'Metro... In Dino Is The Life I Have Lived'

'Very rarely does a film give you the opportunity to do this, I was constantly improvising and adding scenes on the set.'

He points out that he is not a businessman who has to make and release a film in nine months. He's is happy to wait. For his actors. And even for his daughters, Ishana and Ahana.

Pointing out that you can only mould a child's personality till they are in the 12th standard, Anurag Basu shares that his wife and collaborator Tani and he took a conscious decision to slow down the pace of their work.

Speaking to Rediff's Senior Contributor, Roshmila Bhattacharya in the first of a two-part interview, the writer-producer-director says, "Now that my younger daughter has completed her 12th standard, you will see a film from me every year-and-a-half."

"When you are playing a long innings, you have to pace yourself. It's like cricket, you know you have to make this many runs in this many overs and can afford to go slow for a few overs in the middle, provided you pick up pace later."

What do you remember from Life In A... Metro, which got you your first Filmfare nomination for Best Director and won you a Black Lady for Best Screenplay?

I have very few friends and one of them was Bobby Singh, the cinematographer of Gangster who also shot Life In A... Metro. He is no longer with us, I miss him.

Also, Rajat Poddar, my art director and production designer, whom we lost last year. He had been with me since my television days.

Ajay, my assistant editor, also passed, all three were a part of my core team.

Another friend Irrfan Khan, who played the irrepressible Monty, also went away too soon, as did KK who came down from Pune to sing Alvida and O Meri Jaan.

I don't remember much from the film, but I remember these friends. We were a close-knit unit.

And Metro... In Dino?

This film gave me the opportunity to relive moments which I had experienced with family and friends.

When she saw the final edit two months ago, my wife Tani complained, 'Tumne to humare sab scenes film mein dal diya hai (You have put all our moments into the film).'

(Smiles) Metro... In Dino is the life I have lived and the many crisis my friends have faced.

Very rarely does a film give you the opportunity to do this, I was constantly improvising and adding scenes on the set.

Also, shooting with these talented actors who have such different personalities was such a joy.

It reminded me of Barfi! and the friendships we had built on the sets.

The bonding between Ranbir (Kapoor), PC (Priyanka Chopra), cinematographer Ravi Varman and me, in fact, the whole unit was something I had never experienced before.

Recently, when we were shooting in Darjeeling, we remembered all those fun times.

Eighteen years later, Life In A... Metro is still remembered for its memorable performances. Who among the cast of the sequel surprised you?

I wouldn't call Metro... In Dino a sequel since it's a very different film about love and loss, heartbreak and heartache, set in today's times.

All my actors surprised me and I'm not being diplomatic.

You will understand why I am saying this when you see the film.

They are playing normal people who you see around you everyday.

You have never seen Sara (Ali Khan) playing a character like this one before.

I had worked with Koko (Konkona Sen Sharma) earlier in Life In A... Metro and know her to be a wonderful actress.

Ditto Anupam Kher.

But I was equally impressed with Neena Guptaji, Pankaj Tripathi, Fatima (Sana Sheikh), Ali Fazal and Adi (Aditya Roy Kapur).

Aditya has been openly expressing his admiration for you...

Really? Adi is a sweetheart and not just me, my whole unit loves him.

He's an honest, sincere and under-rated actor who deserves much more.

He also needs to pick his films correctly and while he is always pushing for retakes, uska 'ek aur' khatam hi nahin hota (his requests for one more take never ends), he's not a pushy guy.

He's very laid-back and that's holding him back. He understands that.

After taking four years to complete Jagga Jasoos, you have also acquired a reputation of being 'slow'.

That's unfair, my first few films came in quick succession.

I had a release almost every year. In fact, Murder and Tumsa Nahin Dekha: A Love Story came in the same year, with Gangster following two years later in 2006.

I never intended for Kites to take two-and-a-half years to complete, but I've realised since that big films take time.

Raju (Rajkumar Hirani) makes a film every three-four years.

It's the same for Karan Johar.

Except for Anurag Kashyap, no one makes films back-to-back. There is a minimum gap of three years between releases.

It was slightly longer for Jagga Jasoos, but those who keep talking about how it took me four years to complete the film forget that Ranbir had four releases at the time and Katrina (Kaif), three.

He was so busy shooting and then promoting Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Roy, Bombay Velvet and Besharam that it was difficult to get his dates.

I'm not blaming him. Jagga Jasoos needed time and I was fine with him completing his other films before returning to mine.

(Smiles) I'm not a businessman, mujhe itna paisa nahin banana hai (I don't have to make so much money).

Even though the film took time, you never heard the studio crib because it did not go over budget and I did not ask for extra dates.

Even if I need 100 days, they are spread over a year, two, three or four depending on the situation.

(Sighs) Sometimes things are not in your control.

So, you're saying the delay with Jagga Jasoos was not intentional but accidental?

Partly, yes. Also, since my wife Tani is also a collaborator professionally, we took a conscious decision to slow down the pace of our work when the kids were in school.

You can only mould your child's personality till they are in the 12th standard and films take time to complete.

I would have never forgiven myself if we had not been around for our two daughters, Ishana and Ahana when they were growing up.

Now that my younger daughter has completed her 12th standard, you will see a film from me every year-and-a-half.

When you are playing a long innings, you have to pace yourself.

It's like cricket, you know you have to make this many runs in this many overs and can afford to go slow for a few overs in the middle, provided you pick up pace later.

But won't upping the pace now be difficult?

(Chuckles) No, if you remember, I came from television. I am used to making 20-minute episodes and can change my pace anytime.

Yeah, you started out as an independent director with Zee TV's Tara, a path-breaking soap featuring a strong-willed, contemporary Indian woman played by Navneet Nishan.
It was the first Hindi drama series to run for almost five years which is quite an achievement for a director who was in his early 20s then.

I give complete credit for Tara's success to Vinta Nanda.

It was her baby, she wrote the series and developed the characters. I only boarded the ship mid-way, after almost 100 episodes.

As you pointed out, I was very young then and being around Vinta taught me a lot.

Since Tara was almost autobiographical, I started to understand the nuances of a mature man-woman relationship.

Since then, you have explored this relationship beautifully and sensitively even in a commercial film like Murder. Where does this understanding come from?

I've always been a keen observer of my surroundings and since I was very young, my cousins, some of them older than me, would come to me for relationship advice.

Also, thanks to my parents, Subrato and Deepshikha Bose, and all the Bengali literature I've read, I see life through a woman's lenses.

It's my weakness that I've hardly written any stories from the point of view of the man.

I guess, it has to do with my mother's influence when growing up.

Then, Tani came into my life, followed by my two daughters who are strong personalities with minds of their own.

Ishana will tell me straight if she doesn't like any of my stories.

I am surrounded by these wonderful women at home who are teaching me something new every day.