Middle Class HERO

It is not a dramatic film. It is an entertainer (with five songs included) about a middle-class family who progress from owning a two-wheeler to a four-wheeler, says Faisal.

According to him,the film works on two levels. On an aspirational level,it talks of a middle-class man and his struggle to cope with the fast-paced new India,steering clear of the corrupt ways. It also deals with the position of teachers in our society.

Faisal believes that Indians consider teaching as a noble profession but a teachers family is generally expected to live off nobility. It is a known fact that teachers in India are not paid well, he says.

Set in Delhi,the film is loosely based on Faisals real life whose father was a teacher. He says,Do Dooni Chaars story and the characters had a lot to do with my own background. My father was a teacher. Quite a few experiences that I have had during my growing-up years have gone into the script. I wont say that the film is an autobiographical account of my life but there are loads of personal moments that I have shared through the film.

At 44,when most average Indians plan their retirement,Habib Faisal has made his directorial debut with this movie. And his journey is commendable.

After being a camera person with NDTV for five years,Faisal started directing serials. He has helmed several television serials for Zee including Lavanya and Kareena-Kareena. Later he graduated to writing scripts for Bollywood.

He has co-written Siddharth Anands Salaam Namaste,Shaad Alis Jhoom Barabar Jhoom starring Abhishek Bachchan and Preity Zinta and Siddharth Anands Ta Ra Rum Pum starring Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji. But after writing the script for Do Dooni Chaar,he decided to realise his dream of turning a filmmaker.

I knew that I would like to launch myself as a director with Do Dhooni Chaar. I have always wanted to direct films but I like to take things slowly. Nothing in my life goes as per design, he adds. But what he savours more is the fact that he managed to get Rishi and Neetu Kapoor,together,on the silver screen after three decades.

Neetu has made a comeback on the silver screen after 30 years. It was the script that convinced her. I had approached Rishi Kapoor for the film and when he agreed I suggested that we should rope in Neetu to play his onscreen wife. They (Rishi and Neetu) were both hesitant initially as they wanted Neetu to make a comeback with their son Ranbir. But after the yesteryear actress heard the script,she was excited about the whole idea. She later told me that she loved her character as she was to play a middle-class woman in the film,quite unlike her real-life image, he adds.

When Faisal was writing the script he didnt have any stars in mind. But when the script got ready,he wanted an actor who resembles his father. After all,the story was about my fathers struggle. So the character had to be like my dad. He also had to look good seated on a scooter, laughs the director.

Thats when Faisal thought of Rishi Kapoor. As a director you need to get the producer and the audiences excited about your film so I thought why not rope in Neetu Kapoor too! he adds.

Faisal admits candidly that his future movies will largely depend on the success of Do Dhooni Chaar. He,however,does not mind going back to being a camera person for a news channel in the future. The only problem is that at 44,nobody will recruit me, he laughs out aloud.

As for his future projects he adds,I have written the script for Band Baaja Baraat which is being produced by Yash Raj Films and will release later this year.