His favourite love story is 500 Days of Summer and The English Patient. Then you ask him, "What about Break Ke Baad?" and he answers, "Of course yes. How can I miss that?" But that's bound to happen considering the fact that Danish Aslam, the director of the Imran - Deepika starrer is almost a month away in delivering his feature debut Break Ke Baad.
When you meet the filmmaker, you come to know that he knows well the trials of young love and his educated twist on a clichéd genre that has become the talk of the town amongst the youth. On talking to him further, you tend to believe that he must've twisted the rom-com convention upside down and inside out. Although conventional wisdom says otherwise, men don't want to watch romantic comedies. But that's not true. Love stories like Wake Up Sid, Aisha and I Hate LUV Storys have had a sweeping effect over the men and women in their twenties. The question is - Will Break Ke Baad sustain the effect?
Bollywood's newest find behind the camera, Danish Aslam, explains what led to Break Ke Baad, his actors and the characters they play:
Journey so far
"I've been an assistant director for about seven years. I did a lot of films as a freelancer, like Lakshya and Swades. At one point of time, I joined Yash Raj Films and assisted Siddharth Anand on Salaam Namaste. Then I assisted Kunal Kohli on Fanaa and went back to Siddharth for Tara Rum Pum, before moving to Kunal for Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic. Kunal's last film was a co-production with Yash Raj Films and then he moved on to produce independently. Break Ke Baad is Kunal's first leap into production and mine into direction. Let's hope the combination works."
Trigger point
"The original story draft was written by me. That's what Kunal read and decided to produce the film. After that, I got Renuka on board to write the film with me. The screenplay and the dialogues are written by her. The title of the film was already decided before the first draft of the story was even complete. I always wanted that. The film is about a break up and relationships after that."
Love is cliché
"Now-a-days, there are films which are made for the youth in a particular way, like Wake Up Sid, I Hate LUV Storys, etc. I love those films and support such films because that is one school of cinema that is on the rise. As for Break Ke Baad being a different film, I'd say it's not different. It's a love story. Love stories throughout the world aren't different. They are the same."
First aftereffect
"Everybody who has commented online or on Facebook or Twitter, my friends from and not from the industry, have all liked the first promo of the film. Tarun Mansukhani tweeted that he loved the songs because he had heard them from Vishal and Shekhar. The basic reactions have been coming after seeing the promo. It's the promo that gives you the vibe of Break Ke Baad."
Abhay and Aliya
"Deepika's character in the film is very strong. She is level headed, ambitious and has set goals. Imran Khan on the other hand doesn't have set goals. He plays Abhay in the film and discovers the serious side to himself. Deepika plays Aliya in the film and her journey in the film is to discover the romantic side in her. They both make this journey towards the centre and discover what both of them lack in each other."
The only choice – Deepika
"I saw Deepika in Love Aaj Kal and I started to feel that she has emerged as a polished actor. In Om Shanti Om, I could only see her smile and no one else. Till now, we thought that she was decent and a pretty face who could act. But I really didn't think that she would be able to pull of challenging roles. Love Aaj Kal changed my view point. She could do Aliya and she was the only choice. She has surprised me even after filming for the film."
Comfort zone
"I didn't start writing this film thinking that it is a safe film or a safe subject. Every director who writes his own script and directs his own film, writes and directs the film based on the experiences that the person has had or the space that person is comfortable with. I am comfortable with such films because my forte is love stories."
Genre definition
"The first half of the film is set in Delhi as I have lived in Delhi for eleven years. A lot of the space and vibe the film occupies is from my own life. Where I go with my second film depends on what kind of story I feel like telling at that point in time. I don't think I am still ready to make an action thriller because I don't want to deviate from the genre I am good at. I don't think a story should be told or a script should be written based on a genre."