Kavita Awaasthi (HINDUSTAN TIMES; February 26, 2020)

After his last two releases — Mulk (2018) and Article 15 (2019) — filmmaker Anubhav Sinha admits that a lot is riding on his latest release, the Taapsee Pannu-starrer, Thappad. Sinha points out that since his last two releases, which were thought-provoking, relevant and insightful, there are a lot of expectations from him and he is learning how to handle it. “It is scary and I don’t like pressure at all. I tell people to not take me too seriously,” he says, adding that labels like 2.0 version (of Anubhav Sinha) amuse him. “They asked me to make a sequel of Ra.One so many times that I ended up making a sequel of myself,” quips the filmmaker who directed the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer in 2011.

Talking about his experience of working with Taapsee, for the second time after Mulk, Sinha says, “When you spend time with a person, you learn more about the person, and you develop a chemistry. Of course, I know her better as an actor and as a person today, and I feel that when you know an actor better, chances are that you will deliver better results together. Taapsee is selfless and transparent as an actor. She doesn’t want you to find any Taapsee in the movie, just the character. That is charming about her.”

Thappad is a film about a woman’s self-respect, their conditioning and our society. With this film, Sinha attempts to bring forth topics like self-respect and the dignity of women and turn it into a discussion. He says, “If a film stays with you after you leave the theatre, and it leaves you with some questions about yourself and society, then that’s the maximum a film can do. What the audience does with those questions is up to them, and I have no control over that. All I can do is quietly slide in some questions into your pocket and the rest is up to the audiences and who you are.”

This year, he will have three film releases including Thappad, Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai and another one in October. “We will talk about the third one, a little later. I am enjoying this pace of working and I love making movies. I plan to keep this pace on, as long as I can, and I am not getting any younger,” he says.

Pankaj Tripathi, who has seven releases this year, including his first lead role, is looking forward to a 40-day break from work in June
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 9, 2020)

Pankaj Tripathi, who made his Bollywood debut in 2004 with the Abhishek Bachchan-starrer Run, is gearing up for his biggest year at the movies yet. In 2020, the actor will be seen in as many as seven films. One of them is the Satish Kaushik-directed Kaagaz, backed by Salman Khan, in which he plays his first lead role.

Then, there is Kabir Khan’s Ranveer Singh-fronted ’83, Anurag Basu’s Ludo, Sharan Sharma’s Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, Anubhav Sinha’s Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai, Laxman Utekar’s Mimi, Homi Adajania’s Angrezi Medium (cameo) and Indrajit Lankesh’s Shakeela. “The last two years have been really busy. I have been working continuously and feel tired now. I am in a burnout-type situation. My theatre experience is helping me pull it off,” says Pankaj, adding, “I get two film offers on a daily basis, but I have decided to take it slow for now.”

In June, Pankaj embarks on a 40-day break. “All I plan to do in that duration is spend time with family, travel and plan future projects. I love to travel so I will go for a holiday somewhere. I haven’t been able to spend much time with my daughter in the last few years. Every time I return from a shoot, I see that she has grown two inches taller. Yesterday, I had an off from work, so I cooked for her. It was good fun,” the actor smiles.

He goes on to reveal that Salman, with whom he shared screen space in Dabangg 2, will see Kaagaz in a few days. “I was so involved in this film, that I spent entire 40 days of the schedule on location in Sitapur and knew things pertaining to even costume continuity. I would wake up at 5 am and shoot till late evening,” he reminisces.

Anubhav Sinha makes a case for his choice of actor to lead his next directorial, reveals that his reunion project with Taapsee Pannu is based in Delhi and will take off by August-end and explains why it is a good time for films of all kind
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 20, 2019)

Less than a year after Mulk, which narrated the tale of a Muslim family trying to reclaim its lost honour, Anubhav Sinha’s next revolves around Article 15 of the Indian constitution, which prohibits discrimination based on caste, creed, sex, religion, race or place of birth. While his previous film featuring Taapsee Pannu and Rishi Kapoor was more of an underdog which surprised the audience, his next with Ayushmann Khurrana is keenly awaited. “It’s fantastic to know that people are waiting to watch this film. But there is also the pressure to deliver. I received more love for Mulk than all my previous films and music videos put together. Article 15 is a film I am proud of,” the director says.

He goes on to reveal that of late, news items around the subject had been bothering him. “I wrote the first draft of the film in January 2017. Then, I met writer Gaurav Solanki. We discussed the subject, read a lot of books, spoke to social activists and journalists. That’s how things fell into place,” he says, adding that he made it for the country’s youth.

While admitting that it was one of the reasons for casting Ayushmann Khurrana as the lead, Anubhav explains, “There were more important reasons as well. I needed a fantastic actor, more importantly, someone who believed in the subject and was willing to walk that extra mile with me. Ayushmann checked all the boxes.” The filmmaker-actor duo’s association had begun with a love story but by his own admission, Ayushmann was keener on doing a hard-hitting film. “I wanted him to play an intense part in a love story. The film I was planning with him was some sort of an anthology in a space that he has not done before,” he says, adding that he would will revisit the anthology film someday. “I love that script and it requires five actors. So, it’s a tough one to cast.”

Mulk had faced opposition from some fringe groups given its subject. Does he anticipate similar reactions to Article 15? “When you talk about a sensitive subject, some people will disagree with you, while some others will react more violently than others. That shouldn’t make you apprehensive,” he asserts.

