Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

Director Saad Khan is a known name in the world of theatre and movies. And why not? He knew that he wanted to get into filmmaking and had a clear idea about how to go about it.

As his film ‘Humble Politiciann Nograj’ is all set to release in January, Saad is all excited. In a candid chat with Tini Sara Anien, he talks about the film and more.

How did your interest in direction come about?

I belong to the age when video cassettes were popular. I used to watch at least two movies every weekend. This is when the passion for films came in. At school, I was already into theatre. I remember doing a professional play and being yelled at by my director because I was mouthing everyone’s lines. The director told me that acting is not what I should be doing and that I should probably assist him. My passion grew. I did a summer workshop with Bangalore Little Theatre and finally directed my own play.

What kept your interest alive?

My first play ‘Idle Hand’ was a big moment for me as a director. I didn’t know about the method acting or anything then. The play was about a lazy man and how one particular night, when he sleeps, his hands take over his body. I was associated with many plays after that. I always wanted to be a filmmaker. I knew that I had to make a transition and at that time I felt theatre was the right way ahead.

Is theatre a stepping stone to filmmaking?

From what I have observed in the recent past, there is no particular design for artistes. I’ve heard so many filmmakers and actors’ stories that I know that there is no set formula for it. Eventually, I realised that I didn’t want to stick to any genre. I brought the Hollywood movie ‘Scream’ on stage. I’ve also done musicals.

What was the turning point in your career?

It was when my short film ‘Another Kind of Black’ went to the Cannes Film Festival. I felt I was too cool but I soon realised I was just lucky as the concept was pretty good. That was the moment when I knew that this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to sell stories.

How is your chemistry with actor Danish Sait who plays the ‘Humble Politiciann Nograj’?

Danish used to do prank calls on air as Nograj. Slowly he and I made YouTube videos with ‘Nograj’. Once we did a live video of it from Times Square. After this, I said ‘I think we are now ready to make a film on Nograj’. We already had the title of the film since we always referred to the character as a humble politician. Danish, Maaz (Khan) and I met and wrote the story. I took a bit more time to do the screenplay. We were lucky to get Pushkar Films, Lost and Found Films and Paramvah Studios as producers.

What’s next?

We are just focussing on the movie release at the moment. There are speculations about a sequel.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> MetroLife / by Tina Sara Anien / DH News Service / December 26th, 2017