Sanjay Dutt with Arshad Warsi in Anthony Kaun Hai?; (below) Arshad with Minissha Lamba in the movie

His last celluloid presentation is best remembered for Negar Khan snaring butterflies to Vishal-Shekhar?s item number Chal hat. But two-and-a-half years after Shaadi Ka Ladoo had turned sour for him, director Raj Kaushal ? better known as Mr Mandira Bedi ? is back with a film that can so easily be mistaken for the sequel to Munnabhai M.B.B.S.

Before Munnabhai 2nd Innings hits theatres in end-August, Kaushal?s Anthony Kaun Hai? with the same pairing of Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi will arrive at cinemas end-July. But as the adman-turned-film-maker maintains, there has been a conscious effort to steer clear of the Bole toh bait.

?My film is not in that league and it was a deliberate decision to look and feel different from the Munnabhai franchise,? Raj tells Metro from Mumbai. ?From the setting to the costumes, everything has been planned so as not to resemble anything they have done before.?

It?s not without reason that Raj calls Anthony Kaun Hai? a blessed film. ?While I had written the script two years back, I had a much smaller version in mind,? he reveals. ?In fact I was supposed to start shooting the film only from June. With Mr Dutt (Sanjay) coming on board, everything changed overnight.

?I still don?t how and why he said yes to the project. We didn?t even approach him because we were sure he would never be interested. But he is very close to Arshad who was doing the film and to producer Nikhil Panchamiya who was always confident about the script. So once Sanjay agreed, the film just took off. And since then it has been a roller-coaster ride and whatever problems have cropped up have been solved in a manner better than what was originally planned.?

Anthony Kaun Hai? also marks Bollywood?s first crack at the Tim Burton genre of movies, where fantasy meets realism for an epic action-adventure. ?It is very much like Big Fish in the way conman Arshad tells stories to contract killer Sanjay ? who is out to kill him ? in order to survive another day,? states Raj. ?And all the stories he narrates come together in the end when it is revealed who Anthony really is. Finally, my film is all about the plot.?

For the ladies in his movie, Raj has gone for Minissha Lamba (Yahaan, Corporate) and Anusha Dandekar (Viruddh). ?Yes, I could have gone for much bigger names opposite the likes of Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi but once you see the movie you will know why I cast these two in particular,? the director claims. ?The two are like chalk and cheese and very different as people. Also the fact that they do not carry any baggage with them and have no branding as such.?

Another major character in the film is the backdrop ? the different locations in Thailand. ?Recently, quite a few Bollywood films have been shot in Thailand, like Ek Ajnabee and 36 China Town, but they have been so city-centric that audiences have got only one flavour,? feels Raj. ?We have shot Anthony Kaun Hai? in different parts of Thailand apart from Bangkok, like Phuket and the Krabi Islands. Since the movie is a blend of fantasy and realism, the metallic colours of the city are juxtaposed with the clear blue waters of the sea. Also, coming from an advertising background, I wanted to shoot in one single schedule. With the film fully set in Thailand, everyone was focussed and that happens the moment you get out of the country. In Mumbai, you take home problems to the sets and set problems back home.?

Shot by cinematographer Hemant Chaturvedi (Company, Maqbool, 15, Park Avenue), Anthony Kaun Hai? has Himesh Reshammiya scoring the music. And yes, you guessed it right, he features in a promotional music video ? the song?s sung by him, of course ? to come on air in the next couple of weeks.

What his first Bollywood biggie has meant for Raj is that he has aborted plans of making low-budget crossover films. ?The industry has changed a lot in the last couple of years with a lot of corporate money coming in,? he says. ?And I have realised that production is not really my forte, at least for now. First, I would like to find my feet in the industry before trying my hands in other departments.?

Midway into mixing the audio tracks, Raj is content with the way Anthony Kaun Hai? has shaped up. ?For once, I have got the budget and the stars,? he says, obviously referring to his last experience where he could only afford Sanjay Suri opposite wife Mandira Bedi in Shaadi Ka Ladoo. ?I feel we have made the film just right. Any bigger than this and people would have lost touch with reality.?