Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; November 2, 2019)

After producing films, Abhishek Pathak turned director with Ujda Chaman, which released this Friday. The movie stars Sunny Singh in the role of a 30-year-old man who is dealing with the issue of premature balding. When asked about how difficult or different it was to wear the director’s hat, he replies, “The only hindrance I faced was when we had to shoot in the high temperatures of North India. It was really hot and sweaty, and I was worried about how my actors will perform in such weather, especially Sunny, who wore prosthetic makeup for his role of a partially bald man.” This is not the first time Abhishek is collaborating with Sunny. He had produced Akaash Vani (2013) and Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 (2015), which featured the actor. Interestingly, Abhishek is Sunny’s childhood friend.

He said, “My father (film producer Kumar Mangat) and his father (action director Jai Singh Nijjar) have worked together before. That is why we know each other well.” He added, “The reason I cast him for the film was because Chaman (Sunny’s character in the film) is extremely coy and does not speak much. I felt Sunny was right for the part and would nail this role.”

Fortunately, the film released a week before Ayushmann Khurranastarrer Bala, which also deals with the same subject. Speaking about the similarities in both the films, Abhishek elaborates, “I bought the rights (of 2017’s Kannada release Ondu Motteya Kathe). Later, I got to know that they (producer Dinesh Vijan) are making Bala. In one of the interviews, I read that the film is about a person’s inner beauty. I realised that the premise of both films seemed similar, that’s when I sent out a friendly notice to the team of Bala. I also suggested that we sit across the table and discuss the content of our respective films. However, they told me that there was no need for a discussion as their content was different. Meanwhile, I had also released a public notice stating that we have the rights of the original. When the trailer of Bala released, I was shocked to see that it is similar to mine.”

There was a time when both the films were slated to release on the same weekend. However, a clash between the two, at the box office, was averted. Abhishek says, “Releasing two films based on the same subject on nearly the same date would have been disastrous.”

After Ujda Chaman, Abhishek is producing Khuda Hafiz, which is based on a news report published in The Times of India. “It is a romantic thriller inspired by a news report, which was published in 2007. It was actually the director of the film, Faruk Kabir (Allah Ke Banday fame), who had researched the article and came up with the idea,” said Abhishek. The film stars Vidyut Jammwal, and the shooting has commenced in Uzbekistan. Shedding more light on the story of the movie, the filmmaker shared, “It’s a real-life story based on a couple from Hyderabad. It’s a fabulous story that needs to be told.”