PremiumWhen Shamshera actor Ranbir Kapoor vowed to never produce again after his 'Jagga Jasoos' experience
In an interview back in 2016, Kapoor referred to the same experience during a free-wheeling conversation with the members of AIB (All India Bakchod) and divulged a few details (in jest and not in a critical sense) about filmmaker Anurag Basu's idiosyncratic process.
Last Updated: 08.20 PM, Jul 21, 2022
Ranbir Kapoor's career has seen him make eclectic choices that have fetched him great accolades and brickbats in equal measure. Be it films such as Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year, Rajneeti, and Rockstar, wherein one saw the actor in him grow in stature, or the likes of Besharam and Bombay Velvet which turned out to be colossal flops and threatened to derail things, Kapoor is seen it all in his decade-and-a-half-long career. And yet, he continued to take measured risks, some of them working in his favor but also causing a few setbacks.
One such experiment came about in the form of Jagga Jasoos, his maiden production venture and a project marred with serious delays and shooting troubles. This was Ranbir Kapoor's second collaboration with Anurag Basu after Barfi, on the back of whose success the actor ventured into film production but only to be slightly discouraged by it. The reason, he says, was the 'disorganized chaos' he experienced in the making of Jagga Jasoos which resulted in the film releasing almost two years after the intended date.
“Producing a film was a big mistake”
In an interview back in 2016, Kapoor referred to the same experience during a free-wheeling conversation with the members of AIB (All India Bakchod) and divulged a few details (in jest and not in a critical sense) about filmmaker Anurag Basu's idiosyncratic process.
"There is no AD (Asst. Director) system on his sets, then there's no script, no schedule. He would cancel a 40-day schedule on the third day because he feels it's not working. When Barfi started, the character I was playing was supposed to be very intense and serious but he comes to me after ten days of shoot saying that he was not happy with the shoot, and that was becoming a serious film, so, let’s try and make it more fun. And that’s when Chaplin and all started coming in – that's how he is,”.
“See, Barfi was successful so we forgive that process. But if Jagga Jasoos doesn’t work, I don’t think this process can be forgiven. Because it’s irresponsible, you know, towards other people's time and money. There are other producers waiting for you,” said Ranbir Kapoor. He would go on to confess that turning producer was a ‘big mistake’ and that he would never again repeat it.
“And he (Anurag Basu) is the wrong guy to produce with because you have no control and end up feeling completely useless,” he adds.
However, in the same interview, Ranbir Kapoor clarifies that he would always be more than willing to work with Basu again, stating that he regards him as a most sought-after filmmaker.
Jagga Jasoos was a production venture of Ranbir Kapoor, Anurag Basu, and Siddharth Roy Kapur. The film also starred Katrina Kaif, Saswata Chatterjee, Saurabh Shukla, Sayani Gupta, and others, and was released in theatres on July 14, 2017.
Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt turn producers with Brahmastra
And yet, the Shamshera actor would return to production almost five years later with Brahmastra, along with his now wife and co-star Alia Bhatt. The Ayan Mukerji directorial is a joint production of Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, Namit Malhotra, Marijke Desouza, and Mukerji himself with Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt recently coming on board as co-producers.
According to Bollywood Hungama, it was upon the suggestion of Karan Johar that the newly-wedded couple chose to join the team of producers on Brahmastra, in sight of beginning a journey together in film production.
Alia Bhatt, in the same vein, will soon be making her debut as a film producer with Darlings under her home banner of Eternal Sunshine Productions. Darlings, starring Bhatt, Vijay Verma, Shefali Shah, and Roshan Matthew, is jointly produced by Gauri Khan (Red Chillies Entertainment), Alia Bhatt, and Gaurav Verma – the film releases on Netflix on August 5.