AANAND L RAI'S PENCHANT FOR THE UNEXPECTED

What makes Aanand L Rai tick? Is it his ability to put out the most uncomfortable human emotions, is it writing characters that can be too grey for mainstream, or is it his passion for his craft? We let the director-producer tell us himself

- Jigar Shah

Expect the unexpected is one adage I would like to assign to Aanand L Rai's films. After his first two films failed, no one expected his next film, Tanu Weds Manu, to be a roaring success. Post that, he cast Dhanush as a lead in a Hindi film, which turned out to be an even bigger success. With Tanu Weds Manu Returns, everyone expected a hit, but the film turned out to be a major blockbuster. From there, he cast superstar Shah Rukh Khan for the character of Bauua Singh. With all his films, he's mastered the art of weaving romantic tales mixed conflicting and complicated emotions.

My interview with Rai was around lunchtime, and given that he's a foodie, the first thing we spoke about was food. I shared an anecdote with him that Dhanush shared with me in 2013 during the shooting of Raanjhanaa. He told me that he spotted Rai conversing with bhindi (okra) during lunch. Rai told the bhindi, 'I love you, but I will have to eat you now.'

Rai breaks into laughter. "It must not have been bhindi, but yes, people have witnessed me having full-blown conversations with my food. I get very emotional when I eat good food. I know it sounds like an exaggeration, but it is an overwhelming, teary-eyed situation for me. Food is also my way of expressing love," he adds.

The director's latest offering, Atrangi Re with Sara Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar, and Dhanush, was an OTT release a Christmas offering for his audience, who were waiting for his new film since 2019. By the first week of 2022, the film had garnered more than two crore views.