Showing posts with label Rensil DSilva interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rensil DSilva interview. Show all posts
Visiting control room was an eye opener-Rensil DSilva
8:10 AM
'Dial 100' director Rensil DSilva discusses how he drew from experience of meeting cops while writing Manoj Bajpayee-Neena Gupta starrer
Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; August 3, 2021)
Rensil DSilva, who previously helmed Kurbaan (2009) and 24, among others, has a way with thrillers. He knows only too well that the charm of a thriller lies in a compelling premise and intensive prep. So, before he began writing Dial 100 that sees Manoj Bajpayee’s cop character in a catch-22 situation during his overnight duty, the director visited the Police Control Room in Mumbai to gain complete understanding of its functioning.
“Today, we are part of the OTT world where every [story] is realistic. So, I wanted to make a realistic film without taking too many liberties. [As prep], we met the [then] police commissioner [Param Bir Singh] who sent us to the control room. Visiting it was an eye-opener for me. The cops answer distressing calls every 10 minutes, [with complaints ranging from] domestic abuse to suicide. Seeing them [handle such high-pressure situations], I wondered, what was their motivation to come to work the next day. If you hear 10 such calls, [it affects] you psychologically. The pandemic has brought mental health issues, such as depression, suicidal feelings and loneliness, to the forefront. I thought my film can address certain issues,” says the director.
Zeroing in on his three leads was a no-brainer for D’Silva. Having worked with Bajpayee in Aks (2001) and Sakshi Tanwar in 24, he says they were his “first and only choice” for the ZEE5 film. “The only person I hadn’t worked with before was Neena Gupta. I am glad she said yes.”
While Gupta’s Seema Pallav may use devious means to settle old scores with Bajpayee’s cop character, the writer-director strived to keep their motivations honest. “I don’t think anyone is right or wrong; it’s a matter of perspective. Neena ji is doing what a mother in her place would have done; similarly, Manoj is doing what he should be doing. Right and wrong is for the audience to judge. Their moral compass is intact because the movie’s underlying theme is that parents will go to any length for their child.”
24 Season 2: What’s New? Rensil DSilva shares exciting details
8:49 AM
Anil Kapoor tells all about the upcoming season of the Indian version The new season will have a different story, a different mission altogether, reveals Rensil
Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; August 25, 2015)
Anil Kapoor is happy that with his 24, he has
successfully made India’s first official remake of an original US TV
series. Going into the second season, he now feels more responsible.
“Last time, people could not make much money. In the second season, I
want everybody to make more money.”
Anil Kapoor is also set to bring in Modern Family on Indian TV as well. Talk about the paradigm shifts on the small screen and he says, “In my own small way, I am just trying to get their work culture over here. What’s good in the West is their discipline and professionalism. So I want to get all that — the aesthetics, the scale and the madness of their films and series. Anything I do, I only feel that people all over the world should just see it and feel, ‘This is excellent’. It shouldn’t be tacky.”
While the story and the cast for the second season has been finalised, it’s only about a few months’ time for the show to roll with its second edition. Rensil D’Silva and Abhinay Deo will helm the show this time around.
SAME CHARACTERS
“The principal characters remain the same. New characters may be added". And shooting down buzz that Urmila Matondkar would play Anil’s wife in the second instalment, Rensil maintains that Tisca Chopra will continue to play his wife. Urmila won’t be part of the show.
INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
“The production values are similar to Hollywood’s. This time, we will have much better action sequences for sure. The tapes go to the original owners of the franchise and they, too, see the episodes. So, we have to live upto their expectations,” Rensil tells us.
ONLY IN 2016
Like last year, the crew will continuously film episodes even as the show starts airing. “We start shooting in November so we probably start airing early next year, probably around January.” Talk about the delay there and Rensil defends, “Although we show 24 hours, we have to shoot footage of over 30 hours which is similar to making 10 films at a time. Then we edit it and present it. That takes a lot of time.”
200 DIN KA SHOOT!
The shoot will last over six months, Rensil reveals. “It’s basically a 200-day shoot. A lot of time goes in prepping and then in post-production. So we shoot till almost the middle of next year.” Adds Anil, “Till mid-next year, I will be busy with 24. So after Welcome Back, there are a few projects which I am looking at. But they only start after I wrap up 24.”
THODA SA DELAY
The shooting, due to begin on August 24, now stands delayed. Rensil admits, “It got a little pushed and now, we have locked dates for early November. Abhinay leaves for a 50-day schedule to shoot Force 2. Till then, I will be directing the show. Once he’s back, we will do it together.”
My discomfort over Ungli's delay was nothing compared to what was happening to Sanju-Rensil DSilva
8:00 AM
Meena Iyer (BOMBAY TIMES; November 27, 2014)
Rensil D'Silva is a part of
the rare breed of thinking writer-directors Bollywood. He won
appreciation in for his writing in
Rang De Basanti and though his stylishly told spythriller Kurbaan came
unstuck at the box office, he continues to keep his market alive. With
his second directorial venture Ungli all set to release tomorrow, he
tells us what makes him tick.
Ungli gives out a cheeky message asking the common man to take on a corrupt system...
Ungli is a film for every Indian. For the first time in our country's history, the power is finally in the hands of the common man. We have cell phones that can record a corrupt official asking us for a bribe or an auto driver refusing to take us somewhere. All we have to do is record and upload it online. Social networking platforms have changed everything. In the film, the Ungli gang uses this to turn the tables on this corrupt system, but in a fun way.
Your films have been message driven - while Kurbaan dealt with terrorism, Ungli revolves around corruption. Wouldn't you want to try some brain-dead fun fare?
