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| Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan |
Ali Abbas Zafar Interview: Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan Is Neither A Remake Nor A Sequel, It Is The Story Of Two Brave Army Officers
Among the new generation directors, Ali Abbas Zafar is the only film director whose two films 'Tiger Zinda Hai' and 'Sultan' have earned more than Rs 300 crore at the domestic box office. Ali's directorial film 'Bharat' also did a business of more than Rs 200 crore. Ali Abbas Zafar, born in Dehradun and studied college in Delhi, has opened his own film production company in Mumbai. Pankaj Shukla, the advisory editor of 'Amar Ujala', had an exclusive meeting with Ali Abbas, who is busy preparing for the release of his next film 'Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan', at his office in Andheri West.
The film 'Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan' reminds me of Amitabh Bachchan and Govinda's comedy film of the same name in its name, is your film also a comedy film?
People might be feeling like this because of the name, but as we had shown in the announcement video itself, this film is the story of two brave military officers who sacrificed their lives for the country. This is neither a sequel nor a remake of any film. BM and CM are their code names. This is completely a big screen action film and all I can say is that the action scenes of Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff in this film will give goosebumps to the audience watching it in the theatre.
Action is a constantly flowing undercurrent in your films. The film ‘Bloody Daddy’ made by you for OTT is also a film of this category…
These days young audiences like such films of world cinema. We started this film when the whole world was in lockdown. No one knew when cinema halls would open again. Now people are telling me that this film should be released in theatres, but this film was made for OTT. People are liking it, so there is a section in it which likes the films of '300', 'Kill Bill' and 'John Wick' series. Shahid Kapoor is so excited with the results of this film that he wants to start work on its sequel immediately.
Before this, you made 'Jogi' for Netflix, which is a period film, and in this, you presented Diljit Dosanjh with a completely different attitude. How important is mutual trust between a director and an actor for the success of cinema?
To be honest, the love received for the film 'Jogi' has given a new courage and a different kind of strength to the director within me. I was very scared while making this film, but the way the audience appreciated this film across the country and the world, it shows how much the audience's taste in watching films has changed, they now want good stories and better presentations. And this has also been the basic mantra of my cinema.
One more thing visible in your cinema is the relationship formed between characters of different religions, do you weave this deliberately or is this your natural flow of writing the story?
The characters of my stories are the characters of my India. He could be Sultan Khan from 'Sultan', Vilayati Khan from 'Bharat', or Kalim from 'Jogi'. These characters do not show any religion or talk about anything religious in the entire film. These characters are the characters around me whose shadows I can see in my stories. And, in their reflection, I see my India. We do not make friends in childhood, these friendships just happen, and at that time where do we ask someone's religion? This is the feeling of my cinema. My cinema considers the soil of India as its fertilizer. And, every plant growing in the same soil has the same religion.
Coming without any film background, becoming one of the most successful directors of Hindi cinema, and now opening your own film production company, how do you want to give back to society what you have in this journey?
I indeed have no connection with the Mumbai film industry. But, Yash Raj Films gave me a chance to work as an assistant director. Then it was only after Aditya Chopra encouraged me that I wrote the first script. When he showed confidence, I became a film director. This is the trust I now place on my assistant directors. One of my assistant directors has completed a film with Mithila Palkar. The film of the second assistant is about to start.
And, your next film?
I have to release ‘Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan’ on Eid. Right now I am busy editing it. I have just started reading some books. I am also understanding some scripts. We also have a lot of work as producers. I will be able to start my next film as a director next year.
