‘I’m yet to meet the superstar Shah Rukh’
Director Aanand L Rai on his association with his Zero lead
The making of Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma’s Zero took around 5 years. Director Aanand L Rai and his co-writer Himanshu Sharma got this idea before the making of Tanu Weds Manu Returns. But they knew then and there that making this film will not be an easy task.
“And we never wanted this to be a smooth journey. Because every story has its own challenges and it’s only then that you can extract something new out of it. If you play safe then it can turn into something that is boring. We knew this was an exciting, challenging but extremely time-consuming journey as well. We were prepared for this journey to take very long and the only right way to make this film was to make it with a very happy state of mind,” said Aanand while talking to City Times over the phone from Mumbai.
Aanand considers Himanshu as his partner in crime and together they have collaborated on movies like Tanu Weds Manu, Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Ranjhana.
Through their movies, they brought forward relatable characters from the small towns of India.
Aanand is also known for putting his strength behind movies that are high on content but low on budget. Apart from his directorial, this year he produced movies like Mukkabaaz, Manmarziyaan, and Tumbbad.
Aanand is working with a superstar like Shah Rukh Khan for the first time. Did he write this film keeping Shah Rukh in mind? “There is an entire process that I follow when it comes to making movies. The idea for this movie came much before I started making Tanu Weds Manu Returns but it was just an idea. Then I went and directed Tanu Weds Manu Returns. I had a few
names in my mind till the time the story was just an idea. But the day my story took the shape of a script, then it was SRK all the way.”
While working with Shah Rukh,
they formed a special bond. But he believes that he is yet to meet the ‘Superstar Shah Rukh’ because the Chak De India actor was present on the sets without any hangover being a superstar. “I get very emotional talking about Shah Rukh Khan. I never thought that in my forties, I will meet someone and discover the special relationship that we both share - a very brotherly and friendly bond. All creative people are very selfish which is okay but I never thought I will meet someone with whom I will get attached in a selfless way. He is one of the biggest stars of India and yet he is so approachable. In this entire journey, I am yet to meet the superstar called Shah Rukh because I haven’t met him.”
Even though Zero is heavy on VFX and special effects, the director wanted to make sure that his film stays true to its soul and he always made sure that emotions were the driving force of the film and not heavy VFX.
“The only thing I can tell you is that the film has heavy VFX and also the movie has gone through a long process. But you will see emotions and not notice any VFX. Any form of creativity, whether writing, direction or technique should be used to tell a story rather than getting noticed. I am the kind of director who prefers shooting in real locations with very real characters. Hence with all the VXF, I felt like I was creating a new being altogether. We wanted to extract the reality out of it. Even in VFX, we were looking for the magic of real feelings. VFX is a form of emotion in this film and not just a technique.”