'I will be called a versatile director'

It is inherent in him to choose an unexplored subject for his films. Atleast ‘unexplored’ in the sense that he has not worked on it before.

The journey of filmmaker Anand Kumar in Bollywood is striking for the fact that he has chosen a different subject each time. Be it his debut Delhii Heights or his last venture Zila Ghaziabad, the trend is visible in all and continues as he readies to present his next - Desi Kattey. 

“After Zila... I felt the urge to make another film which is in realistic zone but isn't masala,” says Kumar who admits that Zila... got a mild response due to “its excessive violent content”. 

But, he reasons, he had to “show that much of action since it was necessary in the second half of the script. The film also had some beautiful item songs which never got promoted the way they should have been. That film had a lot of potential but I didn’t get the liberty to exploit it because I was working with unprofessional people, including an immature producer,” rues Kumar who decided to back his next himself.

Supported by his friends to make Desi..., Kumar says, “It is a film based on friendship. Yeh doston ki kahaani hai aur doston ne hi banayi hai. When I narrated the story to my friends, they all pooled in money so that I could make this film. It is a story of two friends who learn shooting while working in a factory that manufactures guns. As the events unfold, both excel but while one of them becomes a shooting champion in the Olympics, the other reigns the underworld.” Quite dramatic!

Besides, it is also the element of ‘friendship’ that compelled the director to take up this script. “Friendship has a special place in Indian hearts. When I saw Dil Chahta Hai and Sholay, I too felt like making a film based on the Indian sentiments attached with ‘friendship’. And what could have defined this better than a song sung by Kailash Kher and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan together,” says Kumar who has an unconventional approach towards music.

He sounds confident to have appointed Kailash Kher as the music director just as he was while bringing Rabbi Shergill on board for Delhii Heights. “Kailash and I have struggled together,” says Kumar who is also a Delhiite and credits his DTEA School, Lodi Estate, for making him whatever he is today. 

“Asli desi kattey to hum donon hain,” he jokes about his friendship with Kher, adding, “We had decided long back to work together someday.”

He might work again with Kher but is reluctant to repeat his star cast unless the scripts so demands. “After few years, I think I will be called a versatile director,” he says  analysing his journey till date. 

“We think we will make a film with a particular actor but who knows what story will we work on next? According to me, destiny plays 95 per cent of the role in our lives and only five per cent remaining can be accounted to our hard work. According to me, I am not in the right place even today, since I didn’t belong to the industry and had to make my way into it. It will take time and I will wait for my time to make a position with my films making a 50 or 100 crore business too.” Hope his time comes soon!