May 13, 2017
Film director Mohit Suri,
upbeat about his forthcoming movie "Half Girlfriend", says he does not
want to get into the "game of Rs 100-crore club" as after a certain
level of commercial success, money does not motivate him.
His last release "Hamari Adhuri Kahani" faced box office failure. Asked
if he felt any pressure to get good numbers from his new film, Suri
told IANS here: "As a filmmaker, of course, I want my film to do well
at the box office. But no, there's no huge pressure. I do not want to
get into the Rs 100-crore club. And honestly, after a point, money does
not motivate me to work, but passion does."
Referring to one of his most successful films, "Aashiqui 2", he said:
"You know when the film earned so much money and everyone was
celebrating, I was feeling empty within. I was wondering why I was not
enjoying the success. Perhaps that is because I lost my father during
that time. So, the person I wanted to address the film to was not there
any more."
Since the director is not over-enthusiastic about getting into the Rs
100-crore club, he explained: "I think if I get into that game, I will
have to work with big stars every time to pull audiences to the
theatre. What if I want to work on a script that demands newcomers? So
I want success so that people can make money and I can make more films
with talent."
In "Half Girlfriend", which he has also produced, Suri has given an
opportunity to four new singers and a new music director under his
music label EMI Music.
"This is what I want to do as a producer. My success should create a
platform for new musicians, actors and directors so that I can give
back to the industry, so that I can create a platform for others, like
the way I got an opportunity and immense support as a newcomer."
Having started his career with "Kalyug" in 2005, Suri delivered hit
films like "Raaz: The Mystery Continues", "Murder 2" , "Aashiqui 2",
and "Ek Villain". It is interesting to observe how in every film, he
projects women in a different way and, weaves a love story into even a
thriller.
Is a love story his favourite subject?
"I do not have a straight answer to that. I believe women play an
important role in every man's life.
"You know, love made a huge change in my life and I believe that is the
only relation we can choose. We are born to our parents and we get
unconditional love from them by default. But we choose our lover... And
you are who you choose to love. So I think as a director also, when I
make films, it reflects on my work, in the characters."
As his latest film is also a love story that addresses rural-urban
social differences and the selflessness of a lover who goes out of his
way to make a relationship work, the film will start an internal
dialogue for the audience, the director said.
"If your heart is in the right place and you are not egoistic, you can
become selfless for the person you love. In our film, Madhav Jha (Arjun
Kapoor) goes to New York for Riya (Shraddha Kapoor) out of love,
because he follows his heart. He does not go abroad to make a career,
but for the girl," Suri said.
"Half Girlfriend" is based on Chetan Bhagat's eponymous novel, which
records the sentiments and linguistic struggles of a rural
Bhojpuri-laced Hindi-speaking boy from Bihar after he enrols himself in
an English-medium college and falls in love with a high-class
English-speaking Delhi girl.
The predicament of those who lack English speaking skills has already
become much talked about.
"I think people have already started talking about the Hindi-English
language issue. I mean, isn't it weird that even in an Indian
restaurant, where I am going to eat my desi food, the waiter is
explaining food in English. I know the importance of knowing English,
but do we think about the result of ignoring our native language?" he
asked.
"Half Girlfriend" is releasing on May 19.