I would love to direct a film, says Lara Dutta

Now that Lara Dutta has made her comeback to films with Singh is Bliing, she is all set to revive her hitherto dormant production banner Bheegi Basanti Entertainment.

It’s been four years since she produced her first film, Chalo Dilli, starring her and Vinay Pathak. A sequel, Chalo China, was announced in March 2014, but there was no progress on that. Ask Lara about the delay and she says, “That film is locked and loaded. We have had some issues in the past, there have been blockages with the previous setup. Once we get past that, we will see.” 

About why there hasn’t been any other film from her banner, she says, “I am not a huge production house like UTV or Eros with 15 directors on board. I want to make films that are high on content and not huge blockbusters. Such stories won’t come by everyday — it’s not like you go shopping and get it in the chana market (laughs). But now I have got two lovely scripts, and I will talk more about that when the time is right. You will see more of me (she has a small role in Fitoor and plays a lawyer in Azhar) and my production ventures next year,” she says enthusiastically. And, no, she won’t be acting in either of the two films that she is producing.

Besides returning to acting and producing, Lara is also planning to take up direction in the near future. She says, “I would love to direct, but technically I am not prepared for it. My energies are focussed on producing my two films. Mahesh and I have been thinking about me going back and studying direction and I want to do that.”