When you're working with the daughter of the filmmaker behind "Mr India" and the grandson of the star who played its iconic villain, director Kunal Kohli says it's inevitable that a reference about the 1987 blockbuster would sneak into their on-set conversations.
In his latest film "Bobby Aur Rishi Ki Love Story", Kohli has worked with "Mr India" director Shekhar Kapur's daughter Kaveri Kapur and Vardhaan Puri, the grandson of Amrish Puri who played the Hitler-esque antagonist Mogambo.
Were there any discussions about "Mr India" on the set of his new movie? "If food on the set gets delayed, we start saying, 'Calendar khana do!'" Kohli told PTI, using the popular catchphrase associated with Calendar the cook, the character played by Satish Kaushik in the sci-fi superhit.
"Whether Kaveri is on set or not, doesn't matter, a reference or a conversation around 'Mr India' might be happening right now on five different sets in India. That's how impactful the film is. When you are discussing characters or actors, Puri sahab's name will come in. He must have been spoken about in so many conversations, 'There is no actor like Puri sahab.' That conversation about these greats happens all the time," he added.
The director, known for love stories such as "Hum Tum", "Mujhse Dosti Karoge!", and "Fanaa", has returned to films with "Bobby Aur Rishi..." after his 2018 Telugu movie "Next Enti?". His last directorial was web series "Lahore Confidential", a spy thriller.
His new film stars Kapur as Bobby and Puri as Rishi, two strangers who cross paths in London. It is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
Kohli said he is happy to return to the romance genre with "Bobby Aur Rishi...".
"A lot of actors today are shying away from the love story space, thinking that rom-coms don't work. What actually doesn't work is that a film possibly might not connect, but not the genre. I've been at it (rom-com), some things have worked, some haven't... "I don't believe in this 'Gen-Z film' type. Gen-Z watches both 'Pushpa' and 'Stree'.
"Gen-Z will also watch this film ('Bobby Aur Rishi...') but don't design anything for them. Just make a film from your heart... There's another film of mine that's coming with Bobby Deol... I'm looking forward to doing some more romantic films and hopefully, one of them should be starting this year soon." Puri, whose film credits include "Yeh Saali Aashiqui" and "Bloody Ishq", said working with Kohli was a wonderful experience.
"The film almost made me nostalgic about how I felt when I watched 'Hum Tum' for the first time. The chemistry, really beautiful moments, songs, Saif sir and Rani ma'am's characters shared. Of course, Chintu Uncle (Rishi Kapoor) was also fantastic in the film... It was like going to a film school that only teaches you how to make good love stories," he added.
This marks Kapur's acting debut.
"It still doesn't feel real. I can't believe I have a film coming out... Something short-circuited. It recently hit me that I have a film coming and people are going to see me as an actor. They will have a chance to decide whether or not I did a good job. It's overwhelming but I'm also very excited," she said.
Kapur, who is also set to star in her father's upcoming film "Masoom 2", the sequel to his 1983 movie, said earlier she used to put a lot of pressure on herself but now she just wants to have fun with whatever she does.
"I have stopped planning my life because I realised it never goes according to plan. I'm just going with the flow. I'm really excited for 'Masoom' (sequel)." Kohli praised Kapur and Puri for being "real and innocent" actors.
"And that's what's charming about them. It has got nothing to do with who is whose grandson or who is whose daughter," he added.
Presented by Jio Studio, "Bobby Aur Rishi..." is produced by Production Headquarters Ltd and Indian Scion Production Ltd UK Productions.
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