Salman's 'Mental' likely to be called 'Jai Ho'

Salman Khan's next that is scheduled to come on January 24, 2014 and is tipped off as the big-ticket Republic Day Bollywood release has shades of patriotism in it.

It is the remake of Andhra superstar Chiranjeevi's Stalin (2006) where the hero was a Major in the Indian Army. And the hero's sole aspiration in the film was to make the world abetter place for civilians.

Keeping the subject matter and the release period (Republic Day) in mind, Salman and his team of advisors are contemplating calling the film Jai Ho instead of Mental.

Exclusive Pic Of Salman Khan on The Set Of Mental in Hyderabad

Salman Khan spotted with his ladylove.

Of late, there's been a strong buzz about Salman Khan's newest ladylove, Romanian actress Lulia Vantur. Reportedly, they've been dating for a while now. Lulia is in India and reports suggest that she is staying with Salman's parents in Mumbai.

While eyewitnesses claim to have spotted the two together, they've been careful to avoid the media glare.

That ended when Salman flew in to Hyderabad for the shoot of Mental accompanied by Lulia on Thursday evening. Though the duo initially walked out of the airport together, on spotting waiting shutterbugs, they exited separately.

While Salman posed, his friend Nadeem was seen shielding Lulia from the flashbulbs. And in a bid to divert media attention from her, Sallu decided to send her off to the hotel in the super luxury car booked for him.

And what did he do instead? Well, he hailed a cab from the airport and hopped into it.

Meanwhile, Telugu Desam Party vice-president, Mohammad Saleem, who was also at the airport at that time, had offered Salman his car so that the star could escape the chaos. But Sallu politely declined the offer and instead took a cab

Salman Khan resumes Mental, sans South fighters

The Lavasa shoot of Salman Khan starrer Mental, which had come to a grinding halt last month, will finally resume next week, all thanks to Salman.

Filming at the hill city had come to a standstill because of the impasse between action artistes from Mumbai and those from Chennai and Hyderabad over what the southern fighters perceived as inadequate representation and pay vis-a-vis their Bollywood counter parts. The disgruntled artistes had approached FEFSI (Film Employees' Federation of South India) but even that hadn't helped, and they had returned to Chennai, abandoning the action schedule mid-way.

While Salman and producer, brother Sohail, lost around 12 days of shooting and incurred losses to the tune of Rs 25 crore in the interim, Salman has now decided not to work with the southern fighters at all.

A friend of the actor told TOI: "Salman has decided to cancel their contracts. It is doubtful they will be given credits as they have hardly done any work on the film."

The gripe of the south-based fighters had been that there were only three of them for every seven from Mumbai, and that they were being paid 50 percent less than their Bollywood peers.

However, FWICE (Federation of Western India Cine Employees) President, Dharmesh Tiwari came out in support of Salman's decision saying:" As per the All India Film Employees Confederation (AIFEC), 70 per cent of the fighters have to be local (in this case from the Hindi film industry) and 30 per cent from the region of the fight master (the south in this case). The demand by the southern fighters for 50 per cent representation is unreasonable and just not acceptable. They have to adhere to the rules. I had a meeting with Sohail sometime ago, and I don't think Salman's decision is wrong."

Salman Khan On the Set of Mental - Goa Shoot.

Salman Khan in Goa From Mental.

Salman Khan shooting at Lavasa for his upcoming film 'Mental'

Salman Khan’s ‘Mental’ loses 12 days and Rs 25 crores

Salman Khan – who has had his fair share of controversies in the past – is going through a rough patch on his career front this year.

According to a leading daily, with an impasse over the clash between stuntmen from the South and Mumbai, the King of blockbusters has lost almost 12 days of shooting for ‘Mental’ and has also incurred a loss of a whooping 25 crore.

Sohail Khan – the producer-director of ‘Mental’ – has hired a leading South Indian fight master for his upcoming flick abiding by the All India Film Employees Confederation (AIFEC), according to which 70% of the fighters have to be local and 30% from the region of the fight master. 

In case of ‘Mental’, fighters from the South refused to shoot and demanded that 50% of their men be hired for the action scenes.

“The unit had to return within a week even though it was a 15-day schedule in Kolhapur because the fighters refused to shoot. There was another schedule in Lavasa, which was a continuity sequence from a Dubai shoot that needed the same fighters. There too, the Film Employees` Federation of South India (FEFSI) refused to send their stuntmen,” a source said.

Dharmesh Tiwari, President of AIFEC, said “The FEFSI is not ready to follow the rule passed in March 2013, and they are forcing the producer to take 50% of their fighters.”

• We hope Salman’s troubles come to an end soon!

Salman spotted taking long walks with Daisy Shah.

Even at the age of 47, Salman Khan’s popularity with girls half his age, never seem to die down.

Onlookers at Lavasa, where Sallu has been shooting for his upcoming film helmed by Sohail Khan, say that the star and his heroine Daisy Shah (who is in her mid-20s) have been taking intimate walks and even going for bicycle rides during their free time.

A source from the small town close to Lonavla says, “Salman really likes spending time with Daisy these days. They go on bicycle rides during the late hours of the night.”

Sallu has been known to be on rather friendly terms with most of his female co-stars. Is this the start of a new friendship? Only time will tell. 

Action sequence shoot of Mental stalled

Salman Khan's upcoming film Mental seems to have hit a hurdle while shooting a crucial fight scene in Lavasa. Apparently, the shoot which was for an action sequence came to a halt post tensions between action artistes from Mumbai and Hyderabad rose over allegations that the production team is biased towards Bollywood performers.

The dispute started when 30 fighters from Hyderabad and Chennai who were called in for an action sequence realized that they were inadequately represented in comparison to their Mumbai peers. While demographically there were only three Southern fighters for every seven from Bollywood, they further found out that they were being paid almost 50% lesser than their counterparts. 

