planner account engaging is that it is smartly planned in terms of its script and direction. Habib Faisal (director of Do Dooni Chaar) comes up with a well-etched screenplay comprising of real characters and defined conflicts. There is a distinctive graph to the narrative from the inset of the duo's frothy friendship, to their buildup as business partners, to cupid striking the girl, to their split up and finally the boy's realization of romance. Debutante director Maneesh Sharma gets the grammar of the romance correct and his approach to each scene is very refreshing and relatable. Even when he captures the couple in their intimate moment, it's absolutely aesthetic with no trace of titillation.

The first half works towards the rise-of-the-underdog, as the planners establish their business with middleclass marriages and upgrade it to elite weddings. But the uniqueness of the film comes out beautifully in the second half. The duo's awkwardness towards each other after their impulsive lovemaking is so subtly summarized. The cold vibes between the couple during a wedding performance, in clear contrast to their earlier chemistry, is perfectly palpable. The disputes leading to their separation seem straight out of real-life brawls. The pre-climax face-off where Shruti gives a piece of mind to Bittoo is sensible over being sentimental and very well-worded.

On the flipside the love story treads into the conventional zone with the induction of the girl's fiancée towards the end, though thankfully his presence is never felt as he remains restricted to phone-calls. Again he is conveniently cut-off from the plot in the climax, though one doesn't complain much since he was never welcome in the first place.

Habib Faisal gets the Delhi lingo in the dialogues to perfection. The art direction is demanding with a predominant wedding backdrop and the film justifies the requirement. Aseem Mishra's cinematography, Niharika Khan's costume design and Salim-Sulaiman's peppy music aptly capture the celebratory feel of the film.

The lead pair of the film share wonderful chemistry and come up with compelling performances. Anushka Sharma is brilliant in her bold and beautiful character. She looks gorgeous, is natural in her act and is exceptionally good in both lighthearted and poignant scenes. Ranveer Singh shows extra enthusiasm in the initial reels but thankfully doesn't go overboard. He puts in a confident act and has an effervescent charm. Neeraj Sood as Maqsood bhai is good.

Band Baaja Baaraat marks the celebration of good cinema.

A Must Watch, this weekend! Reuters.

Anyone who has lived in New Delhi or been to a wedding in the city will immediately identify with the characters and milieu in Maneesh Sharma’s “Band Baaja Baarat”.

The chaos, the confusion and excitement that forms a part of every wedding in India is all part of this film, and if you revel in that atmosphere, then the film will suck you in from the beginning.

First-time director Maneesh Sharma shows a sure hand and confidence in his craft, as his camera winds through the lanes of West Delhi and into the lives of Shruti and Bittu, two college students who set up a fledgling wedding planning business in the marriage capital of the country.

Shruti (Anuskha Sharma), the more practical of the two, makes it clear to Bittu (debutante Ranveer Singh) that she just wants a business partnership and isn’t interested in love.

Bittu, who at first tries to flirt with her, soon gives up and they both negotiate the rather high-pressure world of Delhi’s weddings, graduating from Janakpuri (a middle-class suburb) to Sainik Farms (one of Delhi’s most sought-after wedding venues).

All this is taken care of in the first half, but in the second half, good old love pops up in the story.

Shruti, for all her practicality, falls hard for Bittu, and when he doesn’t seem interested in her, decides she can’t work with him any more, breaking up their “biness” as Bittu calls it.

Fortunately, even though you can see the climax a mile away, Sharma keeps it interesting, the dialogue is sparkling with typical Delhi wit and slang and both the leading lady and man share a crackling chemistry, which helps the film considerably.

There is no melodrama, and even the most emotional scenes (like the passionate one between the two and the one where they part ways) are in keeping with their characters. Sharma and co-writer Habib Faisal (who also directed another good “Delhi film”, “Do Dooni Chaar’) keep it simple and short.

With this film, Yash Raj Films returns to its core competency, romance and the great Indian wedding, and truly, no one does them better. If you are a fan of either of the two, then this film is worth your while.

Fall in love with Delhi weddings in ‘Band Baaja Baraat’

With the marriage season around the corner, the arrival of Yash Raj’s ‘Band Baaja Baraat’ couldn’t be better timed. Starring debutant actor Ranveer Singh opposite Anushka Sharma, ‘Band Baaja Baraat’ is a story of two young wedding planners from Delhi – Shruti (Anushkha) and Bittoo (Ranveer).

