Source: Telegraph India
Date: Sep 30, 2014
Four years after Anjaana Anjaani, Siddharth Anand — the man behind films like Salaam Namaste and Bachna Ae Haseeno — returns with his biggest film yet: the October 2 Hrithik Roshan-Katrina Kaif film Bang Bang. When t2 caught up with Siddharth at Mumbai’s JW Marriott Hotel last week, the 31-year-old filmmaker looked relaxed, despite his film releasing on the same day as another biggie, Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider. “There are so many serials on TV at 9pm… still people watch, na?” smiled Siddharth before taking t2’s questions on Bang Bang.
What was it about Knight and Day (the 2010 film starring Tom Cruise-Cameron Diaz) that made you want to remake it?
Knight and Day was a film that appealed to the film viewer in me… I found it fun and entertaining. I felt that there were some aspects, in terms of the action and romance, where it could have been better and with Bang Bang we have tried to fill those gaps…. (Siddharth gets distracted for a moment with Katrina Kaif talking loudly at the other end of the room. “Hello, hello, we are trying to talk here, ma’am,” he shushes his film’s leading lady down with a wink. Kat smiles and makes a face...) I can throw out a challenge to people to watch Knight and Day and Bang Bang… there is so much change in the story and screenplay that you will never be able to predict what’s going to happen next. I am ready to put my money where my mouth is .I am glad that the promos have got people excited enough to want to go and watch it… it’s a film that will give you your money’s worth… it touches on every emotion and every aspect of entertainment. At the end of the day, everyone wants to be entertained, everyone falls in love, everyone gets hurt…. Also, Hrithik has made his character (Rajveer Nanda) very different from what it was on paper. I had thought he would be more like the Dhoom:2 character (Aryan)… sober and suave, but he’s made Rajveer a lot of fun. I am a huge fan of him in Agneepath… that raw intensity and anger… what I got to see in Bang Bang was the lighter side of Hrithik.
Why the title Bang Bang?
Bang Bang is a high point… high point in the celebration of action… hence ‘bang bang’… high point in the celebration of romance (smiles)… high point of comedy, action, drama…. I don’t think we could have thought of a better title for this film than Bang Bang. Look at the poster and tell me if there is any other title that comes to your mind apart from Bang Bang for this film?
It’s been four years since Anjaana Anjaani. What took you so long to come up with your next film?
The script took time. Also, getting Hrithik’s dates that were originally earmarked for Krrish (3) took some time. Then, of course, was Hrithik’s injury while filming Bang Bang and his recovery period after surgery. But at the end, I think it’s been worth it because we have been able to make the film we set out to make.
Everyone’s talking about the gravity-defying action sequences in the promo. They must have been difficult to film…
You know, when you are shooting, you don’t realise the scale of what you are doing. Now when I look at the stunts and the action, I think ‘Oh my god, how did we do it?’ But, the toughest action scenes to shoot were the ones on water because my camera would keep floating away! I like the flyboarding sequence for sure, but my favourite action scene is the F1 (Formula 1) sequence… I love the whole energy of that sequence, the background score, I love the point in the film at which that scene comes. It’s something very new… our audiences haven’t seen a scene like that in our films before.
What was the toughest schedule to shoot?
The first schedule in Thailand, without a doubt. We shot on the Similan Islands in a location that is about two hours away by boat from the mainland. The only way you could live on that island was in tents. I had decided that I would live at the Sheraton on the mainland, but my great actor Hrithik Roshan insisted that he wanted to stay in a tent on the island! (Laughs) I tried dissuading him because if he stayed in a tent, then I also would have had to! But he stayed there, so I had no choice (smiles wryly). My only prayer to god was: ‘Please mera negative sambhaal lena’… because I didn’t want to go back there a second time and reshoot (laughs). Mad, mad experience… never again, never again!
What is a Siddharth Anand set like?
I am someone who believes in making films as a collaborative effort. I am open to inputs from everyone on set… my assistants advise me to the point of even abusing me sometimes (laughs). On a serious note, Hrithik’s flyboarding sequence in the film was actually suggested by my assistant. Even with my actors, I am very casual. I never tell them what to say and how to do a scene. I am friends with most of my actors. I am the kind of director who wants everyone who works on my film to have a sense of ownership… that ‘Yes, this film belongs to me as much as it does to everyone else’…. That’s the attitude I encourage in my unit.
The film hasn’t released and there’s already talk of a sequel…
‘Bang Bang 2’ will happen… 100 per cent. When I had written it, I knew that it would become a franchise. But then, Bang Bang will also have to do well at the box office for us to make a sequel.