Audiences aren’t starstruck any longer

Actor-film-maker Satish Kaushik, who has always balanced the two, has been pretty busy off late, working on the script and finalising the cast of his forthcoming directorial, It Happened In Mayanagari. While Milenge Milenge, the last film he directed in 2010, starring exes Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor, didn’t create a stir at the box office, Satish is keeping his fingers crossed about this one.

“The script is based on a Hindi novel and is more of a travelogue — traversing through Delhi, Mathura and finally, culminating in Mumbai. For any small town person, Mumbai is a city of dreams - a place that can often turn mean as well,” states Satish, adding, “In fact, the city of Mumbai will also play a very important role in the film and the story will be told through its point of view. We are yet to decide on the voice for the city but have shortlisted a few names that are really big.”

Satish, who has mostly stuck to directing dramas and rom-coms, will be trying out something different for the first time. “Yes, it’s a very non-Satish Kaushik film — a dark story which states clearly that to be successful in life or whatever you do, it’s important to be able to break through, whatever be the means. It Happened… is the story of a gangster and a gigolo,” he informs, adding, “While some of the cast is still being decided, Randeep Hooda, Mahie Gill and Prashant Narayanan have already been finalised.

Quiz Satish what made him decide on the cast and he says, “My first choice for the role of the gigolo was Randeep. His is a very dramatic, yet tragic tale. The pathos of the character almost borders on being Shakespearean and Randeep, the charmer that he is, is the best to portray this role. Also, both Mahie and Prashant have proved through their films that they are powerhouse performers.” And with that, Satish, who directed his first film, Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, way back in 1993, suggests how cinema, these days, is no more about budget or star power. “Gone are those days when the audience was starstruck. Today, performances by non stars are making films hit and pulling people to the theatre and we have seen countless such instances in the recent past,” he ends.