'I'm pretty much single'

There are just seven original scripts in Bollywood and every film made is a spin off from this original seven. I don’t like to rehash old ideas and remake someone else's stories but how original can you get?  Really?,” asks Anuj Saxena candidly while on a visit to the City to announce a fashion awards honouring young designers.

The small screen actor/doctor/producer/film actor and restaurateur has no pretensions about wanting to be anything but a successful movie maker and a businessman.

“I became a doctor and dutifully joined the family pharmaceutical business. I did a couple of modelling assignments and got my first break on the small screen with Aasma Se Aage on Doordarshan which became quite a popular daily soap. Kkusum, Kumkum and Sara Akash followed in due course and I decided to start my own production house, Maverick and really immerse myself in the glamour business,” says Anuj taking a brisk walk down memory lane.

He believes that regional cinema is a hugely viable market and has already produced four South Indian language films including a Kannada film (Housefull) and Malayalam film (Gulumaal).

“Travel is part of my job  description as I have to promote my pharmaceutical brands all over the world. My favourite cities are London, New York and Dubai but to me London is like home,” he feels.

Sleeping is one of his favourite pastimes but as a self-confessed workaholic he gets only four to five hours to shut his eyes in a day, he says. He hangs out with his buddies or business associates at his Indo-Chinese restaurant Blue Waters in Mumbai for some additional rest and relaxation. “Why take the trouble to go somewhere else. We have live Ghazal music most evenings and it’s pretty chilled out,” he says.

Fitness is a major obsession and with his personal trainer keeping him in shape, he does a combo of weights and cardio training regularly. As for his relationship status he quips: “I’m pretty much single and the field is wide open.”

Like a good mamma’s boy, his mother’s dal-chawal cannot be substituted for anything in the world but Thai cuisine ranks high on his list of favourites.

He is looking forward to the release of his films Chase where he stars with Udita Goswami and Dulha Mil Gaya, starring Sushmita Sen, Fardeen Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, which he is co-producing.

He ends on an upbeat note with, “I don't really believe in big budget films with big expensive stars as they are no guarantees of success. Good entertainment without pretensions catering to an intelligent audience is the best formula for success. Regional cinema is undervalued and must be tapped into.”