As we speak with Mudassar Aziz, director of the upcoming comedy entertainer Pati Patni Aur Woh Do, the one thing that stands out is the filmmaker’s earnest dedication and respect for his core audience, something he believes must be strongly catered to again. The filmmaker began his career as a writer in 2006, with films like Zindaggi Rocks (2006) and Dil Diya Hai (2006), around a time when mainstream hindi cinema was becoming more urbane and focused on the multiplex audience. Reflecting on the shift, Mudassar says, “I am too small to comment on whether it was a detrimental step for the industry. But yes, we need to work hard on our own stories to win back the hearts of our audiences. There must be love and respect towards our language, our tradition, our culture, which our family members would find enjoyable. We need to return to that, and connect with people who were crazy about Hindi cinema. This is what I try to do when I sit down to write now.”
Pati Patni Aur Woh Do, starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Sara Ali Khan, Wamiqa Gabbi and Rakul Preet Singh and set for a May 15 release, feels like a sincere throwback to the 90s comedies that once ruled the roost. However, it also belongs to a genre which, amidst a drastic resurgence of action spectacles and event films, has suffered the most in recent times. Mudassar, however, remains optimistic about his film and about finding an audience that is still hungry for it. He adds, “This is a phase. It happens that action films run for a couple of years, then love stories etc. But every genre is important for the theater-going audience and should be protected on the big screen. Yes, the number of comedies has reduced, and it is necessary for comedy stars to come forward and make more of these films.”
The influx of social media consumption has also majorly altered the audience’s taste in comedy, I argue. Mudassar disagrees, and talks about the larger-level essence of comedy. “The story has its own importance. Comedy doesn't just mean telling jokes. The job of cinematic comedy is to create a situation, so that it becomes a binding, beautiful story told over two hours. That hugely differentiates cinematic comedy from the humour available on our phones. Also, the idea of making memories with movies — that can only happen with the community-watching experience, and will always keep commercial comedy alive in theatres,” he says.
At the trailer launch event, Ayushmann addressed the criticism of the film possibly normalising infidelity. Mudassar too talks about the subject head-on, going to the extent of describing his film’s protagonist Prajapati Pandey (played by Ayushmann) as a ‘wife-proud’ husband. He explains, “Prajapati is neither bored with his marriage, nor has a roving eye. Yet, life is so strange that he gets into trouble. This zone was last explored in films like No Entry and Welcome, where situations keep happening to faultless protagonists, which bring them into the eye of the storm. This belongs to that zone, and I am absolutely sure that Indian theatre-going audiences like this a lot.”
Further talking about the idea of social responsibility in movies, the filmmaker says, “Not just comedies, every genre should take upon that responsibility — that it doesn’t cross a line. I can proudly say that I’ve never been accused of making my audience laugh by showing something obscene or vulgar.” The filmmaker also expresses reassurance with his choice of male lead, Ayushmann Khurrana, who has famously headlined comedies with risky concepts. “Be it Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, Dum Lagaa Ke Haisha, or Vicky Donor, they all had tricky subjects. So when someone like Ayushmann and I come together, rest assured we will be extra cautious about these things,” he adds.
What also adds intrigue to the project is the presence of three female actors, all of whom promise to be comically-heavy roles. Talking about his casting choices, Mudassar says, “During my narration with Sara, I felt that she really wants to do a comedy at this stage and test herself in this territory. When there's such hunger in an actor, only then can they bring a surprise in their performance.” Meanwhile, Wamiqa, he says, brings a freshness and gravitas required for the wife’s character. Talking about Rakul Preet’s character, he adds, “She is playing the two extreme facets of a woman in this film — the element of being a ‘bro-like’ friend, and how she is perceived in a different way because of a comedy of error.”
Does the pressure of mounting a theatrical film on a big-scale weigh heavily even on comedy-centric filmmakers like him? “The grandeur in a comedy arrives on the writing stage,” Mudassar notes, adding, “Even while protecting the story, you should promise the audience a spectacle. In our film, it comes with choices like a character’s entry point, their profession, or their introduction visual where a forest officer is seen dynamically at his work. Even while being in that zone, you brought something bigger for your audience. The way Hrishikesh Mukherjee attempted these films, it was with a lot of simplicity. But now, because the theatrical demand for grandeur is coming, we must address it at the story level.”
On a concluding note, Mudassar again professes his love for the theatrical experience above everything else, and labels his latest film as an ode to it. “Pati Patni Aur Woh Do is my way of openly calling out to my audience, those who are fond of comedy. At the end of it, that’s what it is — with each film, you are asking for that love,” he signs off.