Nishabd is supposedly Bollywood's version of Vladimir Nakobov's novel Lolita, about a 60-year old married man's romance with an 18-year old girl.

The original story of the book feature the girl's age as twelve, but the director of Nishabd decides to handle the subject as the girl being 18:

Nishabd press meet at J.W. Marriott

Fate could not have been more generous to Jiah. As a young girl who lived most of her life in London, Jiah always dreamt of making it to Bollywood. Around a year ago, she almost came to the point of realizing her dream when she was considered for a film by director Anurag Basu. However, Jiah could not get the project.

But Jiah did not lose hope. Because her mother used to be a small-time actress, Jiah used her contacts to get introduced to Ram Gopal Varma . Initially, Ramu had nothing to offer to Jiah. But when he discussed with Amitabh Bachchan the idea of making a film about a love story between an aged man and a young girl, he knew Jiah was the right choice for the role.

So, Jiah's Bollywood dream has come true in a big way with a plum role opposite the Big B in Ramu's film Nishabd . The movie is loosely based on Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita.

The film has Jiah playing a girl of her own age. She falls in love with a much older man (Amitabh Bachchan). Amitabh reciprocates her feelings, but he is also torn between his rationality and emotions.
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Amitabh Bachchan gets wild in NISHABD
By Joginder Tuteja, Bollywood Trade News Network
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NishabdIf you see some subtle yet wild romance building up between Big B and Jiah Khan in soon to be released NISHABD, then blame it on Mr. Bachchan's profession.

In the film he is shown as a wild life photographer and it is that wild persona of Jiah Khan that attracts him towards her. He starts clicking her photographs as she gets drenched in water while enjoying her gardening and acts as one of the sparks that leads to an unconventional romance.

What follows next is a love story about which even Ram Gopal Verma has to say that 'Some love stories are never meant to be understood'!

The film is aiming for a March 02 release.

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Why not? And who better to play the role than Big B himself! There is no denying that its happening.....older men and younger girls having relationships. From those suggestive pics there, Jiah look like she did justice to the Lolita role

She's all of 19 years, has already romanced Amitabh Bachchan in her debut film and has managed to create quite a stir with her wet-and-wild act. The actress not just has talent enough to stand with the Bollywood Icon but also has some fine singing and dancing prowess.

The song she composed and sang is already earning rave reviews; the surprise element in the song is Jiah's self-choreographed Shakira act in it. This girl sure will be the next gen for our industry! Jiah Khan, who makes her debut in a dream role opposite Amitabh Bachchan in Nishabd, is more than just drop-dead gorgeous.

Interview with Jiah coming up shortly:

INTERVIEW WITH JIAH:

Is Jiah Khan your real name?

No, my name's Nafisa. Jiah's sexier. I got it from the Angelina movie Gia.. I changed it a bit to sound more exciting as in Ji..aah.

Okay, so how did a London girl get here?

I'm New York-born, brought up in London. Chelsea, you know. I was wild about the Bombay movies. As a kid I'd wear salwaar kameez and drive my teachers mad by speaking in Hindi. Then I hopped back to New York to study acting at Lee Strasberg. I quit because I got a role here. They said, "Go! You have a life membership at the school anyway." I was so inspired by Rangeela.

Oof, you're plugging Ram Gopal Varma.

Seriously. I have a video of me dancing like Urmila (Matondkar) with my two younger sisters. We have different fathers. They're as beautiful as I am, if not more.

Great! Who is your father?.

I attach very little importance to my father. He's an American Indian Muslim. He left my mother when I was just three months old. I know his name – Ali Rizvi Khan – I even know where he lives in New York. He has never bothered to meet me, neither have I. That would have hurt if he had left at an age when I even knew how l.i.f.e is spelt. I don't have any memory of what he looks like. But it does bother me that I still have his name on my passport.

You never wanted to meet him in New York?

The thought did cross my mind. When I was a bit bored.

Is this Mr Ali Rizvi a wealthy man?

He'd better not be. Then I'd really make sure that he gave us maintenance money because he didn't.
Look, all men who desert their daughters should be shot. From what I know, it was with another woman. This irritates the hell out of me. Perhaps if I was a boy it would have been different. I would have missed him we girls are tougher.