You can only make brain-dead entertainment for a corpse. Living, breathing people have to be engaged emotionally and intellec tually. I realised that when I wrote Rang De Basanti. It was entertaining, but it also had a message that people left the theatre with. People started candlelight marches that helped the Jessica Lal case, which is why Rang De... is relevant almost a decade later. Brain-dead entertainment would not have achieved this. In Ungli, I've used humour to deliver a message to young audiences.
Besides writing Aks and Rang De Basanti among others, you've also written your directorial projects. Writer-directors like you are a sought-after species. Comment...
I believe that writer-directors have total control of their material. So, what an audience sees on the screen is the purest form of that idea. It comes from one head. Some of the best directors in the world are fine writers.
You must have been upset that Ungli got delayed due to Sanjay Dutt's arrest...
Any director would be. But my discomfort was nothing compared to what was happening to Sanju.
Are you excited about directing the second season of 24?
I had a great time working with Anil Kapoor and Abhinay Deo in the first season. It was a game changer. I enjoyed writing the season with the writing team, as well as directing my seven episodes. We have a great idea for season two. Both Abhinay and I will be back to direct our share of episodes.
What's in the pipeline?
Mani Ratnam and I have been working on a biopic.I want to direct that next. Apart from that, I'm busy directing ads for my production house, Ignition Films, and completing my novel Kohinoor Express, an adventure thriller about the Kohinoor diamond.
Ungli gives out a cheeky message asking the common man to take on a corrupt system...
Ungli is a film for every Indian. For the first time in our country's history, the power is finally in the hands of the common man. We have cell phones that can record a corrupt official asking us for a bribe or an auto driver refusing to take us somewhere. All we have to do is record and upload it online. Social networking platforms have changed everything. In the film, the Ungli gang uses this to turn the tables on this corrupt system, but in a fun way.
Your films have been message driven - while Kurbaan dealt with terrorism, Ungli revolves around corruption. Wouldn't you want to try some brain-dead fun fare?
You can only make brain-dead entertainment for a corpse. Living, breathing people have to be engaged emotionally and intellec tually. I realised that when I wrote Rang De Basanti. It was entertaining, but it also had a message that people left the theatre with. People started candlelight marches that helped the Jessica Lal case, which is why Rang De... is relevant almost a decade later. Brain-dead entertainment would not have achieved this. In Ungli, I've used humour to deliver a message to young audiences.
Besides writing Aks and Rang De Basanti among others, you've also written your directorial projects. Writer-directors like you are a sought-after species. Comment...
I believe that writer-directors have total control of their material. So, what an audience sees on the screen is the purest form of that idea. It comes from one head. Some of the best directors in the world are fine writers.
You must have been upset that Ungli got delayed due to Sanjay Dutt's arrest...
Any director would be. But my discomfort was nothing compared to what was happening to Sanju.
Are you excited about directing the second season of 24?
I had a great time working with Anil Kapoor and Abhinay Deo in the first season. It was a game changer. I enjoyed writing the season with the writing team, as well as directing my seven episodes. We have a great idea for season two. Both Abhinay and I will be back to direct our share of episodes.
What's in the pipeline?
Mani Ratnam and I have been working on a biopic.I want to direct that next. Apart from that, I'm busy directing ads for my production house, Ignition Films, and completing my novel Kohinoor Express, an adventure thriller about the Kohinoor diamond.
Mood on Ungli sets was very sober when Sanjay Dutt was around-Rensil Dsilva
7:57 AM
Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 4, 2014)
Days before he started his prison term, Sanjay Dutt was playing a cop on the sets of Ungli. The film is the second directorial from Rensil D'Silva and it has been a long time coming after his 2009 debut with Kurbaan.
The vigilante film, starring Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut and Randeep Hooda, suddenly got a new deadline when a court ordered Dutt's imprisonment in May, 2013.
Rensil had to change locations and dialogues for the actor in the last days of surrender with 10 days of shooting still remaining when he finally left for Yerwada Jail.
Confirming this, Rensil said, "Once, I changed the venue of the shoot from Byculla to Carter Road. The scene was supposed to be shot on a ferry. The media was chasing him everywhere; they had positioned themselves outside his apartment complex. I felt Carter Road would be easier for him as it is closer to his Pali Hill residence."
And then Rensil, even reduced Dutt's dialogues in a particular scene. "That's the least I could do as a director. I felt that I shouldn't give him too many lines to remember during that traumatic period. You can't push a man beyond a point. It could get physically and mentally daunting for him," recalled the director.
There was even a day when Sanju didn't report to the sets, causing panic among the cast and crew. "Thankfully, his scenes that day were with junior artistes. I sent them back as I had no other option. Later, Sanju informed us that he was busy with his legal team."
But these little glitches were forgiven by the director. "How can it be easy when someone is going to jail and you have to ask him to react to different situations in your story in front of the camera?," said the director defending his star.
And the rest of the cast was equally accommodating. "The mood was very sober on the sets when Sanju was around. Also, we couldn't shoot on exactly the same dates he had allotted us originally. As a consequence, I lost the dates of other actors because they had other commitments alongside. They made several adjustments for him," recalled the director.
The drama peaked when Dutt reported for his last shot at Bandstand, a week before he surrendered. ""He had a very dramatic scene with Emraan, at the end of it he got very emotional.
The film's producer Karan too joined the shoot at Bandstand. "We hugged him but Sanju didn't say anything. He went aside to do a brief photo-shoot and then didn't return, he just drove off. Imagine what he must have undergone that day! And here, I was asking more from a man who was going through so much," said the director.
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