Written and directed by Maneesh Sharma, ‘Band Baaja Baraat’ is the story of Delhi and its ostentatious weddings. The movie captures every minute detail of Delhi’s by lanes, thereby making it come alive on the silver screen. As a launch pad of Ranveer, the film is perfect start for the actor who plays the typical Delhi boy, whose crude but good-hearted, layabout manner and foolishness in the matters of heart captures the very essence of his character. In Bittoo, we find the perfect street-smart guy who doesn’t mind speaking without gulping down his victuals.

As the film begins, we find Shruti and Bittoo making lavish plans and setting up their wedding planner company. However, as the film progresses, ‘Band Baaja Baraat’ offers many twists and turns that keep you quite surprised. Check out Anushka, who plans to give a lavish makeover to Sainik Farms weddings.

However, the second half lags in pace with over the top wedding sequences and even an item number where Shruti and Bittoo fill in for Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who can`t dance at the wedding because of a sore leg. Enjoy the endless prattle about wedding glitterati and flowers.

Final word, ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’ is a great entertaining movie.

Source: Spicezee

"Band Baaja Baaraat" Is honest, fresh, youthful and extremely entertaining. Recommended! - Taran Adarsh

The girl is strong-minded, unwavering and focused. The boy has no aspirations in life and is typically interested in having a ball. Two conflicting characters. BAND BAAJA BAARAAT parks its plot within the 'opposites attract' blueprint, a theme common to numerous rom-coms. These two characters are poles apart, diametrically opposite and therefore mismatched. But they end up falling in love with each other.

There's talk that BAND BAAJA BAARAAT borrows heavily from THE WEDDING PLANNER. Perhaps, the allegation germinated because THE WEDDING PLANNER and BAND BAAJA BAARAAT talk of wedding planners. However, THE WEDDING PLANNER dealt with a female wedding planner falling in love with the bride groom, while BAND BAAJA BAARAAT tells the story of two youngsters who start a wedding planning business and who eventually fall in love. Sure, the background setting of the two films is slightly similar, but the stories are as diverse as oranges and apples.

BAND BAAJA BAARAAT rests on two actors - a two-film-old actress [Anushka] and a rank newcomer [Ranveer]. It's a major task undeniably. They have to deliver, they have to keep the viewer's interest alive, they have to make the goings-on look convincing. If they fail in their endeavour, band-baaja baj jaayega.

Thankfully, BAND BAAJA BAARAAT works on every level. The writing [screenplay: Habib Faisal] is crisp, the execution of the material [director: Maneesh Sharma] is worthy and the lead actors [Anushka, Ranveer] steer the film to the destination smoothly. Of course, there are minor hiccups halfway through the film, but the fact remains that BAND BAAJA BAARAAT is, without doubt, one of the most appealing films to come out of the production house.

Final word? BAND BAAJA BAARAAT is honest, fresh, youthful and extremely entertaining. Recommended!

It's definitely the most fun you'll have in a theater this weekend - NDTV MOVIES

There is a lot to like in the new Yash Raj

film Band Baaja Baaraat.

The love story of two wedding planners in Delhi, Shruti and Bittoo, played by Anushka Sharma and Ranveer Singh, has a charm and sweetness that's been missing from YRF movies for many moons now.

Debutant director Maneesh Sharma, who has also written the story takes us out of the artificial studio setting and into the bylanes of the city. The dialogue and screenplay has been written by Habib Faisal, who directed another charming Delhi story, Do Dooni Chaar. So the characters and atmosphere have an authentic texture. When Bittoo speaks of cutting sugar cane in Saharanpur, you believe him.

This is also because debutant actor Ranveer Singh is pitch perfect in the role of the uncouth but good-hearted small town slacker who is a bit of a duffer when it comes to matters of the heart. This is a man who is constantly eating and doesn't have qualms about speaking with his mouth full. He's the type of guy who can't pronounce business but is perfectly street-smart when it comes to actually running one.

The first half, in which him and Shruti set up their company is great fun, with weddings and struggle and a mid-point twist that will surprise you.

Even Anushka, who has been tediously bland in the films she's done so far comes into her own as the ambitious Delhi girl, who dreams of upgrading to multi-crore Sainik Farms weddings..

Incredibly enough, the guests applaud Bittoo furiously, not missing Shah Rukh at all. You will have to be patient with this and with the incessant wedding chatter about confetti and gulab ke phool.

But if you're willing to cut Bittoo and Shruti some slack, Band Baaja Baaraat is reasonably entertaining. It's definitely the most fun you'll have in a theater this weekend.

