It’s been more than a decade since Abhinay Deo gave us the cult hit, Delhi Belly. Since then, the ad filmmaker has been experimenting with genres as diverse as black comedy (Blackmail) and spy thrillers (Force 2), before he got Karisma Kapoor, Helen, Soni Razdan, Jisshu U Sengupta and Surya Sharma in a casting coup of sorts for Brown, a crime drama set in the underbelly of Kolkata.

In between experiencing his first Norwester on the banks of the Hooghly and shooting in the skinny alleys of the city, Abhinay settled down for a free-wheeling chat with us. Excerpts:

We got on to this project a year and a half back. It is a lovely, intense and interesting idea and we decided to put together the story line, get the actors on board and start filming and see where it goes. This story does not have a beginning, middle and end — but it’s a fantastically written character study about broken people in a broken system with all their nuances. It talks about how people are not black and white as generally portrayed in our cinema. It’s a very interesting milieu for me to explore, and that’s where Kolkata comes in as a character in the film.

As a filmmaker, I hate to run with clichés. Our story is about the underbelly of the city and its different layers — not so much the part which the aam janta knows. In the 10 days that we have been shooting there, we have not shot a single monument or tourist spot in the city. That’s how we intend to keep it. We are trying to capture the different textures of Kolkata — from the rich and big Marwari families to the smallest boatman — and the unhurried pace at which everything moves.

Mare Of Easttown is a great example, but we are also about those dark, intense and jovial vignettes of the Anglo Indians, Biharis, Marwaris, bhodrolok Bengalis — communities that actually bring their cultures into the city and carry the city with them at the same time. The whodunit part is a thread that binds these people together and gives us an opportunity to talk about where they come from, how broken and ‘baggaged’ they are.

I think the new platforms have finally given us an opportunity to tell stories that are not bound by the star system. Imagine trying to do a character study 10 years back! Who would buy that? It is high time we went beyond the 20 people we can count on our fingertips, who you had to approach if you wanted anything to see the light of day. If things did not work out, you tried to get together some people from NSD and show your film on 10 screens.

We had great filmmakers such as Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen and Satyajit Ray, making documentaries and features with intense character studies. But their work got branded as parallel cinema instead. Imagine what would have happened if they had access to the new mediums and platforms that we do today!

These lines are blurred, the star system is being dismantled. While we have not come to terms with it yet, the process has started. You simply cannot take a big actor and make it work. People have access to so much that they would rather watch something else than any mediocre stuff that comes their way.

I think for many of these ’90s actors, initially there’s a sense of shock because of the change that is happening. After that comes the requirement of involvement, which is intense and immense. Earlier films were made differently; your story was written on the sets. Now it is about adapting to a very different way of life and delivering to the brief. And hats off to the way they are reinventing themselves. Initially, we were a bit skeptical and so was Karisma. She was facing the camera after a long time after all. But she has been delivering, and how! In fact, she gets more and more surprised about herself every day and we pat ourselves on our back a little harder for having stuck to our gut feeling about casting her in the project.

Helen is 80-plus, comes from a completely different era. We had a tough scene where she was supposed to hold her own in a room with many people. We were wondering how it would pan out. But Helen not only held her own, but was spectacular in the way she made her presence felt. But more than the first day of shoot she had a child-like fascination about the very idea of reading from a script — apparently it was her first time! But how absolutely professional she has been and so hard working. In fact, everyone from Soni Razdan to Jisshu to Surya, the young actors from Bengal and Mumbai — for me, it is fun to be able to bring the experience that the seasoned actors bring with them and combine it with contemporary filmmaking style and try to make something out of it.

Doosra is part fiction-part documentary about Indian cricket and a young girl. I have pushed my creative boundaries in a completely different direction with the film. Unfortunately, many of the festivals, where we wanted to take the film, did not know how to slot it. And then Covid also delayed the process. But it is too poignant and special a story not to be told and I hope the audiences will be able to see it soon.

Though Force 2 happens to be their maiden venture together, director Abhinay Deo and filmmaker Vipul Amrutlal Shah got along like a house on fire. No creative combat for these men, who worked seamlessly to bring alive their vision for the muchanticipated John Abraham Sonakshi Sinha-starrer. Here are excerpts from an interview with Vipul and Abhinay before the release of the high-octane, action packed sequel to Force, which opens in cinemas this Friday.

The car-lifting sequence has become the talking point of your film...
VIPUL: Ever since John lifted the bike in Force, the sequence has become synonymous with the franchise. Everyone expects him to do something spectacular and big. I remember people thought the bike-lifting sequence was a cheat shot. So, John lifted the bike at an event to prove it and it became a talking point. We had to push the envelope in our quest to take the legacy ahead. We made him lift a car this time. We knew it would work, but the film is not just about lifting heavy weights. It has a bigger concept - it's about spies and what happens to them and their families when the country disowns them..
ABHINAY: It's a big moment in the trailer, but the film is bigger and more intense than a particular scene. Having said that, the sequence defines an important aspect of the protagonist - that he is not only righteous, but also physically solid.

