Doctor, businessman, restaurateur, producer and actor. That’s what Anuj Saxena, the charming Abhay Kapoor in the popular Hindi serial ‘Kkusum’ on Sony TV, is.
But guess what the regular in the page three parties of Bollywood has set his eyes on? The man with his finger in many a pie is set to enter Mollywood in a big way by producing his first Malayalam movie ‘Gulumaal The Escape’. The movie, a comedy caper by V K Prakash and presented by A and M Entertainment company, will have Kunchacko Boban, Jayasurya and newcomer Mitra Nair in the lead with comedians Bijukuttan and Suraj Venjaramoodu.
Anuj’s Maverick Productions has just completed the Kannada movie ‘HouseFull’, released on July 3. “I have been aiming south, particularly Mollywood, for a while,” says the managing director of Elder Pharmaceuticals, a multi billion turnover company built by his father.
“A film in Tamil or Telugu cannot be produced without a budget of Rs eight to 10 crore. But that’s not the case with Malayalam movies.
There’s talent here. So why not tap it?” Anuj is gearing up to make a grand silver screen appearance soon with Udita Goswamy. The movie, ‘Chase’, by Jagmohan Mundhra of ‘Provoked’ and ‘Shoot at Sight’ fame, will be special for Anuj who has been a hot favourite on the small screen for years with meaty roles in ‘Kkusum’, ‘Kumkum’ and ‘Sar Ankhon Par’.
“There was a time when I was a household name with roles in three popular serials. I worked for eight shifts a day to get it going. The result was exciting with many calling me up and saying I was an inspiration to them in acting,” says the actor who started his acting sessions with ‘Aasmaan Se Aagey’, a serial on Doordarshan with Amrita Singh and Pankaj Kapoor. “That was at a time when Sony had not entered the scene.” But why the shift from medicine to an entirely different field? “There was a whole line of doctors in my mother’s family and it was quite natural that I joined medical college.
But somewhere down the line I longed to be an actor with a couple of modelling assignments coming my way at college. I had to know Urdu to get into movies. But my knowledge of Urdu was poor as I studied in a Jesuit school. I made up by travelling from Colaba to Andheri just to learn the language,” says Anuj, reminiscing about the time he went to any extent to get a foothold in the enticing world of movies.
Soon he started endorsing brands like Proline and HMT watches with top models. Ask him about his first assignment and he says sheepishly, “I was too nervous to act with popular models like Rhea Pillai and Annu Kottoor. I remember rushing to take a sip of liquor to muster confidence.” Soon offers came pouring in. Mention the lip lock scene with an actress in the movie ‘Lips’ and he says it was just another role. “I had gone to the US when I met director Sameer Malhar. I instantly liked the script that he narrated.” Meanwhile, Anuj gave his pharmaceutical company Elder Pharma a boost by introducing Fair One, a fairness cream exclusively for men.
The second in the country to introduce a fairness product for men Anuj is excited about its burgeoning sale. “The response is tremendous.
Men spend a lot of money on grooming these days. Initially many said that the product was a sham but the sales proved them wrong. I know many guys who go in for at least a pedicure and manicure,” says Anuj who has walked the ramp with Udita to launch PU, yet another international product from his company.
“I work for 19 hours a day. That’s how things happen for me,” he says with a smile.
jijicherian@epmltd.com
