On Location/Hindustan Ki Kasam

It is the last schedule of what Veeru Devgan hopes will be the blockbuster of the decade. And in its course save a few sagging careers as well. He is shooting the climax of Hindustan Ki Kasam in the open air oven that is the Pavan Hans airstrip, in Juhu. And his entire crew seems exhausted. Clad in a camouflage suit Ajay Devgan is in the throes of death as his mother Farida Jalal cries all over him. The sexy Sushmita Sen looks over her shoulder with concern. While Amitabh Bachchan naps in his van. No, that’s not part of the shot. The Big B is only to come on later, much later. He appears after the lunch break, in a snow-white wig and beard, looking rumpled and sleepy, to pose for some stills. Then he all but races back to the airconditioning of his van. Ajay Devgan takes time off to sign autographs but does not much else. Sushmita Sen makes small talk for a bit but is whisked off by make-up men who put her under a canopy of umbrellas to make sure that nothing tarnishes her bright and radiant look.

The director is in a slightly more expansive mood as he sits in the shade of a verandah. "The film isn’t a just patriotic film. It’s more along the lines of the older Manoj Kumar films where there’s a bit of everything with a strong message of underlying patriotism. If I tell you more, the suspense will get killed." However, Devgan hastens to clarify — several times — that Bachchan is playing `his age. Well, the wig certainly was a sign of the times.

— Ruchi Sharma