Ranvir Shorey, who reprises his role as the pookie gangster Chhota Davan in Amazon MX Player’s Bindiya Ke Bahubali season 2, has high regard for his long-time collaborator and veteran actor Saurabh Shukla. The latter essays Ranvir’s father in the show. They met through their common friend and actor Rajat Kapoor and have been going strong even after decades in showbiz.

Ranvir exclusively tells mid-day, “Saurabh is older than me in every possible way – experience, talent, and wisdom. There's a very older brother vibe, which I have with Saurabh. I not only enjoy spending time, but I also look forward to it. It’s a learning and fun experience for me.”

Recently, many filmmakers and producers have prioritized social media clout over traditional acting merit when casting. Ranvir, known for his unfiltered presence online, acknowledges that his outspoken nature may have cost him significant professional opportunities.

He explains, “Of course, I have no concrete evidence or conclusive proof of this. But I think it does affect how you are perceived in the business. But it’s one life, bro; I do not want to be boxed up. I don't want to toe the line. I don't want to live a life where I feel like my opinions have to lick somebody's feet.”

Ranvir, who started his career with television and later transitioned into movies and OTT, says the industry has changed for good. “I think there are far more opportunities today in the world of filmmaking. And the flip side to that is that there is far more competition also.”

Ranvir is currently filming Khosla Ka Ghosla 2, a project he committed to only after confirming that original cast members Anupam Kher and Boman Irani were returning. Describing them as the "pillars" of the franchise, he likens the experience to a family reunion. “I didn't want to be the reason the Khosla family couldn't get back together,” he notes, emphasizing his loyalty to the original ensemble.

While Ranvir can shapeshift into any given role, he is largely associated with comedy as a genre. At a time when cringeworthy content is taking over intelligent writing, the actor states that it is paramount to back good projects.

“People don't realize how much goes on behind the scenes. What actors, directors, and writers struggle with, you cannot imagine. The kind of egos you have to deal with just to be able to do the kind of work you want to do,” he signs off.

Prashant Bhagia, Anupam Kher, and Savita Raj Hiremath

The Khosla household is back in a familiar territory as cameras roll once again, on the sequel to Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006). The film, which recently went on floors in Gurgaon, reunites key members of the original cast while expanding the story with new characters and conflicts.

Tara Sharma Saluja, Anupam Kher, Ranvir Shorey, Ravi Kishan, Kiran Juneja, and Parvinn Dabbass are presently filming the sequel in Gurgaon, with Boman Irani and Divya Khosla expected to join soon. The new film continues from where the original ended, with the characters older, settled and facing fresh challenges.

Producer Savita Raj Hiremath tells mid-day that the long gap was inevitable. “Good things take time and it wasn’t easy to make the sequel as expectations are more. There are so many actors in the movie, finding the right story was important.” She adds, “Director Dibakar Banerjee and writer Jaideep Sahni aren’t involved this time. My team and I have written the story this time.”

Though Banerjee was approached, the sequel eventually found a new director in ad filmmaker Prashant Bhagia. “If they say that KKG is not their zone anymore, obviously I had to find another director, and I found that simplicity in Prashant.”

Despite the shift, the emotional core remains. “When we say KKG we mean there is something more about the ghosla that matters a lot to the Khoslas,” says Hiremath.

Dilliwale Mr Khosla is back! In October 2024, producer Savita Raj Hiremath had announced that the sequel to director Dibakar Banerjee’s much loved Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006) was in the works, a piece of news that cheered not only its fans but also its cast members. Now, mid-day has exclusively learnt that the film is set to go on floors in December.

Confirming the news, leading man Anupam Kher tells mid-day, “We are starting Khosla Ka Ghosla 2 next month.”

The National Award-winning film — also starring Boman Irani, Parvin Dabas, and Ranvir Shorey — told the story of Kher’s Kamal Kishore Khosla, whose plan of building a house for his family comes crashing when an unethical real estate builder dupes him. Through the satire, Banerjee, who made his directorial debut, examined the corruption that often eats up the hard-earned savings of the common man in India.

Unfortunately, Banerjee won’t helm the sequel. While details about the director and script are under wraps, Kher shares that the original cast will return. “It’s a brilliant script. That was my major concern — the script has to be great. I am excited to reunite with the cast on the set next month,” he says.

