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Rumy Jafry, who has written Bollywood hits like Coolie No 1, Judwaa, Hero No 1, Jodi No 1, Chalte Chalte and many more, returns to the director's chair with Chehre.

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It's a thriller starring Amitabh Bachchan, Emraan Hashmi, Krystal D'Souza, Rhea Chakraborty and Annu Kapoor, very different from the regular Rumy Jafry fare, and the director explains why. Whenever I meet producers or studio executives, they expect me to bring something like Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Biwi Number 1, or something that I have delivered earlier. I was looking to try something out-of-the-box and Mr Bachchan supported me in that,

Tell us about Chehre. Where did the idea come from?

For a very long time, I was playing with the idea that whatever I have done till now, the kind of cinema that I have done, I wanted to diverge from it and try something new. I wanted to tell people that I can craft a different story, a departure of sorts from my writing style. Ranjit Kapoor, who's a renowned writer, came up with this story to me. That's how it all began.

As you are the captain of the ship, you'll be able to give a proper assessment of how badly has the movie been hit due to the pandemic?

The pandemic is something that is not in the control of humans. Our primary aim should be to stay safe, not just for the people of this country but for the people of the world. Only if you are in good health can you work and excel in it. Last year, we didn't do any publicity or promotions, we just announced the date but because of the pandemic, we postponed it. This year too, the trailer was released and it was well received by friends in the industry and the media. We were very excited. Now, the theatres are opening gradually in Delhi and Bombay, so let's see how it goes.

We see a very different side of Emraan Hashmi in the trailer. Was he always the first choice for this role?