EXCLUSIVE: Nawazuddin Siddiqui signs Rautu Ka Raaz director’s next; Anand Surapur reveals “It’s about the paris and chudails in Uttarakhand”

The recently-released film Rautu Ka Raaz has received acclaim for its quirk, performances and setting. The title is such because it is set in a place called Rautu Ki Beli. Interestingly, director Anand Surapur’s earlier film The Fakir Of Venice (2019), which marked Farhan Akhtar’s acting debut before Rock On (2008), also mentioned a place in its title. Bollywood Hungama, in an exclusive interview, asked Anand about this aspect, his upcoming film and a lot more.

When asked if it was intentional to have names of towns or cities in his film titles, Anand Surapur laughed and replied, “It was not intentional. I got the idea for this film before The Fakir Of Venice. The title ‘The Fakir Of Venice’ was apt as it’s about a fakir and is set in Venice. Rautu Ka Raaz was originally titled Love Is Blind. But during the shoot, we realized that the title gives away an important plot point of the film (laughs). Also, initially, my idea was to shoot the film with a blind character’s perspective.”

Anand continued, “This is why we decided to name the film after the village Rautu Ki Beli, where the film was also shot. However, the producers (Zee Studios) reasoned that the title does not signify the mystery element of the film. This is how we finalized the title Rautu Ka Raaz.”

Anand Surapur is happy with the feedback, “The response has been very good according to Zee. The reviews were 70% positive. And I don’t mind because nobody can make a film that everybody loves! You can’t please everyone on this planet.”

Anand Surapur shared some fascinating trivia about the Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer, “Initially, we had set the film in a blind school in Mumbai. However, the school didn’t give us permission to shoot as it would have made life difficult for the students. So, we started looking for alternatives. I went to Uttarakhand and I fell in love with the location. It also had a blind school nearby. We then decided to change the film’s setting. Thankfully, it was also an apt decision because a city-based thriller would have been very different.”

Admitting that he and his team “got lucky with the casting”, Anand Surapur further said, “We got blind students from Mumbai and also from a famous government blind school in Dehradun. We also thought of shooting there but again, it was located in Dehradun city. Then we decided to shift to Rautu Ka Beli, located an hour and a half away from Dehradun.”

He revealed, “It’s quite peaceful and relaxing to shoot in Uttarakhand. We shot there in a normal, government school, that too in the holidays. The bathrooms and the steps were not in good condition. We did the repairs and even gave a fresh paint to the school.”

When asked how many days it took him to film, Anand Surapur made a surprise revelation, “We shot the film in 25 days. I even shot The Fakir Of Venice in 23 days. I shoot very fast. I am a producer’s dream (laughs)!”

The director has already started work on his next. He said, “After Rautu Ka Raaz was well-received, Nawaz bhai called me up and told me, ‘Let’s do the other film as well, the mystery one set in Uttarakhand’ (the director had narrated the idea to the actor earlier). He has even given us dates to shoot in December.”

When asked for details, he replied, “It’s about the paris and chudails in Uttarakhand. The state has many ghost stories. It’s believed that if you go to Pari Tibba in Mussoorie and if the fairy likes you, she’ll take you away. In fact, many youngsters hang out there for this reason (laughs)!”

Anand Surapur, however, also said that he has two scripts in hand, “There’s also a murder mystery. We are figuring out which one to make. But the pari one seems more interesting.”

The fairy-witch tale, in his opinion, will appeal to the audience as it is novel. He explained, “It’s difficult to differentiate one content from another (in this genre). People also get bored of it after a point. Once in a while, if you make something unique, it will work. It’s a clutter-breaking thing actually.”

He added, “I did music videos like ‘Bulla Ki Jana’ with Rabbi Shergill and ‘Teri Deewani’ with Kailash Kher. So, I have always focused on things that people can relate to and which are also clutter-breaking.”

Rautu Ka Raaz was released directly on Zee5. Will his next film with Nawazuddin Siddiqui be released in theatres? Anand Surapur smiled as he said, “It’s every director and producer’s dream to release the film in theatres. We also wanted to release Rautu Ka Raaz on the big screen. However, considering the market and mood, we opted for a direct-to-OTT release. Once the film is made, we’ll take a call.”

Also Read: Rautu Ka Raaz Trailer: Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays a smart cop in lazy murder investigation, watch