The musical romantic thriller, Aashiq Banaya Aapne (2005), completed 20 years on September 2. The film is remembered for its casting, intimate scenes and of course, the unforgettable music. It was the first film where Himesh Reshammiya turned singer and thus a new chapter was written with Aashiq Banaya Aapne. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, its director Aditya Datt explained how he made the film before hitting the age of 20 and a lot more.
20th anniversary EXCLUSIVE: Aashiq Banaya Aapne was made in just 36 days; was born from a shelved Gujarati film and prepaid music deal with Himesh Reshammiya – Aditya Datt shares UNBELIEVABLE inside story
How did you manage to make your first film so early in life?
I got into filmmaking as an assistant very early, just after completing my 10th grade. I was working with Mahesh Bhatt and I was his DA/assistant. So, I was working with everyone from Vikram Bhatt to Tanuja Chandra to Bhatt saab. My job was to go wherever the shoot was taking place. I quit my studies after the 10th as I knew I wasn’t an academically driven kid. I believed that at the max, I’d scrape through college. I had no desire to go for interviews with a graduate certificate to bag a job. Because of my grandfather (late lyricist Anand Bakshi), I knew that I wanted to do something in the creative field. He could relate to my sentiment as he was not educated either. However, my parents and sisters are highly educated. My sister has studied at Oxford and LA and secured a law degree. My mom was a Maharashtrian topper while my dad was a top UP scholar! Hence, I was the black sheep of the family (laughs)!
When you declare that you are no longer going to walk on the path of education, people start judging and assuming that ‘This guy is not serious about his life’. That made me even more responsible. It made me realize that if I have taken such a bold step, I need to work harder and achieve more things. Luckily, I got to learn from mentors like Bhatt saab, Tanuja Chandra and Vikram Bhatt. I got a chance to assist on films like Raaz (2002), Kasoor (2001), Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar (2001), Sur (2002), etc. For 4-5 years, I worked with them.
Then the natural course was to try to direct a film. I went around pitching my script. Now, in my head, I wasn’t 19. I was just like any other assistant with 4-5 years of experience. Meanwhile, by then, my grandfather had passed away. So, I no longer had that backing. It was a very weird case of nepotism! I did get an entry in the industry and worked with the Bhatts. But when I wanted my grandfather to be there and help me pitch my scripts to big production houses like Dharma Productions, Yash Raj Films, Mukta Arts, etc., with whom he had worked extensively, he was no longer there. I did not have an introduction to them anymore, as my grandfather was the only one interacting with them. I did not have access and when I tried, I could not get through those doors.
Then, I finally found a very sweet gentleman called Balabhai Patel, who was a Gujarati film producer. He was trying to make a film, but it got stalled. In those days, filmmakers used to shoot on film and not on digital. So, he had brought a certain amount of negative for that film before it got stalled. He heard my script and then asked me about the budget. At that time, you needed Rs. 2.50 crores to Rs. 3 crores to make a film. The major chunk of the budget would go in buying the negatives. Luckily, he had pre-bought the negatives. Coincidentally, he had already given a signing amount to Himesh Reshammiya sir; he was supposed to compose music for that Gujarati film. Hence, Mr Balabhai had two clauses – I should shoot the film using the negatives he had bought and I should have Himesh sir as the music composer. Whatever more money was required, he would generate, but it would be cut-to-cut. At that point in time, I was okay with anything and I agreed. I somehow convinced Emraan. Sonu was upcoming and Tanushree had won the Femina Miss India Universe. They all agreed. I remember shooting the film in just 36 days.
Were Emraan Hashmi, Sonu Sood and Tanushree Dutta the original choices?
Yes. While writing the story, I had already narrated it to Emraan and to Sonu. Later, Tanushree also came in.
Emraan’s casting worked as we all expected him to be the villain. Those were the days when he was playing mainly negative roles…
Yes, it worked. Honestly, at that point, the greed was to make a film. There was a lot of immaturity in that film as well as we were all kids. Sometimes, you look back and feel, ‘I should have learned the craft a little more before jumping into it’. At the same time, however, you are happy that it did well. The music obviously was a big hit. The box office outcome was great for its time. It had an 80% opening. After that, I had many ups and downs. But I was lucky enough to see great ups. My biggest learning experiences were from my failures. It made me understand what not to do rather than what to do. With filmmaking, you need to keep learning every day. At no point can you say that you know it all. That just can’t happen.
Interestingly, Gangster (2006), released a year later and it started the same way as Aashiq Banaya Aapne – the hero and the heroine are injured and are taken to the hospital. Do you feel Anurag Basu was inspired by Aashiq Banaya Aapne?
(Laughs) Not at all. Anurag sir is a very senior filmmaker. I never felt that way at all.
More Pages: Aashiq Banaya Aapne Box Office Collection , Aashiq Banaya Aapne Movie Review
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