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Story teller

Casting coup Aziz Mirza has an eye to spot talented youngsters

All of his previous films (“Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman”, “Yes Boss”, “Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani” and “Chalte Chalte”) starred Shah Rukh Khan. So, when director Aziz Mirza cast Shahid Kapoor for “Kismet Konnection”, the industry was surprised. “This story needed a fresh face. Even before ‘Vivaah’ released, I was impressed with Shahid’s work in some of the films that didn’t do well. I knew that this boy was talented and all he needed was a big hit. People thought I was crazy to cast Shahid. After ‘Vivaah’ and ‘Jab We Met’, Shahid is hugely popular now,” he laughs.

Aziz Mirza does have an eye to spot talented youngsters. He spotted Shah Rukh Khan in “Fauji” and cast him in the television serial “Circus” and then signed him for “Raju Ban Gaya….” “At that time, people thought I had made a wrong decision. ‘The boy doesn’t look good and look at his hair! He is not hero material’ they said,” Mirza looks back. Much later, the director started the production house Dreamz Unlimited with Shah Rukh and Juhi Chawla.

“Kismet Konnection” marks his return to direction after a five-year exile post “Chalte Chalte”. “I lost my wife a few days following the release of ‘Chalte Chalte’. It was a traumatic period for me. I stayed away from films for some time. Then my daughter had this idea and wanted me to develop it into a story. ‘Kismet Konnection’ happened. Shahid’s kismat changes once Vidya Balan enters his life. Personally, I feel youngsters should believe in hard work than in luck.”

The meticulous director doesn’t think Shahid Kapoor and Vidya Balan make an odd pair. “Since Vidya debuted in a mature role in ‘Parineeta’, people think she cannot play a younger role. Both she and Shahid are fine actors and look good together on screen. My films have simple stories and would fall flat without the right actors,” he explains.

Aziz Mirza’s son Haroon arrives as the co-director. Do we see another director in the making? “I think he will plan a film soon. He helped me a lot with ‘Chalte Chalte’ when I was in the hospital looking after my wife. He should have been credited co-director even for that film.”

Aziz has made just five films since 1992 and says, “I write my own scripts and that takes time. Plus, I am laidback and not ambitious. My films have made money and I’ve never been in the rat race. In the five years after ‘Chalte Chalte’, a lot has changed. For example, ‘Kismet…’ has only five songs. But the album cover will tell you there are 10 songs; those are remixed, pre-mixed or whatever versions. More than films, my serials like ‘Nukkad’ are closer to my heart.”

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