One thing to know about Dibakar Banerjee is that his mind is always ticking, he is always pursuing his next story. That’s exactly what the director has been doing in the 10 months since his last release, Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2 (2024). He is currently co-writing three scripts and testing new waters with each. 

“The need to start from zero is very important. Otherwise I’ll become a senior filmmaker. I don’t want that. My hair is falling, but my brain is still young. I want to start from zero. I have never done the kind of films that [I’m developing] now,” he says.

The new projects, however, share one aspect with the acclaimed movies that Banerjee has made in his 18-year career so far—dark humour. It has been a constant in his stories, be it Oye Lucky Lucky Oye (2008) or Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar (2021). “I’m not making a funny film. But all my films have humour. I can’t tell stories without it,” he says.

Through each movie, the two-time National Award-winning filmmaker will explore the country’s different eras. “They are set in India— contemporary India, India of the past, and of the future.”

While Banerjee is looking forward to his future projects, the past is also on his mind. The director’s Tees, a Kashmiri family’s saga exploring India’s “personal, ideological, and sexual history,” was initially set for a 2022 Netflix première. However, the streamer held off the release of the Naseeruddin Shah and Manisha Koirala-starrer. Banerjee, who was reportedly told that it wasn’t the right time to release the film, has been since searching for a producer, who can buy it off the streamer. It has reminded him of the struggle he faced with Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006), which wasn’t finding takers as it was an unconventional film for the time.

“Tees is a film that is suppressed. I considered it my best before LSD 2. It’s made for the audience of Khosla Ka Ghosla, the same audience that started my journey. We are trying desperately [to find a producer]. It’s almost like my Khosla Ka Ghosla experience being repeated. We went around showing that film to every distributor for two years and everyone would say, ‘What a film!’ But nobody would buy it. It took Ronnie [Screwvala], UTV and Sid [Siddharth Roy Kapur] to release it.”

On Saturday, director Kanu Behl’s Despatch had its Indian première at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. But the filmmaker’s journey of the Manoj Bajpayee-starrer began in 2016 as he, with co-writer Ishani Banerjee, set out to explore the world of journalism.

“Stories about journalism often end up being one-dimensional—there are God-like protagonists fighting to break a story. I always felt that a better understanding of how the world looked from the inside was missing. I had been toying with the idea, and it criss-crossed with so much violence happening with journalists, starting with Gauri Lankesh. The world around us was changing so much. So, I decided to do a Faustian piece about a journalist, who is breaking a story, but not only with an altruistic purpose. Ishani and I dove into eight-nine months of research, looking into several cases of journalists getting [killed].”

While writing the protagonist, Behl didn’t have Bajpayee in mind. But after the script was complete, the actor became his first choice. “Manoj was the first person I went to. As a director, you are always looking for collaborators who are in love with cinema. Manoj is in love with the art of filmmaking. It’s amazing that he has had a trailblazing career, and yet he approaches every film with that impulse.”

Months ago, Bajpayee had told mid-day that working with Behl was challenging (Kanu is a difficult and tedious director, Aug 20).

Mention this to the director and he laughs, “As a director, it’s my job to push the actor in a new territory. Often, films feel staccato because they are done from a pedestal where the filmmaker [operates from]. The moment you accept that you don’t know everything as a director, it gives the film freedom. Some days, you don’t know what you are doing, nor does the actor. My job is to make myself and my actors feel a little lost once in a while. It’s only from there that something new emerges.”

Since his first film, Titli (2015), Behl has championed indie cinema. Even though event films are dominating the scene, he is unfazed. “If you see the films that have re-released now like Tumbbad [2018] and Khosla Ka Ghosla [2006], they might not have done box-office numbers at that time. The audience only sees the emotion of a film. Post COVID, the world has changed so much. Cinema is being turned into more of an event, but I have faith in the audience. If event films are just a circus, eventually the audience will reject them and ask for something that [moves] them.”

The film cuts across all age groups. It created awareness about loopholes while dealing with property-related matters. It doesn’t feel like 15 years; I feel it was just yesterday that we were shooting for it. We made some wonderful friends. As it was a small-budget film, we shared the same vanity van and played many games.

