What is the story about?
After delivering musical chartbusters, Anshul Garg made his big-screen debut as a film producer with Ek Deewane Ki Deewaaniyat. Starring Harshvardhan Rane
and Sonam Bajwa, the romantic drama turned out to be a Diwali winner, charming audiences with its old-school emotion and soul-stirring music. In an exclusive chat with Zoom, Anshul opened up about the reason behind his decision to stay away from flashy promotions and what drew him to produce Ek Deewane Ki Deewaaniyat.
Unfiltered Anshul Garg!
Speaking about the renewed love for romance on the big screen after Saiyaara and now Ek Deewane Ki Deewaaniyat, Anshul said the genre was never truly gone; it just needed the right emotional pulse. “Romance hamesha desh mein bada tha aur bada hi rahega. Romantic films kabhi bhi die nahi kar sakti iss desh mein kyunki youngsters se 40-50 saal tak, sab mein romance bhara hai,” he explained.
(“Romance has always been big in our country and will always remain so. Romantic films can never die here because everyone — from youngsters to people in their 40s and 50s — has love in their hearts.”)
He added that films like Saiyaara managed to capture this emotion perfectly. “Saiyaara ne woh touch ki - classy to massy, sab jagah pe woh picture chali, tabhi woh ₹500 crore pahochi. For our film, the masses have gone crazy. People are relating it to multiple iconic films. When you go to a theatre, you feel it - the nostalgia, the dialogues,” Anshul said, adding,
“Abhi New York aur Bombay ki stories chal rahi hai, par 80 per cent jo janta hai woh cheezein alag hai. Regular life jo Zindagi jeete hai unko regular duniya dekhni hai; woh ye hai.”
(“These days, most stories revolve around New York or Mumbai, but 80% of the audience lives a very different life. They want to see a world that feels like their own — that’s what this film offers.”)
For Anshul, nostalgia and emotional connection are what define Ek Deewane Ki Deewaaniyat. “Tear to connect jo hai iss picture ka woh nostalgia hai 2000 ka,” he said. (“The emotional connection of this film comes from the nostalgia of the 2000s.”)
Talking about why he decided to back the project as his debut film production, Anshul revealed it was the combination of music and a strong script that convinced him.
“Most people who know me already know - if I produce a movie, it has to be a musical, and this one truly is,” he said. “We initially had five songs in the film, but we’ve taken it to eight now and made it a full-fledged musical. That was the first reason to get on board. Also, the script really appealed to me.”
Interestingly, Anshul also made a creative decision that surprised many - he asked his lead actors, Harshvardhan Rane and Sonam Bajwa, to keep a low profile before the film’s release.
“I’ve restricted my actors not to go out and not be seen,” he revealed. “I told Sonam not to get papped. Jo visual hamara movie ka hai, jo characters hai, woh chahta main intact rahe," said Anshul. (“I wanted the visual identity of our film and its characters to stay intact, so I asked them not to appear publicly or get photographed before release.”)
The film was helmed by Milap Zaveri.
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