If you think about it, 2007 seems further ago than it actually is. Virat Kohli was barely out of school, Facebook was an alien concept, and romantic dramas in Hindi cinema were not outliers. Life in a Metro was released in this milieu and turned out to be one of the biggest successes in the genre. Director Anurag Basu took 18 years to bring its ‘spiritual successor’—Metro In Dino (styled as Metro…In Dino).
‘Never wanted to call this Metro’
The film, like its predecessor, is an anthology of several interconnected stories that deal with themes of love in metro cities. “I never wanted to call this Metro,” the director opens candidly as we begin chatting about Metro In Dino, before he explains, “But the DNA of the story is the same. So, it made sense.”
Anurag says that a lot may have changed in the world since 2007, but ‘romance stays the same, emotion stays the same’. Yet, he has evolved as a filmmaker. “There is a scene in Life in a Metro that people have liked. But today, I wouldn’t do it the same way. Storytelling in this Metro is very different from my earlier films,” he tells us.
The filmmaker is known to collaborate with actors and crew members time and again. Konkona Sen Sharma is part of Metro In Dino, having worked in Life in a Metro. Similarly, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Roy Kapur, and Fatima Sana Shaikh return after Ludo. But perhaps, his most successful ‘jodi’ is with composer Pritam, who has designed the soundtracks for all his films. “Music is essential to my films. I work on the music before the shoot begins, sometimes during the scripting phase,” he had shared during the song launch event for the film. Given, that, there is a KK-sized void in his creative process. The late singer had sung most of the memorable songs from his films, before his untimely death in 2022.
‘KK’s absence can never be filled’
Ask him about that ‘KK-sized hole’ in his life and films, and Anurag says poignantly, “It will never get filled, actually. It’s very difficult to compare because all the singers have their own voices. Somehow, over the years, Pritam’s music and compositions were complemented by KK perfectly. When you hear Pritam’s music, the first singer who comes to your mind is KK. It happens to this day that Pritam would compose a tune, and we’d brainstorm on who can sing it, and KK comes to mind.”
Another change that has taken place since the release of Life in a Metro 18 years ago is the emergence of streaming platforms and a change in audience viewing patterns post-Covid-19. It has long been argued that ‘smaller’ films in genres like romance and comedy are no longer drawing audiences to theatres like they used to. But Anurag argues, “You never know when the times will change and when the audience’s tastes will change. It’s so unpredictable. You can’t design the film for the box office; you should just follow your heart. A film that has been made with conviction and heart will work.”
Metro In Dino stars Aditya Roy Kapur, Sara Ali Khan, Ali Fazal, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Konkona Sen Sharma, Pankaj Tripathi, Neena Gupta, and Anupam Kher. It is scheduled to release on July 4.
