Producer and director Vipul Amrutlal Shah marked his feature film debut with the heist thriller Aankhen (2002), which went on to become a hit at the box office. The film marked his first collaboration with superstar Akshay Kumar and the duo went on to collaborate in a slew of films over the years such as Waqt: The Race Against Time (2005), Namastey London (2007) and Action Replayy (2010). However, following Action Replayy, the filmmaker and the actor haven’t been seen working together.
In an exclusive chat with News18, Shah opens up on what kept them from collaborating together. “When I look back now, I think that it was a very long period when we continuously worked together on a non-stop basis. Then I realised that I need to work with other actors as well and that it would be a good idea for both him and me. That’s when I started venturing out,” he tells us.
He further looks back at the time when directing Kumar became like a routine of sorts for him and he began writing scripts according to Kumar’s sensibilities. “Working with Akshay became like second nature. So, every time I was writing something or thinking of a subject, it was a natural thing for me to think of him. I started writing my characters keeping in mind Akshay’s style,” Shah shares.
A few years back, there were reports that started doing the rounds that the duo had a fallout. The filmmaker, who had refuted such claims in the past too, reiterates, “There’s no hard feeling. I don’t fight with anybody. I’m a very peace loving and happy person. I’ve never had any fights in my entire career.”
He feels that people are quick to draw conclusions when two frequent collaborators suddenly stop working together. “What happens in the industry is that when you take a break from working with somebody, people assume that something must have transpired and think, ‘Something must have gone wrong, otherwise why wouldn’t they be working together!’ But that’s now how it is,” states Shah, who recently backed The Kerala Story. Looking forward to directing Kumar again, says, “We’re both busy and whenever there’s an opportunity, I can assure everyone that we’ll work together.”
In 2016, a sequel to Shah’s Aankhen was announced. It was supposed to be helmed by Anees Bazmee and feature Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Arshad Warsi and Regina Cassandra in lead roles. However, Delhi Belly (2011) director Abhinay Deo was eventually brought on-board to direct it and it was set to star Bachchan, Sidharth Malhotra and Akshaye Khanna. In 2021, Deo revealed that it has been put on the backburner after Bachchan exited from the film.
With a lot of uncertainty looming in the air about Aankhen 2, we ask Shah about his reactions on the same. “Even if Aankhen 2 is happening, I’m not going to be a part of it. I had given the copyright of the script to the producer. At that time, I wasn’t a producer, I was only the director of the film. And now, I don’t wish to get involved with it,” he signs off.
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