The Bold and the Beautiful

Tigmanshu Dhulia talks about his current fascination with a sahib,biwi and gangster

A damsel in distress,a power-hungry sahib and a love-struck,guitar-strapped gangster — the television and the internet are going viral with snapshots of the protagonists of the movie Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster. While a direct comparison is being made with Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam,director,scriptwriter and casting director Tigmanshu Dhulia insists that there is no connection with the plot of the 1962 hit. “The similarity is limited to the three characters — sahib,biwi and the ghulam — from the Guru Dutt starrer,” says the filmmaker. However,the circumstances are different. So if in the classic,Meena Kumari was a hapless,beautiful bibi ,who pined for the sahib,Dhulia’s biwi,Mahie Gill,is conniving and selfish. If Guru Dutt’s wealthy sahib was an alcoholic and philanderer,the new-age nawab,Jimmy Shergill,is power-hungry and wants to revive his lost glory. The naive gangster,Randeep Hooda,falls for the biwi but the ghulam was an ambitious architect who had a platonic relationship with the choti bahu.

To be released on September 30,the film is in news for bold scenes shot between Gill and Hooda. But Dhulia insists that “sex has been used as a tool to achieve a goal. It is not for titillation,”

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Known for the critically-acclaimed film Haasil,Dhulia points out that little time was spent pondering over the casting. “I have worked with the three actors earlier. They were my first choice,” says Dhulia. Meticulous about each detail,he was scouting for locations much before the script was in place.

Is Bollywood’s current fascination with the classics here to stay? “As filmmakers,we get attracted to classics because they are interestingly layered. The fact is that whenever you see them,you get a new dimension. They were probably ahead of their times and seem relevant even today,” he states.