The address: Mumbai's suburban nightclub, Enigma, at the J W Marriott Hotel, Juhu.
The occasion: The music release of Kushan Nandy's directorial debut, 88 Antop Hill.
The date: June 3.
The usual suspects: The film's cast -- Atul Kulkarni (Chandni Bar, Dum), Rahul Dev (Asoka, Indian, 23 March 1931 -- Shaheed), Suchitra Pillai (Dil Chahta Hai, Satta), newcomer Jasmine -- were in attendance. Director and co-producer Kushan Nandy, music director Rajesh Roy and co-producer and scriptwriter Kiran Shroff played the perfect hosts.
Kushan's father, noted media personality and Rajya Sabha MP Pritish Nandy, was there as well.
The evening's chief guest was Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association President Smita Thackeray. Other guests included singer-actress Vasundhara Das (Hey! Ram, Monsoon Wedding), filmmaker Viveck Vaswani and veejay Sophiya.
Shot in 40 days at over 27 locations in Mumbai and Pune, 88 Antop Hill claims to be a 'fast paced, pure murder mystery'. As the title suggests, the movie is about an address where the story, involving three murders and six suspects, begins and ends.
"Raaz, Bhoot, Darna Mana Hai are all horror films. But 88 Antop Hill is a suspense thriller, a real whodunit," says Kushan about his film, which is a tribute to Oscar-winning director Sir Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho, Rear Window).
Like Ram Gopal Varma's Company (Ajay Devgan, Vivek Oberoi, Manisha, Koirala, Antara Mali) and Bhoot (Ajay, Urmila Matondkar, Fardeen Khan, Rekha, Victor Banerjee, Nana Patekar), the nine songs in the 88 Antop Hill soundtrack haven't been picturised on the cast. "I have used the songs to replace dialogues and have cut out two or three scenes instead. Songs used in the background carry the film forward more effectively," feels the 23-year-old filmmaker.
"Kushan had a music script that we used throughout the film to get an idea of what would be playing in the background. 88 Antop Hill moves away from regular fare; no running around-trees song-and-dance routines," s
ays Atul Kulkarni, who plays banker Pratyush Shellar in the film.
"I think Indian audiences are mature enough to accept such films. Why must we assume they want cotton candy fare?" he asks.
Former Channel [V] veejay-turned-actress Suchitra Pillai says her role in 88 Antop Hill, though brief, is crucial to the plot. "I play Atul's wife, Antara. We have a daughter. Though I am not seen much on screen, Atul keeps thinking of me throughout the film."
Suchitra, who has sung the background vocals for British band Kula Shaker's hit number, Govinda, says she loves the new world, modern sounds of 88 Antop Hill's score. "Besharam ho gaye hum sung by Kalpana is one of my favourites from the soundtrack. It is really sassy," she says.
88 Antop Hill is scheduled to hit the marquee on July 4.
