Talktime | luv Ranjan
He shot to fame with his debut movie Pyaar Ka Punchnama which was based on girlfriend bashing. The director is back with a second installment which deals with a different storyline and a new set of problems. He talks to SANGEETA YADAV about the challenge he faced as a director and how Bollywood always welcomes newcomers
When are you going to make a film on boyfriend bashingIJ
I showed men bashing in second film Akaash Vani which was on a serious note and talked about domestic violence, family not supporting their daughter and how in the end the girl walks out of her bad marriage. Unfortunate, this movie didn’t get the kind of momentum which Pyaar Ka Punchnama (PKP) got. The first part was light and everyone loved it so wanted to make part 2 before I went on to make a movie on men bashing. Very few people know that after PKP, I wanted to make a movie on the same. But after Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2, I will definitely make a movie on boyfriend bashing.
How is this movie different from the previous oneIJ
The movie isn’t a sequel in the true sense as we are not taking the story forward from the first part. It’s a different storyline that deals with a new set of problems that people face under certain circumstances, age and mindset. In part 1, we were telling the story of 21-year-old who just come out of college and started working and got into the first relationship. This time, we are talking about 25-year-old couple who are more experienced in relationship and well-settled in their job and have a better lifestyle. They probably had relationships before but after marriage, the kind of girl you marry and the expectations one has is what will be shown in part 2.
But the theme remains the same...
The base is how women continue to mess up the life of men when they fall in love with them. People need to understand that it’s a tongue-in-cheek humour which gives a perspective on women. Half of the world’s population is women and I’m sure not all of them are nice. I’m just choosing to show this side of them. I’m not saying all women make life miserable for men, but there are many women who do.
What was the most difficult part of making this movieIJ
It’s always the girl. For an actor it is very difficult to project something which they find it caricaturish and don’t believe that certain kind of women exist. When you direct the female cast in a film, you’ve to make them understand that what they are portraying is right. Although the film is written from the perspective where woman is running a man’s happiness, you need to direct it in a manner so that they feel that there is nothing wrong in the way women behave in certain situations. We faced this dilemma while doing a funny scene with a serious note in the movie.
What impact has the foray of newcomers had on BollywoodIJ
Bollywood has evolved a lot. When we started in 2011, we were probably the first ones to pull off a film with newcomers and take it to a certain level of success. In the last four years, it has become better. Smaller films are doing better business, the industry is open to the area of making movie with new faces even though there are still some apprehensions.
How difficult it is for newcomer actors and directors to make a small budget film a hitIJ
There is a lot of pressure and it should always be there whether you are a star or a newcomer. A newcomer’s film without a good script will not get an opening. Eventually for the success of the movie, a good script is imperative. When I was doing a small budget film, it was still double the budget of other small budget films. This movie is four times the budget of my first film. Technically it is not even a small budget film. What happens is that success gives people confidence that this can be pulled off, so they are ready to pump in more money in it. The difference is, even a Salman Khan film with a good or a bad script does different business. People appreciated Bajrangi Bhaijaan. The fact that it had decent script, the movie became biggest hit of Salman Khan. A good script makes a difference even to a Salman Khan film.