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Life In A Metro Sequel Was Irrfan's Idea, Says Anurag Basu: ‘I Was Scared…'
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Anurag Basu reveals it was after the release of Jagga Jasoos that Irrfan told him to make Life In A Metro 2 and why Irrfan-Konkona Sensharma's story was ahead of the curve.
18 years after Life In A Metro comes its spiritual sequel, Metro In Dino. It's being reported that it also marks the last chapter of Anurag Basu's hyperlinked cinema. Much like its predecessor, it deals with the themes of modern relationships and its four stories are set in four metro cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru. Recently, Anurag had revealed that the film is an ode to Irrfan and KK, both of who were an integral part of Life In A Metro.
Now, speaking exclusively to News18 Showsha, Anurag says that it was, in fact, Irrfan's idea to turn the 2007 film into a sequel. Talking about it, he tells us, 'Post Jagga Jasoos, Irrfan and I were talking about a sequel to Life In A Metro. He, in fact, had given me the idea to start working on it. He told me, 'Metro 2 banaate hai.' He told me about it much later, not immediately after the first film." Interestingly, back in 2017, there were reports doing the rounds that Irrfan has already signed on the dotted lines and will be a part of the second film.
Anurag, however, had no plans of making a trilogy of hyperlinked films. 'I didn't have any plans of making a trilogy. I was scared if Life In A Metro would even work. It was something very different. But after that, I got a hang of it. I started enjoying writing hyperlinked films. Then Ludo happened," shares the Gangster and Kites director. But it seems like Metro In Dino may not be the final film of his hyperlinked story series.
'I'm not going to make such films anymore because it's like writing four films in one and that takes too much time. But while it's challenging, it's also fun. The best part is getting to work with a whole team of actors. Hyperlinked films mein yeh ek maza hai. But as of now, Metro In Dino feels like the final one. That's not to say that there's no possibility of making another hyperlinked film but even if I do, I don't think it's going to happen very soon," Anurag states.
Dating apps, an intrinsic part of modern-day love, may have witnessed an influx in India after 2007 but Anurag feels that the storyline featuring Konkona Sensharma and Irrfan in Life In A Metro was ahead of the curve. 'Their characters had met online – on a matrimonial site. A lot has changed in these 18 years and we should come to terms with it. People are less expressive in person now. They speak their hearts out, virtually. They can convey all their emotions in a true form online. Aaj kal one-to-one mein nahi hota hai," he opines.
And what has been his personal takeaway from his previous relationships? 'What love has taught me is that I've started seeing the world and stories of people from a woman's point of view. I've learnt to see things from their perspective after falling in love and that has really helped me as a creative person," says Anurag.
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