It's been 10 years since Abhishek Sharma debuted in the industry with his memorable film Tere Bin Laden. A comic satire, it was critically acclaimed and was even nominated for several awards. A decade later, and after making a variety of films such as The Shaukeens, Paramanu: The Story of Pokhran and The Zoya Factor, Abhishek is now getting ready with another comic caper, Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari.
Featuring Manoj Bajpayee, Diljit Dosanjh and Fatima Sana Shaikh in the lead roles, this film too is a satirical comedy. “It’s a family comedy set in the ’90s, which I call the era of innocence. There was no social media and smartphones,” says Abhishek. The film, which is currently under post-production, deals with the subject of matrimonial detectives who spy on prospective grooms, brides, and their families. But the audience may have to wait for a while before they get to watch the movie. “Zee Studios, our production company, has decided for a theatrical release because only a big screen will do justice to the film. I am glad they have reposed so much faith in the film,” says the director.
As a filmmaker, Abhishek has always picked subjects that are inspired by life or real incidents, but he hasn’t boxed himself into a genre. “When I started my career, I thought I will make movies on stories that are written only by me and that I will direct only comedies. With time, I realised that if there is a story I like, I should go ahead and make it irrespective of the genre or who has written it,” he says candidly. Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari comes under the genre of comedy, which is his.
Abhishek reveals he was fortunate enough to complete the shoot just before the lockdown. “The last few days of the shoot were the smoothest. We kind of guessed that the pandemic would get worse and could impact us. So my entire team and the cast worked for nearly 15 hours every day to complete the shoot. Despite being jet-lagged, Diljit put in that many hours and we finished shooting just before the lockdown,” reveals Abhishek who is now waiting for a date to release his film in cinema halls. Going forward, the director will once again partner with his Paramanu hero, John Abraham for his next project.
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