Anurag Kashyap’s directorial Manmarziyaan starring Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, and Vicky Kaushal is gearing up for its release. The film is a love story, albeit a little-complicated-one because according to the film’s premise ‘love is not complicated, but people are’. Anurag who has been through many relationships in his life feels that his films Dev D and Mukkabaaz have tried to offer a different perspective on love which is more real than what is usually depicted in Indian films. The acclaimed filmmaker feels that love shouldn't be easy to define.
Manmarziyaan is his first brush with making an outright romantic film which is not dark but positively neon in outlook. During a recent interview given to a leading daily, Anurag spoke about how he has infused his own experiences of being in relationships in films and has tried to keep it as close to reality as possible.
Talking about Manmarziyaan Anurag said, “I can make romance more real than most people because I put all my experience into it. Here, the script belongs more to the girl than the guys. It’s a coming-of-age story for Taapsee’s character. I’ve always seen that there is a clear distinction. Girls of a certain age like boys that are like Vicky’s character in the film, and after a point, they transition to boys like Robby, which is Abhishek’s role. When Kanika and I would discuss scenes, I would tell her, ‘Yaar mere saath to aisa hua tha’ and then we’d tweak things keeping them very realistic.”
He further added, “For me, romance is not filmy. It has to be believable; it has to be messy and grey because love in real life is like that. Right now, we have this need to understand things and so we try to define them with different words. I just let things be without defining them. If something like love could be easily defined, then what’s the point? I like complexities and the contradictions in my life.”
Anurag was asked whether his relationships have been complicated and from that, the film’s crux has been taken. To this, the filmmaker said, “On the contrary, there haven’t been any complications in my relationships. Look, people try finding reasons for my break-ups. When I started dating Kalki in 2008, people said I dumped my wife Aarti Bajaj for her. The truth is that Aarti and I separated in 2005. Aarti understood my need to move on and we divorced. People miscalculate the timelines of my relationships.”
Speaking in the same regard, Anurag added, “It’s important for people to address what is not working between them. As individuals, if we’re barely spending 15 days in a year together, why are we a couple? Also, during those days, I had several twitter brawls which also took a toll on the partner. Today, we all hang out together. Aarti edits my films and Kalki is a friend. Ownership becomes a problem in relationships. Manmarziyaan addresses that. Being in a relationship doesn’t mean you own each other. This is how I look at the relationships in my life, and that’s how I’ve put it in the film, too.”
Manmarziyaan has already piqued people’s interest with its witty dialogues, melodious songs, superb performance and chemistry between the stars and an amazing trailer. The film releases on Septemeber 7, 2018.
