BOMBAY TIMES (January 9, 2018)

Over the years, Aanand L Rai has garnered appreciation and credibility as a filmmaker. His banner, Colour Yellow Productions, saw success twice in 2017 — with the quirky entertainer Shubh Mangal Saavdhan and India’s official entry to the Oscars, Newton.

Today, the filmmaker is collaborating with some talented actors and directors from across the board. The year started with a bang, with the teaser of Zero, Rai’s much-anticipated directorial with Shah Rukh Khan. He is also gearing up to release the Anurag Kashyap-directed Mukkabaaz on January 12, which is a love story of a boxer set in a small town. This will be followed by Manmarziyan, which will also be helmed by Anurag. Since Rai is synonymous with small-town romances, he will be releasing director Rahul Shanklya’s Nimmo, a small film with a big heart. Also awaited is Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi, sequel to the 2016 hit Happy Bhag Jayegi. Directed by Mudassar Aziz, the film, which stars Sonakshi Sinha, promises double the dose of comedy. Rai is also collaborating with director Navdeep Singh (of NH10 fame) for a thriller, set in the late 18th century, which will see Saif Ali Khan playing a bounty hunter. Rai will once again be working with Newton director Amit Masurkar on another film that is expected to go on floors this year. Also in the pipeline is an unexpected comedy from Shubh Mangal Saavdhan’s writer Hitesh Kewalya and a riveting drama Heer scripted by Manmarziyan’s writer Kanika Dhillon.

On his part, Rai says, “2017 proved to be a successful year with entertaining and content-driven films doing well at the box office and 2018 looks equally promising with new collaborations. While we have been associated with family entertainers, we also want to present a gamut of genres to the audience. The process of scripting, casting, scouting for locations and putting together the entire project is very exciting and the team is ready and excited to start working with these immensely talented filmmakers.”