MANI SHANKAR BACK WITH 'MUKHBIIR'

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Posted: 19 years ago

MANI SHANKAR BACK WITH 'MUKHBIIR'

By S. Kumar - Eye TV India Bureau

Tete-a-Tete

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Mani Shankar who has made movies like '16 December', 'Rudraksh' and 'Tango Charlie' is now all set for his next movie 'Mukhbiir', starring Suniel Shetty, Om Puri, Jackie Shroff, Sameer Dattani and Raima Sen besides others. Mani has just finished the shooting of the movie and will start the editing now. Mani was in Delhi during the shooting of the movie along with Sameer Dattani. The smashits team chatted with the director to find out more about 'Mukhbiir'.

Excerpts of the recent chat:

What is 'Mukhbiir' all about?

'Mukhbiir' is a brand new concept and storyline. This type of story has never been told before; neither in Hollywood nor in Bollywood. The reason is obvious; it takes a lot of time to understand it. 'Mukhbiir' tells you about the personal and professional life of an informer. It's a very powerful story.

Is there any real event in this movie like '16 December'?

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I won't say that 'Mukhbiir' is a true story but it is the story of thousands of Mukhnirs (informers). Really, intelligence is gathered in a particular manner all over the world. It is also true that young boys take a great risk of their life and they do it because of ideology or passion.

Why you choose Sameer Dattani, a chocolate hero for action packed movie?

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Sameer has completely broken his chocolate hero mould in this movie and is in the brand new image. And, he has done this on his own. Besides, my hero in this movie has to be 19 or 20 years old and Sameer is 21 years old. So, I could not have cast any other Bollywood actor. Since I want to make a realistic movie, so I cannot cheat my audience by taking 30 year-old boy for a 20 year-old guy. So, I find Sameer fitting the bill. And, I would like to tell you that today's audiences want a hero in different shades.

Why do you give back seat to music in your movies?

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No, it is not like that. Music doesn't mean songs. And, the audience doesn't want to listen to six boring songs. It is true that in my movies I don't place six songs; I put background scores, as it gives you the depth of the scene.

Is 'Mukhbiir' a romantic or a love story?

'Mukhbiir' is going to be an action packed gripping emotional thriller.

What are your future projects?

I don't believe in doing two/three movies in a year. I want to give my full attention to my movies. So, I do one movie at a time.