Source: NDTV Movies.

Read more at: http://movies.ndtv.com/movie_review.aspx?id=577&albumname=Movie%20Review:%20Band%20Baaja%20Baaraat&cp

"Band Baaja Baaraat" Released today Worlwide!

The much awaited movie "Band Baaja Baaraat" starring Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma has been released today Worldwide. So, all of you guys! reach to your nearest cinema hall and meet India's No1 wedding Planners Shruti kakkar and Bittoo Sharma.

Oye kal Miltey hain theatre mein!

BBB Online Contest on Various Websites!

Guys! Many Band Baaja Baaraat – Online Contest’s are Live & Running across various Websites. So, go participate and win!

Here, is the links below where yo can Participate and win cool BBB Merchandise!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/BandBaajaBaaraat


"Band Baaja Baaraat" hitting the theater screen on 10th Dec 2010.

"Band Baaja Baaraat"- Lucky Launch Pad!

YRF has truly been a launch pad for the director and the cast. Yash Raj Films launched debutant actor Ranveer Singh in Band Baaja Baaraat, along with Maneesh Sharma debuting as a director. Anushka Sharma was launched in YRF's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Interestingly, it was Maneesh who auditioned both Ranveer and Anuskha for their roles in BBB and RNBDJ respectively.
During Band Baaja Baaraat, Director Maneesh Sharma's team had a knack for shooting scenes really quickly. The efficient and thorough team shot a 5 page dramatic rain sequence scene in 17 minutes. The team also knew how to have fun! The director and cast's favorite eating joint while shooting in New Delhi was "Aap Ki Khatir" in Khan Market. On one occasion, 17 cast and
crew members celebrated a team member's birthday dancing the night away in a small hotel room which could barely hold 7 people.

Ranveer Singh says, "It was really fun shooting in Delhi".

The film is set in Delhi. I guess this pretty much compliments the kind of flavor that the film boasts of, right?
Yes, the film starts off in Delhi University where these characters meet. It was fabulous to be actually getting into that zone because the way these characters speak the kind of places where they hang out, an overall ambiance - it all adds up to the distinct flavor of Delhi. Also, another wonderful part about the film is that Delhi has never ever been shot like this before. The writer as well as the director is originally from Delhi and hence they could get that authentic set up in Band Baaja Baaraat. This is the reason why the entire look of the film is so vibrant.

That's right, one can see that. In fact with all the colors around, the film looks so much fun especially due to marriage season currently being on.
All credit to the script which brings so much fun with it. This further helped to bring in a similar vibe amidst the entire crew. See, when you do a serious film then every body goes into that zone. However, here we were shooting a really light and fun film and hence we were in that mode. In fact the portions that we shot in the Delhi University were particularly fun, reason being that it wasn't just me and Anushka in a frame. We actually had students from the college who were told that 'arrey yaar, aap aa jaayo, frame mein baith jaayo'. Acting with them was fun.

Well, your characterisation appears to be true to the setting as well. Seems that you have been a part of this University forever.
(Laughs) In fact I don't belong to Delhi. I have been born and brought up in Mumbai. I used to visit Delhi but only occasionally. Also, I have never been to campus. This is a different world and culture in itself. Every film has its own distinct look and I am happy that our team has been able to achieve what we were set out for. The entire colour palette was pre-decided and due to vibrancy in the story and its characters, it became all the more cheerful.

hat's right, seems it is going to be one full on fun film with no serious moments whatsoever...
But then again, it is not a laugh riot either and doesn't have elements of fun just for the sake of it. It's a smile film though from start to finish. It has a depth rather than being superficial.

The way you seem so comfortable with the film's setting, were there any inputs that you gave to the making of the film?
My contribution was to totally turn into Bittoo for the film and in turn become 'vella'. I was told that 'ek hafte ke liye Delhi University mein jaayo or wapas ek launda ban ke aao' (laughs). I went there and interacted with the youngsters without telling them that I was an actor. I went incognito and told them that I was a college student and wanted to check out the university there. I went from one college to another, hung out with students out there, saw movies with them and in fact also managed to sneak in into a few classes.

Really, you didn't get caught?
No, I escaped that (winks). In fact I also took videos of the friends that I had made, grasped their lingo and studied them in and out. I was transformed when I came out. Now, I was a complete 'vella' guy who was ready to face the camera for Band Baaja Baaraat!

