2024-08-19 01:04:52
For Anand L Rai, who came to cinema after studying computer engineering, entering the film world was not a dream. He was rejected about 35 times for ‘Tanu Weds Manu’. He said- In whichever bogie I was in, there would be at least 2 or 4 people reading this. Only then did I understand how Hindi pulp is spread on the railway tracks in India.
The path to films was not easy for Anand L Rai who came to cinema from the field of computer engineering. But his passion to make his own kind of cinema made him a well-known filmmaker. Anand L Rai, who has given films like ‘Tanu Weds Manu’ and ‘Raanjhanaa’, is in the news these days with ‘Haseen Dilruba’. In this meeting, he talks about many untold things.
How did you come into the creative field of cinema while studying computer engineering?
Even before being a creative person, engineering was my own choice. As is the norm in a middle class household, parents want their son to study, so being the son of a teacher, that was the case. I chose computer engineering out of my own will, but by the time I was finishing this course, I had realized that I would not fit in this field. I was also inclined towards stories. My elder brother Ravi Rai was in the same field, so I joined him. Then I realized that this is a world where I do not get tired. My wife also says that I am the happiest on the set.
Did you also go through the phase of rejection?
(Laughs) Many times. Whenever we got rejected, we would go out to eat at a nice place. We got rejected for ‘Tanu Weds Manu’ almost 35 times and after every rejection, Himanshu (writer Himanshu Sharma) and I would eat a nice meal worth Rs 500. One day we even calculated that if we had saved this much money, we could have bought a small Nano. For 15 years, I struggled to make my own film and then I opened my own production house, which is doing well with the blessings of God.
In your films, female characters are important and strong. Which women have influenced you in your life?
My mother, my wife, all the women around me, the women in my office. To be honest, when we talk about equality, I think why are we even doing this? We are equal. I have never seen women as inferior or weaker gender. When I was in Delhi and used to board a bus, it felt weird to offer a seat to a woman. Yes, you can offer them a seat out of respect, but not by considering them weak. I think they are capable and strong in every way. I have seen the women around me wake up in the morning, make breakfast and go to work. I think the strongest person in my family is my mother.
What was the most difficult time and proudest moment of your life?
I have never treated success and failure differently. Failure does not scare me and neither am I enchanted by success. I have never said till date that my film will do business of 150 crores. I do not have a formula for anything, I have only one thing, which is my destiny. I have handled failure in the same way as I handled success. Now, when my initial film Strangers did not work, was I broken? Absolutely not. Was I sad when I was making Tanu Weds Manu and was facing problems? In Atrangi, I understood that I had made a mistake and I learned from my mistakes, but my cinema has always moved forward. My biggest effort is that I work with love every time and you meet me with the same love. I can proudly say that I have never been insecure about my work in front of the industry or the audience that if my film does not work, I will not get love. I always get my share of love.
Your film Phir Iye Haseen Dilruba, based on pulp fiction (arousing erotic content or characters), this time the colours of pulp fiction are more bold and fierce?
When ‘Haseen Dilruba’ was being made, even then I was sure that pulp fiction is a unique thing that we don’t even know is in our DNA. This is the kind of writing that is in our subconscious, because as a middle class person I have travelled a lot by train, so when I used to go to my college in Aurangabad, on the way, when I was at the station, in the bogie I was in, there were at least 2 or 4 people reading this. I understood how Hindi pulp is spread on the railway tracks in India. What I mean to say is that somewhere Hindi pulp had this kind of impact on us. We are ready to react. So I knew that it has its own audience. In Haseen Dilruba, they liked it through the characters of Taapsee, Rishu and Vikram. I felt that the story does not end there, a bigger story is needed from there and this is how Haseen Dilruba was born.
Why did you not think of releasing this film in theatres?
When Haseen Dilruba was being made, it was being made for theatres only. But then we went through the pandemic and lockdown. Theatres were closed. Looking at the situation at that time, it was decided to launch it on OTT. When the time for Haseen Dilruba came, it definitely came to mind that this film could be released theatrically, but then it was also decided with a cool mind that the film has already received its share of love on OTT. It has its own fan base, so let’s not touch it, let’s continue.
The characters in your films are grey. What do you consider your grey side?
I don’t think anyone in my stories is perfect. In all the films I have directed, Tanu Weds Manu, Raanjhanaa etc., the characters were not flawless. I think clean characters don’t make stories work. We like flaws. I think we are all grey, but the important thing is whether you are accepted with your weaknesses or not? I agree that we should not be too angry or hyper. But when I am in the process of making a film and I am not able to attend my daughter’s parent-teacher meeting, will my family get angry with me? If your family understands you in such a situation, it is great. I am not saying that you should not fulfill your responsibilities. When Tanu smokes or drinks in the film, does she not look like a daughter of the house? When she tells Manu in the tattoo scene that she will find another one, does it come to the fore? No, right? Then it is okay.