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DESTINED TO WRITE & WRITE ...

As they say very aptly in the movie industry daane daane pe likha hai khanewale ka naam. As a little boy Anees Bazmee’s dream was to get his little brother Raees a role in a film. Raees had golden hair, fair complexion and an expressive face. Ideal looks for a child star.

Ek Saapna

It was mentioned in a film publication that Gulzar was looking for a little boy for his movie, Kitaab. So Anees set out to meet Gulzar with pictures of Raeez tucked away in his pocket.
One look at the pictures of Raees and Gulzar said ‘no’. As is his wont Gulzar looked at Anees rather casually and asked him whether he would be interested in the role. Unprepared as he was, Anees mumbled something and raced back home. His father, the Urdu poet Abdul Hameed 'Nerang' was indifferent towards films and knew little about the film industry. Other members of the family, however, thought Anees was lucky to have been offered a role in a Gulzar film. They told him that it would be much easier for him to get Raees a film role if he got into the industry via Gulzar’s Kitaab. So Anees met Gulzar again and the role in Kitaab became his.
Kitaab fetched three more films for Anees and a new child star was born. Raees, like all kid brothers, was proud of his star brother and looked up to him but his destiny didn’t lead him to films despite Anee’s best efforts. It was for Anees' that destiny had planned a successful, multi-faceted career in films.

Other members of the family, however, thought Anees was lucky to have been offered a role in a Gulzar film. They told him that it would be much easier for him to get Raees a film role if he got into the industry via Gulzar’s Kitaab. So Anees met Gulzar again and the role in Kitaab became his. Kitaab fetched three more films for Anees and a new child star was born. Raees, like all kid brothers, was proud of his star brother and looked up to him but his destiny didn’t lead him to films despite Anee’s best efforts. It was for Anees' that destiny had planned a successful, multi-faceted career in films. Anees unravels his interesting career graph in the interview below.

After four films as a child artiste how come you didn’t opt for an acting career?
There was this awkward period when I was not a child and had not stepped into adulthood which comes in every child actor’s life and I thought I’d complete my education and give a serious thought to what I wanted to be in life.
Nothing much emerged. At home there was no film environment. My father being an Urdu poet there was a literary environment. I began to read and imbibe from that environment and naturally when I watched films I was concentrating on the story and the dialogue. About that time I was told by a friend that an assistant’s job could be arranged at RK. Prem Rog was in the making. So I took it up. I became the clapper-boy’s assistant and then I became a more senior assistant and a clapper-boy myself and I found myself enjoying the position. The actor in me had disappeared by then.

What was your interaction with Raj Kapoor like?
Like everybody else I was in awe of him. I was an assistant under Jainendra Jain. So I was not directly interacting with Rajji. But I got into the circle of Daboo, Chintu and Chimpu. They used to make video films as an exercise. And then Rajji had given an assignment to us to work on a film. It took quite some time to get started because nobody was serious and one day Rajji informed us that he was ready to review the work we had done. I got so scared that I got into a taxi and fled. I never went to RK after that for fear of being spotted by Rajji

When did the writer in you emerge?
As an assistant I occasionally ventured to give suggestions and I used to feel thrilled when the suggestions were accepted. I began to think that may be I could try my hand at writing. That was how it started. Ideas came by the dozen and I used to sit and write all night like a mad person. When I wrote dialogue for Bol Radha Bol for instance it was a frenzied attempt. I wrote and wrote and I went to Nitin Manmohan who knew me well and when he introduced me to Rishi Kapoor he knit his brows and looked at me because he felt he had seen me before. In an instant the old RK connection came back and he embraced me with happiness.
For me writing was a passion. I could write at amazing speed once I got everything set in my mind. I had made so many friends and all I needed was one of them telling me that he needed a story and screenplay or dialogue and I would sit and write and write till the completion and I would joyously present the entire work to him sooner than he could ever imagine. Money and other aspects always came later. I have no regrets about not being wealthy because my wealth even today is the friendships I have in the industry. I have lost count of the films I have written. They have all been successful films and they have all been made by my friends whom I love very much and who got deserving success in their careers.

How did Pyar To Hona Hi Tha come about?
I wrote Pyar To Hona Hi Tha overnight. I finished the writing at 8 am, had a bath,dressed and telephoned Ajay Devgan. He asked me to meet him at Filmistan. I met him, narrated the subject and told him it was ready on paper. He immediately told me he wanted to play the hero’s role. It was settled at once. It happened so fast, in a matter of 48 hours.

What was it that appealed to Ajay?
There is a reversal in the story. All along, for quite a length of the film you feel that the hero is a badmash. Then it is revealed that he is not the rotten guy you’ve imagined him to be. For Ajay it is a different role and he identified with it totally during the narration itself. Moreover, it is a pure love story.

Is it in keeping with the present trend of happy films?
It is an enjoyable love story with good music. The producer has just had one big success — Ishq. He was very emphatic that the music had to be strong and it is very strong.

What enticed you to direct the film?
This is my second film as a director — the first was Hulchul. When I wrote the film I had all the visuals in my mind. I even knew what songs would go into the film. So the producer and Ajay said it might jolly well be directed by me since everything was so well defined in my mind. I was only too happy to agree.

You’ve made a name as a writer of comedies. Would you say comedy is your forte?
All I can say is that it was fun to write the comedies and greater fun to work with David Dhawan and Govinda. Aankhen wouldn’t have been the great success it was if it were not for David Dhawan and his handling of the subject. He had also the best set of actors.
It was pretty intricate if you go deep into the film because there were so many doubles. When I created two Raj Babbars people in the unit said I was exceeding all limits. But I still feel the success of the plot was due to the integration of the crime element. Minus the crime element the comedy would have been so so.

What is your brother Raees doing now?
Oh, he is doing well in his business. He is in the transport business.

Have you no interest in acting?
I am only interested in writing and directing now. The difficult part is writing. When Hitchcock was asked what were the three requirements of a good film, he said: the first is a script, the second is a script and the third is a script.

What is your next project?
I don’t know. I take every day as it comes. I guess one of my friends will tell me to take up something and I will take it up and work furiously on it. That’s how it has always been and that’s how it will always be.

Udaya Tara Nayar