Anyone who's been in love has invariably said at least once that they could do anything for the one they love and a US-based filmmaker is cashing in on the things we say and do when in love through his movie “Anything For You”.
The romantic comedy stars Sam Ghosh, Juliana Fine, Pooja Kumar and Aaron Mathias in the lead roles. Karthik Raja (music legend Ilayaraja's son) has scored music for the film. “The film was shot in a month's time, 20 days in the US and about 10 days in India. We had technicians, actors and experts from so many different countries and this collaborative effort has truly paid off,” says the director-producer Anand Alagappan.
Giving us a sneak peek into the film, Anand says: “It revolves around relationships. An Indian American doctor's feelings, his wife, and an American girl, who wants him back at any cost. How the doctor gets out of this turmoil forms the main plot. The movie also examines a father-daughter relationship.”
Delving into the title of the film, Anand explains: “When in love, we say so many things, the most common promise being ‘I could do anything for you'. More often than not, these are empty words. We often say things we don't mean or cannot fulfil. There is also a spiritual tangent to it all.”
There were auditions for casting but while writing the script he kind of knew who would fit the roles best. He adds: “Despite the actors being told what was expected of them and despite giving them the script, I've allowed them enough space to improvise on their roles as they thought it could work better for the film. This is something that brings out the best in an actor.”
Being producer and director simultaneously has been no trivial responsibility but Anand says: “It's been as exciting as it has been challenging. Also, it was on the sets of my first movie that I was able to learn, imbibe and now execute all the knowledge I'd gathered on directing as well as producing a film.”
The young filmmaker thinks “Any story that is handled interestingly and told beautifully can be sold and English films involving Indians, some amount of our traditions and values, are appreciated by people irrespective of which part of the world they're from.”
The film has recently been awarded the prestigious Silver Ace Award at the Las Vegas Film Festival. But would Anand ever be interested in making a hardcore Bollywood masala flick? “Why not?” he counters. “I would definitely want to do something like that. Nowadays commercial movies don't necessarily mean innumerable song and dance sequences. Look at ‘3 Idiots'. People across the world appreciate Bollywood movies like that. I'm keen on taking Bollywood to Hollywood in my own way.”
“Anything For You” releases today.
