If industry sources are to be believed, Sudhir Mishra is one of the three filmmakers lined up to make a movie on Kishore Kumar. The other two are Nagesh Kukunoor and Shoojit Sircar, who first came up with the idea. Mishra needs no introduction, but you’d be surprised to know that the director of such films like Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Dharavi and Chameli is at a loss as to whom to cast in the role of Kishore Kumar! Meanwhile, Sircar’s project hit a snag and got put on hold.

It seems only Kukunoor has beaten them all to the punch, since he has not only approached producers but also has his hero in mind – the versatile Shreyas Talpade. But why Talpade? That hero of some duds and a few hits is, according to Kukunoor, a perfect fit because firstly, you can’t cast a superstar to play Kishore Kumar, and secondly Shreyas is a huge buff of the evergreen star.

But while Kukunoor toys with music and songs of Kishore, Sircar has met the late legend’s family to get an intimate insight into the man. And Mishra waits to see if maybe Sumit Kumar will reveal some of his father’s enormous talents. The race, then, is on to see who will resurrect Kishore da first!

There were doubts about the box office prospects of Akshay Kumar starrer 8X10 TASVEER even before it’s release. Reason? The film had seen the least hype for an Akshay Kumar starrer in last 3-4 years and the actor too was underplaying the promotion of the film. As the release date got closer, it was quite obvious that it won’t take a thunderous opening as expected from an Akshay starrer.

Instead it would settle down for a 50-60% opening only and see an increase in collections only if the word of mouth is good.

Well, the box office performance has followed exactly as per the script except for the fact that word of mouth has been poor, something which is bound to adversely impact the final collections of the film. As of now, the film is on extremely shaky grounds with barely average opening at the box office. It could have been acceptable had the film being liked but unfortunately, that hasn’t quite happened with the film’s finale coming in for quite some criticism.

Moreover, what has further worked negatively for 8X10 TASVEER is the very fact that it has neither turned out to be realistic nor hardcore commercial. This means that at the end of the day, neither does the film carry a trademark Nagesh Kukunoor stamp to it nor does it see Akshay Kumar go completely commercial here. To his credit, he does try out something different at this stage of his career where he can afford to experiment. However, what surprises is his acceptance of a script like 8X10 TASVEER where the finale is completely incomprehensible. It is hard to believe how he or Nagesh could have actually okayed the suspense element in the film?

In any case, now that the film is out, it can only lead to ifs and buts. The fact though is that majority of audience has given a Thumbs down to this film which could have possibly bridged the gap for Akshay when it came to choosing between out and out commercial films and experimental cinema. Remainder of the week will show whether the film will meet a fate similar to that of CHANDNI CHOWK TO CHINA or come up with a face saving outcome at the least.

‘We all live in suspense from day to day and we are the hero of our own story’, goes a famous saying. Well, most of Bollywood’s potboilers have a major suspense element involved in it. One can credit the success of this genre mainly to the likes of Abbas Mustan and gang.

The latest movie that’s doing the rounds with its suspense element intact is the Akshay Kumar-Ayesha Takia starrer 8 X 10 Tasveer, that’s being directed by the talented Nagesh Kukunoor. Rumours have already started doing the rounds regarding the ‘unveiling’ of the film’s much-guarded suspense. Till, now, what has been known of the film is that Akshay Kumar, who plays the role of a Forest Ranger called Jai Puri, possesses supernatural powers. And how a personal tragedy leads him to use his unique supernatural power to unravel the mystery behind the murder.

Rumours have it that the film has Akshay Kumar in a double role, of which one is a sincere Forest Officer, while the other is the villain. Since both of them get separated at birth, this fact remains unknown to both of them. While their mother is played by Sharmila Tagore, their father is portrayed by the versatile Benjamin Gilani. The actual story unfolds when Gilani dies and the subconscious of the ‘hero’ Akshay becomes restless, after seeing his father’s photograph, that’s of the size ‘8 X 10′, thus forming the film’s title 8 X 10 Tasveer. Since he is blessed with supernatural powers, he becomes dead sure that his father was murdered and that he just did not die a natural death. Sharmila Tagore tries her level best to convince him that his father died a natural death since she was besides him when he died. But the subconscious in Akshay refuses to agree or believe a word of this.

After all the high voltage drama, comes the revelation (courtesy the ‘good’ Akshay) that his father was indeed murdered by the ‘villain’ Akshay.

Now whether this is true or a rumour, only time will tell.