INDIA: Cinema transcends all boundaries. Vikash Verma’s upcoming film “No Means No” is a great example of cinema’s ability to bridge boundaries and bring people together. The first ever Indo-Polish film, “No Means No” is majorly shot in the hitherto unexplored exotic locales of Poland such as the breathtakingly beautiful Zywiecczyzna region, Bielsko-Biala, Szczyrk and Zwardon. The film will introduce Poland to the Indian audiences and is expected to boost tourism and further reinforce the culture connection between India and Poland. Bielsko Biala, also known as Little Vienna, is a stunning town situated in southern Poland. Vikash Verma’s creative decision to base a large part of ‘No Means No’ here will go a long way in putting Bielsko Biala in the limelight for the rest of the world after mostly remaining away from the public attention for a better part of the last century.
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With so many things working in his favor, Vikash Verma certainly has his eyes on something big. He is well poised to achieve for India and Poland with “No Means No” what the legendary Raj Kapoor achieved for India and Russia with his films. What makes “No Means No” really unique is that it is shot simultaneously in three languages viz. English, Hindi and Polish through which Verma endeavors to weave a socio-cultural, religious, and bilateral connect between India and Poland through a love story.
“No Means No” is releasing in 2021 just like the much-awaited James Bond film “No Time to Die” and an interesting connection between the two is that the titles of both films start with “No” and the fact that British intelligence agent named James Bond visited Poland nearly 50 years ago.
“No Means No” revolves around an Indian man (essayed by debutant actor Dhruv Verma) who visits Poland to participate in a ski championship and ends up falling in love with a Polish woman. The film’s ensemble cast includes the likes of Gulshan Grover, Sharad Kapoor, Nazia Hassan, Deep Raj Rana, and Kat Kristian from India, alongside Natalia Bak, Sylwia Czech, Anna Guzik, Pawel Czech, Anna Ador, and Jersey Handzlik from Poland. The playback singers for the big-budget action-adventure include the legendary Hariharan and Shreya Ghoshal. The film’s music team also includes the likes of Rishav Nagh and the ‘Indian Idol’ Judge Arvinder Singh.
Produced by G7 Films Poland, “No Means No” with its breathtaking cinematography brilliantly capturing snow-clad mountains and picturesque vistas provide a hitherto unseen glimpse into the life in Poland. The lead actor Dhruv Verma underwent rigorous training to prepare himself for the role. He spent months in Poland mastering the Israeli fighting style Krav Maga, developed for the army, and Jyrki Sario Defendo, the defensive fighting style developed for the European police, from his guru Bartek Dobrowolski. He also undertook a specially tailored course in gun shooting in addition to the training he received from Sanjay Dutt in disarming and shooting techniques. He also mastered the techniques of 17 different handguns, rifles and shotguns from other maestros at the Strzelnica Gun Club in Bielsko Biala, Poland. He also learnt dancing from the legendary Shiamak Davar.
One of the central themes of the film is women empowerment and the film features powerful female characters. The trailer for Vikash Verma’s film was recently launched with much fanfare at the Hotel Grand Hyatt Mumbai and it bagged the best trailer award. “No Means No” has already received the backing of various Hollywood and Bollywood stars such as Preity Zinta and Steven Seagal. Several leading politicians and diplomats have also vociferously backed the film ahead of its release. Vikash Verma is also making another movie titled “The Good Maharaja”, which will be based on Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja, the Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, Gujarat. In the pre-Independence era, the Maharaja provided shelter and education to around 1,000 Polish children evacuated from the USSR to escape German bombings during World War II.
“Honorable Indian PM Narendra Modi wants people from around the world to know how an Indian Maharaja, without caring for any adverse impact, went ahead to give shelter to the Polish children. One of these children went on to become the Prime Minister of Poland,” reveals Verma who during his research came to discover that the Polish government had installed a statue of the Maharaja in their Parliament and a road had been named after him. However, this is not known to many people in India. One hopes that Verma’s upcoming film will go a long way in making the Maharaja’s contribution to the whole world. The titular role of the Maharaja will be essayed by Sanjay Dutt in the film.
Watch the trailer of “No Means No” here
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