Arindam Chaudhuri looks back at 20 years of Rok Sako To Rok Lo
Recognition of a much-felicitated Bollywood personality.
14 December, 2024: Dr. Arindam Chaudhuri’s journey of 8 films with 5 National Awards started with Rok Sako To Rok Lo exactly 20 years back. In a way that’s been his personal motto and story of life! Released on Dec 10th 2004, the film launched Planman Motion Pictures in Bollywood in a way that everyone was forced to look up and notice.
In a Facebook post (Facebook.com/dr.arindamchaudhuri) Arindam writes, “Crazy experience it was. The director who was to originally direct backed out exactly 3 weeks before the shoot was to commence—based on the oldest issue of tinsel town. He was sure that with a huge set ready, and a ₹2cr advance paid out to the main lead, there was no way I would not bend to his whims. I didn’t. And decided to direct the film myself. Rest as they say is history— perhaps for the first time ever in Bollywood, a director was seen shooting an entire film in formal suits!!”
The film starring Superstar Sunny Deol & Miss India Namrata Shirodkar, awesomely supported by stellar actors Archana Puran Singh, Rajit Kapur, Tinnu Anand, Tiku Talsania, Aanjjan Srivastav, Rakesh Bedi & Deepti Bhatnagar launched Fresh Faces Manjari Fadnnis, Yash Pandit. It created a stir with its chart busting music, directed by Jatin-Lalit with highly meaningful and inspiring Lyrics by Prasoon Joshi and sung by the soulful Shaan, Alka Yagnik, Shreya Ghoshal, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Sonu Nigam, Sunidhi Chauhan & Babul Supriyo. Arindam further states that RSTRL leaving him with “memories and learnings of a lifetime.
Dr. Arindam Chaudhuri directing Megastar Sunny Deol on the sets of Rok Sako To Rok Lo
The Mahurat Shot was given by the legendary Yash Chopra (to whom the film was dedicated) in the presence of Raj Kumar Barjatya, Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini and the Music was launched by Farhan Akhtar! RSTRL became the benchmark of marketing for years to come and became the first ever film in India to release simultaneously in the Cinema Halls and Mobile Phones (yes way back in 2004)!
Of course over next few years, this mega gate crashing into Bollywood by Planman Motion Pictures (Planmanmotionpictures.com) led to 5 National Film Awards (three of the them going to Arindam personally) from their total of 8 released films including for Best Films —for the Amitabh Bachchan, Preity Zinta starrer “The Last Lear” and Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh starrer “Do Dooni Chaar”.
On his upcoming projects, Arindam says, “We have Rituparno Ghosh’s last film and one comedy, “Sunglass” yet to be released as we had sold it to a party who failed to release and taking the rights back was a tedious process. Post that new ventures are in pipeline and you can expect PMP to be back soon with big projects. I must add I’m lucky that the only movie I directed had such a stellar cast along with Sunny Deol and the only TVC I directed had Sachin Tendulkar. Now I am also itching to direct my next film— soon“.
