Fatima Sana Shaikh is clearing some misconceptions about filmmaker Anurag Basu. The actress has reunited with the director for the second time for the upcoming film, ‘Metro... In Dino’ after having collaborated with him earlier in ‘Ludo’.
The actress recently spoke with a top media house, where she shared her experience of working with him and what goes on the sets of an Anurag Basu film as the day unfolds. She also clarified that Anurag does work with a script by his side.
“I love working with him. Actually, there is a misunderstanding. He’s a very organised person. When you're on set, your entire day goes by in five to six hours. You never shoot overtime. He’s so fast. He can easily shoot four to five big scenes in a day, which is very tough for people, especially in big films where the cast is also big,” she told the media house.
The actress further mentioned that Anurag is highly productive and knows what he wants, as she said, “It takes a long time, but he’s highly productive. He knows his shots. He doesn’t waste time figuring it out. He knows what he wants.”
Years ago, Bollywood superstar Ranbir Kapoor claimed in a podcast with comedy collective AIB that Anurag works sans scripts in his films, as he shared his experience of working with him in ‘Barfi’ and ‘Jagga Jasoos’.
However, Fatima’s account differs from what Ranbir experienced as an actor in ‘Barfi’ and as an actor-producer in ‘Jagga Jasoos’. When asked if Anurag comes fully prepared, the actress said, “I think he’s more than fully prepared. I think he’s just too instinctive. Additionally, because he arrives early, he does the blocking and hand performs on his own. People don’t see that. For actors to come and just fully surrender, learn the lines and do everything that they’re doing. At that moment, for that, everything else has to be perfect. It’s never like the actors come and there’s lighting or figuring out or blocking. It’s never like that. He’s always 100 percent ready. And there’s space to explore.”
“It’s not possible that a director doesn’t know what he wants to make or that there is no script. It’s impossible because you can’t make a film like ‘Barfi’ or ‘Jagga Jasoos’. It’s highly technical in that way. To make that world so realistic - if you don’t have a clear vision, you can’t make that possible,” she added.