What's next: Just Wait and Watch!

We spoke to the man before the movie, and now that Aksar is out, we couldn't help but catch up with the man again and have a quick chat on his latest release. Here's Anant Mahadevan for you yet again, post his release:

You never assisted anybody in direction. Yet you made a big leap as a director?

Right from the eighties, when I entered the industry, I've always been serious about my course of action in Bollywood. Be it acting, directing or producing, I've never taken things for granted and I must say have also invested a lot of hard work to achieve whatever I have. Besides being a serious student of cinema, I also had the good fortune of observing most of the world's class directors. And finally when I did get a chance to act, I knew direction couldn't be far away…

After Ados Pados you got major roles in Ghar Jamaai and Sword of Tipu Sultan.

In the last 20 years, I've acted in about seventy serials and directed about 25 of them. I've completed about 2000 episodes as a director. My popular serials were Ghar Jamaai with 75 episodes, Alvida Darling, and Kabhi To Milenge which brought Rati Agnihotri for the first time on the small screen and my longest stint as director in Chamatkar, produced by Partho Ghosh where I directed 150 episodes. I also acted in a few films viz. Baazigar, Khiladi and Gardish amongst others.

Don't all your films have a monotonous tone?

Not at all… In fact each of my films have brought to light some amazing firsts for the industry as such… Dil Vil Pyar Vyar was India's first retro musical and Dil Maange More was the first film where the hero lost his first love and won the last one. I like to work on a fresh script each time. Aksar is a romantic-musical-thriller.

The songs of Aksar rock!

Yeah. I think it was tailor-made to be that way. All credit to my team of musicians and writers who've worked extremely hard and now the results are for all to see.

You seem to have captured quite some interesting locations in Aksar?

Yes, I went to popular tourist spots in London like The Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and London Bridge. I wanted to set Aksar in the London of yore-with mansions and cobbled paths where Jack-The Ripper was shot. I also discovered a virgin location called Abbey Church Rains, which has columns of rocks jolting out. For the 'Lagi, Lagi'…. Number, I envisioned a natural setting with water and stone to reflect the meaning of the song and we shot it at the Brighton Beach. Overall, yes, the locations were beautiful.

The song 'Jhalak dikhalaja' has become a chartbuster…

I told Himesh Reshammiya that the film required a different sound and feel to capture the young lovers' mind. When Himesh sang 'Jhalak dikhalaja' for the first time, I realised it was a catchy number and would turn out to be an instant hit. I've heard people playing this song as early in the day as 6.00 a.m. And that is a great compliment to any filmmaker and music director. Besides, the songs of Aksar have also found favour amongst commoners and keep playing in autos, taxis, cars, hotels and even on several radio channels. It's simply phenomenal. I personally think this number will be responsible for the grand opening response of the film.

Both Udita Goswami and Emraan Hashmi are singing your praises…

That's another compliment. Well, I think you could attribute that to the happy-g-lucky attitude that we shared during the making of the film. May be they liked my way of handling things on the sets. I wanted them to feel at home and very comfortable all the time. I had offered Udita a role in Dil Mange More but she turned it down saying it was a three-heroine project and she would hardly have few scenes. But this time when she heard her role of a fashion diva cum actor who is passionate, temperamental and sadistic, she jumped and immediately agreed to act.

And what's your take on them?

I think both Udita and Emraan are professionals. They are every bit a professional can be. And that apart, they are absolutely fun loving individuals who make sure to live life king size. As a filmmaker I'd say they did complete justice in the film.

How did you think of packaging the film so sleek?

The look, colour and texture of the film have to convey the black humour of the film. Dino Morea gets to wear suits from Millionaire. Udita's sensuously chic look is designed by Vikram Phadnis. For Emraan we shot at Rakesh Shreshta's studio with all the latest clothes to match Emraan's different moods and youthfulness. I was sure Emraan would be able to prove his best in any situation as he has carried of so well in all his earlier films. He is surely a delight of a performer. The film is about life in today's times and hence had to have all these ingredients that are part and parcel of current-day life.

How was Shyam Bajaj as a producer?

Shyam Bajaj is a gem of a man, a gentleman and a great friend too. He has allowed me the full freedom to handle Aksar the way I wanted to. And let me tell you, not many producers will do that. Our relationship has taken to new heights with this film. So much so that I'm being repeated by him to direct another thriller. In fact, I want all my producers to repeat me.

What's next?

I'll be directing producer B. Subhash's next i.e. Doli Meets Baaraat.

Sounds like a comedy?

Just wait and watch!