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Siddharth Anand on Pathaan success: I think we underestimate the audience’s intelligence; they see through any agenda – #BigInterview | Hindi Movie News


Filmmaker Siddharth Anand has every reason to grin from ear to ear. He gave the best film of his career as Pathaan which created a tsunami at the box office. Main actor Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham, the action thriller was released worldwide in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu and has broken around 75 records if not more. When ETimes caught up with the man of the hour, Siddharth was brimming with excitement as he said, “I hope the rage doesn’t stop.”
In today’s #BigInterview, Sid candidly talks about his inclinations towards the action genre, reacts brilliantly to Pathaan, unfazed by the controversies his film faces, bringing Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan together and more. He also revealed his long-cherished dream outside of filmmaking and reacted to fan theories about Jim (John Abraham)’s connection to Kabir (Hrithik Roshan) during the War.

Pathaan has surpassed Rs 700 crore and is still rising. Before the pandemic, your War movie closed with a lifetime collection of around Rs 500 crore. Bang Bang closed with sales of around Rs 350 crore worldwide. Do you naturally want to do more action movies now in the future?
Well, up until now, what I had in my head and in my head was just this genre. I mean, considering I’m going to do the next Fighter, I’m going to make the next Rambo, right now, it’s just action. I don’t take this too seriously though, if someone comes up with another story I’d love to learn about it. So I’m not really attached to this mindset, at this brand.

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Hindi film industry has been struggling in 2022, except for a few movies like Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, Drishyam 2, The Kashmir Files that make the cash register ring. But the reaction to Pathaan seems to have reinforced the belief that the glory days are back…
Honestly, it’s a bit surreal. I’m happy to be a part of the industry and be able to make movies, because I don’t know anything else. And now you’re getting credit for a lot more, you know, like bringing the cinemas back, the single screens back, bringing back the box office, returning audiences… So, I really don’t know how to react to all these cards. I’m so glad I got my next job. And I can keep making movies.

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You just mentioned filmmaking is all you know and nothing else. But what are you, if not a filmmaker?
To be honest, there was a time when I was actually considering maybe making movies to make enough money, to be able to open a restaurant. So I had a very good idea to open a small boutique hotel, and run that hotel and restaurant, somewhere in the world, maybe in India, maybe outside, I don’t know. But I’ve always had the illusion of doing that. And I’m a foodie, I love food. I love holidays. I love the beach, so I thought I would open a quaint little hotel, a 15-20 room hotel and a nice restaurant, and I would run it. So I turned that into a little dream series in Bang Bang, where Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif have something they run in Greece. I have tried and seen that dream through them. But you know, at the time, I wanted to do this. Hopefully, I think that dream is scaled up a bit. It may be a larger hotel, but the dream is still there.

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Going back to Pathaan, the controversial Bollywood boycott trend has been on social media for a while. But when it was released, it was undamaged and discolored. It’s like you’re showing the whole boycott team…
I don’t say anything, I don’t need to say anything. The audience said it. The fact that audiences come in such large numbers means they know that these calls don’t mean anything. So it’s not like they wait and come in the evening to hear about it, like, ‘Oh my god, is this what they’re talking about? Is it true what they’re trying to say?’ The results are given through the previous numbers. So I think the audience is too smart. I think we just underestimate the intelligence of the audience. They look over any agenda now. So we don’t have to say anything or do anything.

More than numbers, it is the emotions of the fans in the theater that speak volumes…
Oh, that’s crazy! I mean, I keep getting videos of people cheering, what they’re doing at the end of the movie, in the middle of the movie, they’re dancing. In the scene where Dimple Kapadia’s character dies and Shah Rukh Khan’s character salutes, I watched a video in which the audience unfurls the Indian flag in the theater. So the fact that they brought a flag into the theater speaks to the kinds of emotions the movie is bringing out.

You went to Gaiety to see the audience reaction…
I arrived at Gaiety, was attacked by the mob, and I left.

Should be as anonymous as Deepika Padukone…
It’s not anonymous, it’s like saying, ‘Look, I’m here!’ (laugh)

Shridhar Raghavan told me that the scenes of Shah Rukh Khan-Salman Khan are all a shared vision of you and Aditya Chopra…
I think it’s also very similar to Shah Rukh and Salman. It is very organic. Also, Adi knows them better than anyone else. The first thought actually came from Adi, not even me. So I would call it the brainchild of Adi more than anyone else.

