What happens when a young Indian-American who doesn’t believe in arranged marriages finds himself being dragged off to meet a string of potential brides? He surprises himself by falling in love and shocks those around him by choosing the most ineligible woman of all as the object of his affections.

A man who doesn’t believe in marriage... meets a woman who can’t. This is what Rohan Sippy’s Kuch Naa Kaho is all about.

Raj (Abhishek Bachchan) lives in New York with his mother, Dr. Malhotra (Suhasini Mulay). They’re very close and share a great rapport but there’s one issue they can’t see eye to eye on: his mother wants him to settle down and Raj doesn’t want to know about arranged marriages. When Raj visits India for his cousin’s wedding, his uncle (Satish Shah) emotionally blackmails him into agreeing to arrange meetings with eligible girls. To make matters worse, the person his uncle chooses as the matchmaker and go-between for these meetings is the one person Raj has already antagonized in his 24 hours in Mumbai - Namrata (Aishwarya Rai), Raj’s uncle’s favourite employee at his design studio and someone he duped at the airport. Realising this is an opportunity to get back at Raj, she’s only too happy to put Raj through this torture.
After a series of meetings with potential brides, it becomes apparent to Namrata that finding a match for this particular suitor is not only a nightmare, but an exercise in futility. In the process of fighting over the correct way to seek out a soul mate -whether through arranged meetings or by waiting for true love - Raj realises that he is falling in love with the very person he has been at loggerheads with.
As the two discover that love is something that can’t be arranged, complications arise in the form of Namrata’s past and become an obstacle in her reciprocating Raj’s affections. In a light-hearted journey that offers honest answers to questions about love and the quest for a perfect mate, Kuch Naa Kaho is a heart-warming film that succeeds in entertaining, making a point and raising questions about society, behaviour, love and perceptions.

When I first met Rohan, my first impression was of a quiet and shy man who seemed to be reserved in talking about anything and was more an observer than the one who would volunteer for everything first. I later learned this observer was more an absorber. With a keen eye for detail, this full-time thinker and active filmmaker (if he’s not working on his film he’s thinking about it) is someone I have great respect for. Rohan knows his craft, his film and his script to a tee, he’s been completely immersed in his film and still is, ensuring every promo gets his nod of approval and every still released is one he’s pre-approved.
“Is it difficult directing a film being Ramesh Sippy’s son?” he asks himself, before answering.
“The answer seems equally obvious - it would be a hell of a lot harder if I wasn’t. I am sure I wouldn’t have even got a chance to direct a feature film, if I didn’t carry this particular industry passport. The rest is all baggage to be checked in, something that will play in my mind, only if I let it. I am sure the audience coming into see my film will be aware of my antecedents, but I am even more certain that they are overwhelmingly fair and objective in their assessment of the movie - the kind of objectivity that paying for a ticket brings out, versus the chore-like approach of the professional critic. The paying audience only buys a ticket because they think that they will get some value for it, and they walk in hoping to enjoy the film. At that point, it doesn’t matter who’s made the film, it’s only your work that will weigh in on their opinion.”
See what I mean? A thinker.

The immense respect his team have for him testifies to a respect that he’s earned, not inherited and that’s truly a great thing and says much for the talent and hard work of this tall, quiet man called Rohan Sippy. Impressed by his work ethics and watching the film unfold, I remember walking into Mehboob Studios where bamboo shoots were being put up and arranged so I actually felt I was walking into a jungle (complete with flying insects might I add) and talking to Rohan about certain aspects of his film for which he had every answer. He’d describe why this environment was being created, what the feel was and how the insects injected realism (although I think that part was a joke and he was trying to reassure me I wouldn’t die from the bites). From shooting a discotheque song in the sweltering heat in the film’s first schedule to making Aishwarya perform the most beautifully choreographed intricate dance sequences in the freezing cold of Mauritius in the middle of a cyclone. A schedule where draped in very light clothes, Aishwarya would execute moves she very swiftly learnt (the girl’s a very fast learner) despite the pouring rain and the winds being high added to the factor this was all taking place on a hilltop, in I think one take, Aishwarya surprised everyone by getting it exactly right. As everyone dashed around her to wrap her up from the cold another shot was readied of her in a pose with her fingers in a Bharat Natyam poise, and it was at this point unit members looked at each other realising how much poor Aish was braving to give Rohan the perfect shot. Despite being shown how to position her fingers they wouldn’t move. She was so cold and shivering her fingers were frozen up and she couldn’t move them to make the gesture, a unit member steps forward to help and the shot is canned. Who said making movies or even being an actor is easy? Abhishek would make tea for everyone and under one roof everyone would dash in and out of the rain to try and keep dry and well and on another schedule back in Mumbai, the set burnt down thanks to a studio fire, leaving Rohan’s film once more in difficulty. To say it’s been a hell of a journey from conception to release of Kuch Naa Kaho is more than an understatement, it’s an experience in itself.

“Fighting chaos and fading light while working on the nuances of a close-up with Aishwarya and Abhishek, ignoring that we were getting drenched under a huge waterfall in Kerala, and then seeing them deliver a performance way beyond my imagination and all this framed perfectly by my cinematographer,” recalls Rohan.

After seeing a rough cut of the finished product I was proud of my friend because I never expected the film he showed me and I appreciated the bold statement the film subtley made. A post-screening discussion where I openly praised and critically dissected portions of the film were taken into account, where I found most of my complaints were due to the film at this stage being incomplete with another two schedules to go before shooting was wrapped up.
Watching Rohan in post-production is probably one of the most educational and rewarding times of my career and is what I definitely see as a huge perk of my job and of course, being his friend. Of all the films I’ve seen shot, worked on, polished and edited I think none can compare to my own personal experience with Kuch Naa Kaho, because with Rohan it’s literally like a home production. I don’t see the film with the same eyes I did two years ago or as objectively no matter how hard I try, it’s too close to me now. Rohan’s film is his baby and I believe in the product and how strong it is. I’ve seen him spend hours at the background score and on the Spirit machine bringing a drop of water on a rock to its perfect colour. I now see two sides of Rohan: the friend and the filmmaker. Both have respect but both will always remain in control without really showing it.

In the past few weeks, a teaser trailer was decided on, promos were put together, the music we’ve been humming has finally had an official release so it’s out for the public’s verdict and the film is being completely readied for release on August 15th worldwide with special events in every possible country to mark its release. Kuch Naa Kaho doesn’t feel like it’s a new director’s first film nor does it come across as one when you watch it. There are surprises in there and intricate moments he’s done in very subtle ways always to keep the film entertaining yet not stray from what he’s trying to say. If film is a medium where the product is a filmmaker’s notepad as paper is to a writer, get ready for an outstanding feature.

I want to personally request every reader who has supported me and my work, read and enjoyed the articles, features, commentaries and interviews and written in to me to go and see Kuch Naa Kaho on the big screen and to write in and let me know what you think of it. It’s a film I’m coming out to say wholeheartedly I support and is close to my heart, I hope you allow it to be close to yours as well.
From Rohan, from Aishwarya, Abhishek and the entire team of the film, I invite you to experience and enjoy Kuch Naa Kaho.

Fuad Omar.