And Maanyata watches it too

Close after Aamir Khan saw 'Kidnap' at director Sanjay Gadhvi's residence the cast of 'Kidnap' saw their film last Thursday at Yashraj Studio.

On Friday night, Sanjaya Dutt's wife Maanyata held a trial for her friends at Globus in Mumbai's Bandra area.

As Sanjay is away in South Africa, he could not attend the preview but it was attended by Maanyata's close friends including producer Bunty Walia, Dharam Oberoi, Neha Oberoi, Suniel Shetty, director Soham Shah, Malaika Khan (Zayed Khan's wife), Sophie Chaudhry (who is part of an item song in 'Kidnap') and Ameesha Patel, among others.

Also over the weekend Imran Khan had a trial for his friends at Yashraj Studio though he couldn't attend it himself, as he is in Singapore with Sonam Kapoor and Shilpa Shetty for the Grand Prix.

His stint with Minissha underwater

That Minissha Lamba is a water baby is evident from the promos of Kidnap, which show her swimming and relaxing on the beachside. But who would have thought Imran Khan would parallel his co-star while they were shooting for the film in Mauritius?

It seems Imran and Minissha have shot a chilling underwater sequence in the film, which is among the highlights of the film and also the point when she gets kidnapped. Both the actors rehearsed for the scene for almost a fortnight before taking the 'dive!

Confirms director Sanjay Gadhvi, "We trained in Mumbai in a pool. It was an elaborate shoot with a dedicated underwater DOP and a standby team of divers for rescue. I've used the same underwater specialists as the ones used in Dhoom:2.  While shooting the scene I was on the boat watching the shot on the monitor, which was attached to the underwater camera by cables. We had special communication equipment through which Imran and Minissha could hear me say 'action' and 'cut' while they were underwater."

Seems like this is among the many chills and thrills Kidnap has to offer

When Sanju bababroke down

Everyone knows how close Sanjay Dutt is to his daughter Trishala who is based out of the US. No surprise then that he found his role of a father in Kidnap very close to his heart as he identified with his character of Vikrant Raina.

In Kidnap, Sanjay Dutt's character is kept away from his daughter (played by Minissha Lamba) first by his wife (played by Vidya Malavade) and then by a kidnapper (played by Imran Khan).

When contacted, director Sanjay Gadhvi said, "I think it was in 2002 or 2003 when Adi (Aditya Chopra) and my writer Shibani (Bathija) saw an episode of Farooque Sheikh's Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai on television. Sanju baba was the guest on that show. Shibani was completely bowled over by baba's love for his daughter Trishala and could see the pain and angst in his eyes. She called me immediately to say that we had found our Vikrant Raina. I caught the episode later and couldn't agree more! Vikrant Raina was written for Sanjay Dutt!"

Gadhvi adds, "During the shooting of Kidnap, Sanjay was remined of his own daughter everytime he'd look at Minissha. He'd keep asking me what he would do if his daughter ever got kidnapped in real life. In fact, the scene in Kidnap where he is separated from his daughter is one of his favourites and the closest to him. It was so real-life for him that he actually broke down. His ties with Trishala have grown stronger over the years."

Sanju had such a great time shooting for Kidnap that he wants to play a father once again. He is keen to do a Hindi version of Steve Martin's comedy, Father of the Bride.

Kidnap is an Indian Films - Studio 18 worldwide release and releases today.