Ali Larter

Balle Balle can take a bow, it?s time to go Marigold. The long-in-the-making ?dream project? by little-known US film-maker Willard Carroll has finally been shot and is expected to hit American theatres by January 2006.

Starring Salman Khan and Hollywood actress Ali Larter, Marigold is a musical comedy about an American actress who goes to India and gets caught up in the eccentric world of Bollywood.

?Marigold was my way of bridging the gap between Indian and American cinema,? Willard said at a special preview of the film at the IIFA weekend in Amsterdam.

?I fell in love with Indian cinema quite some time back and really wanted to make an Indian film. But it did take me a very long time to put the pieces together and finally it is here ? the first real Indo-American film co-production. I have not just named the movie after Larter?s character, but it also has a double meaning since it is a popular flower in India.?

It was, in fact, a film festival in Madras where Willard chanced upon the Salman-starrer Chori Chori Chupke Chupke. ?I went back home and watched 150 Hindi movies in four months,? recalled Willard.

?I then returned to the US and made people in groups of 20 watch Bollywood films like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Dil Chahta Hai and Hum Saath Saath Hain.?

Willard admitted that his family and friends thought he had gone ?insane? to make an Indian film. ?But I wasn?t making another Bollywood film in English. Marigold was always a proper Hollywood film, which uses Bollywood as a backdrop and shows how it completely changes this American woman.?

The English film has seven songs, composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and written by Javed Akhtar, that give Marigold a desi flavour. ?Oh, I loved the songs!,? exclaimed Larter, who has also sung a couple of English songs for fantasy sequences in the film. ?As for the dancing, I was scared at first but it was fun. There are some really amazing dance sequences. The moves did not need to be perfect. I just had to get the spirit right.?

For Salman, the English dialogues posed a bit of a problem.

?We do speak English in real life, but to do that consistently in front of the camera was challenging. Then, it was all sync-sound,? said Salman.

Salman Khan with Ali Larter in Marigold

The Larter-Salman pair is something to look forward to, as was evident in their chemistry at the media meet. ?I must admit I haven?t yet seen a Salman Khan movie, but he was just great as a co-star,? said Larter. ?He was not only very comfortable to work with, but he made this entire transition phase of mine so much smoother.?

Salman, too, felt the positive vibes. ?I always like working with a family. So after a couple of films, I become totally friendly with my co-actresses. But with her (Larter), it took me just a few days to get along. It?s another thing that she hated me at first.?

Willard wants the chemistry to spill on to the screen, too. ?No American knows what Bollywood is. I want the film to kindle all those emotions in American audiences that Bollywood films had done to me. Films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham were such big hits in the US, but mainly among NRIs. Marigold has been made for the mainstream Hollywood market. I hope it finds favour with a wider audience.?

As for Salman, Marigold is the sole step westwards. ?I have done this film only for Willard. I am not doing any other Hollywood film. You can call this my only way to go global.?