Anuj Saxena - An interview

"MULTIPLE MISTRESSES IS MORE MY KIND OF SCENE!"

"I'M A PLANNER; I CAN'T AFFORD TO BE IMPULSIVE. THE STAKES ARE TOO HIGH." THAT'S HOW ANUJ SAXENA DESCRIBES HIMSELF. I REMEMBER SOMEONE SAYING ONCE THAT THEY NEVER MAKE PLANS IN LIFE, BECAUSE IT MAKES GOD LAUGH. HARSH WORDS FOR SURE, BUT AT SOME POINT OF TIME OR THE OTHER, THEY'VE HELD TRUE FOR ALL OF US. AND THIS TIME, IT'S ANUJ SAXENA'S TURN TO FACE THE WHIMS OF DESTINY. HIS WELL-THOUGHT OUT PLANS AND MOVES HAVE TAKEN A BIT OF A BEATING IN THE LIGHT OF RECENT HAPPENINGS. WHETHER IT WAS HIS SHOW FOR SONY, RISSHTON KI DOR GOING OFF AIR, OR HIS DEBUT SMALL SCREEN PRODUCTION, KULVADDHU BEING SHOWN THE BOOT, OR EVEN QUITTING AROONA IRANI'S DOLI SAJA KE. LIFE IS DEFINITELY NOT MOVING ACCORDING TO PLAN.

A LESS RESILIENT INDIVIDUAL WOULD HAVE PROBABLY TAKEN A BACKSEAT AND PREFERRED TO INTROSPECT RATHER THAN MOVE AHEAD. YOU WOULDN'T EXPECT THAT FROM ANUJ SAXENA, WHOSE MOTTO HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO MOVE ON AND ATTACK THE NEXT GOAL. AND THAT'S PRECISELY WHAT HE'S DOING NOW. HIS ENERGIES ARE SOLELY CONCENTRATED ON HIS FIRST FILM PRODUCTION, DULHA MIL GAYA, STARRING BIGGIES LIKE SHAH RUKH KHAN AND SUSHMITA SEN, BESIDES HIS NUMEROUS other ventures.

ST: So is he relieved that Risshton Ki Dor has finally gone off air or is he disappointed?

AS: Mubarak ho!. I'm much relieved that the show has wound up. The story was going nowhere; the show was being run just for the sake of being run. A show can never work when everything is so jumbled up. Gautam Adhikari and his production team were brilliant, but since the last six months, there was no head or tail to the story. It didn't make sense to continue. I don't like to frustrate myself, and I hate to go to the set forcefully. I'd rather not go at all. But there were a lot of crew and cast members employed in the show, and I didn't want to be the reason for the show ending. I did think about asking them to replace me. Just then they decided to take it off due to bad ratings. I'm just glad low TRPs was the reason, and not me quitting the show, which was responsible for its end.

ST: He was lucky that Risshton…went off air. Doli Saja Ke hasn't even come on air, and he has already quit it.

AS: Well, that was because of my prior commitments. I took up the show in October, and even shot around 10-15 episodes for them, till about February. I will be on air in the show for at least a month; unless they replace me immediately (the buzz is that Jas Arora has replaced him). In the last six months, a lot of things have come up. There's my business to take care of, my film is being shot, my restaurant; I've already committed to a lot of work. Like I said, I've shot for the show, but there's no guarantee when the show comes on. So instead of living in such uncertainty, I chose to amicably part from the show. Anyway, replacements are part and parcel of the game today.

ST: Is the parting really that amicable?

AS: I'd like to think it is. Aroonaji is a great actress and producer. She's very experienced and knows the ways of the industry like I do. I hope this doesn't affect my relationship with her. I want to work with her in the future for sure; I hope she wants to work with me too. I'm the kind of person who hates spoiling relations with anybody. If the other person doesn't want to talk to me, then that's their problem. But I'm not going to stop talking to someone. Though I understand Aroonaji's predicament. I'd also be upset if I was in her position. I just hope she understands why I took this decision.

