I’m a writer by default, says Bang Bang director Siddharth Anand

The ‘Salaam Namaste’ director says direction comes to him naturally and is easiest. He says writing is the toughest as it takes a toll on him

Writer-director Siddharth Anand, who gave us films like ‘Salaam Namaste’, ‘Tara Rum Pum Pum’, Bachna Ae Haseeno, ‘Anjaana Anjaani’ and ‘Bang Bang’ made his TV debut recently as a celebrity judge on a dance reality show.

Writer-director Siddharth Anand during his visit to Lucknow.(HT Photo)

Elated over his new endeavour, the director who was in the city to promote his show says: “I function without a PR and trust me I’m happy that way. I have been working behind the camera for many years. I enjoyed my privacy and anonymity, but of late I realised that it’s not 2005 when I started out. Today it’s all about exposure so when I was offered ‘Dance India Dance Li’l Masters season 4’, I thought this is it. TV is the right medium when you decide to reach out to maximum population.”

Coming back to his debut film ‘Salaam Namaste’ that released in 2005, Siddharth says, “I started very young and when I wrote the story I knew it was much ahead of its time. But for me that was the right time to come up with such a story. The extremely modern storyline did make me a bit apprehensive but I had the backing of Yash Raj Films and then for me I knew it will somewhere change the concept of Bollywood love stories because it had a great mix of emotional values. For me, all my stories should have strong emotional connect.”

Except for ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’, Siddharth has scripted all his films. On being asked what role he enjoys most, that of a director, writer or celebrity judge, he replies: “Direction comes to me naturally and is easiest out of the three. Writing is the toughest as it does take a toll on me. I’m a writer by default. So when I started ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’, the script fell on my lap and I only directed it that was a project where I enjoyed the most. I had nothing to do with writing part. It’s because of this someday I too want to make an out and out ‘masala Bollywood’ film. I think such movies don’t drain you emotionally.”

Currently, Siddharth is busy with his TV show and he is all set to roll out his next in August this year. “I’m all set with my new film that will go on floors in August and will see Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff coming together for the first time on silver screen. It’s one of my most ambitious projects. I’m glad that both the actors have read their parts and loved it so there is no overlapping for any sort of competition,” he says.

Talking about his new avatar as a reality show judge, he says, “This show is turning out to be a fun ride for all three of us –Chitrangada Singh, Marzi Pestonji and me. Especially for me and Chitrangada, this is for the first time to be a part of such a show so it’s really tough for us to reject a child as they become disheartened quickly. Otherwise, it’s a fun-packed show for us.”