EXCLUSIVE: Break Ke Baad director Danish Aslam CONFIRMS that his next is with Imran Khan; also rues “Urban romantic films like Hum Tum, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Salaam Namaste disappeared. We shifted our focus to Bareilly Ki Barfi, Badhaai Ho…”

Danish Aslam made Break Ke Baad (2010), starring Imran Khan and Deepika Padukone and then went on to make several web series. After nearly 14 years, he’s back with another film, Khwaabon Ka Jhamela, starring Prateik Babbar, Sayani Gupta and Kubbra Sait. The film releases on JioCinema on November 8. Bollywood Hungama spoke exclusively with Danish and also Break Ke Baad.

The romcom didn’t work in cinemas but is memorable today for its subject, performances and music. When asked if he feels that the film got its due after it was out of theatres, Danish said, “Absolutely. Around its release, I used to say, ‘Yeh film logon ko 10 saal baad samaj mein aayegi’! On a serious note, until today, many people come up to me and say, ‘I really liked the film’. I feel like replying, ‘Firstly, thank you. And secondly, aap 2010 mein kahan the? Aur aapne yeh film theatre mein kyun nahin dekhi’! In fact, Imran used to tell me that many who came to interview him in recent times used to reveal that they liked Break Ke Baad a lot. It’s mind-boggling.”

Sadly, we rarely get such films now, which also makes Khwaabon Ka Jhamela refreshing. Danish Aslam explained, “There was a phase when those kinds of films were being made. Many of them, who were in school and college, have grown up now and are wondering ‘Yeh genre gayab kyun ho gaya?’. Globally, there was a shift and those mid-sized films stopped getting made. Either you make a blockbuster costing more than Rs. 100 crores or you make an under Rs. 10 crore festival film. However, the urban romantic films like Hum Tum (2004), Kal Ho Naa Ho(2003), Salaam Namaste (2005) etc. disappeared. We shifted our focus to Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017), Badhaai Ho (2018) etc. which are lovely films but are not that kind of romcoms. They either have a social message or there’s more drama than romance and comedy.”

Danish continued, “Secondly, I feel that romcom is a genre that needs to be reinvented every few years. If you watch an action film made 50 years ago, you may not get the context of the society which existed then but still, you’ll get the beats like revenge, fight etc. But watch a romcom made 20 years ago and you might probably see that a lot of things don’t land and have stuff that is unacceptable now. In the pandemic, my wife (Shruti Seth) started rewatching ‘FRIENDS’. Suddenly, we realized that so many episodes were problematic and we told our daughter not to watch it. So you need to keep updating in this genre as society keeps changing. Such films have been missing but thankfully, there’s an audience that craves for such movies.”

Danish Aslam then added, “Such films are making a comeback globally. Several Hollywood films with ‘You’ in their titles like Anyone But You, Which Brings Me To You, The Idea Of You etc. released and they all worked. A show on Netflix, Nobody Wants This, also has been successful. These films are in sync with the times. That needs to happen in India and I am hoping that Khwaabon Ka Jamela is one of the first films to do so in the market. “

In the era of re-release, what does he have to say about re-releasing Break Ke Baad? Danish smiled and replied, “It’s a brilliant idea. Please tell Reliance to do so.” He also added, “Theatrical is a different beast now. Also, the film is available on OTT. But had it released on OTT now, the reaction would have been very different because I feel there’s a huge market for that cinema.”

The director then looked back fondly at his directorial debut, “Apart from getting to make my first film, the other best thing about Break Ke Baad was that I made a bunch of friends. Imran has been one of my closest friends for 14 years. We were both at each other’s weddings. We have daughters who were born 1 month apart. Even Yudhishtir Urs and Shahana Goswami have been in my life since then.”

Danish Aslam then confessed, “As for Imran and I, we are working on something together. It had come out in the press. Half of it was correct and half of it was not! Very soon, you’ll find out!”

Has Danish Aslam been in touch with Deepika Padukone? Danish stated, “I have been in touch with her on and off as she has had a very busy life since then. Ranveer Singh once told me that according to Rajeev Masand, Break Ke Baad was the first proper performance by Deepika that made him realize that this girl knows how to act. I have always treasured that compliment. I saw something in her and I am glad that the rest of the world also did the same.”

Before signing off, Danish Aslam looks at his journey and how it was great to make a film after directing several web shows, “It’s a lot of fun but making a series is like making 2 ½ films together as you are making 5 hours of content, which is exhausting. I made a film after 12 years and I had a blast. There’s something about the energy on a film set – the way you can focus on your characters, content etc. I love it. I am open to doing series as well as it’s a different form of storytelling. But I feel this made me remember that my first love would always be films. My next with Imran is also a film. That, most likely, will be my next project.”

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Danish Aslam talks about Khwaabon Ka Jhamela and how it breaks taboos: “It’s impossible to tell your parents that you broke up because the guy is bad in bed”; opens up on shooting sex scenes: “Our makers are like ‘Kapde utaro, yeh karo, wahaan mud jaao’”

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