Director Karan Johar says the coronavirus pandemic prompted him to make a “quintessential” Bollywood film at Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani as his next directorial venture. Written by Ishita Moitra, Shashank Khaitan and Sumit Roy, the love story marks the cinematographerHis return to film directing after the romantic drama Ae Dil Hai Mushkil of 2016.
The film stars Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, along with movie veterans Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi.
Asked if he would make his directorial debut in 2022 what kind of work he would choose, Johar said it would be something similar to his first film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, the 1998 romantic-comedy drama starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji.
The director said that he tried to experiment in his filmography – with the drama in My Name Is Khan, to explore complicated relationships in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, but chose to return to a love story like Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani.
“I went through stages of development as a filmmaker. But just during the pandemic, I felt like I just had to make a movie that made me feel like I was 25 again. “And when I was 25, the only movie I could think of or make was Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, because it was like an accumulation of all the movies I grew up watching. “It’s a tribute to Raj Kapoor, Yash Chopra, Sooraj Barjatya,” the 49-year-old director told ABP Networks Ideas of India Summit on Saturday night.
With Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, Johar said he was leveraging the basic Bollywood movie genre.
“We all try very hard to break the mold, tear the file and go beyond the cinematic limits as cinematographers. But then we also forgot that there was an innocence and purity in what we call Bol the quintessence of Bollywood, which has its heart on the sleeve, songs, it has dance for no reason, theatricals and dramas that do not seem real. “I was like, let ‘s do it again,” he said.
Although the world of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani may not be completely the same, the director said he does not do anything different.
“It’s a love story, he has a family. She has Ranveer, Alia, senior members of the fraternity, Jaya ji, Shabana ji and Dharmendra ji in the film. I return to the same world “.
The team started shooting the film in August last year.
Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani is expected to be released sometime this year.
