There is a dialogue from his film Welcome – 'Sadak Se Uthakar Star Bana Doonga'. This dialogue also applies to his own life.
We are talking about director Anees Bazmini. Hailing from a middle class family, Anees is today a top director in the industry. However, he has struggled for years to get here.
Anis used to arrange speakers on film sets during the conflict days. However, he had a knack for writing, which led him to write films sooner or later. He wrote the story of many films, for which he did not even get credit. After writing 5-6 films, he first got credit for the 1990 film 'Swarg'. At the age of just 25, he wrote the story of a film like 'Swarga'.
Anis was very fond of writing, but he did not want to fall into it. He learned the nuances of directing under Raj Kapoor. He started directing films for the first time in 1995. After this he directed several superhit films including 'No Entry', 'Welcome' and 'Ready'.
A story from struggle to success, in Anis's own words.
He used to go to Mushaira with his father and used to bring paan, beedi and cigarettes there Anis says, the struggle above also gives only to those who deserve it. Don't cry over the struggle. My father was a poet. He used to write ghazals and poems to me. Since then I understood Urdu. By the time I reached eighth and ninth grade, I started going to mushairas with my father. Other poets also used to come there. I used to bring him pan, bidi and cigarettes.
Went to speak for younger brother and got him a job Anis continued, 'You may know me as a director or a writer, but I started my career as an actor. Actually, I went to speak for my younger brother and I got the chance. It was said from the front that your brother is young, will you work? Well, I needed the money, so I said yes.
Needed money, so did small jobs After trying her hand at acting, Anees felt that it was not made for her. Later he also worked in art, editing and sound department. Thus, before working in directing and writing, he did many small jobs. At that time, Payson needed money more than following.
Every year the rent increased, more than 30 houses were moved to avoid it Anis changed more than 30 houses during the conflict days. He has not lived in one house for more than 11 months. The rent was increasing every year. Anees did not have that much money. Anees had earlier bought a one-room house on Mumbai's Mira Road.
Meet Raj Kapoor, fortunes changed from there After doing small jobs in the industry, Anees Bazmee met a writer. That writer introduced him to Raj Kapoor. Now Anees Bazmi's fortune changed from here. He said, 'I learned the intricacies of directing under the leadership of Raj Sahib. I was his assistant in his film 'Prem Rog' (1982). After this I started working with different directors. I worked as an assistant with a total of 15 directors.
He used to write stories, but did not get success After working as an assistant director for a while, Anees Bazmee started writing stories for films. He also did ghostwriting for many films. That is, he wrote a story, but someone else's name was mentioned in it.
Regarding this, Anees says, 'I will not name those films. It is true that I have ghostwritten many films. I got paid for that job. However, after writing 6-7 films, there came a time when my patience broke.
Wrote the name on the posters of Swarga, fought with the editor who cut the trailer It is 1990. Anees Bazmee wrote the screenplay for Rajesh Khanna and Govinda starrer Swarga. The film became a hit as soon as it was released. For the first time Anees felt that she too should have a name. He went around and wrote his name on movie posters. Salim-Javed used to do this once upon a time. Anis reached the house of the editor who was cutting the trailer of the film at 3 o'clock in the night. Anees also lashed out at the editor for not including his name in the trailer.
Govinda, David Dhawan and Anees gave hits together Anis continued to write for many years. At one time their trio Govinda and David Dhawan gave several films. Films like 'Shola Aur Shabnam', 'Ankhe' and 'Raja Babu' are examples of this. After writing for several years, Anis turned to directing. His aim was to direct, writing was only a medium.
Anees Bazmee was the first person to give Ajay Devgan a negative role on screen Finally, in 1995, he directed his debut film Halchal. This movie was not that special. Her second film was Ajay Devgan and Kajol starrer Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha. The film became a huge hit. After this, Anees made the film Diwangi with Ajay Devgan. Ajay Devgan was seen in gray shades in this film. Anees Bazmee was the one who showed Ajay Devgn in a negative role for the first time.
After 'No Entry' he became known as a successful director In the year 2005, Anees Bazmee did the film 'No Entry' with Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor and Fardeen Khan. It was the biggest hit of the year. The film established Anees as a big and influential director in the industry.
The success of 'No Entry' gave Anees a lot of confidence. After this he never looked back. This was followed by the release of films like 'Welcome' in 2007, 'Singh Is King' in 2008 and 'Ready' in 2011, the success of which made Anees the king of comedy films.
Writing stories all night, mother would stand with tea Anees Bazmee was very close to both her mother and father. He says, 'I used to write stories all night. Whenever I felt like drinking tea while writing stories, mother always stood with a kettle. Whether it was one in the morning or two in the morning, he didn't care at all.
My father was the person through whom I learned to write. If he hadn't given me language training at a young age, you wouldn't be interviewing me today.
Saying this, Anees Bazmi got emotional and started crying in front of the camera.
Anis started crying remembering his parents.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
