Mohit Suri: When I decided to make Aashiqui 2, people told me it would be a career disaster

Half Girlfriend director Mohit Suri says many demotivated him when he was making Aashiqui 2 with Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor, people also opposed his decision to cast Riteish Deshmukh as a negative character in Ek Villain.

Mohit Suri is on a high considering the positive response to the trailer and songs of his upcoming film, Half Girlfriend, starring Arjun Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor. Considering his last film Hamari Adhuri Kahani (2015) didn’t do well, despite starring Emraan Hashmi, Vidya Balan and Rajkummar Rao, one would think that there is a lot of pressure on him. However, he says, “I don’t think about whether the film will work or not. I make an honest effort. Good work never goes waste.”

Mohit Suri made his Bollywood directorial debut with Zeher starring Emraan Hashmi, Shamita Shetty and Udita Goswami. (Pramod Thakur/HT PHOTO)

Asked whether Half Girlfriend would be able to bring him the glory that Hamari Adhuri Kahani failed to bring, and he says, “I am not a trade pandit so I don’t know how this thing works. Whenever I make the film I only concentrate on the story that I am making the film on. When I was reading the book (Half Girlfriend) I cried after the first couple of pages and felt that I should make this film. That was the trigger and not whether the film will work or not.”

Mohit recalls the time he was making Aashiqui 2 (2013) with Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor, and people told him that it wouldn’t work. “After making Murder 2 with Emraan Hashmi, I decided to make Aashiqui 2, and many said it would be a career disaster as I was making it with two newcomers. Some also asked why I was making a romantic film and not a thriller. When I turned an actor known for his comic roles into a villain (Ritesh Deshmukh in Ek Villain) many thought the film won’t work, but it again did well like Aashiqui 2,” he adds.

The Zeher and Kalyug director says he enjoys taking risks. “Like Ek Villain and Aashiqui 2, I have again taken a risk with Half Girlfriend. After all, it’s based on a book that has been widely read. So, there will be a constant comparison. Everyone has worked really hard on the film,” he says.

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