By Subhash K. Jha
Mumbai, July 11 (IANS) After hitting the bull’s eye with debut film “Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na”, director Abbas Tyrewala doesn’t know how audiences will relate to his next venture that stars his wife Pakhi and John Abraham. And that’s one of the reasons he wants choreographer Ahmed Khan on board.

Abbas was recently spotted on the sets of Siddharth Anand’s “Anjaana Anjaani” in earnest discussion with Ahmed, who was shooting a club song with Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra.

While Ahmed was pleading his inability to choreograph the song, Abbas was insistent. The director needs to bring an element of identifiable glamour, music and masti into his film.

Abbas is urgently in need of giving his untitled film a specific marketing spin. But the problem is the love story in Abbas’ film has no reference point.

“Forget a reference point. There’s no definite image or idea to create a sense of identification with the protagonists. I don’t have a title as yet. No my film is not called ‘Call Me…Dil’,” said Abbas.

“In my first film ‘Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na’ there was at least the youthful theme to create a marketing base. In my second film, there’s a new leading lady who happens to be my wife and John, who goes against his image and doesn’t take off his shirt even once. It’s a love story. But the audiences have no way of relating to it because they haven’t seen anything like it,” he said.

So would Abbas use Hrithik Roshan’s image from “Kites” of trying to feed pasta to those who are used to biryani?

“Not at all. Pasta like biryani is filling and sumptuous. How do I market a delicate piece like my film? It’s like trying to convince guests at a dinner joint to have sushi instead of biryani.”

This is where Ahmed Khan’s choreography comes in. Abbas wants to use his choreographic skills to create a sense of identification for his unconventional love story with the audience.

Ahmed apparently had no dates to spare. Now Abbas has persuaded the choreographer to shoot a song with John and Pakhi July 14-16.

Said Abbas: “It took some convincing. But we needed Ahmed’s dancing to generate that right amount of youthful pep and zest in the audiences’ mind.”

Abbas is also counting on the far more conventional “Anjaana Anjaani”, which releases a fortnight before his film, to generate the right romantic ambience for the John-Pakhi starrer

“Let’s admit it. Any member of the audience would give anything to see Priyanka and Ranbir together. I’m hoping some of that audience would be there waiting to see John and Pakhi. We are counting on ‘Anjaana Anjaani’ to create a romantic atmosphere for our film. Then maybe they’d accept sushi after biryani,” the director said.