What about your sisters your stepfather?

My stepfather deserted us too in London. My sisters were two and four years old, I was seven. He took every penny out of the bank, also our house. We were homeless. Mum hopped around from house to house. Subsisting on low rents. Before this, she'd hosted lavish parties. Her friends vanished into thin air. We lived on McDonald's burgers. Which was fun for us kids. But how long could this go on?

Why don't you mention your mother's name?
Rabia Amin. She writes.?

What?
Concepts for BBC, Scripts for television in the UK .

Didn't she act in Tahir Hussain's Dulha Bikta Hai?

Yes and in Ankush, Locket, Vijay Anand's Hum Rahe Na Hum and Subhash Ghai's Meri Jung in a special appearance with Anil Kapoor. She had longer hair than mine and a super sexy voice.

What about the insistent reports that you're Tahir Hussain's daughter?.

If such sick stories are spread, so be it. Look, my mum was an orphan. She was a Christian girl who came from Agra to Bombay to act. He discovered her when she was in Dehra Dun. She was then housed with Aamir's family, Aamir's mother Zeenat aapa taught her how to conduct herself as an actress and to speak in Urdu. Mum converted to Islam. Honestly, I'm not related by blood to Tahir Hussain's family. I'm not his daughter.

Are you in touch with Tahir Hussain?

No. Mum meets Zeenat aapa occasionally and that's it. I've never even met Aamir.

Say that again.

I have never met Aamir. I don't even look like Aamir Khan remotely. All this sounds very complicated. Ha! I cannot imagine how it would have been with a perfect family or a father. If he had dominated me, I would have died of suffocation. Who are these men anyway? Okay, so maybe I'm a bit bitter. Perhaps this happens in India less often. In London, more couples get divorced and live separately. It's no big deal. In Bombay, men hit on girls in a devious way, one can't fathom what's going on in their minds.

How come your mum encouraged you to join films here?

She didn't. I had to prove that I could make it, in any case every profession can be manipulative. I was in Bombay for a holiday. I just walked into RGV's office wearing the sexiest hot pants and heels. I was trembling like a leaf.
Can you just walk into a filmmaker's office?
(Delightedly) You'd be surprised!

Could you walk into the Yashraj office?

(Tongue in chic) I wouldn't but I could.

You're avoiding any mention of Tumsa Nahin Dekha.?

PLEASE! I was all of 16. Mahesh Bhatt had seen my photographs. I did a screen test; I shot for two weeks in Dubai. It was a struggle; the character was far too mature. (Director) Anurag Basu and Mr Bhatt could see I wanted out. It would have been a wrong first film.


But hello, I heard there was much hassle over a swimming pool scene.?

I had to wear a swimsuit for a song sequence. All kinds of remarks were being passed I was totally confused. Crying inside while trying to emote. Today, I can handle that – I would slap those guys. An under-age girl couldn't.


In Nishabd, it seems you're extremely aggro.?

Nope. I did far more daring stuff in Tumsa Nahin Dekha, 200 per cent.

What if with your wet look, you end up becoming the sex symbol of 2007?

That would be weird. I just want to entertain. I could even become the Kiss Girl. Have you seen the promo in which I kiss Mr Amitabh Bachchan on the cheek?..that's so cool.. so sweet and innocent.

Are you?

Without a doubt. I've had loads of crushes though, I was mad about a Chinese boy when I was a kid. Last year there was a student in New York whom I dated, which never went beyond the teenybopper stuff.

What did RGV expect from you?

To be like a kitten..he pushed me always to get the effect he wanted.

Aha, let me come full circle in this interview. Do your mother and you ever meet Tahir Hussain?

Sure on occasions my mum does, like for lunch on Eid.

Could they ever have been in love?

No way. See today he's 80, she's 40.

How would you describe Amitabh Bachchan?

Mesmerising.

Are you a fan of Mr Bachchan? Had you heard about him before you came into the industry?

I did but I wasn't that much aware of his superstar status. It was only after I finished Nishabd and came back to India that I found out that he was an icon. Had I known this before, I wouldn't have been able to do the film. I didn't realise he was this big. So for me, he was just the character Vijay and that helped so much. He was just a character, a guy that I liked.

Three things you learnt from Mr Bachchan on the set.
How to smell good, how to be a patient actor and how to give disapproving looks.

Yet there's as much of an age difference.
That's because there's a difference between cinema and real life. In fact, it's strange that I'm a girl in love with a man old enough to be my father in my first film. (Looks away) Maybe RGV saw the buried emotion about my father. It's written on my face for those who can see it.

Jiah what would you say if your real life father said, "I'm sorry for what I did?"

(Pause) I'd be confused. No choices. Then I'd say, "Eff you. You have the nerve to think you're a man. But dammit there's no difference between a coward and you."

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Whose Nishabd is it anyway?
By IndiaFM News Bureau, February 22, 2007

Ram Gopal Varma just got out of one legal mess owing to his decision to remake Sippy's Sholay, and he is into another law snag already! The talented director, whose film Nishabd is set for a March release, has been accused of lifting the name of his film from another source.

The Delhi High Court has issued a notice to RGV's Film Factory for copyright infringement. Apparently, Nishabd is the title of a Bengali film made almost a decade ago. This film released in year 2005 and has won many awards and accolades. It has received the best feature film award at Osian's Cinefan Festival Asian Film and 'Coup De Coeur Guimet Award' at Vesoul International Festival of Asian Award. Filmmaker Jahar Kanungo claims that he retains the copyright to the title Nishabd. Justice A K Sikri has now asked RGV, Adlabs Films Ltd and Super Cassettes Ltd to file their defence statements by March 23.

Nishabd, starring Amitabh Bachchan and debutante Jiah Khan is scheduled to release in March 07:

No qualms about essaying `Nishabd` character: Bachchan

Mumbai, Feb 18: Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, who plays a 60-year-old man in love with an 18-year- old girl in his new film "Nishabd", has said he had no qualms about essaying such characters as long as they are viewed with a "psychological perspective" and not a "physical one".

"I have no qualms playing a 60-year-old man in love with an 18-year-old girl because the film looks at the mental make-up of the character who finds himself in this situation," he told reporters at the launch of the music of "Nishabd" here last night.

"The movie should not be looked at from a physical or sexual point of view. "I believe Indian audiences are maturing fast and we have to thank them for pushing us to go beyond the escapist norms that we have followed. The more we go beyond these, it is better for us," said Bachchan, flanked by the film's director Ram Gopal Varma and debutante Jiah Khan who plays the teenager.

Asked whether he had thought of playing such roles before, he remarked, "I didn't get such roles before because I hadn't turn 60 before. But I am very happy that even at this stage of my career, I am still getting roles that excite and challenge me."

Varma, clarifying that his film was not inspired by Nabakov's "Lolita", was all praise for his actor. "I wouldn't have made the film if he hadn't agreed to act in it.

"Besides the depth of acting that the actor was required to have, I wanted to use Bachchan's larger than life image to portray that if a man like him can lose control over his emotions, forgetting his responsibilities to his family at his age, what would be the mental trauma that he goes through," Varma said.

ASJ, is this the first time for this kind of story in indian films? Look interesting.

Amitji says "Nishabd, is not based on Vladimir Nabokov's novel, Lolita. "A young girl gets attracted to an elderly man "” married and domesticated. It's a perfectly normal occurrence in life. It's a perfectly normal occurrence in life. Things happen sometimes. What, therefore, is the outcome in such a situation is what the film is about. Unlike the muchpublicised belief that it is a Lolita, it is not. Lolita was sensuous and physical. Far from that, it deals with the dilemma in a rather mature manner."

We/I respectfully beg to disagree Amitji, it is an abnormal situation which happens rarely, and when it does it raises eyebrows

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quote:

Originally posted by Aragorn:
ASJ, is this the first time for this kind of story in indian films? Look interesting.

