Stating that Anurag Basu films take time as they have an ensemble cast, Metro… In Dino star Fatima Sana Shaikh on how the director plays to each actor’s strength
Fatima Sana Shaikh
Fatima Sana Shaikh has been in and out of the sets of Metro... In Dino for almost two years. But she still feels the joy that she did on the first day of the film’s shoot. For this, she credits director Anurag Basu. “I love him to bits, as a person and a filmmaker. On days when I was really low, his wife Tani and he have been there for me,” she says.
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(From left) The actor with filmmaker Anurag Basu
Basu’s on-screen world is usually populated by many people and many loves. This one is no different. Shaikh stars opposite Ali Fazal in the anthology that also features Sara Ali Khan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Konkona Sensharma, Pankaj Tripathi, Neena Gupta and Anupam Kher. Like many of Basu’s films, certain portions of Metro... In Dino were reshot as he was apparently dissatisfied with them. Is it logistically easy to work with a director whose shoots often tend to extend way beyond the originally planned schedule? It is, says Shaikh in a heartbeat.
“As a director, he is considerate and takes care of you. People think if the film is taking long, a lot of shoot is being done. But that’s not the case. Since his films have an ensemble cast, he has to coordinate the dates of so many actors. If you trust him, he will get the best performance out of you. Also, his characters are so well-written,” says the actor, who is reuniting with him after Ludo (2020).
Shaikh explains that for someone like her, who has trouble remembering lines, Basu’s easy approach works wonders. “He works according to each actor’s strength. If there is a monologue and he knows that I’ll have trouble with dialogues, he will ask me to learn the scene, but to not have a [sur] or a preconceived notion in my mind about how it should play out.”
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