The Hindu : New Delhi News : A directorial debut with a difference

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 16, 2007
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New Delhi

A directorial debut with a difference

"CHILD OF THE INDUSTRY": Director Amrit Sagar, grandson of Ramanand Sagar

He is the self-confessed "child of the industry" who is now making a foray into the territory of the grown-ups. Grandson of legendary Ramanand Sagar, 31-year-old Amrit Sagar has now taken to directing films in Bollywood.

After a stint with television -- he directed 20 episodes of the serial "Haatim" and also worked on "Shri Krishna" and "Dharti Ka Veer Yodha: Prithviraj Chauhan" -- Amrit has made his directorial debut with the film "1971".

The film, which revolves round six Indian prisoners of war of 1971 who are lodged in a Pakistani jail, has Manoj Bajpai and Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kissen as the lead stars.

On why he chose a period film for a debut, Amrit says he thought this was the "best possible way to spread awareness about 54 Indian POWs who are still in Pakistan".

The film, which was shot in Manali in 71 days, has been produced by his father Moti Sagar while Piyush Mishra has penned the screenplay and dialogue. The film was released this past Friday. "My father had written this story in 1972. When he gave it to me some time back, I knew I had to direct it into a film," says Amrit.

The film got good reviews but even if it had not, a very confident Amrit would not have been worried as he has never had "any expectations from anything".

"I do not believe in competition. I am never too happy or too sad with things. My film has six characters and I feel if they are right, the film will do well," he reasons.

For a first film, Amrit has indeed acted brave. It is not just the story line of the film that is different but he has also gone against the Bollywood norms by taking not-so-saleable stars and not including any actress in the main cast.

"I have not tried to tamper with the narrative of the film. I do not need actresses or any masala to sell my film. My belief is that the story is always the hero of the film. If the story is powerful enough, then people will come to see the film. ."

Amrit, who studied filmmaking at California College of Arts in San Francisco before venturing into direction, has already begun mulling over his second project.

But all that he is willing to say as of now is: "It will be a typical Hindi film industry love story." -- Parul Sharma

-- Parul Sharma

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