First Show

Four new directors to watch out for in the coming months

Four new directors to watch out for in the coming months

AYAN MUKHERJEE
Wake Up Sid October
Big break: Films are in Ayans DNA: his dad is actor Deb Mukherjee,his uncle is the yesteryear star Joy Mukherjee,Kajol and Rani are his cousins. No wonder then that Mukherjee wanted to direct a film much before he knew what direction entailed. I understood at an early age that the director made the film. I wanted that guys job but I didnt have a clue how to go about it, he says. Director Ashutosh Gowariker,who is married to Mukherjees half-sister,Sunita,showed him the ropes. I asked him if I could assist him on Swades and he took me on, says the 26-year-old. Although he terms his Gowariker days immensely valuable,Mukherjees big dream was to assist his favourite film-maker Karan Johar.
Industry grapevine has it that a drunken Mukherjee sent a text message to Johar and thats how he got a meeting with him. Mukherjee sets the record straight. I really wanted to work with Karan but I had no link with him. My cousins were not going to help me so I just dashed off a clever text message to him. The message was such that if Karan didnt reply,he would look uncool, he says with a laugh. Well,Johar did reply but with a polite No. A week later,Mukherjee bumped into Johar at a breakfast hosted by a common friend. They bonded over movies and that evening,when Mukherjee texted Johar again,a meeting was fixed. Result: Mukherjee ended up as an assistant director of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. Johar was impressed enough to offer to produce Mukherjees maiden venture,Wake Up Sid.
Debut dreams: Mukherjee describes the film as a story of a directionless boy who discovers himself over a Mumbai summer. Terming it as a tiny slice of life, he says the film is a feeling that you walk out with. The script clicked with Ranbir Kapoor,who agreed to play the lead. Konkona had no reservations playing a slightly older girl to Ranbirs Sid. Quiz him on Johars influence on his film-making style and he says,Both of us are interested in stories about people and relationships. There is a lot of Karan in my life and therefore a lot in my films.
Mentorspeak: Says Karan Johar: Wake up Sid is a result of Ayans vision. I always knew his intelligence and his old soul approach to life would result in a simple but effective piece of work. I feel validated and I can only hope the audience feels the same.

ABHISHEK CHAUBEY
Ishqiya December
Big break: Abhishek Chaubey came to Mumbai from his hometown Faizabad Uttar Pradesh to make films. After a studying films at the Xaviers Institute of Communication,he became an assistant director of the Abhishek Bachchan-starrer Shararat and also made a documentary on mental illness. But an offer from director Vishal Bhardwaj changed his life. Chaubey was the assistant director of Makdee,Maqbool and even co-wrote The Blue Umbrella,Omkara and Kaminey. Bhardwaj has returned the favour by co-writing Ishqiya. The 32-year-old is nonchalant about comparisons with his mentor. I have learnt everything on the job while working with Vishal. Im not apologetic about his influence in my life and my films, he says.
It was Bhardwaj who encouraged Chaubey to strike out on his own. We had reached that stage that I could argue with him and get away with it. So I told him that I dont want to assist him anymore and he shot back that even he doesnt want me to carry on and that I should go ahead and make my own film, he says.
Debut dreams: Ishqiya is a story of two thieves who happen to be uncle and nephew and a widow. It has the dialogue of the year: Tumhara ishq ishq.. humara ishq sex,Arshad Warsi Babban to Naseeruddin Shah Khaalujaan.
Chaubey is adamant that his is not a love story but a story of three romantics. Romance doesnt always mean a love story. At the core of it,Ishqiya is a thriller but its about three romantics, he says. Naseer agreed to romance Vidya Balan and the veteran actors look in the film is inspired by his look in Gulzars Ijaazat. Arshad grew a moustache while Vidya sat through numerous costume trials for her character of a sexed-up widow. And if you feel there is an Omkara hangover to the film and the rustic characters then blame Clint Eastwood. Its all about creating characters that are rooted in reality. When Clint Eastwood wears a cowboy hat,he makes it cool but hes really just playing a character that is uniquely American. We also must make our uniquely Indian characters cool. Like Langda Tyagi, he says.
Mentorspeak: Says Vishal Bhardwaj,I felt that Abhishek was ready to direct his own film. I decided to produce it because I believe in his talent. Hes done a great job.

ANTHONY DSOUZA
Blue Diwali release
Big break: Anthony Dsouzas love affair with cinema started with a real love affair. He got a job in an ad film agency because the girl he was in love with worked there. The girl quit but Dsouza stuck on and discovered cinema. He has been making ad films for 14 years now. He is unapologetic about his love for commercial potboilers. I like full-on masala entertainers and thats what Ive attempted in Blue, says the 35-year-old.
Dsouza didnt have to struggle much to make his first film. Theres something known as beginners luck and I had it while I went about making Blue, he says. Actor John Abraham put him on to the production house,Ashthavinayak,who loved the concept and signed him on.
Dsouza recalls his first meeting with Akshay. I went armed with brochures,promos,posters,music pieces and location pictures. I had done my homework. At the end of it,Akshay just asked me if I could pull it off. When I said yes,he said,hes on.
Debut dreams: Blue is a thriller about an underwater treasure hunt. Dsouza modestly says that his film is visually stunning. Shot lavishly in the Bahamas,Blue is a big budget movie Rs 100 crore as touted and has huge names doing something new. Akshay has fought sharks,Sanjay Dutt has scuba-dived,Lara wears a bikini,Kylie Minogue has sung for it. Katrina has a cameo and AR Rahman has scored the music. Abbas Tyrewala and Farah Khan have pitched in with lyrics and choreography too. I hope people say that it blew their mind away and not that it gave them the blues, he says.
Mentorspeak: Says Akshay Kumar: Anthony is attempting something new. I like working with new directors like him because they are not scared of taking risks.

PREM R. SONI
Main Aurr Mrs Khanna,Diwali release
Big break: Prem R Soni knew he was meant to be a storyteller. He chased his dream down to Mumbai and got his first job as a casting director for Sanjay Khans 1994 television show Jai Hanuman. He went on to direct a show for Zee TV and a tele-film. If things had gone to plan,Soni would have made his debut in 2002 with the Shobhana-starrer Koffee. He even shot a schedule in Ooty but the film got shelved due to lack of funds. That affected him so much that he went into depression. I felt worthless and demotivated, says the 34-year-old. His faith was restored after he watched Rajkumar Hiranis Munnabhai MBBS. The film and its message gave me back my dream. I felt I could write again, he says. For Main Aurr Mrs Khanna,Salman Khan put him to the five-minute test. He told me to narrate the basic idea in five minutes. If he liked it,he said hed give me two hours for the entire narration. Soni got his two hours and also a confirmation from Salman to star in the film. Sohail Khan stepped in to produce the film.
Debut dreams: Main Aurr Mrs Khanna is a romantic comedy about a marriage. My film doesnt say that marriage is an outdated institution. It makes you believe in it, he says. The film has been entirely shot at the Melbourne international airport. Shooting was tough. Due to security restrictions,only a small crew was allowed in. Actors could take one person from among their make-up guy,hairdresser and the spot boy. Kareena carried her own clothes. They all did it because they believed in the film, says Soni.
Mentorspeak: Says Sohail Khan: Prem has written a beautiful story.