Film: Bank Chor
Director: Bumpy
Producer: Y Films
Cast: Riteish Deshmukh, Vivek Oberoi, Rhea Chakraborty, Vikram Thapa and Bhuvan Arora
Location: Mehboob Studio
Release Date: March 7, 2015
Riteish understanding a scene with director Bumpy
Story
Bank Chor is the story of a Maharashtrian guy, Champak Chandrakant Chiplunkar (Riteish Deshmukh), who along with two of his friends (Vikram Thapa and Bhuvan Arora) tries to rob a bank. But everything goes awry once they enter the bank as the situation slips out of their control. The film is set in the time frame of a day in Mumbai.
What’s the scene
Champak is trying to take the hostages out of the bank to safety. He’s concerned about them not getting hurt. He also has to contend with a corrupt undercover cop (Sahil Vaid).
Riteish and Vivek Oberoi in an action sequence
What we saw
A huge set of a bank has been built on Mehboob Studio’s Floor 1. The bank is called The Bank of Indians. Riteish Deshmukh has religious threads adorning his wrist and he’s also flashing a number of rings. He informs us that Champak, his character, is a God-fearing man who has reverted to burglary, as he can’t see a way out of his financial troubles. “Champak has a fetish for vaastu and consults a vaastu manual even while looting the bank. He’s undergoing a period of saadhe sati (a planetary position considered unfavourable). Hence he’s taking every precaution to avoid the ill-effects of this inauspicious period.”
Riteish showing something on his mobile to Bumpy and Rhea Chakraborty
A fight sequence is being choreographed between Ritiesh and Sahil by director Bumpy. “Shoot everyone!” orders Sahil. As he turns, he sees a disc in Champak’s hand. He wants to get the disc and mayhem ensues. In the process, Ritiesh is hit in the eye by Sahil who is instantly remorseful. Riteish is in pain and the shooting halts for a while. Bumpy informs us that Riteish has been accident prone during the shoot. “He’s hurt his back, then his head and also bruised his elbow. But he’s always bounced back without throwing a tantrum.”
The director likes the fact that Riteish is so down-to-earth. “Yesterday, he was urging a junior artiste not to be conscious and manhandle him if the scene so required. He usually works from nine to six but for us he’s been shooting from nine to nine.”
Kailash Kher is all smiles on his visit to the set
The next shot has Riteish falling from the ceiling. He’s pumped up to do the dangerous stunt himself despite his bad back. He jumps when cued. It takes four takes before Bumpy okays the shot. But Riteish is not satisfied and insists on an extra take. It’s Riteish’s first film with YRF and he’s naturally excited. “I signed the film not just because they wanted me but also because the script and the role excited me,” he says.
Vivek Oberoi and Rhea Chakraborty aren’t around and Riteish is missing his buddy. “Vivek is playing a CBI officer. For the first time, we are on the opposite sides in the film.” Bumpy adds that Rhea plays a reporter who wants to cash in on the situation to further her career. “Champak is quite smitten by her and tries his best to impress her.” For those not in the know, Kapil Sharma was earlier signed on to play the lead in Bank Chor but he had to leave the film as he couldn’t take a break from his popular TV show Comedy Nights with Kapil, states Bumpy.
The director is also glad about the fact that he got Riteish on such short notice. The script underwent changes because of the switch but Bumpy is so happy it’s shaped better. “Kapil is known for a different brand of humour. He is primarily a standup comedian. So he would have improvised a lot on the set. But for Riteish, we wrote everything in detail taking his personality and strengths into perspective.” Sure, the little bit that we witnessed has whetted our appetite for more…