A simple story
Having worked on films under the Yash Raj banner, writer-director Habib Faisal has tapped into the pulse of the masses. He talks to Priyanka Sharma about his journey
Unlike most film makers today, I had no clichéd dreams of making my own movie at the age of five,” confesses writer-director Habib Faisal. His second directorial venture, Ishaqzaade — after the critically acclaimed Do Dooni Chaar in 2010 —, produced by Yash Raj Films, is slated to release in May. During the promotional tour of the film across different cities, Faisal has made one strange observation. “The check shirts worn by Arjun (Kapoor) have become a rage!” The shirts, he confesses, “were inspired by my swimming coach Ravi who has a rather strange taste in clothes.”
The film doesn’t boast of big stars; while Parineeti Chopra (a cousin of actor Priyanka Chopra) has won several awards for her portrayal of the brazen Dimple Chaddha in Ladies vs Ricky Bahl (2011), Faisal has cast Arjun Kapoor (director Boney Kapoor’s son) in the lead, who is unheard of till now.
Yet, the director doesn’t seem the least bit worried. In fact, choosing the lesser known faces of Chopra and Kapoor made his work a whole lot easier, he admits. “Shooting in a difficult location like Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh was possible only because these actors aren’t big stars yet.” Ishaqzaade, set in the fictional town of ‘Almor’, depicts the “love story of two animalistic, anti-establishment individuals.”
Quick to dismiss any view of the film being a predictable love story, Faisal stresses, “There are finer nuances; for instance, you get to see the akad of the present-day small towns in India. Gone are the days when people from Indore or Hardoi aspired to move to a big metropolis like Delhi or Bombay,” he says. “They have a higher standard of living now, with which comes an attitude.”
A Dilli-wala himself, Faisal grew up with the dreams of becoming a doctor. “I failed all my exams,” he confesses with a laugh. In the colourful corridors of Kirori Mal college in Delhi University, Faisal was introduced to theatre and cinema. “I watched films by Bimal Roy and Raj Kapoor saab. And from that point on, there was no looking back.”
Working with news channel NDTV for two years as a cameraman, Faisal learnt several tricks of the trade. “It helped me connect with the pulse of the masses.” So how did he manage to get a break with the successful Yash Raj banner? “Well, I guess I just got lucky,” jokes Faisal. He also had the right friends in the right places, he confesses. “Maneesh and Tishu suggested my name to Adi,” he adds. While Maneesh Sharma, assisted director Aditya Chopra on Yash Raj’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) before his own directorial debut in last year’s blockbuster Band Baja Baarat, “Tishu” —Tigmanshu Dhulia —has received critical acclaimed for his direction in Paan Singh Tomar (2012).
Faisal understands people, their upbringing as well as their hometowns. His first film, Do Dooni Chaar, depicted the aspirations of a middle-class family. “For them, buying a car is possibly the most difficult decision,” says Faisal. Since it was a simple story, he was “paranoid” about somebody else making a similar movie before him. “Once it released, the movie established that simplicity can be entertaining too!” Another reason could be the chemistry between the lead pair, Neetu and Rishi Kapoor, as the affable Duggals.
Faisal is part of a new breed of writers and film makers who have done away with lofty speeches, melodramatic performances and dialogues; he won the Filmfare Award for his punchy dialogues in Band Baaja Baarat. “Good writers just need to keep their eyes and ears open and treat every story as unique,” says Faisal. “Dialogues such as Aaj khush toh bahut hoge tum (Deewaar, 1975) became famous because the writer chose to break away from tradition.”
From the looks of it, that’s exactly what Faisal is doing.