It was last year during post-Monsoon season when Cult Star of Hindi Cinema, Mithun Chakraborty, informed me that he was doing a special guest appearance in a film called My Name is Anthony Gonsalves. Then, I realized how subordinates in whom we confide a lot take advantage of one's simplicity. I know Mithun for long and one of my subordinates who got a chance to meet the star through me, also happens to be a friend of Nikhil Dwivedi, a former employee of Videocon and then a wannabe hero. Mithun told me that he agreed to do this film because of my reference.
Filmmakers wanted Mithun in the film and Mithun, a man of words, never takes his step back if he says yes even once. Strangely, most of the names who helped Nikhil Dwivedi in pre-media promotions were missing from the invite list at the premiere of My Name is Anthony Gonsalves. Interestingly, I learn that the boy compares himself with the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. The world is so small that one never knows when the pack of cards might shuffle. I have met Nikhil Dwivedi more than once but wonder how a struggler became a super star by behaving like a super star. Real super stars even after several years of success toil day and night to polish their acting and dialogue delivery skills. But, this was missing in this case.
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I also met director E Niwas more than once in the office of Ram Gopal Verma. He has always been a down to earth person; he hasn't changed though he dares question Mithun's past. Well, this might be due to Nikhil's association. You need to trust that no big star was ready to play the father's role in his film but Mithun agreed to do it. The irony is that the same person tells the people that they shouldn't harm his film because of Mithun's presence in it. He adds that Mithun has played only a miniscule role. My Name is Anthony Gonsalves is a case of bad intentions making a good deed. When promos of the film were released for the first time people said Nikhil looks like a mixture of Shah Rukh Khan and Shahid Kapoor. This was more than enough to give him air! I know for sure that Nikhil had never been confident about the final outcome of the film. Now after seeing the film, it is clear that he was not wrong.
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E. Niwas struggled a lot to stage a comeback after walking out of his mentor Ram Gopal Verma's camp and to make a dud like Dum. On the other hand, Nikhil was dreaming of getting in front of the camera while serving SRK. The charisma of SRK worked in his favor and he got a producer in T-Series. Red Chillies obliged him by line producing the film and when no corporate house was willing to pick My Name is Anthony Gonsalves days after its completion, SRK got in the good books of the Sahara family. King Khan's aura once again helped Nikhil and the film got released through Sahara One Motion Pictures.
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My Name is Anthony Gonsalves's story is of one ordinary man with extra-ordinary dreams. It is the story of a bartender boy wanting to become a super star. His bosses are not clean people and one day he witnesses their crime. Now what? Some chase, some melodrama and some heroism and a film like My Name is Anthony Gonsalves is complete. Think of it even Shah Rukh Khan could not bear to spend two hours watching this film. He came to the premiere shook hands with the hero and said goodbye.
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Mithun Chakraborty also stayed away, so the signals are very clear from the very beginning. It is not that My Name is Anthony Gonsalves or its makes do not have any positive points. They do have. They have good marketing skills. But, if only marketing could make a film super hit, then films like Umrao Jaan and Ram Gopal Verma Ki Aag would have been still running full houses. One needs a script that keeps on moving with every scene. If there is status quo, then it's not a story; it's a signboard.
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Director E. Niwas has failed to get his script right from his writers. He also fails to understand why an average film like Amar Akbar Anthony worked wonders and why a superb made film like Being Cyrus does not create waves at box office. Anthony Gonsalves may be a fantastic name in Mumbai and Goa but think of cities like Kanpur, Jalandhar, Bikaner, Bhopal, Patna and Ahemdabad, where the people cannot relate with such a name.
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Above all there is overacting by Nikhil Dwivedi. Sooner he comes out of the shadow of copying SRK, the better would it be for him. He has got energy and also uncommon looks. He needs to get things straight and start working like a normal guy without using charisma of SRK. Having said that let me write that he can become a terrific actor if he gets right scripts and creatively enhanced directors. My Name is Anthony Gonsalves fails in most of the departments except in action. The music doesn't help much and in tough competition from a film of Santoshi, sailing for My Name is Anthony Gonsalves in this season is not going to be easy. Better luck next time, Nikhil.
