In conversation with dynamic and dashing Anuj Saxena

Business tycoon Anuj Saxena, who has earlier been part of shows like Solaah Singarr, Doli Saja Ke and Aasman se Age among others is all set to make a comeback as lead actor in the upcoming film Paranthe Wali Gali (PWG) that is being jointly produced by Civitech Presents and Chilsag Motion Pictures Production. In a conversation with Tellychakkar.com Anuj spoke about bagging PWG and how the film’s journey enlightened him in personal life. Tell us a bit about Paranthe Wali Gali? (pauses) Well, it’s a sweet romantic film produced and directed by Sachin Gupta who has been directing plays three of which being Broadway plays. The story of this character moves from Rajasthan to Delhi where he goes to follow his dreams. The USP of this project is that it has been shot in the heart of Delhi unlike other movies that are shot on sets depicting the capital city. We have actually shot on real terraces and homes of the city. How did you bag this film? (smiles) I was a bit taken aback when I was offered the film. In fact, I remember when Sachin walked into my office I felt he wanted me to produce a film for him and told him that I wasn’t planning to produce any film then. But he surprised me by saying that he wanted to cast me in his movie Next when I heard the story, I was impressed and surprised as the story telling was well planned. After that we had a lot of interactions as he was also in talks with other actors he had signed. And the surprising part was that I had to audition for the film; this was the first time ever in my life that I took to auditioning. You just said that you weren’t planning to produce any films then. Was there a particular reason behind your decision? Since I had lost a lot of money in Miley Naa Miley Hum, it was a conscious decision to not produce films for two-three years and just concentrate on my business to recover all the lost money. How was it working with your co-star and debutant actress Neha? (blushes) I must say that Neha is a brilliant actress and must also admit that she has overshadowed me completely in various scenes. On the personal front, she is an introvert person; so during our romantic and intimate scenes I had to ask her to loosen up. The chemistry did work as we had attended a lot of workshops together before we started shooting. Can we call this your comeback? (pauses) I don’t know if it’s a comeback or not but yes I did take a four-year break from acting as I had to concentrate on my business after my last film Chase. In fact I did not even think that I’d make a comeback, but in a way this film has been a morale booster for me. One more thing is that while we were shooting a lot of people happened to recognize me and I felt nice to be recognized as Akshay Kapoor of Kkusum; a character that I played six-seven years ago. In fact I also met this family of four to five sisters who used to come on our sets everyday to watch the shoot. They also invited me for dinner one day. Overall it was a nice experience. Will you be taking up more movie projects? (pauses) It all depends on how PWG does. Plus I think that destiny has a different plan for me who had given up on acting. So I have no major expectations from this film as we do not know how long things would go, the best example being Paul Walker. Let’s see how things go from here, but, for now, I have shot for one short film and have two more in hand. With the younger lot of actors making their place in the industry where do you see yourself? (pauses) I always believe that every actor or actress is etched for his/her own genre of films something that they fit in best. If a director feels that I am apt for a role, I’d be more than happy to be a part of that project. I am not a part of the rat race as for me acting is a passion and that is clear from day one. What about producing films? I am working on one or two projects but this time I am being an extra smart businessman; will use money only if I see it coming back. What about production and acting? Two of my Marathi shows like Devyani and Manasicha Chitrakaar To are on air, but as far as acting is concerned, I’ve learnt to never say a ‘no’. If I get a good project and if I have the time to be a part of it, I might take it up.