Priyadarshan's Anamika is streaming on ZEE5. (Photo: Priyadarshan/Facebook)National Award-winning filmmaker Priyadarshan has written and helmed ZEE5 movie Anamika. It is one among four films that will release under the streaming site’s Forbidden Love series.
In a conversation with indianexpress.com, Priyadarshan talked about Anamika, challenges of writing a love story at his age and more.
Below are excerpts from the conversation:
How did Anamika happen?
It was an offer from Venus. This was something fun for me as well as I haven’t done anything like this before. It was very challenging to say something very interesting in about 40 minutes. Also, I found that there were other brilliant filmmakers who were working on it. So I decided to give it a try. I made an attempt and I can’t say how far it has succeeded. The one good thing about OTT platforms is, if your film is good, there are people who are ready to see it. If word of mouth is good, then people will see a film over and over again. Even now, I have people call me up and say, ‘I watched Sometimes yesterday and it was good.’ It is very difficult to make a good film and then keep it in a theater for a long time. By the time the word of mouth reaches everyone, the film would be removed from the theater. And moreover, you don’t feel really insecure about making a film for an OTT platform. You can be true to your filmmaking. You can tell the story the way you wanted.
Anamika revolves around a lovelorn married woman who finds love again outside her marriage. What kind of preparation goes into writing stories that deal with human emotions?
Writing about love at the age of 63 is difficult, so I took help from my young assistants. I wrote the screenplay and showed it to my young group. They gave me a few corrections, and I incorporated them into the script. When you are making a short film, convincing the audience in a short duration is very important. The culmination of emotion in writing is very important, and I think I have succeeded in it.
Watch my latest Movie #Anamika in “Forbidden love”, Streaming Exclusively on #ZEE5 pic.twitter.com/PypbDJyDQE
— priyadarshan (@priyadarshandir) September 9, 2020
What is the key to ensuring a relationship stands the test of time?
There is nothing like that. In most cases, it always a huge adjustment by one of the two people in a relationship. I have never come across anybody who is completely happy in a relationship. But, because of society, people comprise up to a limit. And those who compromise, keep the relationship long. And those who don’t, fall apart.
How did you zero in on Pooja Kumar and Aditya Seal for Anamika?
Pooja had done a couple of films with Kamal Haasan (Vishwaroopam movies). I told her what I wanted to do, and she was interested. Pooja was the perfect fit for the role. And the moment I met Aditya, I felt he was the right choice for the role. So I was lucky. I did not have any difficulty when it came to casting.
So, how did you cope with the coronavirus-induced lockdown?
I was disappointed. Because the biggest film in my career, Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham is stuck. I worked on that film for about 2.5 years. Of which, 1 year I took for just post-production work. Producers have said that let’s wait until things become proper. In the meantime, I tried cooking, and I redid my garden. And from October 1, I will start shooting for Hungama 2 in Manali.
Do you feel impatient to be sitting on a ready film like Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham?
The right word is disappointed. But I was lucky. Just imagine, if I had released the film and the lockdown was imposed one week after that, it would have been a disaster. Thank god that did not happen.
Lastly, how are you so good at making comedy movies?
That’s because I am very simple. I am still a child in my mind. My real heroes are Tom and Jerry. I believe in situational humour and not in dialogue humour. I believe that situational humour is the best kind of humour. Another thing is I don’t believe in double meaning jokes. Because comedy films are supposed to be watched with family, right? So no father or mother should be embarrassed while watching my movie with children. That’s my policy.