November is a special month for Suparn S Varma. His recent film, Haq, premiered in cinemas on November 7 and garnered widespread acclaim from critics and moviegoers alike. November was also the month when his debut directorial, Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena (2005), was released 20 years ago, on November 18. The film is memorable for its music, sleek look, and the ensemble cast – Fardeen Khan, Koena Mitra, Kay Kay Menon, Rohit Roy, Gulshan Grover, and, above all, the late Feroz Khan. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Suparn S Varma spoke about Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena and his beautiful memories associated with it.
You were one of the writers on Janasheen (2003), which starred Fardeen Khan and was directed by Feroz Khan. Did this experience help you form a bond with the two and get them on board for Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena? Yes. I had known Fardeen and Feroz Khan saab. I narrated the idea to them and both came on board. So, my script and actors were in place when I went to PNC (Pritish Nandy Communications). Mr Pritish Nandy heard it, he loved it and he came on board as well as a producer.
It came from belief. I am really grateful to the universe that people have always believed in me. Hansal Mehta believed in me when I was a journalist after reading my reviews (and offered me Chhal and Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai; 2002). Ramu (Ram Gopal Varma) also trusted me and had me working with him for 6-7 months. None of my films were released, and yet, Khan saab took me on for Janasheen. So did Harry Baweja (who offered him Qayamat; 2003). Chhal was the only film of mine that had been released when Rohit Shetty asked me to join him on Zameen (2003). So, it’s been a series of coincidences that has brought everything for me. One connection led to another.
As per IMDb, Koena Mitra shot a whole song with a stone in her kidney and had an operation to remove it the next day… Yes. Before shooting ‘Sara Jahaan Kahe Ishq Hai Jhootha’, she had kidney stones. Pritam gave really good music to Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena. Every song was a chartbuster. Sameeruddin’s background score was also outstanding.
How important are songs to you? Every film of yours has had music… I love music in films. When we wrote Haq and even shot it, there were no songs. But I had songs in my head. After the lineup and the first edit were done, I went to Vishal Mishra. He heard the same music that was there in my head and heart. He’s the one who found a soul. We spent 2-3 weeks in London composing and playing cricket. It was the most amazing experience (smiles).
Today, digital promotion is indispensable. Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena was the first film to try it out. An MMS clip, showing Fardeen Khan and Koena Mitra getting intimate, was released and interestingly, Pritish Nandy agreed that it was done by the makers themselves… Every film needed a gimmick in those days. We had the song ‘Jal Jal Ke Dhuan Ho Rahe Hum’. We released a small bit of that song on MMS. That was done just to test the waters. Those days, I think colour phones had just come and so, a marketing experiment was done at that time (laughs).
It was a path-breaking move, considering that we are still talking about it even after 20 years… A lot of people tell me that their honeymoon and first lovemaking session have been to ‘Jal Jal Ke Dhuan Ho Rahe Hum’!
Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Suparn Varma talks about Sultan Of Delhi and creating HISTORY by becoming the first director of India to have 4 web show releases in a year; also speaks highly of Ajay Devgn: “He is a born director. He understood facts, figures and distribution even when he began in the 90s”
from Featured Movie News | Featured Bollywood News - Bollywood Hungama https://ift.tt/AumlE7r
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