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What was the biggest challenge of bringing the two Khans together, and how did you resolve the creative differences on set?
I mean, there’s no challenge at all. Adi just needs to make a call. His challenge is just dialing. (laughs) But obviously, aside from the jokes, I think Salman was kind enough to do this in another franchise. But the important thing is that we gave him that dignity and respect and his character. Also, it was Shah Rukh who did a lot to really make Salman feel comfortable on his own set. So that’s a lot of love that people have for each other. That’s why the scene might look like this, otherwise, in a situation like this, everyone would be calling attention on the screen.

Shridhar also told me that the iconic scarf item is your idea and not his…
The action, yes, it’s all mine. I mean, it was heavily designed by me in the sense that you want to see the scarf first and then he does this… My action team consists of Craig Macrae, who is from South Africa, we thought a lot about the action scenes.

You made a blockbuster War before Pandemic, and now Pathaan after the pandemic. While the conversation continues whether audience tastes have changed during the pandemic, it seems like you’re just doing your thing and winning at each…
I think I’m just lucky, I would say. The point is that I haven’t changed as a person or as a filmmaker through the pandemic. Obviously, there’s something you learn, but not much change because I think, in general, to be honest, we’ve been very, very fortunate and isolated from what happened. . All we have is some time off from work and we spend time with our family, we watch some content at home and enjoy some respite. So we were very, very lucky, I might say, and very lucky during that time. I mean, the world is going through a lot, a lot. But we were one of the few people who got out for the most part unharmed. We all have COVID, of course, but things are a bit mild. God has been so kind is what I mean.

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And in terms of filmmaking, I don’t see any change. I am too stubborn as a person whose personality is related to my work, my beliefs and beliefs are deeply rooted. So I’m not really bound by trends and what’s going on around, what’s trendy right now. So I think that’s why Pathaan stood out during that time and so did War. So yeah, you just have to be a little stubborn and hold on to your beliefs.

What would you say about the fan theories floating around Jim’s connection to Kabir during the War?
It’s heartwarming, and it shows how deeply connected our films are with audiences that they come up with theories that the filmmakers haven’t even thought of. It’s so authentic, it just brings us so much happiness. And honestly, if they get too creative, I like to call them into my office and ask them to write my stories. (laugh)

What fueled your vision and pushed you to do bigger things than life, so different from the kind of movies you’ve done before?
When I do my romantic comedies, whether it’s Salaam Namaste or Ta Ra Rum Pum, there’s very little action in it or Bachna Ae Haseeno, they all have a certain style, a scale. certain. So, naturally, my romantic comedies are also replicated. Obviously, it also aligns with your deep commercial sense. I like bigger things than life. My personality is a little bigger than life. I try and do things that are a little more realistic, even my romantic comedies. So through an action movie, I’m always trying to see how I can break a certain barrier, how I can do some things that are a bit unbelievable but still bring a bit of logic. . So that’s really my personality. My movies come from there.

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What have you learned about yourself and your profession over the years?
The lessons from each movie are what I take home. There are some things I learned from Bang Bang, some things I learned from War. Now I’m going to take some things out of Pathaan, over time, what I did right or I did wrong. Honestly, they’re not so deeply rooted. I am really an audience director or filmmaker that caters to a large audience. When things are going well, I don’t want to skip some lessons and try to screw up the formula. Happy doing what I’m doing.

Having the conversation revolve around Deepika Padukone’s character Rubai in Pathaan, you’ve finally changed the story of a heroine who isn’t just there to push the hero’s story forward…
I think that’s really organic, because the character that we wrote, that’s the one who really drives the plot. But that’s when a movie really gets very sane. We have a villain who has a story behind, the girl who has a story behind her motives. She’s a strong character who really takes advantage of the hero, makes him do what they really want him to do, and then helps him through it in the end. Sometimes you know, girl parts are just there to add glamor and songs. But if you remove Deepika from Pathaan, then there is no Pathaan. So it’s not a conscious decision. Deepika gave a meaty role. The movie was written with this character in mind, and fortunately, Deepika agreed to participate.

You have this rare 100% achievement and none of your movies fail at the box office. What’s your secret sauce?
Secret boss. (laughs) I wish I could find it. I don’t want to jinx it by saying this!

I have to ask, will Jim come back in the future?
Everyone wants him back and how can’t we get him back! But let’s see when and what happens. Well, so let that suspense remain.

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