Cause And effect

When the sealing drive wrecked havoc in Delhi two years ago,Sandip Kapur’s advertising agency of ten years,Promodome Communications based in Sheikh Sarai was among the first offices to be sealed. With over 50 employees and no place to go,Kapur was distraught,till he found some temporary accomodation. However,in time,after some reflection he decided to turn the unfortunate incident into a movie and the sealing drive ended up becoming his first venture as a film producer. The film,titled Jugaad,is a comical satire and has actors Manoj Bajpai,Sanjay Mishra and Vijay Raaz playing performance-based character roles. It’s set for a release on February 6.

“It’s true that the film depicts what happened to me when my office got sealed,but I’m not trying to make a political statement or targeting anyone. It’s a story about how people in the country deal with crisis and look for jugaad wherever possible,” says Kapur,who got Aanand Kumar,of Delhi Heights fame,to direct it. “I think Jugaad should have been my first film and Delhi Heights the second,” quips Kumar,who feels his forte lies in the comic arena rather than the serious cinema he started out with in his debutfilm. “Realistic cinema always has an edge since the masses can relate to it. Nobody wants to relive a severe event in a serious way again. Which is why I think the comical treatment would really work well,” says Kumar,currently working on a love story called Aa Chalein and an untitled comedy feature after this.

While Jugaad was shot in just 38 days,the locations in the film span several well known Delhi areas like Sainik Farms,Chhattarpur,Noida and Gurgaon. But the film doesn’t tell a tale alone,it also boasts of music with a message. Composed by one of the youngest music directors in the Indian film industry,Sachin Gupta,27,who debuted last month with Dil Kabaddi,has come up with a full repertoire yet again-— from soft tunes to item numbers,to a rock-based title track,sung by India’s newest rock band,Ni9NE,which will kickstart an eight-city tour by the end of the month. “ India’s bands are finally coming of age,” smiles Kapur,whose second venture as a producer,Naughty at 40,with Govinda and Anupam Kher in it,will also release over the next few months.