This film holds a special place in my heart. To play a Punjabi character was a leap of faith for me. Jaideep Sahni (writer) wanted to cast me, but I wasn’t keen on playing the role, as it was a daunting task. Today, I am grateful to him for having faith in me. Dibakar Banerjee (director) and Jaideep hand-held me through the dubbing process. Anupam Kher saab was a huge support. When we saw the film for the first time, he was excited about my entry, which was unbelievable. The film helped people cast me in roles outside my comfort zone without trepidation. It had a huge impact on my career.

What struck me was the simplicity of the script. It was not your regular film. I remember meeting Dibakar Banerjee for the role, but he was cocky for a first-time director and wanted me to audition immediately. I told him, ‘Do you want a good audition or a quick audition?’ I came the next day and improvised on scenes and when I was done, he offered me the role. The film faced hurdles, but was a hit when it released.

I was starting out at that time and was auditioning a lot. It was a difficult decision for Dibakar to cast me, but he trusted me with the role. Playing the Punjabi, Delhi ka launda was familiar to me. I remember reading the script and thinking how perfect it was. The making was fun, with all credit to Anupam Kher, who led the cast in every way. He inspired and entertained us. I struck a great friendship with him. It was frustrating to wait for the release, especially as the film was important for my career.

Writers and filmmakers usually protest through their work. What has prompted so many to turn activists and return awards now?
I think all of us - you, me and the average silent Joe on the street - are extremely afraid of what is going on in India today. I have heard sentiments of fear expressed by people irrespective of whether they voted for Congress or BJP.  People who voted BJP in the hope of an alternative to the absolute inertia and corruption of the Congress are now expressing extreme anguish over the state of the economy, public safety and the manner in which any view is being expressed with extreme violence. A rightist has every right to disagree with leftists. But in a democracy nobody should be killed for their views. And if that happens, the government must be agile and act fast. That urgency and agility is not being seen. But I know there are people within the current government who want the situation to be different. Things can only change if the average Indian wants them to. If the situation persists, day by day it will become harder to effect change.

It is being alleged that the returning of awards was politically motivated and timed with the Bihar elections.
No. This has nothing to do with elections or parties. I deeply want BJP as a viable and successful national alternative. The more national alternatives we have, the better for democracy. I would want neither the Congress nor the BJP to be the only viable national party. My film Shanghai highlights the problems of Mumbai under successive Congress governments. I want all BJP supporters who are smart, aware and constructive not to look at this protest as politically motivated but one that is fundamentally about the education we impart to our students.

Anupam Kher's tweet says filmmakers returning awards insults the jury that selected them.
I know Anupamji very well and we are good friends. If there has been any insult to the jury, my apologies to them. But my conscience tells me I am not insulting the jury. I am trying to raise the level of consciousness of the writers and filmmakers that were part of the jury and the larger body of citizenry. If they find that someone to whom they had given a national award, and who has nothing personal against any of them, wants to return it, they will want to know why I am doing so. I am doing it because the education of what I hold dear is being governed not by merit but by political agendas.

Some say the FTII student stir is basically a left-wing rejection of a right-wing chairperson.
If BJP MP Paresh Rawal or party supporter Anupam Kher were made FTII chairperson, do you think these protests would have taken place at this level? Between Paresh Rawal and Gajendra Chauhan, who would one imagine, instinctively, as more qualified to head FTII? I do not care whether the chairperson is affiliated with the current party in power or the previous one. Students questioned whether Chauhan had a body of work to his credit that qualified him to head the institution. Students had also objected to four members appointed to the FTII panel whose very bio data shows that their work propagates a monochromatic view and pushes the political agenda of the party they support in a very violent and rabid manner. Individually, they have every right to do what they want to further a political ideology. But it is not their job to teach cinema or sit on the apex body of India's premiere film institute.

The religious Right usually cites Indian culture and tradition to back their cause. Yet you use the same argument to justify the FTII protest.
When it comes to imparting an education, we want it to be unbiased. This means all cultural thought is offered up equally. The tenets of the Indian education system were developed well before Left or Right came into existence. A teacher who spoke of one school or philosophy also spoke of another. Debates and arguments are part of India's culture. You see this in the Upanishads which are a series of arguments between the vaadi and vivaadi (opposing chords). The Gita is a series of questions between Arjun and Krishna, as friends. Whether Right or Left, one can easily see the need for unbiased teaching, for which a teacher must have a history of work that allows for a breadth of knowledge that gives the student a complete picture of the discipline. If this is absent, students will not respect the teacher and the education will not be valid.