His last film was the most expensive Hindi film to have been made at that point of time. His upcoming film is a modestly budgeted film starring a bunch of relatively new actors. After making the super ambitious Ra.One with Shah Rukh Khan, director Anubhav Sinha makes a comeback after six years with Tum Bin 2, the second installment of Tum Bin, which happened to be his first feature film as a director. In this interview, he talks about the elements that connect Tum Bin and Tum Bin 2, resisting the temptation to make a big budgeted film, the reasons behind the under performance of Ra.One and his new phase as a filmmaker.
Though the film is called Tum Bin 2, it has a fresh story and new characters that do not have any link to Tum Bin. Is there any element in the film which binds the two films together?
There are six elements that I identified before I started writing Tum Bin 2. Some of these are related to the plot of the film and hence, I cannot talk about them now. Tum Bin had newcomers in the lead roles and the film had a very fresh look to it. The ghazal ‘Koi Fariyaad’ was used as a narrative device in the film. The film had a very subtle narrative which was devoid of melodrama. These elements are there in Tum Bin 2. We have retained some other elements which you will get to know about when you see the film.
After making several big budgeted, star studded films over the last couple of years, you chose to make a small film with relatively new actors. Weren’t you tempted to make another big film after Ra.One?
Yes, I did think about making another big film after Ra.One. In fact, after making Ra.One, making a big budgeted film almost became a criterion in my head. Soon enough, I realized this was not the best way to move forward as a filmmaker. You cannot choose a film because of its scale or budget. As a director, you should choose films that attract you the most. I decided not to direct a film for some time because I was not choosing scripts for the right reasons. Now, I have got completely out of the trap and I am willing to make all kinds of films.
Technically, Ra.One was a path breaking films in several ways. But, the outcome as far as the box-office is concerned, was a little underwhelming. It was a superhero film but there were several elements in the film which did not go down well with the theme of the film. Do you think you made some compromises to bring a larger or a more traditional Hindi film audience to watch a superhero film?
Superhero films are a niche genre in India. In my quest to reach out to a wider audience, I diluted the idea we had set out with by adding a lot of other elements which were not incidental to the plot. I agree that the film should have performed better than it did but, in 2011 it earned 163 crores which is a huge number even by today’s standards.
