EXCLUSIVE: Anil Sharma confesses that the film industry underestimated Gadar 2 and hence OMG 2 clashed on August 11; admits that Sara Ali Khan was considered to be launched opposite Utkarsh Sharma in Genius
Gadar 2 will enter its fourth week tomorrow. Yet, the promotions of the Sunny Deol-starrer are going on. Director Anil Sharma exclusively spoke to Bollywood Hungama about the film and a lot more. Before the interview began, he asked the public relations executive to click a picture of his rakhi that he wanted to send to his sisters based outside Mumbai. It was clear that though he was busy with his next and enjoying the blockbuster success of the film, he hadn’t forgotten his family.
How has your life changed since August 11?
Life is still the same. Wohi jagah baitha hoon (in my office). But there’s a lot of excitement among the public. Yeh dekh ke mujhe bhi anand aa raha hai. Now the question in my mind is aage kya karna hai, kaise karna hai. At the same time, I am doing interviews. People are congratulating me. I feel blessed. Logon ke jeevan mein ek Gadar nahin aati. Ishwar ne mujhe do Gadar di. I have also delivered Hukumat (1987), Tahalka (1982), Elaan-E-Jung (1989), Farishtey (1991), Apne (2007) etc. I feel very touched.
You made an interesting observation during the success press conference of Gadar 2 that in Hollywood, filmmakers like Clint Eastwood continue to work though they are so old. But in Bollywood, older filmmakers struggle to get their films on floors. Did you also go through it when Singh Saab The Great (2013) and Genius (2018) didn’t work?
We all go through it. Problem system ki hai. Ultimately, one needs to spend money to make films. Anybody would put money only if he/she is sure that he/she will make a profit. So, I can’t blame the studios for it. If you haven’t delivered, why would anyone invest in your film? If you deliver, then people will be ready to fund you. Yeh system mein koi dosh nahin hai. Emotions mein dosh hai. Emotionally, we tend to think that ‘hamare andar bahut kuch hai. Humein mauka diya jaaye khelne ka’. This happens in cricket and also in politics. Many people believe that unhe bhi mauka milna chahiye. Lekin maine kabhi yeh nahin socha ki koi mauka dega mujhe. Kyunki mauka koi nahin deta. Mauka lena padta hai. Toh mauka lene ke liye aapko prayaas karna padega. Once you get the opportunity and arrive on the pitch, you need to ensure that you hit a sixer. You have a body of work. The public believes that you have the potential. Even today, if Sourav Ganguly suddenly decides to play, the people will be confident that woh chakke pe chakke maarega.
Hence, if you can still play, you should go for it. Or else, you should make way for more deserving filmmakers. Today, if an old filmmaker, who has given hits in the past but wants work, he should contact a new, promising actor. He might not get the appointment easily but he’ll get it eventually. Even if that director lands up at the actor’s shooting unannounced, woh actor usko bhaga nahin dega. He’ll give you 15 minutes. In that brief time, if you manage to narrate a powerful story, then you are back. Woh chamatkar aapko hi karna padega.
Clint Eastwood at the age of 93 is still working because he’s still creating magic in his films. The older the director, the more experienced he would be and he would be able to see life in a better way. He just needs a little encouragement from the industry and he needs to show his magic.
Some of your recent films have had a common theme. In Gadar – Ek Prem Katha (2001), audiences believed that Ashraf Ali (Amrish Puri) and his family perished in the riots. But later, we learnt that they were alive in Pakistan. In The Hero: Love Story Of A Spy (2003), it is believed that Preity Zinta’s character died in the blast only to later learn that she survived. In Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo (2004), when Akshay Kumar was believed to be dead, he returned. And in Gadar 2, Tara was thought to have been captured in Pakistan. But that was not the case…
I never thought of it. Aapne mujhe yeh baat discover karayi hai (smiles). I am glad you noticed. Aapse bhi kuch seekhne ko mila mujhe.
I won’t call it a formula but it’s a plot point that has worked among the public…
Yes, it’s appealing to the masses. So, I guess, subconsciously I might be getting attracted to it!
