Double delight

Abhinay Deo is awaiting the release of his debut films this year. The plural is intentional — the first is Game, due for release on April 1, and the second is the film that Deo made first — Delhi Belly, starring Imran Khan and due for release on July 1.

“It was not intended this way, but I am super excited that I have two debut films. I am not aware if any other director has had this fortune!” laughs the 40-year-old creative head of Ramesh Deo Productions, a top ad-filmmaker and son of veteran actors-directors Ramesh and Seema Deo. “I always wanted to tell stories, whether in 60 seconds or 120 minutes,” he says.

Game, produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's Excel Entertainment, is an “action thriller with an emotional thread”. The film, which stars Abhishek Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Kangna Ranaut, Jimmy Shergill and newcomer Sarah Jane Dias, is about four strangers who are invited by a man to an island with a compelling reason. The moment they step onto the island, their life takes a strange turn.

“Game,” which has been shot in Greece, Istanbul, London, Mumbai and Thailand, “began as a 450-page script, which was actually two films. So, there was to be a sequel but all of us decided that a compact single film would be much better”. The tight storyline and the manner in which it is executed are the film's USP. “I believe in the Hitchcock-style of filming. That's not to compare Game to his films, but yes, I am striving to bring back the murder mysteries and the twist-in-the-tale genre. In this film, you won't have someone materialising from somewhere all of a sudden in the end, and there you have your murderer! When the credits roll, you will realise it was right there in front of you, and you just didn't catch it.”

The director says he couldn't have asked for a better banner or a more involved star cast. But ask him about missing the opportunity to cast Aishwarya Rai in his film, and he says: “She was happy being in the film with Abhishek. I wanted to cast her as the character now played by Kangna, and she wanted to essay Maya (played by Sarah). But, we never got around to that, since we couldn't get her dates.”

Abhinay has been battling reports that all is not well with Aamir Khan, the producer of Delhi Belly. Ask him whether it is easy to work with a producer who is also a director (as is the case with both Game and Delhi Belly), and the answer is a no. “It all depends on both the parties. I'd like to say I haven't had any differences with both my producers, especially with Aamir. Aamir and Farhan do not interfere. As the director, I ought to be in control, and sure of what I want. Both Aamir and Farhan are incredibly professional, and were never out to prove a point. They are very confident individuals.”

With feature films on top of his mind nowadays, ad films have taken a backseat. “I have never said no to any form of filmmaking. In fact, now that I have ventured into movies, I wish to make documentaries too. Most people consider documentaries stepping stones, but I feel that they are extremely challenging and interesting.”