Reunion for Abhay and Raanjhanaa director
Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 21, 2015)

Abhay Deol has finally come out of hibernation to sign Aanand L. Rai's debut production tentatively titled Happy Bhag Jayegi. "This film was long overdue. While we were doing Raanjhanaa I kept telling Abhay that our journey together wasn't complete. He was fab in the film but it wasn't a full-fledged role," reminisces the filmmaker.

Rai points out that he is always looking for talent who will surrender to him. And once Abhay is convinced about a role he trusts the maker completely.

"He doesn't like anything straight. Right from the early days, he wants to go into different zones. If you give him a challenge and make him believe it's going to be a difficult journey, he will quickly come on board," Rai smiles.

Abhay will be paired with Cocktail girl, Diana Penty who has impressed Rai with her intelligence, ease and confidence. "She's in no hurry and this is a role you would never imagine her in," he promises.

A title making the rounds earlier was Dolly Lahore Mein. Rai admits that Diana's character was earlier christened Dolly but since there are too many Dollys around they decided to name her Happy. And what is the Lahore connection? Is this a cross-border love story of runaway Happy? "I don't want to comment on this, it's the USP of my film," Rai retorts.

The film will roll in a couple of months with Mudassar Aziz at the helm. The director is coming back four years after Dulha Mil Gaya, which starred former girlfriend Sushmita Sen.

What made Rai hand the reins of his debut production to a director with a dud behind him? "Mudassar has been working on the script for the last two-and-a-half years. He has a hunger in him. As far as box-office collections go, no one can ensure that a film is a safe bet," he argues.

"The reason I'm turning producer is to give directors the kind of space I searched for, over the last decade. I won't interfere with my director's creative freedom and the experience of being associated with a film from its conception, through its making, to promoting it, will make me a complete filmmaker," says Rai who is lining up a second production with Navdeep Singh.

And what's his next film as a director? "I don't know till Tanu Weds Manu Part 2 is done," he quips. Is Tanu Weds Manu Part 3 on the cards? "When I was working on the first film I didn't know there'd be a sequel. So I'm not answering that question now," he laughs.