It’s been in the making for over a year, and finally, “Anything For You”, the first Indo-American movie to be shot on RED camera, is all set for a world-wide release.
Its Tamil avatar, “Ellamey Unnaal”, is also scheduled to hit the screens very soon. Alphonse Roy is the cinematographer of the movie, produced and directed by New York-based Anand Alagappan under the aegis of his New York Talkies banner.
The film’s cast is mostly made up of Indians raised in the U.S., such as Sam Ghosh and Pooja Kumar. Juliana Fine also stars in the film.
The director has already made “Anand’s No Exit”, a short film, and travelogue show, “We Love India”, which was broadcast in the U.S., and on Vijay TV.
We caught up with Anand, who’s ensconced in his New York office, busy preparing for the world-wide release of his movie. Shot extensively on location in New York and India, the film has already won the Silver Ace Award 2009 at the Las Vegas Film Festival. Excerpts from an interview.
The film has been in the making since early 2008. Why did it take so long?
The film was completed early, but we were doing the festival rounds. Taking films that are global in nature to festivals in different countries gives it a lot of exposure. But, doing the festival circuit takes its own sweet time.
What’s the film all about?
It is a love triangle involving an Indian doctor and an American girl, told without any clichés. And, the cast is a mix of Indians and Americans.
When is the international release?
We are looking at Christmas. . It will be dubbed in Tamil and other regional languages too and released in multiplexes.
How is this film different from your previous work?
This is my first feature film. I write my own screenplay and want my movies to be spoken about globally. Like Hollywood couldn’t penetrate the Indian market, Indian movies have not been able to penetrate the American market. I want to break that barrier.
Do you have plans to produce / direct Indian films?
Yes. I want to direct Suriya and Mahesh Babu; I see them as Indian icons rather than as Tamil and Telugu stars. The time is not too far when an American teenager will have an Indian actor’s poster in her/his room. For a change, it would be nice to see an Indian actor saving the world!
What’s the music of the movie like? And, why Karthik Raja?
I have been a fan of Karthik Raja for a long time. I chose him because the film needed a brilliant background score; and he’s done that perfectly. We connected well even during our first meeting.
