‘The Shaukeens is not a remake’

Piyush Mishra

By Priyanka Bhadani

After portraying character-driven roles in films like Maqbool, Gulal and Gangs Of Wasseypur, Piyush Mishra will be seen in a comical avatar, that of a lech, in the remake of the 1982 film, Shaukeen, now titled — The Shaukeens and directed by Abhishek Sharma.
Mishra, who has donned many hats that of a thespian, lyricist, singer, scriptwriter etc, says that it was important for him to break away from the kind of films he was doing and experiment with something new. “This role was really interesting,” he says as he remarks that the remake is nowhere close to the 1982 original film directed by Basu Chatterjee. “It has its essence but the plot is different and very contemporary,” adds Mishra, who is reprising the character portrayed Utpal Dutt in the original. However, keeping with the contemporary times, his character in the movie is called Pinky.
Mishra, who has written the screenplay for Dharma Productions’ Shuddhi, has been known for his close association with film-maker Anurag Kashyap. But now he doesn’t relate to the films Kashyap is making of late. He says that the two who spent hours together, rarely meet these days. “In fact, I was to do the music of his next film, Natua that he was planning with Manoj Bajpayee. I guess since Bombay Velvet has been pushed ahead, I am not sure what is happening to it now,” says Mishra.