‘We take scripts from South and remake them, why not take actors?’
Aanand L Rai is one director every actor worth his salt wants to work with. For starters after not having worked with big directors for many years -Akshay Kumar has collaborated with Aanand for three films – two as a director – Atrangi
Re and Raksha Bandhan – and one as a producer, Gorkha for director Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan. Kangana Ranaut and R Madhavan have worked in two films with Aanand and so has Dhanush. What works in Aanand’s favour is the fact that not only is he an affable person, but a rather emotional one at that. How does he judge himself? “The only thing I never like to do is judge anyone. That is one thing that keeps my sanity. I don’t judge people and that’s the reason people are comfortable, says Aanand. “For me direction is also something that is unseen and can be felt, I feel that a director should not be seen but felt,” he lets out the reason behind his success.
Rai was also the first person to bring Dhanush to Bollywood with Raanjhanaa and now everyone is bridging the north and the south.
Says filmmaker, Aanand L Rai, who is gearing up for his upcoming romantic drama, Atrangi Re, which stars Akshay Kumar, Sara Ali Khan and South star, Dhanush in lead roles
“When I do that, it is for a story and it is not a strategy. At the time of Raanjhanaa I had this feeling that this is my country and these are my people and this bunch of talents belong to us. So, I should not feel hesitant in approaching talent from the south. We take scripts and remake them. So why not take the actors? And make it as universal as possible. If Pritam is mine, so is AR Rahman, ditto with Dhanush and Akshay Sir.”
As for his latest offering Atrangi Re starring Akshay, Dhanush and Sara Ali Khan he says. “This is the purest form of love coming from me. I have been very fearless in telling the story. There is no mathematics. Maybe with my third decade in this field, the only thing I try to keep away is the craft. I want to be real.
Atrangi Re can perhaps touch the right chord and the right heartbeat and it tells you that love is not about just one form and colour. As a human you don’t get one love story, you get multiple stories and colours and that’s how it
becomes Atrangi Re,” he says.