"I was required to take permission from Ekta Kapoor for whatever I did for <i>Kucch To Hai</i>" - Anurag Basu
By:
Joginder
Tuteja,
IndiaFM
Friday,
March
24,
2006
Bhatts seldom go wrong when it comes to movies with loads of drama and shock value. Gangster is one such film that releases soon. With good buzz around the movie already, it is no wonder to see director Anurag Basu being mighty excited, though a little nervous, about his first project after his illness.
Due
to
your
illness,
it
has
been
a
long
time
since
your
last
film
Tumsa
Nahi
Dekha.
How
have
you
been
doing
now?
Ya,
it's
good
to
be
back.
It
has
been
a
long
time
due
to
my
treatment
and
though
I
am
still
on
medication,
I
am
much
better
and
working
for
a
good
part
of
my
day.
So,
what
really
makes
you
so
passionate
about
cinema
to
work
so
hard
after
just
coming
out
of
illness?
See,
people
say
that
I
have
strong
will
power
and
so
on,
but
I
think
that
I
was
high
after
the
success
of
Murder
and
was
getting
good
offers
since
then.
This
is
when
I
felt
that
why
am
I
in
hospital
when
actually
I
should
be
up
shooting
as
this
is
the
reason
why
I
came
in
here
for!
This
gave
me
good
enough
drive
to
get
behind
the
camera
soon.
And
then
you
started
Gangster
as
soon
as
you
were
fit.
Wasn't
it
disheartening
that
it
took
a
lot
of
time
to
get
your
three
actors
[Emraan
Hashmi,
Shiney
Ahuja,
Kangna]
in
place?
[Thinks
a
little]
Hmmm,
well
aisa
nahi
tha!
We
had
started
casting
when
the
film
was
still
being
written.
When
the
script
was
over,
the
casting
was
finalized
in
a
week's
time.
The
promos
have
been
quite
sensational
since
the
time
they
were
first
shown
during
Kalyug's
screening.
Kangna
falling
off
from
the
skyscraper
and
the
bloodied
faces
of
Emraan
and
Shiney
have
aroused
good
curiosity.
So,
who
designed
the
promo?
Was
it
you
or
some
other
team?
In
fact
I
designed
the
promo
myself.
And
the
fact
is
that
the
film
was
just
about
50%
complete
at
that
time.
Mukesh
Bhatt
wanted
the
promo
to
come
along
with
Kalyug.
He
said
that
whatever
has
been
shot
of
the
movie,
go
ahead
and
make
the
promo.
Hence
the
reason
why
it
came
up
then!
How
about
Kangna's
fall
from
the
skyscraper?
Is
that
just
for
the
promo
or
even
in
the
movie?
No,
it
is
an
actual
scene
in
the
movie,
not
merely
for
the
promo.
So
does
she
die?
I
am
not
telling
you
that.
You
will
have
to
watch
the
film
for
the
same.
How
did
Shiney
Ahuja
finally
come
into
picture?
Actually
I
don't
take
much
time
to
decide.
Similarly
with
Mukesh
Bhatt
and
others
too,
it's
not
too
much
of
brainstorming
when
it
comes
to
casting.
I
hadn't
seen
Shiney
Ahuja
in
Hazaaron
Khwahishen
Aisi.
I
just
met
him,
though
didn't
audition
him,
but
it
struck
to
me
there
and
then
that
he
was
the
right
choice.
He
has
those
eyes
that
speak
a
lot
and
hence
he
fits
in
well
in
the
film.
His
character
is
such
in
the
film
that
it
doesn't
speak
a
lot
and
that
vulnerability
in
him
goes
well
with
Gangster.
I
just
told
the
Bhatts
that
this
guy
should
be
in
and
soon
he
was
signed
for
the
movie.
And
now
today
it
seems
to
be
for
everyone's
advantage
that
he
is
the
hottest
discovery
of
2005.
Isn't
it?
Yeah,
very
much!
How
about
Emraan?
Was
he
in
the
project
from
day
one?
Emraan
is
in
all
my
projects.
He
is
always
my
first
choice.
Do
you
want
to
elaborate
about
what
the
movie
is
about?
See,
the
title
Gangster
may
give
an
impression
that
the
movie
is
about
underworld,
but
that's
not
the
case.
In
fact
it's
the
love
story
of
Simran
[Kangna].
Simran
always
wanted
a
normal
life.
Emraan
plays
Akash
who
can
fulfill
her
dreams.
Daya
[Shiney]
is
a
person
who
inspite
of
his
wish
can't
do
much
but
can
give
his
life
for
Simran.
This
is
a
kind
of
triangle
where
Simran
is
hanging
between
Akash
and
Daya
but
eventually
ends
up
betraying
one
of
them.
You
started
your
Bollywood
career
with
Ekta
Kapoor's
Kucch
To
Hai.
Did
you
see
a
difference
between
Balaji
Films
and
Vishesh
Films?
Lot
of
difference!
There
was
a
lot
of
interference
in
Kucch
To
Hai
that
I
didn't
really
enjoy.
I
was
required
to
take
permission
for
whatever
I
did
and
there
was
no
line
drawn
between
where
one
stops
and
the
other
starts.
Though
Ekta
and
I
are
still
friends
today,
it
was
decided
then
that
we
couldn't
work
together!
You
seem
to
be
really
happy
while
working
with
the
Bhatts.
Oh
yes,
the
kind
of
creative
freedom
they
give
is
excellent.
Though
I
don't
belong
to
this
camp
and
I
haven't
even
been
an
assistant
director
with
them.
Still
the
freedom
they
give
is
amazing,
be
it
music
or
casting,
poora
khulla
chodh
dete
hain!!
Wo
azaadi
bahaut
achchi
hoti
hai!
I
have
really
enjoyed
here.
Coming
back
to
Shiney,
Emraan
and
Kangna,
whose
performance
would
an
average
filmgoer
be
carrying
home
after
watching
the
film?
I
would
say
Kangna,
though
from
my
eyes
every
one
has
been
quite
good.
Shiney
has
been
good
while
Emraan
Hashmi
to
sabko
achcha
lagta
hi
hai!
Regarding
Kangna,
no
one
can
say
that
it's
her
first
film.
In
fact
she
even
surprised
me.
How
come
Seoul
as
a
location
for
the
film's
shooting?
It
so
happened
that
we
were
watching
a
Korean
film
when
it
struck
me
that
it
could
be
a
good
location
for
the
film's
setting.
Autumn
season
really
looked
good
in
the
frames.
Even
if
you
look
at
my
earlier
Saaya,
I
wanted
to
shoot
it
in
Delhi
as
the
city
is
extremely
beautiful
in
winters.
The
month
when
you
do
shooting
at
a
particular
location
is
very
important
due
to
its
climate.
For
Gangster,
even
Australia
was
one
of
the
places
where
we
had
thought
of
shooting
but
later
I
told
Mr.
Bhatt
that
let's
shoot
in
Seoul,
though
we
didn't
know
whether
any
other
Hindi
film
had
been
shot
there
before!
What's
the
running
time
of
the
movie
and
when
does
it
release?
Its
two
hours
and
the
film
releases
on
28th
April.
Anything
that
you
want
to
talk
about
Gangster
before
we
wrap
up
this
conversation?
Well,
I
would
just
say
that
it
is
very
difficult
to
actually
tell
the
story
of
Gangster.
The
USP
of
the
film
is
its
unpredictability.
As
an
audience
you
can't
really
guess
what's
going
to
come
next.
Also,
in
case
of
Murder
people
said
that
it
is
similar
to
Unfaithful
but
Gangster
is
a
new
story
and
completely
original!
Recent
Stories
"Nobody
even
slaps
anyone
in
the
film.
Yet
you
will
be
able
to
see
violence
in
the
mind
of
the
characters."
-
L
C
Singh
"I
felt
that
I
had
arrived
as
far
as
my
skills
as
an
actor
were
concerned"
-
Ashmit
Patel