Flying chairs and falling skirts

The music begins. Raveena, in a fulsome, all red attire, red stars on cheeks and chest, red bracelet, red shoes, starts swaying with the male extras. But something’s not right as the director sees red and another shot is called for. The next time, the choreographer is happy but Raveena is not. So, another take follows. And meanwhile the extras, who form the appreciative crowd, languish wearily on the floor in the heat of the Mehboob Studios in Bandra.

The music is rewound, ad infinitum. This just adds to the discomfort of the crowd because the Rajesh Roshan number is far from impressive. But Raveena has no problems; to create a windswept look, she has to stand in the way of a cool blast of air. But it’s too much the uppermost layer of her drindl seems to want to fly away. "It’s a strip tease sequence anyway," Chinni Prakash, the choreographer, quips. "Although it’s a strip tease, it has a folk beat to it. Something like Madhuri’s Koli song in Sailaab, `Hum ko aaj kal hai intizaar’." In the meantime, amid the wilting heat, producer (of both Tamil and Hindi versions) K Prasanna sounds remarkably cool about the project. He says, "Mustafa is about a devout Muslim, pushed into goondagardi by circumstances. It’s a tale of how the love and affection of Raveena’s Hindu family touches him and makes him want a better life. And Raveena plays his inamorata." Playing the role of the troubled Muslim is Nana Patekar. This, incidentally, is Ghosh’s third film after Agnisakshi and Yugpurush with Nana as the lead. "Nana and I like working with each other just like the Amitabh-Prakash Mehra jodi," says Ghosh. "In this scene, Nana comes to the night club in the middle of this song." But not in this take. The director’s favourite star does not turn up on the sets of Mustafa at all.But his absence is more than made up by Raveena’s presence, and she is more than willing to talk. "I play a poor girl who is basically a classical dancer but has to dance in clubs for the money so that she can afford to pay for the treatment of her ill mother," she says, chewing on gum. Is she nervous about working with Nana? Pat comes the reply, "Not at all. Sometimes I stand there and marvel at his overpowering performance." And is he overpowering in his interferance with the work of the director, as it is rumoured? "No. But Nana carries the responsibility for the film. I am feeling much lighter," she says, fiddling with her and mobile phone. That prompts you to ask her the standard question about her personal life. "Aki and I are not married. Rumours of our marriage amuse me," she says rather calmly. And shifts to the subject of food. "Popcorn is my favourite food," says Raveena, who is rumoured to be on a popcorn diet to keep her weight under control. But now, it’s time for another shot. This time the visitors of the night club have work, too much of it, in fact. As Raveena and the extras dance on the ramp, they have to throw pieces of white cloth in the air (one can’t help wondering why) and lift their chairs over their heads. At the end of it all, Raveena lets go of the skirt that she was desperately holding on to earlier. As it flies off, the shot is canned and lunch announced. This is a strip tease, remember?