Up close and personal with filmmaker Dinesh Vijan

In 2013, Dinesh Vijan painted the world of Indian films with the horror comedy titled as ‘Go Goa Gone’ and after a break of five years the filmmaker brought the same genre back with ‘Stree’. In a recent exclusive conversation with TimesofIndia, Dinesh Vijan got candid about the idea behind ‘Stree’, the changing phase of Indian cinema and his upcoming projects. Here are the excerpts from the interview:
“We all have heard the fables about a dead girl roaming on the streets”
Talking about the concept of ‘Stree’, Dinesh said, “Honestly, the idea was not to make a horror comedy, the idea was just to make something distinctive.What connected in the first go was, Agar tumhe rat ko koi awaz sunai de to mudna nahi (If you hear a voice calling you in the night don’t look back). When I heard the concept it was intriguing and I wanted to be the first one to make it. After ‘Go Goa Gone’ I didn’t come across a story like this from the respective genre, so I would say der aaye durust aaye (Better late than never).”
‘Stree’ is about a mysterious woman (dead) who abducts men and takes their clothes away. Elaborating on the same, Dinesh added, “There have been fables talking about a dead girl roaming on the mall road or on the streets of Thailand or Jaipur looking for revenge and then she kidnaps men and takes their clothes away. It’s somewhere a way to protest against the way women were treated back in the time.”
Audience has changed
Dinesh Vijan has always been praised for the style in which he brings a script on the screen. However, the filmmaker feels he still doesn’t know what is the exact style that he hears often about. “It feels great when people appreciate and say that we really like your style of filmmaking, but if you ask me honestly, I don’t know what style they are talking about. For me, I get attracted to scripts that give me an instant feeling that this is something on which I have to make a movie no matter what. Economics comes later, first we react emotionally to the content. The relatability matters, and then we find logic in it.” he said.
He also feels that the reason to why his movies are being appreciated is because the audience has changed over the time. The audience wants entertainment and not a slapstick comedy. The industry has moved from a star-driven to a content-driven business all because of the taste of the audience.
The challenges
Bringing something substantial, yet entertaining take more than what meets the eye. Elaborating on the same, Dinesh quoted, “I am happy the ball is hitting the bat by itself right now. But there have been times when we had to put in a lot of effort to get the right hit. But, your failures teach you. ‘Agent Vinod’ taught me how to make ‘Stree’, it taught me how to make ‘Badlapur’.
At the same time, with every hit movie the expectation from the next one rises and in order to meet the same, the job gets more difficult.”
Upcoming projects
‘Arjun Patiala’
“The envelope for ‘Arjun Patiala’ has been pushed. It would not be wrong to state that it will be a movie like ‘Andaz Apna Apna’. Hindi cinema has only seen the serious side of Diljit Dosanjh, but I have seen his Punjabi movie ‘Sardaar Ji’ and noticed his comic side. The person who has worked on serious movies like ‘Airlift’ and ‘Pink’, has decided to do comedy. The movie is about the artist’s comic timing. Diljit Dosanjh is very natural when it comes to comedy. The movie is in the trustworthy hands of Ritesh Shah and Rohit Jugraj. Rohit is the one who also made ‘Sardaar Ji’, so they know the genre even better than me.”
‘Luka Chuppi’
“ ‘Luka Chuppi’ is already on the floor and we will be done by month end. Kartik Aryan and Kriti Sanon are in the lead and they look so nice together with such an amazing chemistry. Then we have an amazing support cast, there’s Aparshakti Khurana, Pankaj Tripathi and Vinay Pathak again after ‘Badlapur’. Coming back to the lead pair, they both have genuine small-town values and such beautiful dialect.”
‘Made In China’
“The shooting will begin on the 11th of this month. It is the story of a struggling Gujarati businessman. The cast has Rajkummar Rao, Mouni Roy and Boman Irani in it. So our lead here really wishes to become an entrepreneur and leaves no stone unturned. Then he goes to China and gets an idea. This is a kind of movie that will give you the feeling that Hollywood flicks like ‘The Wolf Of Wall Street’ brings. It’s a family entertainer with an edge to it, which I cannot reveal as of now."
The sequels and the biopic
Dinesh will be bringing sequels of two of his most successful movies, ‘Go Goa Gone’ and ‘Hindi Medium’. He is really excited about teaming up again with Saif Ali Khan after a really long period of time. On the other hand, the sequel to ‘Hindi Medium’ is really close to his heart and he says it was the first movie for which he went on board for the second part.
Also, after ‘Badlapur’ Sriram Raghavan and Dinesh Vijan are coming up together again for the biopic on Arun Khetarpal. He was the Second Lieutenant and the youngest recipient of the Param Vir Chakra (PVC). He was given this highest honor for gallantry during the 1971 war with Pakistan. Dinesh feels that more than a film, this project is his responsibility.