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Neil Nitin Mukesh as Spider in PLAYERS, a film by Abbas Mustain. Picture courtesy Viacom 18. All rights reserved.

Players (2012)

Opened: 01/06/2012 Limited

Trailer: Click for trailer

Websites: Home, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube

Genre: Hindi Drama

Rated: Unrated

Synopsis

It's time to steady yourselves for the biggest action extravaganza that Bollywood has to offer! The dynamic director duo Abbas-Mustan are back to enthrall the audiences one again with the lean and mean heist flick 'Players'. The movie is the official remake of the 2003 Hollywood blockbuster, 'The Italian Job' and promises to be just as much of a thrilling ride!

With a stellar cast of Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Bipasha Basu, Bobby Deol, Sikander Kher and Omi Vaidya, this remake promises to pack one heck of a punch. Players is scheduled to set the screen ablaze in January, 2012.

With high speed chase sequences and state-of-the-art special effects set against the backdrop of gorgeous locales in New Zealand and Goa, Players will redefine Bollywood action movies as we know them.

And hang on to your seats, because this ride has just begun.

Director's Statement

Why did we decide to do a remake of the Hollywood movie, Italian Job? Quite simply, we loved it and realized that a lot of people hadn't seen the film. In fact, there were two of them, made in 1969 and 2003, and we have taken inspiration from both of them.

However, we could not use Italian Job as it was. Indian audiences love the drama and masala of Bollywood movies, so we have added situations, songs and emotions to the movie to make it more appealing to them. And yet, we have retained the basic taste of the original. People love the commotion in such films.The way the actors escape through tunnels and drainage pipes makes the film interesting. The double-crossing and the scheming and plotting are something which keeps them glued to the screen.

Most of our films, whether Race or Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, are multi-starrers. But we never think about a film being a multi-starrer before we make it. Once the script is ready, we decide the star cast. This makes the stars comfortable as well. For this film, Abhishek Bachchan was our prime choice right from the beginning, we always wanted him for the role. After that we needed a young girl, so we thought of Sonam Kapoor, and then Bipasha, who has featured in our earlier movies as well, and she fits the role perfectly.

Shooting in foreign locations is nothing new in Bollywood, but we choose locations for Players that are different from the rest. We even shot a part of the movie in the North Pole! No one has ever shot a film there. It has been the best experience for us, so far. We knew we couldn't go in the winter as it is dark all day. So we went just before the summer. It was the perfect time. All the lakes and rivers were frozen. There was only one hotel. Even though everyone had to adjust there, we were all happy. It was the experience of a lifetime.

We hope you enjoy watching the film as much as we have enjoyed making it.

-- Abbas-Mustanm, Directors