‘Romantic films are rare in Bollywood these days’
Anubhav Sinha made his mark 15 years ago with his blockbuster hit, and directorial debut film Tum Bin. After directing action films like Dus, Cash and Ra.One, Sinha is coming up with his new romantic venture Tum Bin II. He recently spoke to Guardian 20 about his new project and about why there is no pure love story being made in Bollywood these years.
Making a sequel to Tum Bin was never on Sinha’s mind. It was the audience’s love and appreciation that inspired him to make it. “Tum Bin was a very small film but it became so successful. There were not many theatres in India at the time and films would run for a week or so, but within a week only it got success and appreciation. At that point of time, there was no system of making sequels and franchises, so we just celebrated the happiness as Bhushan [Bhushan Kumar of T Series] was new, I was new and then we moved on in life. Then, over the years, one realised that we kept getting the love for the film and around 2010 and 2011, Facebook and Twitter happened. This is the time when people started talking to me directly and then there was just a demand to make the film sequel. This was a time roughly when the culture of sequels had just started in India. So it occurred to us that maybe this film has lived for so long and the love only increases, so this is a good time to make Tum Bin II.”
Before coming to films, Sinha was a mechanical engineer in Delhi. In the year 1990, he thought he wanted to do something else in life. “I was a mechanical engineer and was not enjoying my job, so one day I just quit. And then I looked for what I wanted to do for about a year. At the end of the year, I figured out that I wanted to be a director. I was in Delhi then and later I moved to Bombay.”
Sinha then assisted Pankaj Parashar for three- and- ahalf years and then moved on to directing television shows like Shikasht and Sea Hawks and further, music videos. Subsequently, his first film Tum Bin happened.
He worked with newcomers in Tum Bin. And yet again, two newcomers, Aashim Gulati and Aditya Seal, are going to be seen in Tum Bin II. Sinha believes that working with new actors is always simpler. He says, “It is always comfortable. Also, it is a franchise which has been known for its freshness, whether it’s the actors or the locations, so I think Tum Bin is a franchise which will always be recognised for its new actors.”
Sinha, who has also worked with the biggest names from the industry like Shah Rukh Khan in Ra.One, thinks that there are pluses and minuses of working with big stars, just as there the benefits and drawbacks of working with newbies. He says, “You can mould the biggest of stars. They are always happy to mould themselves according to the characters but both have their pluses and minuses. When you are working with a star there is a star charisma and an image that you have to deal with but with newcomers you don’t have to deal with that sort of thing. It is absolutely a fresh face but at the same time when you have to release a film with a star, it’s way easier to release it, or so it seems. But also there are so many expectations attached to a film. But when you are releasing a film with newcomers, it’s not that easy because you need to recognise, you need to make somethig that excites people enough so they come and see your film.”
Sinha’s films are known for its memorable, romantic songs. The popular number “Koi Fariyaad” from Tum Bin, sung by Jagjeet Singh, which boosted the popularity levels of the film, will continue to be a part of the sequel. “I wanted to keep one song from the original version to and this looked like the most apt one and also I was very close to Jagjeet ji and that’s also my tribute to him. It made a very important role in making the film successful so it’s more out of love that we created this song,” he says.
Sinha thinks that Bollywood is not making decent romantic films these days. “We are not making pure romance-based films in Bollywood and that is something very surprising. Pure love stories are not being made. These past few years, we have made more action films. There are too many genres mixed into one and Tum Bin II is a pure love story. It only deals with love,” he says.
Having made action films himself, is Sinha not thinking of making a Ra.One sequel some day? “You never know!” he says. “I would continue making action films and I love making them. But I don’t know about Ra.One. Ra.One will also get made at some point of time but right now I am not thinking of that. Action is also a very complex genre. It takes a lot of preparation time and writing time so, whenever I am done with it, the film will be made. ”
Sinha has also produced the film Gulaab Gang. When asked what kind of films he is looking to produce in the future, he says, “Right now, I am only producing films which I am directing so let’s see how it pans out. Sometimes, the script or the story is so exciting that they go outside the rules you made and you allow it to happen. But who knows? If I get a fantastic script, I get inspired to produce it.”
Tum Bin II is going to hit the theatres in November along with Force 2, starring John Abraham and Sonakshi Sinha. But Sinha believes that his film will be successful in creating a space for itself. He says, “Some films are bound to release with us. These days we don’t get a solo release especially for small films but last time we had Aks releasing with us, but we managed to make a niche for ourselves and I am sure this time also, we will find our space.”
Sinha doesn’t know if Tum Bin II is different from other romantic films but he believes that the audiences would love this film. “It is a very different story and a new story with different characters. At the same time, it’s written in a manner wherein once you come out of the theatre, you would have experienced Tum Bin again,” he concludes.
Sinha assisted Pankaj Parashar for threeand-a-half years and then moved on to directing television shows like Shikasht and Sea Hawks and sometimes even music videos. Subsequently, his first film Tum Bin happened.