Tigmanshu and Ali bond over culture and literature
Ali Fazal has just completed the first schedule of Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Milan Talkies in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Outside of shooting hours, there was a lot of competition between Ali and Tigmanshu on their knowledge of Lucknow. Each tried to outwit the other with their knowledge about the city of nawabs. While Ali may have won in aspects of food, Tigmanshu taught the Fukrey (2013) actor much more about Hindi literature.
A source from the set reveals, “Tigmanshu introduced the actor to many Lucknow-based authors and suggested a few must-read Hindi books. While Ali is already extremely well-read, it was great to see the camaraderie and mentorship between the director and the actor. The duo also discussed cinema and literature.”
Talking about it, Ali says, “Tishu sir’s like a lion. He knows the jungle better than anybody because it’s his turf. His calmness, creativity and skills are unmatchable, and I don’t say this because he is my director. I have never met a man with so many talents and in-depth knowledge of various topics. I am a sucker for history, music and literature and I found my dictionary— a living embodiment of it. Apart from the hectic shoot schedules and scenes, the lunches would be our stress busters. I took to his affinity to stay in tune with writers from all over the world, Urdu and Hindi included. Milan Talkies is not just a film anymore for me. It will remain with me for the rest of my days.”