He remains non-committal on the topic of his favourite genre. “All the films I have made were challenging. I worked for roughly four-five years on Ra.One, where I was dealing with the pressure of working with the biggest star (Shah Rukh Khan) in the world. So much was expected of that film. That said, I don’t think I can call one film more challenging than the rest,” he smiles. That brings one to the fact that since the superhero film, Anubhav hasn’t attempted another big budget entertainer. “Nothing keeps me away from them,” he clarifies, adding, “If I get excited by a film that’s big budgeted, then why would I not do it? Strangely, I am working on two of my next films and none of them are in that space. If I want to do an out-and-out entertainer, I will go for it.”

Next up for the director is a reunion with his Mulk leading lady Taapsee Pannu. “It is titled Thappad, but I may change it. It goes on the floors by mid-August and it’s a topical film based in Delhi.”

However, before he moves on to the film, he would have to film a few patch-work scenes in another directorial, Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai. “I have finished editing the film, but two-three days of shooting remains. It’s a mad film, in a new kind of space. We will figure out a date soon; release dates have become as important as casting,” he points out.

In 2001, Anubhav made his directorial debut with Tum Bin and followed it up with potboilers like Cash, Dus and Tathastu. Has the definition of cinema changed for him over the years? “I look at it differently. There are films that are designed to be wonderful at the box office while others are designed to be just wonderful. We are living in in a time when, thankfully, even the latter is doing well at the box office. It’s not important to design films for money because every film finds its audience,” he states.

Over the years, he has been vocal about his dream of working with Amitabh Bachchan. Ask him if it is close to being realised and he reveals, “Unfortunately, nothing is happening on that front as I don’t feel I have a script worthy of him. The day I find it, I will fall at his feet and convince him to do a film with me. He has done it all in his career,” the director signs off.

Deepali Singh (DNA; June 15, 2019)

After Shriya Pilgaonkar auditioned for the British TV series Beecham House, she didn’t hear from them for quite some time. “One day, I was suddenly called to their office and I thought I was going for a meeting, but they started taking measurements for the outfits!” she recalls with a laugh. Directed by Gurinder Chadha, the period drama set in 1795 was shot across London and Rajasthan and was an engaging and interesting process for the Mirzapur actress. Shriya tells us more about the show and her role...

Was it daunting to be a part of an international production?
I have done a French film earlier, but this is my first British series and one of the primary parts. In that sense, I was a little nervous about it, especially because it’s a period drama and this is the first time I’m speaking English on screen. Everyone had to undergo voice lessons and diction training workshops because the English spoken in a period drama is a little different from how one would speak otherwise. It’s slower and the sentences are fuller. I wasn’t daunted as I was excited about the experience. Also, it was a diverse cast and crew from all over the world and I was really looking forward to that setup.

Tell us a bit about the show and your character.
It’s a drama about family, relationships, love and loss. These are universal themes. Hence, they’re quite relatable. My character is an intriguing one. There is not much known about her. She is a young girl who comes to the house as the caretaker to John Beecham’s baby and ends up falling in love with his brother. She is ambitious, adventurous and loyal. A part of her wants to explore the world and she is always torn and conflicted about what she wants to do. What makes her more intriguing are the choices she makes. She is unafraid and uninhibited.

How was it to work with Gurinder Chadha?
She really represents diversity in the true sense because she is able to keep her team together, which I think is the most important quality of a director. She has a good understanding of the script and working with actors. Both of us enjoy history. There was so much energy on the sets and she deserves credit for that.

What’s next?
I have a film titled Bhangra Paa Le with Sunny Kaushal and Anubhav Sinha’s Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai. Then I have Haathi Mere Saathi, a trilingual with Rana Daggubati. It’s my first Tamil-Telugu project. There is also a project for an OTT platform.

MUMBAI MIRROR (April 9, 2018)

Sony Pictures Networks Productions (SPN Productions), the film production arm of Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt Ltd (SPN), announces its upcoming film, Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai (ATPSHH), written and directed by Anubhav Sinha.

The film is a satirical ride into the circus of coalition politics. The biggest highlight is the cast of highly acclaimed actors coming together in one film for the first time. The cast includes Saurabh Shukla, Pankaj Tripathi, Vinay Pathak, Pavan Malhotra, Divya Dutta, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Richa Chadha, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Cyrus Broacha, Prateik Babbar and Shriya Pilgaonkar.

Sony Pictures Networks Productions is all set for an entertainment packed year with Soorma, T for Taj Mahal, and Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai in the pipeline and other announcements to follow in the coming months.

“This story is very close to my heart and when I started writing it, I finished in one go. I narrated it to SPNP and I am glad Sneha Rajani (right) and her team instantly fell in love with the subject. I think the casting has been a great asset to this film as it’s impossible to imagine all these supremely talented actors coming together in one frame,” director Anubhav Sinha said, while Sneha Rajani, Deputy President and Head, Sony Pictures Networks Productions, added, “Anubhav Sinha has created such wonderful characters for this film. Who would have thought of seeing such great actors sharing the screen space? This speaks volumes about the script that has managed to attract such great talent. I am certain that the madness of the script and the fantastic cast will leave a longlasting impression on the minds of our viewers.”

ATPSHH is being produced by Sony Pictures Networks Productions and Anubhav Sinha.