28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Aditya Roy Kapur, Sara Ali Khan saw me freaking out on day 1 of Metro In Dino, recalls Ali Fazal: ‘The film is inside Anurag Basu's head, no one knows what's happening'
Anurag Basu is all set to return with the follow up to his 2007 romance anthology Life… in a Metro, Metro In Dino, slated to release in cinemas on July 4. It consists of almost an entirely new cast, including Aditya Roy Kapur, Sara Ali Khan, and Ali Fazal. Fazal recently revealed he initially struggled with Basu's style of filmmaking.
'Basu sir has a very interesting way. The whole film is inside his head. So nobody knows what's happening. And that's another exhilarating experience because you don't know what's coming,' said Fazal, adding, 'I remember Adi (Kapur), Sara and all these guy are on set the first day, and they can see me freaking out! Kya karein, scene nahi hai (What to do, there's no scene paper). But that's how he works.'
In the interview with Galatta Plus, Fazal explained further, 'The scene paper comes in very last minute. Of course, there's a whole script, and he's got the whole thing down.' But he also pointed out that nobody could access the full script because Basu's approach to Metro In Dino is quite different from its first part.
'This particular construction of Metro is pretty different. And I think for that very reason, he didn't want us to read the script. It really helped! When the film is out, I'd love to talk about it. It's surprising that even in a very light, romantic film, he's managed to bring his swing. And I enjoy that,' added Fazal.
He claimed that collaborating with Basu can be both unsettling and rewarding. 'He pushes you! He'll throw in a word or an emotion, and just give me a little different perspective. Most times, when he gets it, he doesn't. That's another problem directors don't realize — Mani (Ratnam) sir, Basu, they are lovely directors, but actors love it when the director goes, 'Good!' But there's nothing. He just says, 'Next shot,'' said Fazal.
Fazal will be next seen in his debut Tamil film, Mani Ratnam's crime thriller Thug Life, in which he stars alongside Kamal Haasan, Simbu, Trisha, and Nasser among others. The film is slated to release in cinemas next Thursday on June 5. Going back to Metro In Dino, Fazal revealed it's a musical so Basu works around that.
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'He'll give you a rhythm, literally a rhythm, sometimes as a beat! For me, that's like nectar because then I can map everything. We don't use beats or rhythm much. That's the way I learnt. I never got to learn acting. Hence, Adishakti. It's the one place where I managed to learn anything. Which is why I keep going back there,' said Fazal, referring to Adishakti Theatre Arts, a laboratory for theatre art research based in Tamil Nadu.
