Director Shaad Ali talks with Subhash K Jha on the brilliant Bunty Aur Babli, which starred Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee and reflects on the enduring popularity of the film 20 years on.
Shaad, although you made other popular films, Bunty Aur Babli remains your signature creation; how do you explain its uninterrupted popularity?
I think Bunty Aur Babli is…was a story and an experience very close to home and heart. We took a lot of time and, care and experience to write the characters and the screenplay and then the lyrics and the music. And I treated it like my first film. And put all my love into it. It had all the madness of my life then in it. And then to top it all, the cast they projected the plot on to the screen. The film exploded in the theatres. The impact was so potent that it’s lasted so long and I think it will last forever!
Was it as much fun to shoot as it is to watch?
It was a huge challenge to shoot. No one has shot so extensively in small-town India with such a commercial cast and scale. I was extremely adamant, and confident of doing it the way it was done. But it wasn’t easy. It was a HUGE responsibility to the studio (Yash Raj) and the cast and crew I was taking with me. We had a blast shooting the film! And that also translated on screen and reached the audiences!
The casting was beyond wow; was it tough convincing the two Bachchans to work together?
Casting the Bachchans NOT as father and son was the toughest and the easiest part. Tough for us to approach and made very easy by them in performance.
We can’t speak of Bunty Aur Babli and not bring up ‘Kajra re’, did you ever think the song would become so iconic?
I was extremely confident of ‘Kajra Re’ as a hit song. And that’s what pushed me into putting my full weight behind it. It was an 8-second riff (composer-singer) Shankar Mahadevan sang to me at a traffic signal. And I said this is mine. And then didn’t look back. The song was made with a lot of love and care by Shankar Ehsaan Loy, a lot of fights with Gulzar Saab. An immediate nod from Ash (Rai) just made me go all out. The choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant gave it her best. Adi Chopra was the one who always knew this was a big one and stood behind me right through!
Not only the Bachchans, the rest of the cast of Bunty Aur Babli was also bang-on?
The casting of the film was extremely thought out and clinical. It had to represent the milieu and at the same time be a little retro and nostalgic. That’s why Rameshwari , Raj Babbar, Puneet Issar, Kiran Juneja, Ranjeet, Joginder, Prem Chopra.
Was it tough shooting in Kanpur?
Shooting Kanpur for me was integral. That’s where the story of Bunty Aur Babli and me meet and stem from. That’s the reason the film was born. I had to shoot there. And now even if I never make a film it doesn’t matter because Kanpur and my name are in history books forever with an iconic film that’s ingrained in our popculture.
Would you do another Bunty Aur Babli in a heartbeat?
A sequel is a very tough beast. It’s like making 2-3 films at the same time. You have to be mindful of the first part , then the current one and then sow enough for the next.
What are you working on now?
I have just wrapped a very personal documentary. I am starting work on a film that’s going to take me back to my roots. Again.
