“Rishi Kapoor agreed to do ‘Mulk’ after a 15-minute narration”, says Anubhav Sinha on the movie’s second anniversary

Anubhav Sinha’s ‘Mulk’ featuring the late veteran actor Rishi Kapoor, Taapsee Pannu and Rajat Kapoor completes two years on 3rd August, 2020. Even though it was a sleeper hit, the movie is still fondly remembered as one of the most talked-about and important stories that needed to be told, more so today. Needless to say, the movie did start relevant conversations among the people.

The critically-acclaimed filmmaker recalls his experience working with Rishi Kapoor. “He (Rishi Kapoor) agreed to do film after a 15-minute narration. Chintuji would simply insist to explain the scene to him before the shot and observe me carefully while I spoke. From that, he would deduce what I wanted,” informs Anubhav.

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Interestingly, ‘Mulk’ was shot in 27 days, much to the late actor’s surprise. “Chintuji wasn’t convinced the film was over and insisted I keep 10 days as a back-up. Then, one day, my CFO came to me asking if I had some shooting left, saying Chintuji had allotted dates between January 5 and 15, 2018. During the screening, Chintuji was on tenterhooks, calling every 30 seconds for an update, afraid Mulk would be banned. After a 90-minute discussion, when I stepped out with a U/A certificate and told him so, he repeated in disbelief, ‘You mean picture release hogi!’

“On Chintuji’s return from the USA, we met at the Bachchans’ Diwali party. I ran to hug him little knowing that he would go away so soon. I had planned many more movies with him,” adds Anubhav Sinha.

Interestingly, the brilliant storyteller has joined hands with four of his filmmaker friends including Hansal Mehta, Sudhir Mishra, Ketan Mehta and Subhash Kapoor to develop an anthology film focused on the subject that we are living through presently – the experiences of life amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also Read: ‘Article 15’ director Anubhav Sinha declares, “I hereby resign from Bollywood”