All great creatives have their proteges, someone they can nurture, guide and develop. We have seen quite a few assistant directors emerge from under KJo’s pupillage to direct a full solo feature and later this month Abhishek Varman will join that list.
Varman was previously assistant director to Ashutosh Gawarikar on Jodhaa-Akbar, as well as Karan Johar’s My Name is Khan. He is now credited with writer and director on upcoming 2 States, which stars Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt in lead roles.
Varman shared “I was immediately excited by the prospect (of directing 2 States)”, when Karan Johar “initially approached me, asking me what I thought of the project”. He claims he is a fan of the book, “Chetan Bhagat is a fantastic author…the fact that (he) was drawing from his own personal experiences added a depth to the book”.
Interestingly, just last year another Abhishek (Kapoor) directed Kai Po Che, which was also based on a previous Chetan Bhagat novel. That film featured newcomers, but this film features two hot young actors, so no doubt the pressure is on. Ask Varman and he calmly says that it’s “an added bonus that they have great chemistry together, as that’s not something you can guarantee until you begin filming.” Only time will tell.
2 States is released worldwide by UTV Motion Pictures on 18th April 2014.
