“My film Modiji Ki Beti is an extremely intelligent comedy and not a mindless potboiler” EDDY SINGH

In this exclusive and intimate interview, for Mayapuri and bollyy.com, the ace ad film maker EDDY SINGH tells Senior Journalist JYOTHI VENKATESH that his debut directorial film Modiji Ki Beti is a clean family comedy of errors and is neither a drab political film nor a boring patriotic film but will tickle your funny bone

Excerpts from an interview

He has made a feature film called Modiji Ki Beti. He is Eddy Singh, an ace ad filmmaker who has the experience of having made almost 200 ad films in a span of nearly 30 years.

“My film Modiji Ki Beti is basically the brain child of actor-writer-producer Avni Modi, who was seen earlier in Madhur Bhandarkar’s film Calendar Girls.

Avni is the right girl to play the leading lady in my film because she happens to the daughter of Mr Modi, though not the Prime Minister of India, even though it is not a biopic on Avni”, quips Eddy as I begin the interview with him.

When prodded, Eddy tells me that his film is based on what happened in 2014, though it is not a political film.

“A journalist asked her at après conference of one of her films what her association who Mr Modi is and she told him that she was Modiji’s daughter and though she was born in Bangalore, she was a Gujarati who was working in films in Hindi also, because she is a chid of the nation. Even our Prime Minister has gone on record that every girl in our county is the daughter of the country.”

Eddy continues with a flourish. “Modiji Ki Beti is a comedy, a satire about a wannabe actor and a wannabe, created with the backdrop of the relationship between India and Pakistan.

It is also about the kind of relationship that India shares with Pakistan. It is a clean family comedy of errors and is neither a drab political film nor a boring patriotic film but I guarantee you that it will tickle your funny bone.

I am making my debut as a director with a feature film after spending nearly three decades as an ad filmmaker. Avni and I have known each other for a long time as she has acted in two ad films that I had directed. Avni and I jointly had conceived this brilliant subject.”

Eddy adds that he had shot the film in Manali in a span of 30 days with versatile actors like Avni, Pitobash,Vikram Kochchar, Tarun Khanna and Kavita Ghai. Does his film set out to drive any pertinent message to the society?

I ask Eddy and he counters, it is not a preachy film at all but I would not divulge what message the film conveys because I want you to see the film without any bias. Eddy also confesses that he had made the film on a smart budget, like ad film makers make usually which he doesn’t want to divulge at any cost.

Eddy adds that his film is like Tere Bin Laden, Bheja Fry or for that matter Filmistan. It is a smart budgeted film which is full of entertainment and an extremely intelligent comedy and not at all a mindless potboiler.

Eddy concludes, “I am more than happy and content with what I am doing now. I will always make ad films but at the same time I am keen on working on feature films with good scripts because I am very sure that I will be able to infuse an entirely different and dynamic flavour on all my feature films

Conceding that Sanjay Leela Bhansali is his favourite filmmaker, Eddy reveals that filmmaking runs in his veins as his father also was a filmmaker who used to make films in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam and closely worked with the likes of L.V. Prasad and Ramesh Prasad and confesses that after having made ad films for 30 years, making a feature film was like a breeze since ad filmmakers make brilliant feature films and work more on the detailing and are more precise especially since they set out to convey what they want to say in just 30 seconds and also display clarity in a slicker manner. “I do not mean offence to filmmakers please”

Eddie admits that he is already ready with his next script and Ranbir Kapoor is his favourite actor and he is very keen on working with him in his next project as a director because he feels that Ranbir Kapoor is a fantastic performer.

But right now, all that Eddie is worried about is to see that his film ambitious debut film as a director Modiji Ki Beti is released on October 14 this year all over the world and that too in theatres, Eddy signs off.