We know filmmaker and author Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri as somebody who has a rebellious streak in him and is unafraid to speak his mind. We know him as a director, screenwriter, author and producer. But, did you know that Agnihotri always gave the opportunity to local artists in his films to showcase their art. The Buddha In A Traffic Jam director is giving a chance to the Qawwali Folk Artistes of Bhopal in his upcoming film ‘The Last Show’.

According to sources “Director Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri flew to Bhopal to begin the shoot of his next film, ‘The Last Show’, with actors Anupam Kher and Satish Kaushik. There, folk artistes met the director who was shooting with Anupam Kher at the city’s Shaukat Mahal. The folk artistes dedicated a Qawwali to the director. Agnihotri loved the performance of the artistes. He decided to do something about the revival of old and forgotten Qawwali groups of Bhopal.”

The Tashkent Files director Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri stated, “The Last Show is a tribute to dying arts of India like folk theatre, qawwali, brass band, etc. I have worked hard to find these old artistes who are lost in oblivion and nobody cares about them. You might not have heard of this qawwali group but they are masters of their art.”

Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s directorial feature ‘The Last Show’, will celebrate 45 years of friendship shared by Anupam Kher and Satish Kaushik. The film is being jointly produced by Anupam Kher, Rumi Jafry, Satish Kaushik and Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri.

Actors Anupam Kher and Satish Kaushik will start shooting for director Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s film ‘The Last Show’ with proper safety precautions amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Since the lockdown, which was enforced in March, this will be the first time Kher and Kaushik will visit a set. The Bombay High Court recently permitted actors above 65 to resume shooting. Earlier, actors beyond this age were barred from partaking in any kind of shoot.

Talking about the safety measures being taken by the team, Anupam Kher says, “ Of course, people feel concerned, especially our families. But once they knew about the safety measures, they felt secure. We have professionals Covid marshals, ensuring all the required precautions are taken. But above all, everyone has to be considerate and caring towards others.” Further added “struggle, pain, suffering, celebration and success. We compete professionally but bond personally. We’ve never lost love and respect for each other. We’ve never looked at life from tragic point of view. We always found humour and inspiration in every situation. When Vivek discussed this inspirational story -full of beauty, love and laughter -we were fascinated by vision of human psyche. We realised that during the Covid crisis, the world needs inspiration, positivity, and above all humour. So, in a way Vivek is celebrating our unique friendship for the world to fall in love with friendship, again,”

Veteran Satish Kaushik admits he had certain hesitation about shooting for any project. “Most films shoots haven’t started and there was a sense of pessimism in people, with predictions of a slow death of cinema. Both of us and Vivek are born fighters and eternal optimists. So, we started shooting to inspire others, experiment and innovate in these times and send a message that cinema lives to entertain, inspire and fill this world with laughter.”

Director Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri says “I had worked meticulously on SOP and other technical aspects about the shoot in details. I proposed to do mock shoots just to make the crew used to shooting in the new environment and change habits. Plus, we are carrying three medicines with us. We believe they protect everyone against the most rigid challenges. These medicines are: Positivity, love and laughter.”

Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s next directorial feature ‘The Last Show’, will celebrate 45 years of friendship shared by Anupam Kher and Satish Kaushik. The film will be jointly produced by Anupam Kher, Rumi Jafry, Satish Kaushik and Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri.