By:
Joginder
Tuteja,
IndiaFM
Thursday,
September
20,
2007
Writer-director
Sanjay
Khanduri
has
been
signed
by
VENUS
FILMS
for
directing
their
next
film.
This
will
be
Sanjay's
second
film
to
go
on
floors
after
his
critically
acclaimed
and
fairly
successful
Ek
Chalis
Ki
Last
Local
(Abhay
Deol,
Neha
Dhupia).
"This
will
be
a
comic
thriller.
Though
Ek
Chalis
Ki
Last
Local
was
also
a
comedy,
but
it
was
more
of
black
humor
with
a
dark-n-edgy
feel
to
it",
informs
Sanjay,
"On
the
other
hand
this
new
film,
which
is
yet
to
be
titled,
has
universal
appeal
and
has
comedy
interspersed
with
thrill
elements.
The
film
will
be
a
mix
of
mass
and
class
and
would
be
oriented
more
towards
family
audience
than
my
last
film."
Talking
more
about
the
film,
a
relaxed
Sanjay
says,
"The
film
is
concept
oriented
and
I
am
happy
to
be
working
with
VENUS.
They
are
one
of
the
best
production
houses
we
have
on
the
scene
today.
Venus
has
been
known
to
be
very
supporting
and
non-interfering
producers.
We
were
actually
planning
a
project
together
far
before
release
of
Ek
Chalis...
.
Ratan
Jain
has
made
mega
films
like
Baazigar,
Josh,
Humraaz,
Garam
Masala
on
his
banner
and
I
feel
privileged
as
a
film
maker
to
work
with
an
achiever
like
him.
He
was
especially
very
charged
after
seeing
Ek
Chalis...
and
somewhere
he
always
knew
I
fitted
into
their
new
scheme
of
things."
Has
he
zeroed
in
on
the
film's
starcast?
"There
has
been
keen
interest
shown
by
lot
of
top
actors
of
the
industry
after
they
seeing
Ek
Chalis
…
so
my
issue
is
solid
script;
casting
will
be
thought
then.
That"s
the
way
I
followed
in
my
first
film
as
well.
Ya,
one
thing
which
is
sure
is
that
the
male
lead
is
going
to
be
a
marketable
star
though
the
girl
could
be
someone
new."
Why
new?
"For
me
casting
is
of
utmost
importance
when
it
comes
to
giving
shape
to
a
project.
People
had
asked
the
reason
behind
signing
Neha
Dhupia
as
a
leading
lady
for
Ek
Chalis
Ki
Last
Local.
They
were
apprehensive
if
she
was
the
right
choice
but
after
watching
the
film
all
acknowledged
that
she
was
just
so
right
for
the
role.
Same
holds
here.
We
feel
that
we
can
introduce
a
new
heroine
in
this
film.
This
helps
many
ways.
Helps
a
new
comer
to
make
a
mark,
the
production
house
to
get
an
in-house
artist
and
the
film
industry
to
get
a
new
talent
on
showcase," he
explains.
With
the
kind
of
recognition
he
got
for
Ek
Chalis
Ki
Last
Local,
one
would
have
expected
an
announcement
to
be
coming
a
lot
earlier.
What
took
him
so
long?
"Let
me
be
immodest
and
agree
that
offers
had
started
trickling
in
the
moment
buzz
started
spreading
about
Ek
Chalis
Ki
Last
Local
as
a
good
film
before
its
release",
smiles
Sanjay,
"After
release
it
was
an
avalanche.
I
won't
deny
that
it
was
hard
to
resist
the
temptation
especially
when
it
had
taken
3
long
years
to
bring
one
film
on
celluloid.
But
I
strongly
felt
that
it
was
important
for
me
to
work
with
people
who
believed
in
my
kind
of
cinema.
Film
making
is
my
life
not
my
business.
I
had
to
be
very
careful".
Did
someone
guide
him
through
the
rough
weathers?
Sanjay
smiles
nostalgically
saying,
"With
offers
trickling
in
pre-release
I
was
a
little
restless
as
all
said
'just
take
whatever
is
coming
across.
There
maybe
no
tomorrow".
I
remember
consulting
my
mentor
Kundan
Shah".
He
gets
emotional,
"He
educated
me
about
the
importance
of
waiting
and
advised
for
holding
and
watching
for
the
response
of
the
film
rather
than
jumping
on
whatever
coming
across."
He
said,
if
the
film
didn"t
work,
these
people
will
disappear
again.
He
had
seen
Ek
Chalis
Ki
Last
Local
and
was
confident
about
my
film.
I
took
his
advice
and
waited.
I
guess
it
worked
for
me
in
a
big
way
since
suddenly
I
saw
some
of
the
best
banners
in
the
business
with
exciting
range
of
projects
approaching
me.
I
will
be
always
indebted
to
him
for
his
advice."
Talking
about
big
and
reputed
banners,
one
hears
that
VENUS
is
not
the
only
project
on
the
anvil.
"You
have
heard
it
right",
discloses
Sanjay,
"Another
top
production
house
is
keen
on
working
with
me
on
my
subject
in
a
big
way.
But
I
would
discuss
that
after
some
time."
Would
he
also
jump
into
the
bandwagon
and
start
working
on
multiple
projects?
"No,
I
don't
see
myself
doing
that.
Since
I
not
just
direct
but
also
write
my
films,
there
is
a
limit
to
what
you
can
do
with
complete
focus.
Projects
could
be
back
to
back
but
it
is
not
possible
to
work
on
them
in
parallel.
As
of
now
I
am
in
the
process
of
finalizing
my
script
for
the
first
film
and
I
along
with
my
team
of
writers
am
going
ahead
with
full
gusto
and
confidence."
Though
the
music
of
Ek
Chalis
Ki
Last
Local
was
decent,
it
was
neither
considered
to
be
film's
USP
nor
was
it
promoted
aggressively.
In
fact
'Laree
Choote'
went
on
to
be
a
hit,
courtesy
immense
love
it
got
from
audience.
How
musical
would
his
next
outing
be?
Laughs
Sanjay,
"This
time
around
I
can
promise
you
that
music
would
have
a
much
more
role
to
play
in
the
film.
There
would
be
greater
focus
on
creating
what
you
call
as
a
popular
soundtrack."
With
his
very
first
film,
he
had
taken
an
out
of
the
box
approach
and
pushed
the
envelope.
Though
Ek
Chalis
Ki
Last
Local
proved
to
be
a
decent
commercial
success
with
astounding
numbers
registered
for
DVD
sales
and
it's
recent
satellite
premier,
it
deserved
to
be
a
better
box
office
earner.
What
are
his
plans
for
his
films
in
the
future?
Would
he
still
be
going
unconventional?
"I
can
see
that
audiences
are
quite
adaptive
to
newer
ideas
and
it
is
only
going
to
be
better
as
one
moves
on.
Would
I
be
making
an
unconventional
film?
Surely
yes!
But
at
the
end
of
the
day
cinema
is
something
for
masses
and
I
want
to
make
my
films
for
them.
So
in
the
time
to
come,
rocking
unconventional
commercial-cinema
is
what
you
should
expect
from
me," concludes
Sanjay
with
a
confident
smile.