Mohit Suri on Malang success: I had actors who were willing to do something different

Filmmaker Mohit Suri says working on Malang was challenging yet fun. The film, which released on February 7, received a good response at the box office.




Filmmaker Mohit Suri is happy that the audience is loving his latest film Malang, which stars Disha Patani, Aditya Roy Kapur, Kunal Kemmu and Anil Kapoor.

In an interview with indianexpress.com, the director opens up about the film’s success, his career and much more.

Here are excerpts from the conversation:

Did you anticipate the love for Malang?

We were working out of our comfort zones. We were not trying to do something regular in the film. Aditya was playing an action hero after very long. I got into something like this with Ek Villain, which released almost six years ago. Disha was relatively new. Overall, it was a challenging yet fun experience.

How does success feel? Were you nervous about Malang as the last two films of yours did not work well at the box office?

Success to me means that your vision has been accepted by a large number of people. It is a relief that whatever you have been doing for the past couple of years is still relevant.

If I had attempted something like Ek Villain or Aashiqui 2, it would have become my comfort zone, but that is the death of creativity. I feel you have to feel challenged a bit. My boss used to tell me that if you want to do something different, you will stand alone and it is the only way. But luckily, I had actors who were willing to do something different. We could have done another love story with Adi or jump in straight into Ek Villain 2 after Half Girlfriend with Ekta Kapoor, but I wanted to do Malang first, which is something different.

How do you see your growth from Zeher to now?

Just glad to be here after 15 years. I never look back and don’t look much forward too. I love the process of making films. I am the happiest on the sets. I have spent 20 years of my life on the sets. I would be glad to be able to do the same for the rest of my life for which I need to have successful films and make money for people.

What’s with your obsession for romance and thrillers? Do you wish to move out of the zone in future?

I think I have romance in all my films even if they were thrillers. I am a big fan of films such as Teesri Manzil, Karawaan and Abbas-Mustan films. They used to be thrillers but also substantial love stories. A thriller with romance in it gives a wholesome feel to a film.

I would love to do biopics, sci-fi, adventure films. Never say never. I don’t want to attempt something because I need to prove something.

Your film Aashiqui 2 gave Aditya a blessing and a curse, simultaneously. With Malang, how did you see him parting ways with Aashiqui 2 character?

I do agree that it was about time for him to grow up from being a boy to a man. Action was something new to Aditya just like how it was new for him to play the intense character in Aashiqui 2. However, if we would have tried to replicate the success (of Aashiqui 2), we would have failed.

How did you see Kunal Kemmu in the role of Michael? How has he grown since his debut?

I launched Kunal in Kalyug which was a pretty intense film. I find it surprising that directors are calling him up now and telling him that they did not expect him to do such an intense role so convincingly. To be honest, he is the best male actor I have worked with. When Michael role came, I realised how difficult it is because the character could easily become caricaturish and funny. Only a good actor could maintain the intensity without taking it over the top. You have to put your best bet for such a role, and Kunal Kemmu was the one for me.

He was mature even back then, but now, he has this calmness and reassurance in his act. He knows when to vent out his energy. He has the maturity level of a senior actor.

We heard about Ek Villain 2. Why choose Aditya and John?

Ek Villain 2 has become more like a psychological-thriller, and I wanted to make it bigger and larger-than-life. John was the choice for us because he is known for action films. However, I was confident about Aditya after looking at his intensity in Malang.

What can we expect out of Ek Villain 2?

Bigger, better film with larger-than-life action sequences. You can expect more twist and turns, and more bad guys who play heroes.

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