April 28, 2018
Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor-starrer "102 Not Out" is a
film that celebrates the youthfulness of human life and encourages people to
stay curious, says its director Umesh Shukla.
The film, based on a
Gujarati play written by Saumya Joshi, revolves around a 75-year-old son and his
102-year-old father, who wishes to break the world record of being the oldest
man alive -- held by a 118-year-old Chinese man.
"It is great to see how
our audience is excited about the combination of these two iconic actors
(Amitabh and Rishi) coming together. The fact is that our film is a youthful
film narrated by an old father-son duo. And we could not have got it better than
this... This is the best cast," Shukla told IANS.
"The story would not
have been so interesting if pitched between a 40-year-old father and 10-year-old
son. Since these old men already lived their lives, it is interesting to know
how they deal with old age. The film talks about how one should be a learner all
their life and keep the curiosity alive to get rid of boredom and find a new
purpose of living life to the fullest," he added.
As Big B and Rishi, who
have earlier worked in films like "Amar Akbar Anthony" and "Naseeb", have come
together on-screen after two decades, was there any extra pressure on set?
"Of course, the first day of shooting, especially for the unit, was a big
day. And they were in a little tension. But the best part of these two legends
is that they make people comfortable around them. So after a few days, our unit
was also very easy on the set. I think that is how we managed to bring the best
from all of us."
Shukla himself drew a lot from their experience.
"They used to talk a lot about how they worked in earlier days as shooting a
film was difficult due to technology. However, they used to say that there was
so much warmth with each other that they shared. Amitji is one of those
progressive men I have come across who is so in sync with the new generation.
"He is always curious to know what is happening around. Our set was full of
fun and galore," said the "OMG - Oh My God!" fame director.
Citing one
example of their dedication and co-operation, Shukla said: "Since both the
characters are Gujarati, I requested them not to wear chappals while doing the
scenes. We do not wear chappals inside the house... That is not the practice in
any Gujarati family. For us, our home is like our temple and you do not wear
shoes inside the temple.
"When I explained it to them, they were very
co-operative and did not even wear chappals during mid-length shots. That
created a huge difference in their body language. As senior actors, they
utilised it in the favour of their character."
While "OMG - Oh My God!"
turned out to be a success for Shukla, his last release -- Rishi Kapoor and
Abhishek Bachchan-starrer "All Is Well" -- failed miserably.
In
retrospect, Shukla says he knew that the film was going wrong following actress
and now politician Smriti Irani's exit from the project after shooting for 29
days.
"She became a minister and that was a very different phase of her
life. It was difficult from her end to give us time, which we totally
understood. So we had to find a new actress to play the part. There are scenes
that we shot earlier with Smritiji, in Himachal Pradesh.
"Later, I shot
those scene with Supriya Pathak in Filmcity. Of course, it was not matchable.
Abhishek started shooting for 'Happy New Year' and his look changed according to
that character. That was not his fault because our shooting was stopped in
between. It was just a bad phase," he added.
All in all, Shukla said his
idea of entertainment through films is to leave the audience with a thought.
"'Oh My God!' was never an anti-God film. That was a film that questioned
people who are earning money in the name of God. That is my idea of
entertainment, where I want our audience to feel entertained and happy and want
them to leave the theatre with a thought in mind from the film.
"In fact,
I am expecting that after '102 Not Out', people will change their equation with
their parents. They will understand the importance of living life to the
fullest."
"102 Not Out" will release on May 4.