Atul Manjrekar, who has helmed the upcoming musical Fanney Khan, says it was his curiosity about the lives of unsung musicians that made him write the film. “I was interested in knowing what happened to people like Junior Rafi or Junior Kishore who used to sing like the original ones. They were brilliant performers in their own right but did not make it big because of some reasons,” says the debutant director. Though the film is an adaptation of the Belgian film Everybody's Famous, the director says it is not possible to compare the film with its Belgian counterpart. “This story is about those small things in life which are integral to us but we do not pay attention to them. The mother is an important character in the film who keeps everything going,” says Manjrekar. The film is set in Mumbai and according to Manjrekar, the idioms and grammar are strictly Indian. “Life experiences are very important as you create the characters from your own experiences or perceptions. They are not my experiences as it is but are reflections of what I perceive about the lives of those musicians,” he explains.
Acknowledging that these days musicians are also judged on the parameters of their looks, he says that we tend to reject what does not fit into our popular imagination. It led to the idea of body shaming, one of the aspects that the film explores. "We do not listen to the music as much as we see music these days. We have normalised body shaming,” remarks Manjrekar.
For the role of Anil Kapoor, his inspiration came from his childhood days of listening to street orchestras in Bandra. “There was a time in the 1980s and 1990s when even if you had talent for something, you didn’t have platforms to showcase it. After a point of time, responsibilities took over your dreams. A product of those times, here a father does not want to see that happening to his child.”
Debutante Pihu Sand, who is playing the daughter of one of such musician in the film, had to gain 20 kilograms for the role. “I always wanted to become an actor. I can stand in front of the camera for hours and I feel very nice to make other people smile,” she says. “It was a well-written script and we did work a lot on the outer appearance of the character but it was the inner purity of the character that really touched me,” remembers Pihu. The script demanded a lot of stage performances but she says acting was the more challenging part. “I can sing a bit and can portray that. But while singing there were certain complex emotions which were tough to pull off,” she says.
Going by the script
Anil Kapoor says his belief in hard work is showing results
On playing a father and a musician
It is totally different from the other roles of father that I have done. He is ready to sacrifice all his life for his child and thinks only about her dreams and aspirations. I loved playing a musician as I appreciate music but I cannot play any instrument. I once wanted to be a musician and I also tried it. But I realised what comes naturally to me is acting.
On the difference between the time now and when he started off
For the last 36 years I have been doing films only for scripts, not for the songs or who is the heroine in the film. I have to be connected with the stories and that hasn’t changed over the years. I remember when I was shooting for Mr India, we used to do a lot of special effects with the camera only and the whole day was used for a single shot. Now we have computers to do it in post production but the dedication is still the same. At that time people used to ask why I am so hard working or why I keep asking questions.
On working with new directors and actors
I think that I am more comfortable now as I find more like-minded people on the sets. The youngsters these days are more committed and hard working.
On changing looks for characters
There was a time when I used to enter the character by growing beard or moustache. That was not common at that time but today it it has turned more into a marketing tool. I remember that once I called the media when I was getting my hair done for a role and no one turned up. Today, the ‘look’ gets famous even if one wants to keep it under wraps.
On his current state of mind
We all go through phases when we cannot choose what we want to do and we have to do what is offered to us. I am glad that right now I am in a position that I can choose roles and I only pray to God that I should not get any chance when I have to choose a wrong project because of money or other reasons.