Aankh Micholi Director Umesh Shukla: ‘Abhimanyu Dassani And Mrunal Thakur Made Me Believe That They Can Pull Off A Comedy’- EXCLUSIVE
Aankh Micholi director Umesh Shukla talks about the film, working with an ensemble cast, finding his lead pair in Abhimanyu Dassani and Mrunal Thakur, not directing OMG 2 and his future work
In the morning today, Sony Pictures released the motion poster of their upcoming family comedy, Aankh Micholi which is helmed by OMG: Oh My God! Director Umesh Shukla. The film features an ensemble cast, led by Abhimanyu Dassani and Mrunal Thakur, along with Paresh Rawal, Divya Dutta, Vijay Raaz, Abhishek Banerjee and Darshan Zariwala.
With the poster release, Spotboye.com reached out to Umesh for an update on the film’s release. Aankh Micholi was earlier supposed to release in theatres on Diwali last year, so when asked if they are eyeing a Diwali release only and if the decision has been taken about the film coming on OTT or in theatres, Umesh replies, “Not yet. Sony will be taking a call on that.”
Umesh shot the film in Switzerland and Punjab. Ask him about the experience of working with such an ensemble cast and he says, “It was a great experience as it is a fun family film. The atmosphere was always very light and happy. That’s the only way to shoot such a film as to take out humour, you have to create a similar ambience too.”
His leading pair, Mrunal and Abhimanyu are fresh talents and they haven’t tried their hand in mainstream comedy before. So, what made him believe that they will be perfect for his comic caper? “I met and interacted with them a couple of times. In those meetings I realised the sense of humour they possessed and as a director, it made me believe that they can pull off a comedy like this,” he responds.
Aankh Micholi will also mark Umesh’s reunion with Paresh after OMG. Speaking about their equation, the director says, “We know each other from 1986 and we have done so much theatre together. We share a great rapport and whenever I think of a script and find a role suitable for him in that, I always go to him first, and if he likes it, he gets on board.”
Umesh’ next directorial is a biopic of public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, who worked on prominent criminal cases and helped prosecute suspects in the 1993 Bombay bombings, the Gulshan Kumar murder case, the Pramod Mahajan murder case, and the 2008 Mumbai attacks, where he was the public prosecutor in Ajmal Kasab’s case. Ask him about an update on it and he shares, “My script is ready so I will now start pitching it to actors.”
Apart from that, Umesh also has some projects in line as a producer. “I am producing the Hindi remake of the Tamil film Oh My Kadvule, and the same director, Ashwath Marimuthu, is directing it. We are also planning for one another film. My project with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, directed by Sejal Shah, will also start shooting soon,” he concludes.
Image source: Youtube/Innovations India, Instagram/abhimanyud