`Sankat City` a sincere tribute to Mumbai: Pankaj Advani

New Delhi, July 14: Riding high on the critical acclaim of his first mainstream film `Sankat City`, director Pankaj Advani says it is his sincere tribute to Mumbai, a city which inspired him to sketch real-life characters from different cultures and languages."I always wanted to make a film about the city I love. The hero of the film is its script and there are excellent performances by all the actors. It was not an easy film to make with 18 important characters and 60 shooting locations," says the director.

Produced by Moser Baer in association with Seven Entertainment, the star cast includes Kay Kay, Anupam Kher, Rimmi Sen, Chunky Pandey, Rahul Dev, Dilip Prabhavalkar and Yashpal Sharma in the lead roles. The film has got thumbs up from critics for its `paisa vasool` entertainment. "It`s a fast paced film featuring an assortment of characters, like a car thief, con-woman, gangster, flop actor, B-grade film producer, with different ambitions but still interconnected which makes the film a laugh-riot," says Advani, who is also the writer of the film. The film revolves around Guru (Kay Kay Menon), a small-time car thief. Ganpat (Dilip Prabhawalkar), who owns a garage, is his partner-in-crime. They sell stolen cars for handsome profits. One night, while returning to his house, Guru chances upon a swank Mercedes parked outside a brothel, unattended. He steals the car and while working on the car, he and Ganpat discover a sum of Rs. 1 crore in it. Little do they know what`s in store for them as the car and the money belong to a gangster called Faujdaar (Anupam Kher). What happens next is a series of events filled with fum, comedy and also romance between Kay Kay Menon and Rimmi Sen. "People have seen Kay Kay Menon in serious roles. But I was adamant to take him for this role. When I met him with the script, he just loved it. Anupam Kher`s role is also very special," says Advani. When asked about the low publicity of the film`s music, he says, "I think the music of film was not promoted well. Inspite of the fact that the music videos of all the four songs were made, it did not click with the audiences due to lack of promotional strategies." The actor Kay Kay, who is quite upbeat with the good response to the film, says, "It has been a memorable journey for me. What interested me most was the character I play -- Guru. I thoroughly enjoyed working in the film." The lead actress Rimmi Sen also has a word of praise for the film when she says, "Its a situational comedy but still very sensible." Bureau Report