Anurag Basu on his next film, which features Abhishek Bachchan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Rajkummar Rao and Pankaj Tripathi, and other aces he has up his sleeve
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 20, 2018)

After the release of Jagga Jasoos in July 2017, Anurag Basu quietly started shooting a film on the streets of Kolkata. A leaked picture from the sets suggested the director has teamed up with Abhishek Bachchan for the first time in his career. While speculation is rife that it is a sequel to his 2007 film, Life In A… Metro, Anurag categorically refutes the rumours, saying, “It has multiple plots, but it is not a sequel to Life In A… Metro. The genre and story are totally different and fresh. We have yet to decide the title and will figure the release date only after we wrap up the film.” The film has a promising ensemble cast. “It features Abhishek Bachchan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Rajkummar Rao and Pankaj Tripathi in the lead,” adds the filmmaker but refuses to divulge any more details.

After his current assignment, Anurag will team up with Kangana Ranaut for the third time, after Gangster and Life In A… Metro for a film titled Imali. “I’m not sure when the film will go on the floors because currently, both of us are tied up with multiple projects. But we will sit down soon and decide on the timeline, the film is happening for sure,” he asserts.

It has been Anurag’s dream to direct a Kishore Kumar biopic with Ranbir Kapoor playing the singeractor-filmmaker. He already has a script and screenplay ready but bring up the subject and he sighs, “Dukhti rag pe haath rakh diya, this one film I’ve really worked hard on. It took quite some time to research Kishore, but now with the script and screenplay locked, I could take it on the floors tomorrow if everything goes as planned.”

He admits that it would also be difficult to get a producer on board for Jagga Jasoos 2 but says he’d love to helm the sequel and insists there’s an audience for it too. “I wish I could convince someone to produce it for me or maybe God should give me enough money to do it myself,” smiles Anurag who currently is all set to returns as judge for the third season of Sony’s talent hunt show, Super Dancer.

He reveals that interacting with the families of participants coming from small towns helps him discover a different world. “There is a lot of positive energy on this set and I like being around with the team. Jagga Jasoos had such well-choreographed songs because this show changed my vision and boosted my creativity. Many people enquire about my dance class and a few believe I’m a choreographer. I take so much efforts to direct a film, but people recognise me today as the judge of a dance show,” he laughs, adding that TV is a great medium to reach the masses.