Ara, it is interesting, because it is not a norm, it is a very complicated subject, kudos to the director and actors; as we said the only man that could pull off such a role is Amitji, thats what makes him "Great" the best in the Business

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quote:

Originally posted by asj:

Ara, it is interesting, because it is not a norm, it is a very complicated subject, kudos to the director and actors; as we said the only man that could pull off such a role is Amitji, thats what makes him "Great" the best in the Business

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AB, has always been my fav actor since small days. Will look at the movie when its out.

After seeing Nishabd, a friend asked "well what is your verdict"
The film held my attention, the acting superb, award winning performance by Jiah, and as I said before only Amitabhji could have done justice to that role.
The story is unusual whils't the events are playing out smoothly and understandably, not like the regular churned out Bollywood love stories. In Indian Customs, you would not encounter a story as such, in which a 60 year old man falls for an 18 year old girl and vice versa, could it happened? In the East I doubt wether. In the West anything goes. Getting back to the story, sitting down looking at the screen, the thoughts comes to mind that this 18 years old looks somewhat disturbed, as in the 60 years old man one will notice a sense of responsibility but we have seen that the temptations is far too much for him to suppress.
The affairs continues with him and the 18 years old, his wife and daughter like onlookers are helpless to do anything.
Some people might feel offended of the story or the role given, like my colleague who would refer to Amitabh now as "a dirty old man" everyone has their views, and after Black now Nishabd, one should not see Amitabhji in that light as demeaning, but as an actor...."par excellence."

If you haven't seen the movie, then I will not give away the finish, but I will venture to say that the ending is that unlike of the Indian Custom. If that be the end, then I hate it (not the movie) but the end, in looking at the end there is a possibility for a part two. And a part two could take different angles and have enough meat to make it another memorable "love story"
Finally I want to say as an actor Amitabh had excelled in this role, have to admired the emotions he had projected throughout the film.
Another good film by Ram Gopaul Verma:

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asj, please dont neglect this thread. Thanks.

BOLLYWOOD MOVIE REVIEWS AND PREVIEWS:
TARA RUM PUM: PAGE 14

RELEASING DATE: APRIL 27TH 2007

Cast:
Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Shruti Seth, Javed Jaffrey, Ali Haji, Victor Banerjee, Bharat Dabholkar, Sujoy Ghosh

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Exclusive synopsis - TA RA RUM PUM
[Tuesday, April 17, 2007]

This is the story of one man, his family and how they overcome the obstacles that life puts in their way, together. It is the story of human spirit and how it ultimately prevails.

Rajveer Singh (Saif Ali Khan) is a pit-crew worker in a racing team with a passion for driving who gets discovered by a team manager, Harry (Jaaved Jaaferi). The same day he accidentally meets a music student, Radhika (Rani Mukerji), who he falls for instantly.

He gets drafted into ˜Speeding Saddles' – a failing race team and transforms from Rajveer Singh to "RV" – the race car driver. While his racing career takes off instantly, his love life also blossoms after a whirlwind romance. A few months later, he is both a happily married man and one of the country's best racers. Fatherhood and greater success both follow and soon he is the Number 1 race car driver in the USA, as well as the proud father of two precocious kids – Priya (Angelina Idnani) and Ranveer (Ali Haji).

But as a result of a bad racing accident, RV is hospitalized for a few months. When he tries to make a comeback, he realizes that he has been mentally scarred by the accident and has lost his edge. His life now takes a turn for the worse and after a string of failures, he is forced to auction his house and move with his family to a run-down Bronx-style neighborhood. However, RV and Radhika decide not to tell their children the truth and construct a skillful masquerade of a reality show where they have to live a poor life in order to win a mythical grand prize.

The family struggles to survive a life that they are not used to, using a mixture of fantasy and cheerfulness to pull through in the face of adversity. But an incident forces RV to reclaim the life that was taken away from him.

Can he, once again and perhaps for a last time, face down his inner demons on the race track? Can the family remain together in the wake of what could perhaps be their biggest challenge yet?

