TLI Staff
Panaji: Anil Kapoor and Anees Bazmee addressed audiences at 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Panaji, Goa on Friday at an interactive session called Director’s actor. Tisca Chopra was also part of the session.
Incidentally, Anil and Anees’s comedy Pagalpanti also starring John Abraham, Pulkit Samrat, Arshad Warsi, Ileana D’Cruz has just hit the theatres.
Anees Bazmee has been in industry for several decades and few people know that he has once assisted legendary filmmaker-actor Raj Kapoor in his initial days. Before making his mark as a director, Anees wrote many films including Shola Aur Shabnam and Aankhen.
Viewers remember him more for his multi-starrer comedies, but before that, he has directed many memorable films like Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, Deewangee etc. He has helmed mega hits like Singh Is Kinng and Ready too.
After ensemble films like No Entry, Welcome, Welcome Back, Mubarakan, Bazmee’s recent release is Pagalpanti.
Anil Kapoor has had a long association with Anees Bazmee, right from 1982 film Prem Rog where Anees Bazmee was the assistant director and used to give claps on the sets. Pagalpanti reunites the two for the eleventh time. The duo has teamed up for films like No Entry, Welcome and Welcome Back.
Anees while speaking at IFFI in Goa talked about the importance of a good character in one’s career.
“There are certain characters in a film that are more memorable than even the story of the movie. Majnu Bhai and Uday Shetty are two such characters that are remembered more than the story of the film (Welcome) itself. In fact, the name of Majnu bhai (Anil Kapoor) is not even mentioned in the story. If you read the story of the film, the character will not sound important at all,” said Anees Bazmee.
He also cited example of Nana Patekar saying many people discouraged him from casting him for the role.
“I had seen Nana ji’s work and I am very fond of his acting. He is a very good actor and can do very good comedy. A lot of people discouraged me against taking him and said he was not the right actor for the role. But I had faith in his acting skills and was sure of his capabilities. And he did an excellent job in the film. Nana told me later that kids used to be scared of him earlier, but after working in the film they adore him and sit in his lap,” he said.
IFFI, a nine-day long festival billed as one of Asia’s biggest international film festivals, is showcasing nearly 200 films from 76 countries this time.