Ashok Pandey trusts his people and does not interfere unless there is something major: Anshul Sharma

Having polished himself in the art of helming films being an associate director in films like Pyaar Ka Punchnama and Phas Gaya Re Obama, Anshul Sharma is very happy that his debut film Saare Jahaan Se Mehnga is releasing on 8 March. Tellychakkar.com catches up with this young and ebullient director for a freewheeling interview. Excerpts: Brief us about the story of Saare Jahaan Se Mehnga? Saare Jahaan Se Mehnga is a hilarious and satirical take on Mehngai (inflation) told through the life of a middle class family from a small city in North India. Crushed under the burden of Mehngai, the family tries to deal with it through an ingenious idea not realizing that they would get tangled into a whole lot of problems as a result of this idea. In short I can say that the film is a comical journey of this family battling these issues. Your film comprises of mostly new actors? (laughs) Well, the story of the film written by Rupesh Thapliyal and Vijay Manral plays a pivotal role in the film. In the ensemble cast, we have a mix of new and old artistes. Sanjay Mishra, who plays the protagonist Puttan Pal, is a very well-known actor, Pragati, who plays his wife Noori is a stage actor. Then we have Vishwa Mohan Badola, Zakir Hussain, Sitaram Panchal, Ranjan Chhabra, Disha, Paritosh Sand and Pramod Pathak. While some of them are seasoned actors, some are from theatre. You have worked with Ashok Pandey in the capacity of an associate director to Subhash Kapoor in Phas Gaya re Obama. Now you have directed his second production. How would you describe him as a producer? As a producer Ashok Pandey is a simple person; he does not look or behave like a producer and is very down to earth kind of person. I as a director of this film would say that he trusts his people a lot and does not interfere unless something major happens. Basically he has no attitude and is a very good and smart producer. As a director, do you follow any specific school of direction? Any other director you look up to for inspiration? (pauses) No I do not follow anybody because each story needs a particular approach. But I am immensely inspired by Anurag (Kashyap) Sir; I like his style of working. Is the audience ready for new entrants? (smiles) My answer is yes. Today the audience is very smart; they won’t just go for the name of a film. They go if the story of the film appeals and the awareness about it is strong. In recent times, most of the debut directors have given hits and have carved their own niche in the industry. Like Umesh Shukla in Oh My God, Arbaaz Khan in Dabangg-2, Abhinav Kashyap in Dabangg, Rajkumar Yadav in Ragini MMS and Karan Malhotra in Agneepath 2 among others. How would you define the actual role that a director is supposed to fill? As a director, you have to get involved from the very beginning. The story has to fit into the graph, then the music has to be suitable, the location hunting, artistes, look constraints, schedule changes and all has to be within the locked budget. I am happy that I got this responsibility and have successfully handled the same. Tell us about your experience from production manager of Omkara to associate director in Phas Gaye Re Obama and Pyaar Ka Punchnama and now your debut as director of Saare Jahaan Se Mehnga? (pauses) When I joined as production manager in Omkara, my interest was already in direction but Vishal ji’s team was already in place. Hence, I took up whatever was offered just to observe him in action and learn something. Later with different films, I learnt various approaches to direction and responsibilities increased with each film. Now, as a director my responsibilities are totally different, but I am enjoying it. Finally, what do you term as the selling USP of it? (chuckles ) Well, the script is amazing and so is the treatment of the story.