Abhishek Kapoor, who is gearing up for his next directorial "Kedarnath", says his attempt as a filmmaker is not to repeat himself with a similar kind of films on the big screen.
When asked about how he inspires himself with every new project, Kapoor told IANS in an interview here: "As a filmmaker my attempt is not to repeat a film. There is a trend out there (in the industry) that if there is a hit film, then people start making similar kind of films. For instance, if you make a good action film, you repeat that.
"I work in an absolutely opposite way. I want to disappear and would be happy if there are no traces of me in (my new) film. The joy of making a movie is the humility of not knowing anything about that world. From 'Rock On!!', I did 'Kai Po Che!'...everything was different."
Written, directed and co-produced by Kapoor, "Kedarnath" tells the story of a Hindu girl who takes a pilgrimage to the historic Kedarnath Temple in the Uttarakhand mountains, where she meets and falls in love with a Muslim boy who is her guide.
As they grow closer along the journey, they face many obstacles, including familial disapproval and contrasting backgrounds. When the sudden rains that led to the 2013 Uttarakhand floods devastate the region, the couple is forced to survive against the elements and face the ultimate test of their love.
Releasing on December 7, the film will launch Sara Ali Khan, the daughter of actor Saif Ali Khan and his former wife Amrita Singh. She has been paired with actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Kapoor, whose last directorial was "Fitoor" starring Tabu, Katrina Kaif and Aditya Roy Kapur, has no pressure of failure with "Kedarnath" -- if, god forbid, that happens.
"I have seen too many failures in my life. People started recognising me and my work since I became a director, but I used to be an actor before and I have seen way too many failures and disappointments there also.
"After a point, you get pretty hardened about it because you know how it is to live with failures. The thing is to break barriers," he said.
Talking about "Fitoor", he says it was disappointing to see the film's fate because so much of hard work was put into it.
"But after it is done and time passes by, you do some introspection and you come to terms that 'Okay there are certain things you shouldn't have done as these are things that went wrong'. The film got such a backlash. You don't make films to piss people off.
"However, you try to come back with a better movie. Even if this film doesn't do well, you won't see my disappointment dismissing even by a fraction," Kapoor told IANS here.
He says that in the case of "Fitoor", the idea and the budget didn't go down well.
"That story shouldn't have been made in that budget. I think I indulged a bit more," said the filmmaker, adding that "Kedarnath" is neither very cheap on budget, nor outrageously expensive.
With "Kedarnath", he is launching Sara. And it's not the first time he is launching an actor, as he had done so with Farhan Akhtar in "Rock On!!" and with Sushant in "Kai Po Che!".
However, he says he doesn't try to be "a big launchpad".
"This is not my intent. It's just a coincidence that I happen to launch a lot of new faces. However, I am here to make films. Sometimes the characters that I have in my film are very young.... The movie that I make demands a certain kind of courage, dedication and absolute submission which I find new actors can give provided they have talent.
"Not every newcomer is talented, so they have to have something for me to fully and thoroughly exploit them through performances," said Kapoor.
(Nivedita can be contacted at nivedita.s@ians.in)
--IANS
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