In a recent exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, you said that you are reworking the VFX in certain scenes of Gadar 2. The reworked version will be available on OTT…
I said that I wanted to better the VFX. We had a limited budget for the film. Pichli Gadar ki kadar nahin hui thi industry mein. Some people had called Gadar as Gutter. Gadar 2 ki bhi kadar nahin thi, when it was in production. Logon ko lag raha tha ki ainwayi film hai. Isliye ek film hamare opposite bhi aa gayi. Otherwise, no one clashes with a biggie. Is anybody clashing with Jawan? But with Gadar 2, the industry felt that iss film mein dum nahin hai. Hence, we got limited budget. It was made in just Rs. 60 crores. When I used to narrate the story, some industry personalities had predicted it would collect Rs. 70-80 crores. Lekin main kehta tha ki Rs. 500 crore ka dhanda karegi. Some people used to get excited with my prediction. They felt, ‘Director ko aisa bolne do. Aisa excitement hoga toh Rs. 150 crore tak toh film pahuch hi jaayegi’! This is how I got the budget of Rs. 60 cores with the hope that it’ll collect Rs. 150 crores. Ultimately, paise lagaoge toh paisa aayega. I have no complaints from anybody.
Due to limited budget, we shot for real without relying on VFX. As a director, now whenever I see the film, I feel that some scenes can be better. Hence, we are working on it.
Tanuj Garg was the one who called Gadar as Gutter. Did he see Gadar 2?
(Smiles) Main nahin jaanta Gutter unhone kaha ya kisi aur ne…
It was you who named him in an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama before the release of Singh Saab The Great…
Tab munh se nikal gaya hoga. But now, I don’t want to name anybody or complain about anyone. I am very happy. Sansar khush rahein. There’s a saying, ‘Nindak niyare raakhi, aangane kutiye chhavaay’. It means that keep the cynics close to you so that you improve your craft. Hence, to all the nindaks and critics, who have panned my film, I’d like to embrace them and thank them from the bottom of my heart. It’s thanks to them that I have become better as a filmmaker.
I saw this film in a single screen theatre. Many viewers got agitated when Sunny Deol was absent for almost 30 minutes in the first half of Gadar 2. Some of them angrily shouted ‘Sunny Deol kidhar hai?’. This happened in many cinema halls. Your thoughts?
I don’t think along those lines. My story was about Arjun and Abhimanyu. When Abhimanyu went inside the chakravyuh, the focus was on Abhimanyu, not on Arjun. Logon ko dekhna hai Abhimanyu kaise badh raha hai, kaise woh pita ko dhundte waqt chakravyuh mein fasta chala jaata hai. It’s an interesting idea. Tara Singh ko jab aana hai, woh aayega. People were waiting to see him but they were not bored. Or else, the film wouldn’t have done Rs. 500 crores of business.
True and once he came all of a sudden, the film went on another level…
That was the twist. And we knew that that jab woh jaake Pakistan mein dushman ko fod denge, tab box office futega (smiles)!
You recently revealed that unlike most Hindi films which arrive on digital platforms 8 weeks after theatrical release, Gadar 2 will release after 3-4 months on Zee5…
Yes. When the film is doing so well, why would Zee Studios release it on OTT so soon?
On the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, the makers of Zee gave two tickets free for every two tickets…
It was Raksha Bandhan yesterday. I requested Zee that Gadar 2 har aam aadmi ko dekhni chahiye. Not everyone has the money to watch the film with their whole family. That’s why they end up watching the film on pirated websites. To encourage them, we asked them to implement this offer. Kal toh bawaal hi ho gaya. Yesterday’s collection of Rs. 8.60 crores doesn’t count the 2 free tickets. Otherwise, the collections would have been doubled, around Rs. 16 crores. But we didn’t want that. Instead, we wanted more footfalls.
Have you ever thought of a sequel to The Hero: Love Story of A Spy? In today’s times, when people love spy films, the sequel can work big time…
We had toyed with the idea of The Hero 2. We have the full story. Lekin budget nahin mil raha tha. Now, after Gadar 2’s success, we might get the budget!
There are reports that your next film will star Nana Patekar and Utkarsh Sharma…
A lot of things are being talked about. I’ll talk about it when the time is right.
Long back, there were reports that Sara Ali Khan was going to be launched opposite Utkarsh Sharma in Genius (2018). Is it true?
The talks were going on. I was talking to 10 other actresses. She was also talking to 10 other filmmakers. Jo jiske bhagya mein hai, woh unko milta hai.
You are working and giving interviews round the clock. Don’t you think you deserve a break?
(Smiles) The time right now is to work. We have taken enough holidays during the lockdown. Now, I don’t feel the need. Mera kaam hi meri chutti hai. Break leke thak gaya tha. Till the time I am alive, I want to continue to work and feel happiness out of it. Kaam mein hi anand hai!
The post EXCLUSIVE: Anil Sharma confesses that the film industry underestimated Gadar 2 and hence OMG 2 clashed on August 11; admits that Sara Ali Khan was considered to be launched opposite Utkarsh Sharma in Genius appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.
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