Vipul, what made you cast Sonakshi, considering there is no apparent love track between her and John in the film?
VS: Abhinay didn't want to explore a typical love story. It's high time we started taking the relationship between a boy and a girl beyond the romantic angle. It is a modern and interesting take. We could have easily made it a two-hero film as there is no apparent love story, but girls are at par with boys in every aspect, so we wrote a female character. It was an unanimous decision to cast Sonakshi, because she has the personality to pull off the role of a RAW agent convincingly. Besides, everybody knows that she can do action really well.

Given the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan, do you think the relevance of the subject will attract moviegoers?
VS: It's a bad way to make a film with the idea of capitalising on the political situation of a country. Had that been the case, we would have added a few sequences bashing the other country. Some subjects are too real to be judged through their commercial viability. And any situation which deals with the Army or spies shouldn't be seen through the prism of commercial success/failure. If Force 2 can improve the situation for even a handful of spies and their families, it will be a bigger reward than its box-office collection. The subject should reach a wider audience, as this country needs to wake up to the reality of spies and their families being ignored.

But do you think demonetization might hamper its box-office collection?
VS: A big decision like demonetization might affect a film, but it would be a small sacrifice on our part in the larger interest of the country - which is to clean up black money and corruption. I have faith that we have made a good film and even if we lose out on the first day, we will be back in business eventually. We are proud of the film and demonetization won't affect its business.

Abhinay, while working with Vipul as a producer, was there any creative interference as he is also a director?
AD: Such thoughts do crop up, but Vipul has trusted my creative vision and I trusted him with the production aspect. That's the bond we have developed over time. At times, we have worn each other's hat as well. Sometimes, the budget and the vision don't come together, which was the case with this film - the vision was bigger than the budget. If my producer came half way and did not worry about the money, on my part, I too sacrificed my fee. It's important to share the same vision, and ours was to make a mindblowing film. There was no scope for discord.
VS: Force 2 belongs to Abhinay as much as it belongs to me. No one has charged a single penny in these 18 months. Abhinay has stood by me at all times.

Abhinay, Nishikant Kamat, who directed Force, said he is done and dusted with the film. What pushed you to take it on?
AD: That's his opinion and I can only speak for myself. Nishikant is a friend and he did a swell job in the first film. Sometimes, you need a fresh perspective to take a film to the next level and that's exactly what I have tried to do.I have taken it from where he left and steered it into a different direction. We never get tired of a genre and there is no limiting it. A subject can be explored in multiple ways.

John is known for his tough physique and action skills. Do you think his action-hero image overshadows his acting talent?
AD: Every person has his strengths and weaknesses. As a director, I needed to play up John's strengths. We extracted the best out of each other during the course of the film. Each actor has a distinct way of emoting. Our films tend to overdramatize everything, but that is not my style. OTT (over the top) as a concept doesn't exist for me. It might be in a situation, but never in the performance. John is subtle and sticks close to reality. He suits my wavelength as I like realistic filmmaking.

Abhinay, do you aspire to enter the Rs 300-crore club like other directors? After all, even superstars chase them...
AD: I want to be a director who is sought after by actors for the right reason, which is good cinema. It shouldn't be based on the business my last film did. If that's the case, I would question their judgement. I would like my films to make Rs 300 crore, but these clubs don't make sense to me. I define a film's success with people gaining something from the storytelling. That's more gratifying to me, even if it's pure and simple entertainment. What mark it crosses isn't my lookout. If it makes money in the process, I would be happy for the producer and myself. I wouldn't stop myself from making a Rs 10-crore film just because another film of mine did a Rs 300-crore business. The business doesn't govern my talent of storytelling.

Vipul, how was it to co-produce the film with John, who is also the face of the film? Did that give him an advantage?
VS: I want my actors to work on a film with a sense of ownership. I am happy that John and I are working as co-producers because it makes the experience personal for him as well. I haven't looked at the financial aspect yet. Maybe I would do that when the numbers start rolling in. When we make films, we build relationships. You can choose to be a producer who deals with situations either clinically or with empathy. If you can maintain a good relationship with the team, success and fame will follow. But if you burn bridges with people, you will be alone on the day of the premiere.

Abhinay, Delhi Belly is a cult film and one expected a sequel. Why didn't you cash in on its success?
AD: It's a film waiting to be made into a second part and I would love to do it. But I am neither driven by money and fame nor is filmmaking time bound. I take time to discover a big idea. Akshat Verma (the writer of the film) took nine years to write the first script. We have a nine-year plan, so we have another four more years to go for the sequel (laughs).

Vipul, the failure of Action Replayy (2010) must have been a major setback. Do you plan to get back to direction?
VS: That was my first genuine failure as a director and it taught me a great deal. I decided to take a long break from direction to reinvent myself. I am returning to direction soon, and I know it will feel like my first film, as I will be approaching it with a fresh perspective. I am in discussion with Akshay (Kumar) for a project. I am writing the script, and will narrate to him soon.