Cricket’s biggest event World Cup will commence in a few days. Its perfect timing for the cricket based movie Hatrick.
His last film Taxi No 9211 was applauded for its crisp, original and simple narrative. Now, director Milan Luthria is back with his next film, Hatrick, just in time for the ensuing Cricket World Cup.
Ask him about it and he says, ?Yes, I have to admit that we planned the film keeping the World Cup in mind. It was just too juicy a marketing idea to be missed. Thankfully, we completed the film in time and it will releasing on March 16 ? right on the day the matches begin.?
However, the films is not all about cricket, as Luthria explains, ?Of course, the backdrop will be cricket but my film taps the human element more than anything else. The film is about five characters- Kunal Kapoor, Rimmi Sen, Danny, Paresh Rawal and Nana Patekar and the twists and turns that happen in their lives, coinciding with the matches. So in a way, their own lives are like a tournament and they are put to test at various points. The World Cup is a metaphor for what they are experiencing in real life.?
Whether it was Kachche Dhaage(Ajay Devgan and Sail Ali Khan), Chori Chori (Rani Mukherjee, Ajay Devgan), Deewar (Amitabh Bachchan, Akshaye Khanna) or his last, Taxi No 9211, Luthria has always shown the talent to etch out interesting characters. The same holds true for Hatrick as well.
?Nana plans a nut-case doctor who hates cricket, much like he hates everything else. Danny plays an ex-cricketer, Kumal Kapoor is a crazy cricket buff while Rimmi Sen is in love with an imaginary cricketer. Paresh Rawal is an immigrant staying in UK and is determined to prove his patriotism to the English cricket team. It?s a very breezy, light-hearted film that will hopefully break the clutter. Having said that, it?s not a very ambitious film in terms of budget or scale. Again, it?s just under two hours long. It?s a clever little film,? he says, adding that his favourite films last year were all unique yet small budgeted films like Dor, Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Khosla Ka Ghosla.
Talking of his penchant for small length films, he says, ?I hate the saga syndrome. I think a good story should be over in two hours. Of course, I don?t mean to say that longer films are not good. It?s just that I never spoon-feed my audiences. I don?t think every single thing needs to be explained in a film, some aspects can be understood naturally. In any case, I believe in the theory of ?collective intelligence? of the audience. When they watch a film is a dark theatre, their level of intelligence is automatically raised and this is a proven fact.?
Even though his first film Kachche Dhaage proved to be a clean hit many years ago, one wonders why he didn?t get his due until Taxi No 9211. ?Kachche Dhaage didn?t work in Mumbai, which is why it didn?t really get its due. Then my second film Chori Chori got stuck for four years and that was a criminal waist of time, though many people have told me that it?s one of my best films. Deewar, again didn?t work because there was already an overdose of war films. I?ve realised that success is a very elusive partner. It?s very difficult to make that ?bang on? film,? says the director, who was an assistant to Mahesh Bhatt for several years.
As for the future, the director says he wants to try out a black comedy, ?I?m not sure whether I can call it that but my main intension is to chop and change genres. Again, I have nothing against films on a big canvas but I doubt if I can make stories about larger-than-life characters. I like to be rooted to reality and talk about believable things,? he says. This is certainly one maker who holds great promise for the future.