Romance is romance regardless of the time – Anubhav Sinha
Fifteen years back a seemingly small film with a new cast won millions of hearts. Anubhav Sinha’s Tum Bin became a huge hit in 2001 and was remembered for its emotional love story. When Sinha announced Tum Bin 2, it trended all over the Internet. With a different star cast comprising actors Neha Sharma, Aditya Seal and Aashim Gulati, Anubhav Sinha is expanding the Tum Bin franchise.
In a candid conversation with Pandolin, Sinha shares his reasons for bringing Tum Bin back after fifteen years, the role that the location plays in this film along with the relation between the two movies.
Why did you choose to make Tum Bin 2 after a gap of 15 years?
When Tum Bin released, there were around 800 theaters in the country and we got to screen our movie in 100 theaters because Gaddar and Lagaan had released two weeks before us. I released the film with Aks and the next week they released Yaadein along with Dil Chahta Hai; so we did not get many screens. Despite our success, there was no way that theaters were going to carry our film into the second week. So in one week, we enjoyed the success and moved on. Then the movie went to television and got played every other day and that is where most people saw and loved it.
Till 2011, we kept receiving love for Tum Bin but there was no thought of a sequel or franchise till that time. But around that time, I took to Twitter and started talking to people who still appreciated the first movie. Also, that was the time when Housefull 2, Golmaal 2 and other movies were expanding their franchises. So we started talking about making Tum Bin 2, but I was busy with Ra.One at the time. Plus, if you see, sequels and franchises are made of bigger films and not smaller ones. It took years for Tum Bin to get that big; it had to grow for years and become so big that it could demand another installment. It was an organic process. And if this movie works, we will continue the franchise.
When I made the first Tum Bin, I was interested in making the film look good. This time the first priority was the story and performance
Are there any similarities between the first film and Tum Bin 2?
When you walk out after watching Tum Bin 2, you will get a feeling that you have seen the previous film, yet at the same time, you will feel that you have seen a new film. The two lead actors are called Amar and Shekhar (same as the characters in the previous film) but the girl’s name is different. Basically, you will get the Tum Bin experience through another story. That was our endeavor and I am very convinced that I have achieved it.
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Since the time gap between the two movies is quite vast, were you able to keep the new age romance intact in this film?
Romance is romance regardless of the time and that will never change. Nothing but the means has changed; the expression of love will always remain the same. If you see, even superheroes in movies love the same way as we do.
Was going for relatively fresh faces again an intentional move, since you could’ve gone for established actors?
This franchise will always have fresh faces and new talent. Tum Bin is about fresh talent and even though the actors are relatively known to me, all of them are new. I treated all of them as debutant actors. We had rehearsals, workshops and a lot of fun and completed the film in 40 days.
When you walk out after watching Tum Bin 2, you will get a feeling that you have seen the previous film, yet at the same time, you will feel that you have seen a new film
The location seems to play a key role in the film. Could you tell us more about the thought behind it?
The secret reason to go to Scotland was that I love single malt and that was the reason we went there (laughs). Scotland is romantic and it is beautiful, wherever you stand, you will fall in love with the scenery.
Romance is romance regardless of the time and that will never change
Tum Bin was your debut film. How do you think you’ve evolved as a director in these 15 years?
I think I have evolved a lot because when I made the first Tum Bin, I was interested in making the film look good. This time the first priority was the story and performance while the look of the film was secondary. Also, during the years I have dealt with life and death, I had a child so I dealt with life and recently my mother passed away, so I dealt with death. Even though the first Tum Bin dealt with these things, it will be more real in Tum Bin 2. Also, I have aged, and with age hopefully, I have become more spiritual, so you will see all of this in Tum Bin 2.
You’ve made romantic, sci-fi and action movies. What inspires you to experiment with various genres?
I don’t look at it as an experiment, for me all films are just films. When and if a story appeals to me, I go with it regardless of the genre. I enjoy all the genres. Even Tathastu was an emotional drama. It didn’t do well but I loved making it.
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