While he has written around 40 films, as a director he has 10 films behind him. With as many as four bonafide Superhits to his name (Ready, Singh Is King, Welcome, No Entry) and three other clean successes (Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, Hulchul, Deewangee) the man certainly knows what it takes, considering his 70% strike rate in the industry. Now that his Welcome Back is set to release tomorrow, one only expects the hit ratio to see a further rise for Anees Bazmee.
Still, not to get carried away with the success that he enjoys at the Box Office, Anees Bazmee stays on to be his humble self as he talks about the prospects of his biggest multi-starrer till date.
Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar in a still from movie ‘Welcome Back’
“Ek kahawat hai ki upar waale ki awaaz ke baare mein kisi ko maloom nahi – no one knows what he has planned for you. Let me share an analogy w.r.t. politics. At times BJP sweeps through the elections and sometimes Congress comes to the power. Logon ka mood kabhi kabhi bilkul ek tarfa ho jaata hai. Aap khud dekhiye, Delhi mein suddenly AAP took all the seats. So everything depends on how people are feeling on that particular day, weekend, week or month,” says Anees Bazmee.
It is this mood swing towards his own Welcome Back that Anees Bazmee is confident about.
“At least as of now, both kind of people – those who know me and those who not – feel that the film is going to be a big hit. Of course so far only three minutes of the film have been seen. My actors and the technicians were happy with the way we have pitched the film as they have worked in it and feel that it has turned out beautifully. How much it runs is something that no one can tell,” he smiles.
When it comes to the bottom line, Bazmee is confident that one of the most ambitious films of Firoz Nadiadwala, which has Eros associated with it, would sail through comfortably for sure.
“I am conscious of the fact that producers ko nuksaan na ho. Also, for me it is important that film logon ko pasand kitni aati hai. I don’t want to make film which does a business of 200 crore but people say that mazaa nahi aaya,” he says in a matter of fact tone.
Well, we do agree with the thought. Now how it all plays out would be known once the shows open tomorrow morning. Hopefully, it would more than live up to the expectations that one has from this franchise affair.
Joginder Tuteja tweets @tutejajoginder