ST: It seems like Anuj has decided to turn his back on acting for a while. His attention is divided between all his ventures, and acting seems to be the last of his priorities. He more or less agrees with my deduction.

AS: I am taking an extended break. But I don't want to leave acting as some people are suggesting. Maybe six months down the line, when my film is almost complete, and things are a little clearer, I could take up something. I've consciously decided to stay away from the acting bit because of everything else that's happening in my life right now. But you never know; if someone offers me a great role tomorrow, I might just do it. I want to give more importance to production. At least from a business point of view. There's such a great demand for quality software right now, I'd rather focus my energies on that." Spoken like a true businessman!

ST: One of the many things occupying Anuj's life right now is his production house, Maverick. Unfortunately, his first production, Kulvaddhu didn't meet with a desired fate. Is he still smarting from his debut production being shown the door?

AS: I prefer not to dwell on what's happened and move on. But yes, I have learnt a lot of lessons from this debacle. I've learnt to be smarter and to put my foot down when needed. I will never again buckle to the whims and fancies of a channel. I will stick to my creative decision, come what may! As an actor, I would never let people walk over me. Because I know the trade. But as a producer I was new. I allowed people to walk all over me. It was an expensive lesson, literally and otherwise!

ST: There doesn't seem to be the slightest bit of disillusionment reflected in Anuj's voice.

AS: Oh, there isn't any. Loss is a part of business. I'm treating it like a business deal, which fell through. There's so much money involved; I have to look at it from a business point of view. I hope to recover the losses from the shows that I have planned ahead. I'm positive that I will actually.

ST: That's a great attitude to have in the light of so many things going awry in recent times.

AS: A lot of people have been talking about the bad times I'm going through. But I'm looking at it as the storm before the calm. The decision to quit Doli…was mine entirely. So it's not something that went wrong really. I wanted Risshton…to end, and it did. That's a good thing, right? Kulvaddhu was the only untoward and unexpected happening. But then, everyone goes through good and bad times. Life cannot be perfect. I've gone through enough and more to understand that today. And I've stopped reacting.

ST: Let's move on to the biggest positive on the horizon. His first film as financier, Dulha Mil Gaya, with A-listers like Shah Rukh Khan and Sushmita Sen as part of the ensemble cast.

AS: I think the choice of actors speaks volumes about the kind of project it is. 30 per cent of the film has already been shot and we're looking at an October 12th release this year. There's a lot of meticulous planning (there's that word again!) that's gone into this project.

ST: What is his contribution to the film?

AS: The finance obviously. I'm not interfering in the creative department. Everything is absolutely fine and running on track. I have a confident director in Muddasar Aziz. When I know someone is a good captain, why should I spoil the proceedings by intruding?

ST: In many an interview with Showtime in the past, Anuj had revealed his ambitions to hit the big screen soon. With so much happening, what happens to his acting ambitions?

AS: Let's see what happens after Dulha…. With God's grace, the film should do exceedingly well. In my next film, maybe I could produce and act. As an actor, I don't want to stop. I love acting; it's a passion for me. I've never acted for money; I've never been in a situation where nahin karoonga toh mar jaoonga. It's always been my choice, never compulsion. Whether it's in films or TV. Now onwards, I'll only take up projects that I genuinely feel excited for. As far as TV is concerned, there are so many channels now. New shows are being launched everyday. There's no emphasis on quality and storyline. I've been in the television industry for so long now; I don't want another Risshton Ki Dor in my career. When I took up Risshton…the storyline of a brother and his sisters sounded novel. And then a novel idea became sour. I don't want that to happen again.

ST: After all that's happened, Anuj still seems to have his act together. Any chance he is seeking some personal happiness too? Like would he be able to schedule a wedding into his packed schedule?

AS: Why not?" he says playfully. "If I can find someone who can bear my timings and my schedule, I could think about it. I'm open to things in my life. In fact, why just one wedding, I think multiple mistresses is more my kind of scene!

Well, with Anuj's affinity for taking up multiple things at a go, and actually managing to do justice to them all, the multiple mistresses' situation might just be a probability!