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INTERVIEW: Akshay sir is the soul of Atrangi Re: Aanand L Rai on his next & how it made him believe in love
Aanand L Rai gets in a candid chat with Pinkvilla on his next, Atrangi Re, the idea of casting Sara Ali Khan, Dhanush and Akshay Kumar in his funnily weird tale of love.
After helming small town love stories like Tanu Weds Manu, Ranjhaanaa and Tanu Weds Manu Returns, Aanand L Rai is gearing up for the release of his next, Atrangi Re with Sara Ali Khan, Dhanush and Akshay Kumar. The filmmaker informs that the germ of Atrangi Re was with him and his writing partner, Himanshu Sharma since 2014. “It was just an idea,” he smiles, quick to add, “As usual, we were not ready with a bound script in advance.”
He adds, “After Zero, we were talking about what next. Atrangi Re wasn’t the easiest idea to develop of all that we had but I was keen to explore this multi-layered subject which deals with love in a complicated space. So, we decided on getting into this adventurous trip.” And what made him take up a challenging subject like this? “I wanted to play on the front foot. I wanted to play the match on a difficult pitch and this script was passing all the tick marks,” he answers.
Akshay sir is an element that’s very special to the premise. He is the soul of Atrangi Re. It’s a difficult role to play and I wanted someone very confident. He is fearless when it comes to selecting scripts
Aanand L Rai
The film rides on a formidable ensemble spearheaded by Sara Ali Khan and Dhanush with Akshay in a key role. Explaining his casting, the director shares, “Sara was a straight choice because I wanted somebody in that age group with no baggage. Her character has got so much spark that I have taken a lot of Sara and converted her into Rinku. The other character of this Tamilian boy always belonged to Dhanush.” And Akshay? He replies, “Akshay sir is an element that’s very special to the premise. He is the soul of Atrangi Re. It’s a difficult role to play and I wanted someone very confident. He is fearless when it comes to selecting scripts and I am very thankful to him for agreeing to get into the shoes of this character.”
All through the campaign, the stakeholders have promised an Atrangi take on romance through the narrative of this film. Obviously, it would have been difficult to get actors on board. Aanand avers, “I remember Akshay sir telling me one thing. ‘If you have the guts to make this film, why can’t I act in it?’ I am really fortunate to have these actors who believe in this story so much that they are equally in love with it.” Every film has a learning curve for a director and Atrangi Re was no different as through the journey, he started believing in love much more than what he used to. “Love according to me, is the best medicine that you need to get rid of any disease in the world,” he gushes.
I wanted to play on the front foot. I wanted to play the match on a difficult pitch and this script of Atrangi Re was passing all the tick marks
Aanand L Rai
The film premieres on Disney+Hotstar during the Christmas 2021 weekend. The director signs off saying that as much as he would have loved to bring this film on the big screen, every medium has it’s own charm. “It was a difficult call, but as a filmmaker I am open to all platforms. I want my stories to be heard and seen by maximum people. Every platform as a plus point,” he concludes.
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