Cathartic film

Vikram Bhatt is gearing up for the reactions to what he calls the film he had been waiting to make all his life. “Mahesh Bhatt Saab had once told me that there’s one film inside me that only I can make. I didn’t know what he meant?until now. When I finally made Ankahee I realised what Bhatt Saab meant. It’s the story that has been inside me. The emotion was simmering inside me for a long time. But I didn’t know how to frame the story. One day the film’s structure came to me. It isn’t just about one relationship in my life or one state of mind. Ankahee depicts all that I’ve learnt about relationships through my personal experiences. At the same time Ankahee is also pure fiction because I’ve used the creative process generously on my own experiences.”

Sighs Vikram, “You know, love can be a bitch. I’ve gone through periods when I’d alternate between pain and ecstasy. It was an emotional rollercoaster. While going through it I didn’t think I’d make any film about my life. In a strange way Raaz also dealt with a part of my life, though it was placed within the horror genre. Now with Ankahee I’m able to confront my feelings headlong. Yes, this is it. Ankahee is a very honest story. I admit I’ve done some dishonest films in recent times.” He refuses to name the dishonest films. “There are lots of pressures on a filmmaker and he succumbs to those pressures. But now I’ve decided to make only honest films. I don’t mind making bad films. But I’ve to believe in what I’m making. My new film, Red, again comes from within me. It’s the most noire film I’ve ever made. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s a love story where I go into the dark side of the relationship of two people in love.”

Vikram has cast old favourite Aftab Shivdasani, Celina Jaitly and Amrita Arora. “Aftab has been in several of my films. We’ve done Kasoor, Awaara Paagal Deewana, Footpath, now Ankahee and Red?and Harry Baweja’s Speed which will release soon. We go back a long way. I like working with him. He believes in the kind of cinema I want to make. He’s willing to go with my vision.”

So, is Red inspired by Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Black? “Not at all. Every other title sounds similar. To me red is the colour of love, passion and danger?. The film is a very different experience. Ankahee is not dark, Red is. Ankahee was cathartic. It helped me to unburden, though there are some burdens that I’ll carry with me to the end.”