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IF YOU ARE A RACING FAN THEN YOU WILL ENJOY THIS FLICK:

On a fortunate day, Rajeev's life changes forever after he meets Harry (Javed Jafferi) who would become Rajeev's future manager. On the same day, Rajeev also meets the woman of his dreams, Radhika (Rani Mukherjee).
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Rani Mukherjee as Radhika
Radhika likes to plan everything meticulously in her life. She is the doted daughter of the owner of one of the biggest software companies in the world. Radhika is a music student.
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Love between RV and Radhika blossoms and culminates into marriage.
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quote:

Originally posted by Aragorn:
asj, please dont neglect this thread. Thanks.

So, Ara how about the actual movie?

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There is something about Rajveer that attracts Radhika. May be it's his flamboyance or his madness and energy. Barely two days after meeting him, Radhika found herself sitting in the stands of the New York Speedway, and cheering RV to win the race.
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Hey Shona - TaRa Rum Pum XCLUSIVE

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Tara Rum Pum' to be released today 04/27/07

Mumbai, April 27: Yash Raj Films' latest presentation 'Tara Rum Pum' will hit the box office today, Sahara Samay sources said.

The hit on-screen pair of Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherjee are back with 'Tara Rum Pum', a film based on victory of human spirit.

The film boasts of two adorable child artists- Angelina Idnani and Ali Haji, director Sidharth Anand, who made filmmaking come of age in Salaam Namaste, and of course the Yashraj banner.

The film's music is composed by Vishal-Shekhar duo and lyrics are written by Javed Akhtar. The background music is by Salim and Suleiman Merchant.

The film's costumes are done by Mamta Anand and Surily Goel.

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MUSIC FROM TARA RUM PUM

Ab To Forever
Singer : Kay Kay, Shreya Ghoshal, Vishal Dadlani

Hey Shona
Singer : Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan

Nachle Ve
Singer : Somya Raoh, Sonu Nigam

Saaiyaan
Singer : Vishal Dadlani

Ta Ra Ra Ra Rum
Singer : Shreya Ghoshal

Ta Ra Rum Pum
Singer : Mahalaxmi Iyer, Shaan, Shravan Suresh, Sneha Suresh

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quote:

Originally posted by asj:

Hey Shona - TaRa Rum Pum XCLUSIVE

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Are they krunking?? My son was teaching me to krunk...things an 8 year old can teach you!

[/QUOTE]
Are they krunking?? My son was teaching me to krunk...things an 8 year old can teach you! [/QUOTE]


Ri, I am so out of touch, never heard of krunking Got to visit the nightspot to be intune with the terms.

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Tara Rum Pum Pum

By Subhash K Jha

Starring Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Ali Haji, Angelina Idnani, Jaaved Jaffri
Directed by Siddharth Anand
Rating: ***

Now we know why the director is named Anand. Hrishikesh Mukherjee meets Walt Disney in this utterly heartwarming take on life's most serious and cruel jokes.

There's a moment in Anand's film where Rani plays that clichéd sequence where the hero's fallen-on-hard-times wife rejects a fat cheque from her rich father.

"I did the right thing, didn't I?" Rani asks her screen-hubby Saif, who looks aghast. "You turned down a cheque for 50,000 dollars? For that sum of money I'm ready to be compromised every day."

The above sequence is a strangely subverted interpretation of that sequence from Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Satyakam where Dharmendra's idealism was weighed against Sharmila Tagore's ability to ward off temptations.

Tara Rum Pum is like a romp through the highest emotional summts of life's lowest blows. Cleverly Anand situates this rags-to-riches drama of a a spendthrift car racer, his cautious and principled wife and his two adorable kids (Sooraj Barjatya, roll over) in New York where the economically challenged family moves from up-market Manhattan to downtown Queens.

Cinematographer Binod Pradhan captures the underbelly of New York and the empty belly of racing-driver RV's family in a restrained rush of emotional adrenaline.

Anand, God bless his unfettered soul, mixes the business of an absorbing riches-to-rags tale with tons of hyphenated homilies.

In the true Walt Disney tradition, the family makes the best of its challenged morality when it falls on hard times.

There're moments, like the one where Saif's hungry little boy (Ali Haji, delightfully natural) devours a half-eaten burger retrieved from a trash can, where eyes turn to collective moistness.

