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Filmmaker Rohit Shetty, known for his larger than life films with dollops of drama, action and comedy, says he is scared of moving away from his signature brand of cinema. His next is Simmba in which the effervescent Ranveer Singh plays a policeman and is paired with Sara Ali Khan.
Known for films like the Golmaal and Singham series, Bol Bachchan, Dilwale and Chennai Express, Shetty was asked if he will be able to ever make a small budget film.
He told IANS: “Honestly, I am scared of doing that. If there is a small film with a good story, I will produce it. But I won’t direct a small film. See, cinema is larger than life for me and people know my cinema for that. For my audience, watching a ‘Rohit Shetty film’ is like a festival on-screen. I cannot cheat on my loyal audience.”
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He feels a responsibility towards his audience.
“I drive an expensive car and live a luxurious life and that has come from the love, support of common people. A middle-class man who is playing 10 per cent of his hard-earned money to watch my film, is making me a rich person. So just to prove a point for my creative satisfaction, I cannot cheat on my audience,” he added.
For Simmba, he has a talented star like Ranveer, who has proved his versatility over the years, most recently with his role in Padmaavat.
Asked how differently is he planning to present Ranveer to the audience, Shetty said: “We have worked together in an ad film and that is when we started planning to collaborate for a film. But I couldn’t have imagined making ‘Simmba’ if not for Ranveer Singh, because he is the only actor who has the strength to pull out such a character.
“This is the first time we will see Ranveer playing a policeman in an action film. There are certain colourful elements in the character of Simmba that Ranveer also has. So I really had to change my writing if Ranveer would have said ‘no’ to my film.”
“There is a lot of energy in the character, so as in him,” added the commercially successful director, whose Singham film franchise has been taken forward for a TV format.
His banner Rohit Shetty Picturez in collaboration with Reliance Animation has launched a new kids show Little Singham on Discovery Kids. It will go on air from April 21.