David Dhawan helmed thriller Hook Ya Crook, starring John Abraham, Genelia D'Souza and Shreyas Talpade, will wrap up by December and is slated for 2010 summer release.
The Rensil D'Silva penned film has been in the news since 2006 and began filming in early 2009. It is stuck over dates from some of the top Indian cricketers.
Cricket is an important part of the film's jail based story. The inmates play a match with the top Indian cricket players.
Indian cricket captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, features in the film. Dhawan says there is only about 10 days of shooting left which is expected to be completed in the month of December.
Post production on the film is in progress alongside. As to why the film took so long, Dhawans says:
John had fractured his foot during a crucial cricket scene when the ball hit his right foot and left him out of action for a month.
David Dhawan got busy with completion of his recent release Do Knot Disturb starring Govinda and Sushmita Sen.
In the meanwhile John went to London to work on Abbas Tyrewala's 1-800 Love and UTV got busy with some of its major releases such as Kaminey, Agyaat, Aage Se Right, What's Your Raashee?, Wake Up Sid. Dhawan says the film doesn't tread the beaten track. It's not a comedy but has little bit of all genres for complete entertainment.
"Essentially, it has been made as a complete entertainment with little bit of every genre. Once we wrap up the film in December, UTV should be coming up with its marketing, promotional and release plans. The design of Hook Ya Crook is such that it qualifies as a summer film. It will certainly arrive in the first half of 2010," Dhawan told Bollywood Hungama.
About the film: The film is a spin-off of Sylvester Stallone starrer Escape To Victory (1981) that starred football superstars Bobby Moore, Osvaldo Ardiles, Kazimierz Deyna and Pelé. It was about Allied prisoners of war who are interned in a German prison camp during World War II.
The 1981 film was in turn based on the 1961 Hungarian film drama Két félido a pokolban ("Two half-times in Hell"). The film was inspired by the true story of Dynamo Kyiv's players who defeated German soldiers while Ukraine was occupied by German troops in World War II. According to myth, as a result of their victory, the Ukrainians were all shot.
The true story is considerably more complex, as the team played a series of matches against German teams, emerging victorious in all of them, before finally being sent to prison camps by the Gestapo. Most of the team were killed there, but a few survived.
Rensil D'Silva says he has adapted the film to suit the Indian audiences, hence cricket replaces football. That brings in Dhoni in the cast. The climax of the film is a full-on cricket match. All the cast has been asked to brush up their cricketing skills.
John had earlier played lead role in UTV's Goal based on soccer. Plot: The film revolves around John Abraham's character who is a cricketer and lands up in jail. John sees the jail inmates playing cricket. He forms a cricket team inside the jail. This team later helps them escape.
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