Anushka Sharma: ‘Phillauri’ is a romantic, fun film

After the success of their dark thriller ‘NH10,’ brother-sister duo Karnesh and Anushka Sharma are back with their second production ‘Phillauri’, which the actress says is a romantic film with lots of “drama and craziness”.

The film is set against the backdrop of a Punjabi marriage but Anushka says it is not a wedding drama.

“Wedding in the movie is just the backdrop of the story. ‘Phillauri’ has got shades of drama, craziness and really interesting characters. It is romantic, fun and at the same time very intriguing. The story is set in Phillaur district of Punjab,” Anushka told PTI in an interview.

Being directed by Anshai Lal and produced by Anushka- Karnesh’s Clean Slate Films and Fox Star Studios, the movie will have Anushka, Punjabi star Diljit Dosanjh, Suraj Sharma of ‘Life of Pi’ fame and Mehreen Pirzada in important roles.

The shooting will begin in mid-April and it will be a start-to-finish schedule till June.

“We are in the process of letting go. We are standing at the edge of the pool and ready to jump,” the producers said.

It is the first out-and-out Bollywood movie for Suraj, who shot to global fame with Ang Lee’s ‘Life of Pi’. He next starred in Hollywood project ‘Million Dollar Arm’ and that’s where Karnesh spotted him.

“I saw Suraj in ‘Million Dollar Arm’ and realised he is pretty similar to what we were looking for the movie. It is a fresh casting. We feel both Suraj and Diljit bring raw energy to the movie. Diljit comes across as very honest, someone who is a good guy and that connects with people,” Karnesh said.

Anushka said the idea to cast Diljit came when she saw his Punjabi film ‘Jatt and Juliet’. “He is hilarious in the movie in a very endearing way.”

Similarly, the actress felt Mehreen was someone who could transform even a typical scene into something else.

“Suraj, Diljit and Mehreen have added newness to the film with their personalities because they are not set in their ways.”

Anushka has been busy with Salman Khan-starrer ‘Sultan’ and ‘Ae Dil Hain Mushkil’ with Aishwarya Rai-Ranbir Kapoor, besides her own production.

“Some work is still left on ‘Sultan’. It has been a very hectic start of the year but it has been fun. I am getting to work with some interesting people and collaborate on films that add diversity to the roles that I have done. It has been very hectic and busy but I am happy that it is the way it is.”

Production was something that Anushka always wanted to venture into and brother Karnesh, also a movie enthusiast, was the right person to collaborate with.

“We were very keen about creating something. We would watch a lot of movies and wonder why we were not getting that kind of films over here.

“We always knew that we will produce one day. It was always there on the back of our mind. The transition happened with ‘NH10’. It was the right kind of film for us. Our dream is to make content-driven movies that add to the talent pool of our industry,” said Anushka.

‘NH10’, directed by Navdeep Singh, turned out to be a special film for the first time producers as it not only did well at the box office but also earned praise for its gripping story.

The duo is again collaborating with Navdeep on a project.

“There are a couple of projects. We should come up with something by the end of the year. We are doing Navdeep Singh’s next film. We should start by the year end. It is the same team that worked on ‘NH10’,” Karnesh said.

While producing a film is a “huge responsibility”, Anushka said she loves collaborating with talented young people on new ideas.

“A producer is all encompassing. It’s a huge responsibility. We both are learning. I love that it is a very collaborative process. It is about getting people together and getting them as excited about a movie as you are. We want to work with young people and we want to encourage new ideas,” said Anushka.

For Karnesh, it is fun to create something new.

“It is fun to create something from scratch and bring people together. I like the process of participation. That’s what is fun about making films otherwise it would be boring.”

Other than producing movie, they are also keen to create content for digital medium.

Inputs from PTI

Also Read: FAWAD KHAN, ANUSHKA SHARMA TO PLAY PAKISTANI LOVEBIRDS IN ‘AE DIL HAI MUSHKIL’

Amod Pandit

Quiet, resonant, and creative, he can be seen immersed in his own world, and puts in his heart and soul into the one passion that he has, Bollywood. His line for survival? Feel happy to be a part of it.