CHENNAI: The coronavirus has thrown a spanner in our functioning as a society and the film industry is no exception. But the road ahead seems one of hope as production houses resume work on many upcoming films, including Akshay Kumar’s Bell Bottom. Among the first to begin work after the pandemic, the film’s crew will be flying to the UK in August for the shoot. “It is advantageous that we will be shooting in the UK because here, we are still trying to get things under control. When we got into lockdown, we were all set to begin shooting in New Delhi, and the plan was to fly to the UK in August. To maintain that schedule is an achievement, and full credit should go to Vashu Bhagnani, Jackky Bhagnani and their team,” said director-producer Nikkhil Advani, who is also one of the producers for the film, in a chat with journalist Kaveree Bamzai, arranged as part of Time Pass, a series of webinars organised by The New Indian Express group.
“It is a huge gesture on the part of someone like Akshay, who was ready to shoot even during these times. The advantage with Bell Bottom is that since the story is set in the 70s-80s, the chosen locations are isolated.” Directed by Ranjit M Tewari and written by Aseem Arrora and Parveez Shaikh, Bell Bottom is not just be a spy-thriller. “It is political, and based on events from history that we have forgotten,” says Nikkhil, who directed D-Day and Batla House. “It is tough for a filmmaker to be impartial when you take subjects like these. When you make John Abraham play a police officer, you are picking a side,” says Nikkhil, admitting that he f inds himse l f drawn towards such subjects. “My next film will be more explosive, which is based on a true story of a Khap Panchayat case. But, it is getting difficult to toe the central line with backlash from both sides becoming identical these days. There is a lot of genuine conversation, but there is also a lot of noise.
It is important to have blinders sometimes and be convinced by your narrative,” he shares. Having worked with both Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor in D-Day, Nikkhil found it hard to deal with their passing away. What I am today as a filmmaker is because of Irrfan Khan. He made my process spontaneous. And Rishi sir was like a child on the sets. Even though they didn’t have much to shoot together, they got along like a house on fire. D-Day, in fact, gave me a second lease of life.” As the conversation steered towards the debate of nepotism in Bollywood, especially gaining heat after the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, Nikkhil says, “I am an outsider. My uncle was a distributor, but he knew I was in the industry for ten years, only after he saw my name on the big screen. I chose to not go down that path.” In his opinion, one needs a lot of talent and luck, but this is the case in any industry, he says.
“I believe both sides are right. There are a lot of advantages that star kids get, but Friday box-office will not spare them.” The nepotism debate has brought several celebrities under criticism, Karan Johar being one of them. “I am making three films at the same time right now; Karan is making ten. I refuse to accept that we should think about Karan only based on his present persona. For people of my generation, his films have been a part of our lives,” said Nikkhil, who has been a close collaborator with the Johars. Nikkhil also believes that mental health is a larger issue that needs to be addressed better. “Is the whole nepotism debate not allowing us to talk about a real issue of mental health? We should be talking more about mental health and the tremendous pressure everyone faces. When I enter my house, my work ceases to matter. Filmmaking is life, yes, but it is not the only part of it.”