After a four-year break, filmmaker Anubhav Sinha returns a more aware storyteller with Tum Bin 2 , the sequel to his first film that released almost 15 years ago. The director tells us that he used the gap years to reflect on his work and start afresh. “Once you sit down for work, you don’t get that time,” he says.
It helped him that the cast and crew of his new release were young, charged up, clearing up their doubts, looking to prove themselves and making mistakes, all at once. Sinha knew for sure that the young vibe was clearly contagious. His friend said to him on set, “you look a newcomer more than anyone”. Sinha feels that all the innocence he had as a filmmaker on his debut will be retained in some way with the sequel.
Working with newcomers
Newcomers were easy to work with for Sinha, as they don’t come with baggage and he didn’t have to try hard to stick to their image, But he adds, “Working with stars is beneficial for the knowledge they possess and the director needn’t explain him/her much. Both have their pros and cons.”
Similar impact
Meanwhile, he tells us, “If you come back from Tum Bin 2 recollecting how it’s thematically similar to my earlier film, my purpose is served.” Did he consider roping any actors from Tum Bin for the sequel? “Not really. The intention was to take up a similar theme in a different context.” But he does bring back the Jagjit Singh number ‘ Koi Faryaad ’ for the sequel.
“What I actually focused on for the film is the content and [not] much on technique. I’m happy and surprised that people like what they see from the promos of Tum Bin 2 .” As the unconventional romance gears up for a release in November, the filmmaker reveals his favourites in the genre are Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Mughal-E-Azam .
Personal films
For now, the man better known for his action thrillers, says, “I think I’m in a phase where I want to make films that are personal.” Reality hit him hard these few years; he had a lot of re-thinking to do after some of his own films and productions weren’t fruitful at the box office.
In 16 years, he’s only made seven films and now is more than raring to add to the count. “I still can’t figure out why they took so long. I’ve always had complaints of being a workaholic. I want to make sure that I at least do one film a year now. I also want to make small-budget films once in a while. That’s bound to take less time.”
We ask if there is a sequel to Ra.One in the offing or if he wants to have a crack at the superhero genre again, but Sinha prefers to keep us guessing.
