The article which appears below was originally published in Krishna Tiloks's book, Notes Of A Dream. ©The rights to this material are reserved to the owner. If you have any concerns or comments, please send an email to info@rahmaniac.com.
So much for the direction and production departments of 99 Songs, but then there was that most pressing concern of who would actually people A.R. Rahman’s first feature-length movie.
AR was certain, right from the onset, that he did not want ‘established’ actors for the film. He didn’t want to enlist big stars who would give him a chunk of dates and then get on with their other commitments. He did not want performers who would treat his movie like another one of the dozens of projects they were working on. AR wanted new people who could give him all the time and attention in the world.
That’s where Ehan Bhat comes in. Ehan is a Mumbai-based model, originally from Kashmir. He is extremely good-looking—fair, with light eyes, soft, long hair and high cheekbones. AR was clear that he wanted someone possessed of stunning looks to be the lead actor in his movie. Not just handsome. He wanted someone who’d make people stop and stare, a real Greek god, as it were.
To put things in perspective, Zayn Malik of the popular British boy band One Direction was considered for the role at one point. Malik wanted to do the film too, being a fan of A.R. Rahman’s and eager to work with him. The young British singer–songwriter is, of course, an incredibly attractive young man, often voted one of the sexiest males on the planet. But that didn’t end up happening.
AR chose Ehan Bhat out of some 3000 hopefuls who auditioned for the part. And he went on to invest heavily in Ehan too. Piano lessons for months and months in Chennai so that his playing would look realistic in the film. Acting lessons in LA. Rahman believes that Ehan has the potential to be a big star. And, going by feedback from all those who work on 99 Songs and have seen his performance, Ehan has proved to have a solid on-screen presence.
In the movie, Ehan will portray a young Rajasthani man named Jay who is deeply in love with music and with a girl named Sophie—portrayed by Edilsy Vargas.
Edilsy, 99 Songs’s female lead, is an actress from the Dominican Republic currently residing in the US—and beautiful enough to qualify as surreal.
Where actors in his movie were concerned, AR—or his story rather—needed breathtakingly beautiful men and women. Not only Ehan and Edilsy, but the entire cast of 99 Songs is in line with this requirement. Lisa Ray, for instance, who plays a sultry and talented jazz performer at a popular nightclub in the film. And Manisha Koirala, who plays a pivotal role.
There were some worries about the cast being a little too alien for an Indian audience, but once the cameras started rolling, and certainly after a few dailies of the film were seen, all doubts and reservations were dispelled.
‘On screen, actors have physical magnetism or spiritual magnetism,’ AR says. ‘Rajinikanth has spiritual magnetism. I want somebody who has both. And I see that in Ehan.’
Ehan Bhat is certainly very attractive but he also has about him the boyish charm and aura that AR wanted. Rahman’s point is that 99 Songs, a love story, is at its heart a fable. He—and his entire crew is in agreement on this—believes that the movie will only work if the lead actor has an element of youth to him. Like the prince in Sleeping Beauty.
Looks may have won Ehan the part, but he worked hard to make sure that his performance was up to AR’s expectations. He did his best to lose himself in his role, totally get into his character.
During a shooting schedule in Mumbai, I happened to come across Ehan while he was having lunch on set. He invited me to sit with him and we got chatting. I asked him about his childhood in Kashmir.
He looked at me blankly.
I repeated the question and he just went back to eating and said, ‘I’ve never been to Kashmir. I was born in Rajasthan and my name is Jay.’
