Tarun Mansukhani, the young and happening director of Dostana, who is currently spending sleepless nights scripting a sequel to his gay comedy tells Smita Mishra of Spicezee his secrets and future plans.
I was in New York for the screening of Dostana which had been selected in the iView Film Festival organised by the Engendered Society which aims at creating awareness on gender and sexuality. I was surprised when the film got selected but the organisers were very excited to have its screening. My film opened the Festival.
What made you select homosexuality as a theme of your movie Dostana, knowing fully well that it is still not openly acceptable in India?
Unless you make something new, you can’t tell with certainty what response it will get. The perception and thinking of the people about gay sex has changed dramatically, which of course was reflected in the tremendous response that Dostana got. You can’t tell the fate of a film unless you make it. So risk has to be taken somewhere.
What made you select such macho men John and Abhishek as the ‘gay pair’?
I chose such macho men as Abhi and John because when you cast men about whose sexuality you are so sure, the humour element is greater. Abhi was part of Dostana since the very beginning; however I took some time to decide on John.
Will Dostana Part 2 have the same cast? Is its storyline also similar?
The film right now is in the scripting stage, so I am unable to comment on its story. Abhishek and John are part of it of course. I am not sure who will play the female lead.
Tell us one special thing each about Abhishek. John and Priyanka?
The best thing about Abhishek is his comic timing which is just perfect! I have known him since long. He has no false ego and is a fantastic company.
John puts himself in your hands and obediently does what the director asks him to do. He is a director’s actor in the true sense. And his hard work is matchless.
I call Priyanka my other wife. We keep fighting all the time and enjoy each other’s company a lot. She is a dear friend.
Dostana was all fun and spice. Have you ever thought of making off-beat cinema?
I do. I want to make all sorts of movies and would be very happy making an art film.
Making a comedy is easy of difficult?
Extremely difficult. You need to have an extra punch line everywhere for having the fun factor. It should be such that it appeals to every one’s taste and is able to tickle the humour bone.
In India, films succeed also because of their music. Do you think this was the reason for Dostana’s success?
Ya, its true. In fact Dostana had great music because we really worked hard on it. In fact Vishal Shekhar took great pain, rejecting many tunes-before zeroing down on the final ones.
What are your upcoming ventures?
Right now I am solely occupied with Dostana Part 2.
Have you ever thought about acting as a career?
I have done small flicks in several movies. In fact I did a small role in Karan’s film also. However currently I am concentrating on direction only.
