'How can I forget my first love?' Acting!

BUSY BEE

Having donned landmark roles of Calender and Pappu Pager and directed blockbuster like Aunty No 1 and Hum Aapke Dil Me Rehte Hain, Satish Kaushik is finally on the right track to realise his  long cherished dream of making Delhi the new destination for Bollywood.

Recently in Delhi to sign a contract on behalf of Delhi Film Council with a builder group, Satish is now working to make available the means and resources for film production within the state. While he was busy creating history, Metrolife talked to him about his love for films and future.

“My he­a­rt belongs to Delhi. I have long been wanting to make this place a film destination and four years down I have finally achieved this dream.” But will Delhi be able to become a parallel league? “Of course we are aiming to make it a parallel destination for filmmakers. With the distances today shortened due to internet and other means of communication, Delhi is already close to Bombay. Very few are aware that before the film industry came to Bombay, it used to function from Calcu­tta.

And even if we talk about Hollywood then all the films are not made in Los Angeles. There are film councils in other states like Texas. Delhi Film Council will become a pioneer in this league.”

Satish just cannot hold himself from praising the recent surprise hit Vicky Donor. “Earlier, there was only one story out of which 15 odd films would be made and new ideas not encouraged but now we are living in better times. Though the love story and revenge formula are evergreen, today one can dare to think of a new idea and make a film on it just like Vicky Donor. Just repeating the word ‘sperm’ was so odd earlier but the movie has presented it in such a commendable way.”

He stresses, “The story of Vicky... connected with audiences, which is important for every film.” However, he adds, “The stumbling block that was present earlier has been rem­o­­ved and the audience mind has been being opened so that they can think of new ideas. But at times ‘high headed’ story ideas are not accepted by the local audience because they are unable to understand them and even experimental pictures fall flat on their nose.”
Once an actor, always an actor.

Even though Satish has turned a successful director, he loves to act in national and international projects. “How can I forget my first love, acting,” he asks rhetorically and excitedly shares, “I am leaving for London to shoot for Promise Dad based on a father-son relationship. It is being made by an Indian director but has all Brit­i­sh actors apart from me. I am playing the role of Dad in this movie and it is not a comic ch­a­racter but an emotional one.”

Speaking of his most talked about project Mayanagri based on male prostitution, Satish reacts, “Male prostitution would be a too harsh a word to describe Mayanagri. It is a story of two boys - one is a PhD student of Delhi University and other is from Mathura, who end up in Mumbai (Mayanagri) and become gigolos.” He also stre­s­s­es that the movie is an adaptation of, “Surender Verma’s thriller Do Mardon Ka Guldasta and casts Randeep Hooda, Prashant Narayanan and Mahi Gill.”

He is also planning a sequel to Tere Naam. “People keep asking me it. I have recently bought rights of a Tamil film Pithamagan which can be a possible sequel to Tere Naam but for that, I have to ask Salman Khan,” he signs off.