|||GHAYAL ONCE AGAIN|||{News & Updates} - Page 5

• Subhash K Jha

Sunny Deol introduces the four actors who share the screen with him in 'Ghayal Once Again'.

Sunny Deol looks tired but satisfied. The shoot of Ghayal Once Again is drawing to an end. The producer-director-writer-actor is determined to have the first print ready by December 15 so that he can stop thinking of the film and focus on promoting it over the next month, leading up to its January 15 release. The sequel arrives 25 years after the original but Sunny is points out that he had green-lit it almost four years ago.

But things didn't work out with a couple of directors and he had to write and direct it himself. "I can't believe a quarter of a century has passed, it feels like only a decade ago when we started working on Ghayal, gave it our best and realised we'd made a nice film only when people started talking after the release. That's what I'm doing once again," says the actor who returns as a mature Ajay Mehra after seeing the country change over the years.

Joining him will be four youngsters who reflect today's youth. "Youngsters change threefive years. Harkatein wahi hain, bas tareeke badal jaate hain," he smiles.

Shivam Patil aka Rohan is the leader of a pack, a lawyer's son with the attitude of a sportsman, who stands up for justice. In a way, he's like a younger Sunny from Arjun.

Following Rohan is Varun, fondly called Fattu, who comes from a traditional, close-knit, khata-peeta, joint family. "He would otherwise not take chances but believes in his friends and friendship and busts the myth that a darpok man can't do much. "Sometimes a darpok is braver than the bravest man and Fattu proves that," says Sunny who was looking for a vulnerable Varun and Rishabh Arora fit the bill.

There are two girls, Anushka and Zoya. TV actress Aanchal Munjha plays Anushka, an aspiring photographer, brought up by her nana who is close to Rohan. Model Diana Khan plays Zoya who has a pet dog and writes a blog, Pretending Parents, which reflects her and her parents who are too busy with their jobs to pay attention to her.

"I was looking for 17-year-olds who looked and behaved like kids. I wanted every parent watching them to feel as if they were their own bachcha or bachchi and not a hero or a heroine. Kids that age are pure, have strong views on right and wrong and even coming from different backgrounds, bond as one. That bond breaks by the time you are 25-26, and you stop doing what you once believed in," philosophises Sunny.

He admits that when he joined the industry, he believed in a certain kind of cinema which was reflected in films like Betaab, Arjun, Dacait and Ghayal. "Over the years, I moved away from that kind of cinema but decided to go back to it with this film, only to realise that most directors today don't relate to that brand. Even the writers have a set screenplay and dialogue which is picked up from here and there and doesn't reflect what's actually happening in the world. I was doing that as an actor too but I didn't want to follow it as a director. I wanted my film to reflect our black-and-white society and the grey characters we've become," he reasons.

What does he feel about the "growing intolerance" that everyone is protesting against? Has India really changed drastically in the last year-and-a-half? "Not in the last two years, but yes, it has changed to the point where we don't know what will happen next. But the country only mirrors us and today, every man is being evaluated on the basis of money rather than character. If he's rich, he's a model citizen, if he's poor, he's not. Everyone is looking for attention instead of focussing on being a good citizen first," he says.

And what is his take on the 'award wapsi' trend? Will he consider returning his National Award? "I haven't been following the news so I don't know who these people are and why they are doing this. They must have their reasons. But I was given the national honour for something good and it represents the country. If you're saying something is wrong with our country, then something is wrong with you first," he retorts.

After Ghayal Once Again releases, Sunny plans to take a holiday. It's been taxing for him looking into every little detail of the film. But he will return to roll with his third directorial early next year, to launch his elder son, Karan aka Rocky. "The script is almost ready. It's an interesting love story but will have action too like Betaab. Prem kahanis are not only about love, pyaar, ishq, vishk," he laughs. "But this time I won't be acting, only directing my son. And two years later, I'll launch my younger son, Rajvir. I love doing this, it's all I know," he signs off with a smile.