Abbas-Mustan: Men In White Hiren Kotwani/ Ht Style Mumbai, May 2, 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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There are filmmakers who experiment with various genres till they find their true calling and there are those who explore various twists and turns in plots within a genre they're synonymous with it.
Abbas-Mustan are identified by their thrillers. While their latest, 36 China Town comes up for release this Friday, we catch up the directors known for their trademark crisp white outfits, for a quick Q&A.
What new angle are you exploring in 36 China Town?
Abbas-Mustan: Long ago we made Khiladi, a thriller with the usual commercial ingredients. While the characters were serious, there were comic situations. Despite being in the same mould, this one is about a murder that takes place at the address 36 China Town. Every one is a suspect and the story is about how cop Akshaye Khanna solves the mystery.
Why did you cast Shahid and Kapur Kareena Kapoor, given the fate of Fida?
Abbas: We cast Shahid and Kareena because they fit the characters of a young couple perfectly. They're both good actors, thorough professionals who don't let their off-screen lives interfere with their on-screen characters.
Mustan: We cast actors if they suit the characters in our film. What they've done in their past films or how those films fared commercially doesn't really matter to us.
What prompted you to take on newcomer Upen Patel?
Abbas: Upen fitted the character of a rich, stylish playboy. And he's a very graceful dancer as you will see.
Mustan: He's as integral to the script as any of the other actors in the film. He's hard-working and has done a good job. Duos like Nadeem-Shravan and Jatin-Lalit have separated in recent times.
What's the secret of your survival as a team?
Abbas: It's probably our upbringing and God's grace that we think on similar lines and share similar tastes about most things in life. I don't know about others, but we're too closely knit to let any cracks appear in our brotherhood and togetherness. Along with Hussain, our other brother who edits our films, we discuss everything in minute details before arriving at any decision.
Mustan: We've never had ego hassles, insecurities or complexes or any other trait to create problems between us. And whenever we have any differences of opinion, we reason, discuss and sort them out among ourselves.
After 36 China Town, your next is an as yet untitled film for Ashtavinayak Cinevision.
Abbas-Mustan: It stars Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgan, Bipasha Basu and Tanushree Dutta. It's yet another thriller with comic situations. We have completed a song and a couple of scenes with Sanjay and Bipasha. There's also another film with Subhash Ghai and a three-film deal with TIPS. The first one will have Anil Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and Fardeen Khan
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