He is a real cine-lover: Nadhir Shah

It was on October 15, 2015 that mimicry artiste-turned-musician Nadhir Shah’s debut directorial venture Amar Akbar Anthony reached theatres. Even when the film was getting good comments from all sides, one of the questions the director faced was why he did not cast his close friend and super star Dileep in his maiden venture. Now, the director is back in action with his second film Kattapanayile Hrithik Roshan (KHR), which has Dileep in the role of producer. Was that a purposeful move as a reply to the queries he faced during the release of Amar Akbar Anthony? “Never, this is a reply to no one,” he says.

“When I heard the subject of KHR, I found it very interesting and decided to do it as my next with one of its writers Vishnu Unnikrishnan in the lead role. But one doubt before me was whether any producer would come forward to back this project with a newcomer in the lead. Then I decided to approach Dileep, who is more than my friend, a person who supports good films,” says the director. Nadhir Shah says that he got full freedom from the producers — Dileep and Dr Zachariah Thomas — to complete his film in a single schedule. “I have got all the elements that I demanded for the shoot. The film was completed in a budget around Rs 5.5 crore,” he says.

Quizzed if there was any change in his life post taking up direction, he says, “The shoot of KHR was completed on October 11 and on October 14, I was in Karnataka for a stage show. The film will be released on November 11 and in a week, I will move to the Gulf for a stage show I am directing which will also have Dasettan (Dr K.J. Yesudas)... which means that there is no change in my life though my film was a hit. I still like to be part of stage shows and sing amid the crowd. And I am not keen on directing more than one film in a year.” Though Nadhir Shah did pen the lyrics and set the tunes for AAA, this time, he is not donning the role of a lyricist. “As I wanted to devote more time on the creative side of the film, I assigned Santhosh Varma and Hari Narayanan to pen the lyrics.”   Before signing off, he gives an insight of his upcoming movie, “KHR will be an out-and-out family entertainer which is capable of entertaining all sorts of audiences.”