The bishop paves way for the Queen

Even as Kangana Ranaut’s next, Simran’s teaser was released earlier this week, writer Apurva Asrani’s story seems to have stirred a debate all across. The writer-director had a showdown recently, when he was told by filmmaker Hansal Mehta that Kangana would be getting writing credits for Simran, along with him.

Not too long ago, Kangana had hit headlines when she called Karan Johar the flag bearer for nepotism. But the picking up of credits has left a rather sour taste in the mouth for all involved.

Hansal, who has had a long association with Apurva, is working with someone with a star status for the first time. So was he helpless to take a stand, or did he have to sacrifice his bishop for a queen.

Apurva chooses to look at the positive side of every dark situation. However, he does admit that he was surprised when he was told Kangana would share writing credits.

“I think I was surprised at the time. After the edit of the film was completed last month, I was informed that Kangana would be sharing the writing credit. I didn’t agree to it and I was let down by Hansal at that time. I am going through a low phase and I don’t want to say anything much right now,” he says.

Apurva Asrani

“We are all National Award winners; we are all accomplished. So it was a beautiful collaboration,” Apurva says about the movie, though. “I think the issue of credit and the way it was handled could have been done with little more sensitivity and then things would have been fine,” he adds.

While the writer does not mind Kangana being named as the ‘additional dialogue writer’, he is not happy that she is also sharing the credits as co-writer.

Star power can help take a film to another level, but it can leave the crew working on the movie a tad helpless. And the writer, often a silent contributor to the process, must bear the brunt. With a star in the project, it’s often said that interference increases manifold, but Apurva says it’s not the first time he’s worked with a star.

“I have worked with a lot of stars from Anil Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Urmila, Akshay Kumar to John Abraham. And these stars in their own way have contributed to the film-making process. I believe that everybody adds value and as an editor, I add value to the performances …there are bad performances that I cut, there are reactions from another shot that I put, and it enhances the performance. But that doesn’t mean I am a co actor,” he explains.

“I tried to reason with Hansal at the time, but I think he was very interested in that (sharing of the credits) and that cost us our relationship,” Apurva sighs.

Despite the issues, Apurva believes that Kangana added a lot to the movie. “She got a lot of value to the film, and she is extremely creative and intelligent. When you sign up with a star, you should be prepared that they will have a point of view. I was welcoming her inputs even on sets.”

Kangana has always been an actress who likes to be closely involved in all her projects. However, when we had spoken to Hansal a few weeks ago, and asked if there was any interference from Kangana while shooting for Simran he had said, “We live in a democratic country, and I don’t see it that way. I see it as a collaborative effort. Kangana is a thinking actor and she has collaborated with us very closely on Simran. The film has shaped up really well.”