How about being ready for the film before saying 'yes' to it? When this idea about two wedding planners came to you, was it instantly a done deal for you that you wanted to do the film or did you actually have to give it some thinking?
Come on; does one actually think much on getting a call from Yash Raj Films? For me, it was a very good offer, more so as it had come to me after 3.5 years of struggle. I had told myself all through this period of struggle that I would keep myself very exclusive for and won't do ad films or any other small stuff till I get that big break. And then when you get a solo lead offer from YRF, it is all the more reason to celebrate. They have never launched a solo hero ever and Band Baaja Baaraat is now the biggest break that a newcomer could have got. It was an offer too big for me to resist. As for the script, I was bowled over by it when I heard just the first half of it. Needless to say, it was a double whammy for me to get into this film.

"Band Baaja Baaraat" hitting the Theater screen on 10th Dec 2010.

Exclusive Dialogue Promo - Band Baaja Baaraat

I Love Romcoms, Says Anushka.

How did you feel when Maneesh read you the script of Band Baaja Baaraat?

I love romcoms. Ever since I became an actress, which was not very long ago, I wanted to do a romantic comedy but I don’t see such films being made in our country like something I can fall in love with. I fell in love with this script as soon as it was narrated to me. When Maneesh narrated the script to me I did not realize how those three/three and half hours passed. I was completely engrossed because Maneesh’s narration was lovely. This script completely took over me when I read it, and this is very rare in a Hindi film. Band Baaja Baaraat is a romcom, it is a love story but with a lot of ‘desi-pan’ to it... coz your characters are so grounded that you relate to it and become completely part of the film. That is what is so lovely about the movie and script.

Tell us about your character, Shruti Kakkar.
Shruti could be a girl from any Indian city - Delhi, Bangalore, Nagpur, Mumbai. She wants to do a lot in life. She has many goals, is very ambitious and she is a very principled and well brought up kid from a loving close family. She is somebody who can talk to her parents about anything under the sun… about boys and about her problems just anything and everything. she will always do the right things, she is very gutsy and very endearing and she is very cool and that’s what I love about her. She has guts and it’s very enjoyable to see her… I was always smiling reading about her in the script.

Tell us about Maneesh Sharma.
I met Maneesh for the first time during my auditions for RNBDJ - he was playing table tennis and was sweating when I first saw him! He was the Associate Director. We became friends that very day we got along that day itself, because I was very scared of Adi initially, Maneesh was the medium between us. So we became friends. Maneesh is one of the five people I know in Bombay ever since I have been here. I know few people and he is one of them. This is his first film and it’s so lovely to work with a friend in a movie. It was lovely working with Maneesh. I didn’t have to pretend anytime. I could just go up and tell him “dude mujhe samajh nahi aa rahaa hai” or say I don’t agree with this. So there was no pretense. When we were on set of course we were director and actor but here was a comfort level, which I have never shared in my life that has helped me a lot to play Shruti.

Tell us about Ranveer’s character Bittoo.
Bitto is everything that Shruti is not… if Shruti would put a margin on an A4 sheet then Bittoo would not even posses a notebook… if Shruti was running to catch the bus in time then Bittoo would be just sleeping at home till twelve missing his classes but when they come together it’s like a jigsaw puzzle. When they come together it seems all right… all the friction they have generates spark and that spark is so attractive to watch.

What do you feel about an unusual professional field like wedding planning? Till sometime ago the professions parents wanted their kids to enter into was doctors, lawyers or engineers. Apart from that there was nothing and going into anything else meant that because they couldn’t do anything else the kid is doing this... but with Shruti, in this film she always wanted to be a wedding planner and her parents were always supportive of what she wanted to do. I think things are changing in our society and parents are allowing their kids to do what they want to do. Avenues are opening up much more and there is scope for other professions now other creative professions - wedding planning, advertising, marketing… it’s all opening up. You see that in this film but you don’t see it in Hindi cinema but you see it here. And it’s not spelled out but u can get a sense of it. Shruti stands for that generation, that youth. She wants to be a wedding planner. Log jaante bhi nahi hai wedding planners kya hota hai. In India this is a service only provided to the high society with a high budget. What is interesting is that in this movie we have shown how these people with this service take over middle class society and small weddings. There is a dialogue in the film “maame chaache milke shaadiyaan karaan lete hain.” But here we show how the kids get into Gobindpuri and Janakpuri and plan weddings there.

