‘Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster Returns’ is like a very nice Biryani: Tigmanshu Dhulia

Tigmanshu Dhulia is a director who has been able to carve his name in golden letters in the Hindi film industry. With films like ‘Haasil’, ‘Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster’ and the more recent ‘Paan Singh Tomar’, Dhulia is a person who can provide the stiffest of competitions to the best when it comes to the art of filmmaking. This maverick’s ‘Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster Returns’ – a sequel to his 2010 classic – is all set to hit the theatres now. While the first film starred Jimmy Sheirgill, Mahi Gill and Randeep Hooda in the pivotal roles, the second has Irrfan Khan and Soha Ali Khan in addition to Jimmy and Mahi who reprise their roles. Randeep Hooda is not a part of the sequel. The film takes off from where its predecessor ended – Saheb is paralysed, the Gangster is dead and Biwi has taken complete control over the situation. Come March 08, Tigmanshu Dhulia will have taken himself several notches higher up the filmmaking ladder, dare-I-say! Ananya Bhattacharya of Zeenews.com speaks to the ace director about his current film. Snippets from the conversation: So why another ‘Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster’? I feel that in the first one, we couldn’t explore certain areas – certain spaces of royalty – because of many reasons; budget being one. Myself, as a writer-director, I wasn’t feeling fully satiated with merely the first part – I felt there was a lot more to be conveyed. This time, we have a better budget too – so there’s a polo match, a ballroom dance in the film. ‘Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster Returns’ was slightly more opulent. The second reason is that we wanted to explore the franchise. You’re a fabulous actor. Do you think that somewhere that attribute helps you cast such strong performers like Irrfan, Jimmy, Soha and Mahi? Yes… I have this talent of picking up good actors and even after they are picked, they need to be scratched here and there to get that extra bit out. So I generally end up working to that effect. I respect actors; I have a soft corner for them. What can the audience expect from ‘Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster Returns’? A lot… The film is in the same space as the earlier one. This kind of an atmosphere – that of ‘Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster’ – you don’t see this atmosphere and space in many films. The dialogues are powerful; they are really nice. The characters are very layered… Like I say, it’s like a very nice Biryani! Anything that you want to send across as a message – is the film a metaphor for something more relevant in the context of the day? Women are going to like the film more than men. I’ve tried to explore the unfulfilled desires of a woman – to what extreme her love can go. Mahi’s character in the film goes through a lot just to get Saheb’s attention. She is ready to destroy her own womanhood – what can be more tragic than that! All of that is there… it will be an interesting watch, for sure!