He is suave, dedicated and a very focused filmmaker who believes that pre-production work is far more important than the hours put in for shooting a film. little wonder then that he wraps up films in a matter of days. He is super excited about the Zanjeer remake and is hoping that it will be received well. Deebashree Mohanty speaks with director Apoorva lakhia about his latest project
It has been a tiring few weeks for the cast and crew of the Zanjeer remake but its director, Apoorva lakhia says he feels more and more energetic as the date of release nears. “Call it nervous energy or plain simple over-excitement, I’ve this feeling prior to the release of all my movies but Zanjeer has a special place in my heart. I’ve tried to do things differently and experimented with an off-beat star cast. Hope it works,” the director says. His earlier films Shootout At Wadala and Mission Istanbul worked wonders.
Apart from a strong storyline, lakhia is hoping to cash in on the chemistry between his lead pair Ram Charan and Priyanka Chopra. “They look wonderful together. Ram and Priyanka were very comfortable with each other and are performers par excellence. For me, this pair is going to go very far,” he says. The film shot predominantly in Mumbai with some parts of Hyderabad was wrapped up in 75 days flat.
“Shootout... was made in 60 days and Dus Kahaniyan in 41 days. I believe in wrapping up movies fast. There is no point dragging on. My movies take no time because I put in more than a year’s effort in pre-production work. I take a long time in preparing for my films. The research is already over before we start shooting so everyone knows how the shoot has to go,” lakhia explains.
If you think lakhia’s Zanjeer will be a run-of-the-mill action tamasha, you’re mistaken, the director asserts. “The remake is a completely different take from the original. The way it starts may seem similar. Jayaji’s character, for example, witnessed a truck mowing down children in the original version. In this one, Mala will also witness a murder but during a shaadi. From that point onwards there is nothing similar to the original plot. In my remake, Vijay will fight more current and issues rather than fighting against corruption which has become a part of our existence in today’s day and age,” he tells you. Ask lakhia about the issues he has selected to be part of the film and he can’t stop counting them, but mostly it is a fight against the notorious oil mafia in Mumbai.
“We have a character after the collector of Mumbai who died trying to fight against the mafia. We also have a Jey Dey who was one of the most noteworthy journalist whistleblowers of our time. However, I won’t say my film is solely meant to be a tribute to those slain in fighting wrongs,” the director tells you.
Known to be a stickler for perfection, lakhia says he spent five months just to think of issues that would move the youth of today. He always wanted to pay tribute to journalist Jay Dey and Zanjeer he thought was an ideal platform. “We’ve not altered the names so everyone should know that we’re talking of these people. They’re heroes,” he says.
Talking about his hero in the film, lakhia says there couldn’t have been a better actor than Ram Charan to play the role of Amitabh Bachchan, the angry young man. The South Indian star is known for the violence in his movies and lakhia wanted to exploit his experience in playing those kind of roles. “I had decided not to cast any known actor from Bollywood because the Zanjeer remake was like a double-edged sword. No one would want to step into Big B shoes. Every big actor in the film industry has some or the other image to carry. While some are chocolate boys, others are comedy ke badshaah. I wanted someone new. And Ram Charan fit the bill,” he says.
If Ram Charan was an obvious choice, so was PeeCee. The director admits it was his long cherished dream to work with her. “I had scripted the role keeping only Priyanka in mind. I’m glad she agreed,” lakhia says. Chopra wanted to be a part of a ‘clean’ item song and that’s how the number pinkee... materialised. “She wanted us to include a masti gaana and we did. It has come out brilliantly. In an action film, music has to be catchy. Our songs are doing well,” lakhia says.
Mahi Gill, who plays Bindu’s part (Mona Darling) in this one, too, has left quite an impact on lakhia as has the incorrigible Prakash Raj who plays Ajit’s part as a villain.