May 28, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): Director Siddharth Anand says that his new film Anjaana Anjaani is inspired by the television series Friends.
“I remember when I watched ‘Friends’, I wanted to meet and know every character. That’s how I want audiences to feel about Ranbir and Priyanka in Anjaana Anjaani. When Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge was released, you wanted to feel and touch Raj and Simran. That’s how I want the audiences to feel about the lead pair. By the grace of God, everyone in the team has given their best to this film.”
Anjaana Anjaani has been scripted by Advaita Kala. “She wrote a chick novel called ‘Almost Single’. I asked her to develop a story by my wife Mamta. Ranbir and Priyanka had no reference points in any film for their performance. Ranbir is such a big star and Priyanka has just won the National award. These are characters going through extraordinary circumstances which cannot be easily related to. It’s about a few days that the two strangers spend together.”
Siddharth shot in the Central Park’s skating rink. “We shot in the iconic New York. We had the skating rink shut down for our shoot for three days. Then we shot with Ranbir and Priyanka in NY’s Café ‘Lalo’, where Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks had met in When Harry Met Sally.”
About the talked-about bridge sequence, “We needed to take over a bridge completely for 3-4 days. But couldn’t get the necessary permission because of 26/11. We finally got the bridge in Kuala Lampur. That made it as easy for us as the shooting was in Goregaon. Thanks to our our producer Sajid Nadiadwala, we could shoot anywhere I wanted.”
The whole film was in live sound. “All my films are shot in live sound. We are releasing on 1st October. May be because, I’m as peace-loving as Gandhiji.”
Contrary to the belief and expectation, Ranbir Kapoor‘s singing debut won’t be part of the film’s CD. Explains Siddharth, “Ranbir has sung a 1 ½ minute track. But it is a part of a comic scene. So he will only be singing in the film. We needed Ranbir’s character not Ranbir to sing. So, those who want to watch him sing will have to wait for the film.
Siddharth sighs, “I did my first film Salaam Namaste in 2005. If I’m doing another romantic film it had better be even cooler and more contemporary. Anjaana Anjaani is the riskiest film ever. I’ve experimented with the style and performances. If audiences believe in the couple, they’ll come back repeatedly to watch them. If they don’t, they’ll reject them completely. It’s completely character-driven. If their performances don’t work, the film doesn’t.”
-Subhash K Jha/ Sampurn Wire