Following these findings, the artists registered a formal complaint with the FWICE (Federation of Western India Cine Employees) officials in Mumbai, but only to be told that their argument held no water. However, officials from the FWICE rejected their plea which resulted in the artists stalling the shoot. 

Last heard two senior officials -Shiva and Vijayan - from the Film Employee's Federation of South India, are in Mumbai to end the impasse.

Exclusive pics of Salman Khan And Genelia on the set of Mental (Kolhapur)

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Sohail Khan quoting Rs. 130 crore for Mental?.

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Sohail Khan quoting Rs. 130 crore for Mental?
There is no doubt that a Salman Khan film garners huge attention and hype right from the time it's announced. The trade buzz is that Salman Khan's next release Mental which is directed by Sohail Khan too has been making waves big time.

Even though shooting of the film just started recently in Dubai, the buzz is that Sohail Khan is quoting an astronomical price of Rs. 130 crore for all India theatrical rights of Mental. It's believed that Sohail has already been getting offers upto Rs. 90 crore for the same but given Salman's current dream-run, he is in no mood to compromise.

If one looks at the all India nett B.O. collections of Salman's last 5 films (Dabangg 2- appx Rs 150 crore, Ek Tha Tiger- appx. Rs 198 crore, Bodyguard- appx Rs 151 crore, Ready- appx Rs 125 crore and Dabangg- appx Rs 145 crore), it can be seen that he is indeed a huge draw ensuring high B.O. collections. Whether this prompts someone to give in to Sohail's demands of Rs. 130 crore for Mental remains to be seen?

Salman Khan On The Set of MENTAL

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Blood and anger,On sets with 'Mental' Salman Khan in Dubai.

The actor shoots a fight sequence in Dubai Wonderland Theme and Water Park


Indian film actor Salman Khan and Tabu (with her back) on the set of their upcoming movie 'Mental'. (Reader's pic)

DAY: Five

COUNTRY: Dubai

LOCATION: Wonderland Theme and Water Park

MOVIE: 'Mental' (Working title)

For the past five days there has been constant news of Bollywood star Salman Khan shooting for 'Mental' in Dubai.

So Emirates 24|7 decided to hunt him down.

As we walked past the main entrance of the Dubai Wonderland, the theme and water park seemed unusually quiet. A giant carousel stood in the middle of the park but deserted. A hustle from within the Family entertainment centre caught our attention.

Walking through the door, we saw the hero nursing his wounds. Yes, we finally spotted Salman Khan on location during the shoot of 'Mental' in Wonderland.


Indian film actor Salman Khan during the shoot of Mental in Dubai Wonderland.

After an early morning call time and all day shoot, it was no fun for Salman, even though he was in an amusement park.

The crew was surrounded with gaming machines, rides, pool boards, cars and flying jets.

The setting was perfect for a fun-filled afternoon but that was not part of the script.

Dressed in denim and casual t-shirt, Salman's face was bruised and painted with blood. One of the crew members informed us they were in the middle of a fight sequence.

The hero is embroiled in a fight with his detractors. And since Salman is no 'Dabangg' in this movie a little cut to bare his human side.

In-between takes, Salman took a breather accompanied by Tabu, while Daisy Shah lingered around.


Both the ladies seemed distressed as the hero took a punch or two. 

According to reports, Tabu has been roped in to play Salman’s elder sister in this remake of a Telugu film 'Stalin'. 
Indian film actor Salman Khan and Tabu (with her back) on the set of their upcoming movie 'Mental'. (Reader's pic)

When it was time for others to give their take, Salman nibbled from a platter and had fun watching others go through the grind.

As younger brother Sohail explained the fine points of the scene and provided his inputs, the camaraderie and comfort level between the siblings was visible to all and sundry present there. Amidst all the work, the Khan brothers had their close moments.


Once Salman's shoot was over, he took off his make-up and voila, no bruises and no blood.

Producer/Director Sohail Khan. (Kamran)

Talking to Emirates 24|7, the producer and director of the movie, Sohail Khan said, "We are doing a fight scene here in Wonderland, as we had a requirement for an amusement park. It’s a beautiful place, quite and very comfortable shooting here. It's almost like shooting in a studio atmosphere".

It is accepted that crowd management can become a hassle when a film crew is working with a superstar like Salman Khan, but Wonderland ensured that the shooting went on uninterrupted.

The entire crew of 120 members has been flown from India for 12 days worth of shoot in Dubai. 

Emirates 24|7 first brought you details of Mental's shoot, which took place at the Saif Belhasa Driving Institute. Along with Salman Khan, the sequence in the driving institute had Ashmit Patel and Yash Tonk.
The shoot continued in Wonderland even as the writer bowed out.

Mental - On The Set

Salman's Mental to go on the Floor in Dubai..

The talks over Salman's next feature film have been going on for a while now. However, seems like Sohail Khan has finally locked on the shooting schedule of the film.

Reportedly titled Mental, Salman's next which stars him along with the southern hottie Daisy is all set to take off on February 27 in Dubai. Besides Daisy, the film will also mark the debut of Sabarresh (son of action director Vijayan), who will be playing the villain in the film.

Buzz is that the film will be shot all over Dubai for one whole week.

Tabu to play Salman Khan's sister in Mental.

Bollywood actress Tabu, who was recently seen in Oscar nominated Life Of Pi, is all set to play an important role in Salman Khan's next film Mental.

According to reports, the National Award winning actress will be playing Salman Khan's elder sister in the movie directed by Sohail Khan.

Salman and Tabu have earlier working in Jeet, Biwi No 1 and Hum Saath Saath Hain though they have never paired opposite each other.

The official announcement of the same is awaited.