You can't fault the director for pumping up the tears. Commercial cinema is all about the pleasure you derive in bringing the fundemental emotions of love and life together in a clasp of a giggle and a gasp.

Tara Rum Pum makes you do just that. Anand's screenplay is original from far. Get closer, and you see scenes from Days Of Thunder and a whole chunk from the Russell Crowe boxing film Cinderella Man brought to us in vibrant colours.

Saif, I'd like to believe, is a better actor than Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe. He invests the role of the roguish rugged dare-devilish and impetuous Fallen Hero with pathos and parody.

Watch him in the scene where he tricks his little daughter into staying back in their new run-down home as part of an imaginary reality show (it's a long story....let's just say Siddharth Anand knows Life Is Beautifu and not just for Robert Benigni ). Saif invests even the minutest moment with a tapestried irony.

It helps to have Rani Mukherjee as a co-star. Though her make-up and clothes are all wrong in the first- half, Rani brings a thehrao and a emotional resonance to her supportive wife's part in the second-half where she has to stand by a man who has lost his heroic sheen and is a bit of an embarrassment to the mirror.

Javed Jaffri replicates the role of the star-manager from dozens of Hollywood films. Though his penchant for doing accents (this time Gujarati) is admirable, he doesn't quite blend with the fabric of fertile feelings that irrigate Anand's joyous ride into the raga of richness.

Oh yes the performing stalwart Victor Bannerjee is outstanding.... That is to say, he stands out of the script trying to give a semblance of originality to the role of the heroine's rich snobbish father done by everyone from Madan Puri in Avtar to Sharad Saxena in Pyar Ke Side Effects.

The huggable inspirational tale is buoyed by a bewildering array of songs and dances (including an item where the protagonists dance with animation figures) all choreographed to spotlight the sheer lightness of being a happy family undergoing distressing times.

The initial fifteen minutes could have been more inspired, though. The first 'rave' number replete with hose- pipes going off in the middle of the night, serve as a reminder of how trendy the traditional Family Saga purports to become in present times.

Nothing, not even the tepid songs (Vishal-Shekhar, what were you thinking?) can take away from the sheer weightlessness of the narrative as it moves through several superbly written scenes....take the one at the family dinner where Saif and Rani pretend to be satiated so as the kids could eat properly.

And that one shot where Daughter, Son and Dog stand staring longingly at a confectionary stall, make you wish all your cynicism would dissolve.

Feel-good cinema, anyone? When was the last time you felt so good watching a mainstream Hindi film? Replicating the current international trend towards making films that stress family values (Mira Nair's The Namesake, Gabriel Muccino's The Pursuit Of Happyness) Siddharth Anand gives us a slick slice-of-life served up in courses that go from khushi to gham while your heart goes...tara rum pum pum!

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The film, directed by Siddharth Anand , brings back the successful jodi of Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherjee back on the big screen. Child artistes Angelina Idnani and Ali Haji play the couple's children in the movie.
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Saif Ali Khan as Rajveer Singh aka RV
Ever since his childhood Rajveer has been passionate about race cars. After the death of his parents, Rajveer dropped out of college and started working in the pit-crew of a racing team.

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Rajveer's talent is discovered by Harry and he joins ˜Speeding Saddles', a failing race team. After his very first win in the race, Rajeev falls in love with Radhika. A music student and a racer don't somehow seem like the best of matches, but the opposites do attract in this case.

A Fateful Accident
The happy life of this loving family is thrown off track after RV meets a serious accident on the race track. RV is hospitalized for a few months. When he tries to make a comeback after recuperating, he realizes that he has lost his edge on the racing track.

TROUBLE LOOMING AHEAD:
One failure follows another. And soon the number one race driver in the USA becomes a failed phenomenon. To make matters worse, RV is forced to auction his house and move with his family to a run-down Bronx-style neighborhood.

The family struggles to survive a life that they are not used to, using a mixture of fantasy and cheerfulness to pull through in the face of adversity.

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˜Tara Rum Pum' promises to be an entertaining roller-coaster ride of emotions. The film is the story of human spirit and how it ultimately prevails.