New Delhi, Aug 15 (IANS) Dismissing rumours that his film “God Tussi Great Ho”, which releases Friday, is a remake of popular Hollywood movie “Bruce Almighty”, writer-director Rumy Jafry says his directorial debut has been inspired by an Indian folktale. “My film is not at all any movie’s remake. It is inspired from a village folk tale about a Brahmin. It is a modern version of a desi (Indian) story. It is a commercial film that leaves a message with humour,” Jafry told IANS over the telephone from Mumbai.
“God Tussi Great Ho” is a humorous take on the story of a man, played by Salman Khan, who curses god for his failures. What happens to him when god, played by Amitabh Bachchan, hands over his power to him and asks him to run earth for seven days is what the film all about.
“I’m waiting for the film to release so that audiences can see for themselves what it’s about. Even Sanjay Dutt was surprised after watching the film at a preview. He told me that he had previously thought it was a remake of the English film.”
Commenting upon pre-release speculation, Jafry said: “It is a custom in the industry to predict and guess the story of a film after seeing the initial rushes.
“Considering the title of my film and that Amitabh Bachchan is playing the almighty who wears only white clothes, everyone concluded that it is a copy of the Hollywood comedy. However, no one noticed that even Rishi Kapoor played god and wore only white clothes in ‘Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic’.”
Jafry, who started out in Bollywood as a writer, says he always wanted to make a debut with a mega film and has achieved that by casting Amitabh, Salman and Priyanka Chopra.
“I wanted to direct a film that no one had ever attempted to. Considering the technical aspects I have used in the film, ‘God Tussi…’ also has special effects to keep audiences glued to their seat,” he said.
Directing the multi-starrer was smooth sailing for Jafry.
“I didn’t face any problem while directing the film. The film went very smoothly as Amitabh and Salman had already been pushing me to direct a film for a long time.”
Jafry has been in the industry for more than 15 years now, so what took him so long to wield the megaphone?
“I didn’t take up direction earlier because I wanted to learn its technical aspects. Also, I needed to find the right subject I wanted to work on.”
Jafry, who has scripted romantic comedies like “Mujhse Shaadi Karogi”, “Hero No.1” and “Coolie No.1”, says he will continue to write scripts even though direction is his new passion.
“Writing is my first love. If I get an exciting offer, I’ll definitely do it. As of now, my entire focus is on direction. Every person looks for a change. However, I’ll write at least one film every year,” he shared.
Vipul Shah’s “Singh Is Kinng” that was released last week and is still bringing in the bucks at the box-office is expected to be a tough competitor to ‘God Tussi Great Ho”. But Jafry is not perturbed.
“I don’t fear any movie. My movie is also commercial but different. Giving audiences a paisa vasoool (complete satisfaction) film has always been my forte,” he asserted.
Jafry is now also directing his second project titled “Life Partner” with producers-turned-directors duo Abbas-Mustan that is slated to release next year.
— By Robin Bansal
