#LETS BE HONEST... WE WOULD ALL BE ZINDA IN THIS SITUATION

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★ Exclusive: Ali Abbas Zafar on Bharat, Salman – Katrina chemistry and more!

January 2, 2019, 

Director Ali Abbas Zafar became a celebrity on social media the moment he tweeted that Priyanka Chopra would no more be part of his film Bharat and how the exit happened just in the ‘nick of time’. In all graciousness, he even wished Priyanka all the best for the glad tidings in her life – her subsequent engagement and marriage to American popstar Nick Jonas. As is well-known, Priyanka was supposed to star opposite Salman Khan in the magnum opus Bharat jointly produced by Reel Life Productions, Salman Khan Films and T-Series. Ask him about PeeCee walking out from his film and he says, “Well, well, well…   there were a lot of things that she was busy with. But I’m not gonna say anything more about my ‘nick in time’ comment on Twitter. We all know the reality and the truth of the situation. As I’ve always maintained, we, as team Bharat, are extremely happy for Priyanka and where she’s in life right now.” He goes on to add that she had her reasons for not being part of Bharat. “And whether it was the producers, Salman or me, as adults we understood her reasons and let her go.” He emphasises that his equation with the actress has always been great. “There’s only happiness between us. We’re friends and will always be friends,” declares Ali who had worked with the actress in the hit Gunday (2014) previously.

The exit of Priyanka marked the entry of Salman Khan’s good friend Katrina Kaif. Ali formerly directed her in his debut, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011) and more recently in Tiger Zinda Hai (2017). Says he, “Katrina loved the script. She’s busy with three big films, Thugs Of Hindostan, Zero and ABCD3. But she somehow squeezed in our dates. There have been some amendments in her character.” Salman and Katrina had endeared fans with their chemistry in Tiger Zinda Hai and Ali hopes to take that vibe further in Bharat. He’s all praise for Katrina’s growth as an actor. “Whatever Katrina went through professionally and personally in the past seven years affected Zoya (Katrina’s character in Tiger Zinda Hai) on camera,” he explains. “I was pleasantly surprised with the kind of maturity she brought to her role.” Off-screen too, she’s a lot of fun insists Ali. “Sweetly, she’d get Salman for the selfies,” he says adding, “Salman is a great person to have around too. It’s always entertaining to be with him.”

With Bharat, Salman is all set to strike a hat-trick (Sultan and Tiger Zinda Hai were their previous two blockbusters) with Ali. Reportedly, based on the Korean film Ode To My Father, Bharat will cover 70 years of Indian history beginning from the Partition in 1947. It will trace the life of an Indian (Salman Khan), as he lives through significant moments in history. Ali reveals that it was Salman who urged him to make Bharat. “Though I loved the script, I told him, ‘Bhai, I’m not good at adaptations because till the time I don’t write my own stuff, I don’t know whether I’ll be able to direct it well.” But when they were shooting for Tiger, Salman asked Ali about the film once again. “I shared what I had in mind and why I wanted Bharat as the title. He said it worked for him. That’s how Bharat happened,” he explains. “It’s a different film for both of us. Something Salman’s gonna push himself hard to get right. That’s exciting because the film is unexplored territory.”

Ali insists Salman and he share a ‘brotherly’ relationship rather than that of a director and an actor. He smiles, “The good thing about Salman is that he’s a great listener, he will hear you out because it’s your film. After that he’ll be like, ‘I’m gonna stand by you but as an experienced person this is what I think’. That gives me a different point of view.” Much has been written of their professional chemistry. “That’s because he’s supportive. He’s always there when you need his advice,” says Ali. Ask him to reveal unknown facets about Salman and he shares, “He has the most wicked sense of humour. People feel intimidated by him but he’s extremely funny. He can mimic other actors perfectly.” He adds, “But his finest quality is that he’s an honest person. If he doesn’t like something, he’s not gonna disguise it. Also, I guess, he troubles the people he loves. If he doesn’t like you, he’ll never trouble you.” Bharat also stars newbie Disha Patani and Tabu. It was Disha’s innocence, which intrigued Ali enough to cast her. “We wanted a girl who would come in like a breath of fresh air and stun everyone,” he says. Ali insists Bharat is the most challenging film in terms of scale and story for him till date. “I hope we can do justice to it. Everyone, from the cast and the crew is working together to bring the best film out on Eid, 2019. We’re not leaving any stone unturned,”

Ali, a biochemistry student never thought of being a filmmaker. Films happened by chance to this talented director. “I was involved with the theatre group while studying at Kirori Mal College in Delhi. Amitabh Bachchan, Satish Kaushik, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Kabir Khan, Vijay Krishna Acharya, Habib Faisal… have been part of that legacy,” he shares. “I wrote plays, acted, directed, even designed the stage and slowly I realised that cinema was drawing me in. I too wanted to tell a story,” he explains.

Ali started his journey as an assistant filmmaker with Kabir Khan. His track record of 100 percent hits has made him a sought-after filmmaker today. He smiles at the compliment. About his winning formula he says, “I’ve always believed in the traditional school of filmmaking – a film needs drama, emotion, music... That’s the kind of cinema we have grown up with. These things connect with the audience. That’s how magic happens at the box-office.” We can’t but agree.

he declares.

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