Salman's 'Hello' based on call centre set for release

Bollywood actor Salman Khan is playing Chetan Bhagat's role in his next film 'Hello', which is an on-screen adaptation of the latter's best-selling novel based on series of events that take place in the life of six persons working in a call centre one night.

"Told through the views of the protagonist, Shyam, it is the story of almost lost love, thwarted ambitions, an absence of family affection, pressures of patriarchal set up, and the work environment of a globalized office," says Atul Agnihotri, the director of the film.

The cast of the film, scheduled for the worldwide release on October 10, includes Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Gul Panag, Sohail Khan, Sharman Joshi and Amrita Arora. The film is an adaptation of the book 'One Night @ The Call Centre' by Chetan Bhagat. The music has been composed by Sajid-Wajid.

"There is a lot more that goes on behind trouble-free looking job of call centre. From being pressured to reach sales targets to heart breaking racist comments that they have to smile off politely, these call centre employees have their own portion of issues. The movie is a tale about the events that takes place in the lives of six persons working in a call centre one night," says Agnihotri.

"Chetan's book was a huge hit all over and was a best-seller. I thought it would be great to make it into a film," adds the upbeat director, who had a miserable run at box office with his first film 'Dil Ne Jise Apna Kaha' with Salman Khan.

When asked what he thinks of a call centre job, he says, "Its good for an age group 20 something and one of the most common ways of making good money for youngsters. It is an extremely popular job profile especially among a very large portion of the youth. Maximum employment is seen in call centers and it is responsible for turning over more than half the youngsters from non-earning to earning members of their respective families."

According to the director, the story of the film starts when Katrina Kaif meets Salman Khan as a stranger in a lounge and narrates to him the story of a group of call center employees who find their life changing forever after they get a call from God.

Chetan Bhagat's another book 'Five Point Someone' is also being made into a film titled Three Idiots by the acclaimed director Rajkumar Hirani and have Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi, R Madhavan and Kareena Kapoor in the lead roles.