A lot has been send about Ranveer and Anushka’s chemistry. Comments?
It is a huge misconception that chemistry comes from actors. Chemistry comes from characters and from the script… when the script is so well written as this one was. If you are a decent actor and honest to your job and have a decent understanding of your character then you just do your thing honestly. I have done my thing and Ranveer has done his things… its just worked out so well me and Ranveer. We were not discussing what should we do so that the chemistry works even Maneesh never discussed this, we simply came together and performed and there you have Bittoo and Shruti!

Your overall experience of working in the movie.
I think when I was in school and when I took part in a play or dance group, and when the year ends you have this sinking feeling that your experience has ended and you are not going to get anything or you feel this is over and you have to move on from the experience and that’s how I feel about this movie today and that is because not only because I was working with people I was happy to work with but because I was working on this film and this script and I feel very fortunate that at the beginning of my career I am offered such a film and a script and I really want to thank Aditya Chopra, Maneesh and genuinely also Ranveer.

Oye Aapna, Ranveer bangaya Suriji...

During his audition for Band Baaja Baaraat, Ranveer Singh was asked to enact the terrace scene from RNBDJ, in which a shy SRK says “main toh kisi ladies ko nahi jaanta”. Interestingly, Ranveer’s very first scene to be shot for Band Baaja Baaraat was far from demure. He sweet-talks his way into gate crashing a wedding in which he arranges a special dinner for all his friends who are bored of the mundane food of their hostel. He convinces the neighborhood thapa to let them in by saying “Thapa doosri naukri milegi.” incase the thapa gets caught!

Ranveer Singh’s favorite scenes from Band Baaja Baaraat are the sequences of the song “Tarkeebein.” This fun song takes you down memory lane, and reminds you just how much fun college was! His favorite scene to watch is the one in which he calls Anu Aunty to enquire about Shruti (Anushka Sharma) which is a funny single take shot. Be sure to look out for this one!

Teri Dhun mein Dil hain Banjara!

Exclusive Dialogue Promo Of Band Baaja Baaraat

"BAND BAAJA BAARAAT" SHAADI... BITTOO - SHRUTI ISHTYLE!

Yash Raj Films hosted its first non-film real shaadi and it was a grand, stylish affair!

The "Shaadi Aapki, Kharcha Humaara" Contest kick-started last month, where all the couples who wished to get married in "Band Baaja Baaraat" style participated. The call for entry was through the Website BandBaajaBaaraat.com as well as a special Toll Free number was initiated especially for this unique Contest, which had almost 35,000 respondents.

At a grand Sangeet Event held at YRF Studios (on 16th November 2010) out of the 9 couples short-listed from all across India, one Lucky Couple, Mandeep and Manpreet from Nagpur, won the contest. The grand prize was an once-in-a-lifetime chance to have their wedding organized by ‘Bittoo and Shruti’ (played by Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma), India’s #1 Wedding Planners and stars of “Band Baaja Baaraat”.
The festivities began with the couple getting married at a Gurudwara on 4th December 2010 morning and Bittoo and Shruti personally attended to all the wedding arrangements... they planned everything!

The wedding reception which was originally to be held atop a cruise liner, had to unfortunately be canceled due to some unforeseen technical problems that arose with the ship while in Goa docks.

However, Bittoo & Shruti - "India's Number 1 Wedding Planners" true to their motto "Shaadi Aapki, Tension Humaari", worked overnight to find a suitable venue with no compromises, to ensure that this wedding reception took place in true Band Baaja Baaraat style. The Reception was held at the city’s top five star hotel, with great pomp and show. Ranveer and Anushka also performed to the foot tapping tracks of ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’ while singer and host Raageshwari got everyone in the mood with peppy Punjabi numbers. The highlight of the evening was when she sang the Punjabi number “Lal Meri...” where the entire bride and groom’s family was called onto the stage for a grand finale! The Bhangra dance troupe also added the right flavor to the proceedings.

The couple revealed, "We never thought we'd get married amidst film actors and that our Wedding would be taken care of by the country's biggest and best Production house. This truly was a dream wedding for us, and we are so glad that our dream has come true!"
The couples who came second and third in the contest were also awarded at the Sangeet Event held earlier. The First runner-up couple (Pravin and Priyanka, from Pune) were gifted an YRF Enchanted Journey Honeymoon Trip to Switzerland (Partners: Marco Casanova and Switzerland Tourism). The Second runner-up couple (Hemant and Komal, from Yavatmal & Pune) were gifted a Honeymoon Trip to Kerala (Partners: SOTC).

Bring out the Band! Play the Baaja! India’s NO 1 Wedding Planners, Bittoo & Shruti are coming with the Baaraat on 10th December to cinemas near you!