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Last fortnight Anubhav Sinha didn't go to watch the Daler Mehndi concert; instead he shot the entire show. Just like he shot most of the ...

Last fortnight Anubhav Sinha didn8217;t go to watch the Daler Mehndi concert; instead he shot the entire show. Just like he shot most of the Balle Balle8216; king8217;s music videos. But if he had a choice, Sinha would not have gone to the crowded concert at all. He would8217;ve met the Bhangra bhaiji privately 8212; in keeping with his low-key style. Sinha is particular about not taking credit when it is not due, in fact he even has a problem taking credit when it is due. Which is why if you call him music video mughal, he cringes. quot;Stop already! Don8217;t do this to me.quot; But he has already done it to himself. In just one year, Sinha has been the chosen one for all of today8217;s top singer8217;s vidoes 8212; Sonu Nigam Tu8216;, Ab mujhe raat din8216; and Remo O meri munni8216;. And all of them were big hits. quot;None of them were even good. I can see technical defects that mar them all. The thing is, every time I8217;ve done something which I haven8217;t liked, it has done well.quot;

Luckily for him the reverse hasalso worked. quot;My first venture as director was on a serial called Shikast, in 1994, after I8217;d spent three years assisting Pankaj Parashar. It appeared on InMumbai and no one watched it, it didn8217;t get noticed, didn8217;t climb any TRP charts. Nothing. But every single person who worked in that serial is a force in the industry, today.quot; Read the end credits: Shammi Kapoor, Manoj Bajpai, Ashutosh Rana, Ashish Vidyarthi, Milind Gunaji and Surekha Sikri. quot;There was something about that whole unit and serial. We believe till date that it was a lucky combination, all of us.quot;

Next came a wildly popular serial Sea Hawks. Its successful innings had T-Series approaching Sinha to do a music video for Sonu Nigam8217;s album, Tu, then Deewana, and then Anuradha Paudwal8217;s album, Ahsaas. There was also a stint with Suneeta Rao and Daler Mehndi, who is quot;a very good friend till datequot;. But ask him about success, and again he cringes. quot;What success? That8217;s a subjective thing. I don8217;t think I8217;ve evenbegun yet.quot; Being associated with music videos is not what satisfies Sinha. quot;Music videos are not taken too seriously in our industry. Let8217;s be honest 8212; what is a music video if it does not focus mainly on half-naked women?quot; For him serious work can only exist on 70mm 8212; the original reason Anubhav dumped a degree in engineering. quot;It is my ultimate aim.quot;

In spite of the hard knocks that he has already taken. Anubhav has approached quot;people in the industryquot; with his script but to no avail. quot;Shah Rukh Khan was one of those I approached, and he was blunt enough to tell me to fix an appointment for three months later. Jackie Shroff is another guy I respect and admire. I would like to work with him in my first film.quot; The hosannas are absent when he talks about some of his other, not-so pleasant experiences. quot;I went to a star son who ho-ed and hum-ed through the entire reading. He was more interested in looking at girls and exhibiting attitude. I was so disgusted that I begged off half way. I went home to my wifeand wept. That day I decided I was going to make a film as I liked, with whom I liked.quot;

But it isn8217;t hurt and disillusionment all the way. Sinha has an all-new star cast, his own script and a committment to start work later this year. So, what is Jackie8217;s role in the film? quot;I don8217;t know. He hasn8217;t yet agreed to be in it yet.quot;