The high five

Anurag Kashyap’s Mukkabaaz is all set to release today. While there is a lot of excitement around the film due to its response at film festivals, the makers list out five must-see reasons to watch the film.

AANAND L RAI AND ANURAG KASHYAP’S COLLABORATION

Representing two distinct kinds of cinemas, Aanand L Rai and Anurag Kashyap have collaborated for the first time. While the former is known for his small town romantic tales under his banner, the latter has a penchant for dark hard-hitting films. Talking about this, Anurag says, “I like the way Aanand creates his characters and infuses life into them. The conflicting nature of these characters takes the story forward and that’s his USP as a filmmaker.”

VINEET SINGH’S TRANSFORMATION

The lead actor of the film, Vineet Singh was trained like a professional boxer. In fact, Vineet endured over 20 injuries during his 700-day training period. After months of training, Vineet acquired a lean muscular body that helped him get into the skin of his character.

ZOYA HUSSAIN, THE NEW TALENT

Essaying the role of Sunaina, a speech-impaired girl, Zoya left no stone unturned to ensure she stayed true to her character in the film. She learnt sign language from Sangeeta Gala, who has trained actors for the films Black (2005), Barfi! (2012) and Shamitabh (2015), and also interacted with hearing- and speech-impaired people.

KEEPING IT REAL

A common thread between that binds Anurag and Aanand is that they both share a liking for real locations as opposed to shooting on sets. The film is shot in Bareilly and Benaras in Uttar Pradesh, bringing the rustic atmosphere of the towns to the big screen. Describing the experience of shooting in Uttar Pradesh, his hometown, Anurag says, “Shooting in real locations is always challenging but also fun since everything around is so real. It was an amazing experience.”

THE MUSIC

Nucleya (Udyan Sagar)’s ‘Paintra’ is already a popular track along with the other popular songs such as ‘Mushkil hai apna’, ‘Bahot dukha mann’ and ‘Saade teen baje’.

Presented by Eros International and Aanand L Rai and produced by Colour Yellow in association with Phantom Films, Mukkabaaz releases today.

(Clockwise from left) Ravi Kishan, Aanand L Rai, Jimmy Sheirgill, Anurag Kashyap, Vineet Singh and Zoya Hussain