27 April,2023 07:36 PM IST | Mumbai | Mayank Shekhar
Director Vikramaditya Motwane says AK vs AK was written for Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar was approached for it
The directorial career that Vikramaditya Motwane scripted for himself after Udaan is indisputably marked by a range that's hard to match - going from a period piece (Lootera) to super-hero (Bhavesh Joshi Superhero), a one-man survivor drama, set in a building, suggesting the dystopia of cities (Trapped), to the ultimate Mumbai-mafia sweeping-epic (Sacred Games), that he was the showrunner for.
The leaps are so wide that it piques your interest to know what inspired each film, since none suggest self-expression alone. Firstly, where did AK vs AK (2020) come from - a meta movie that firstly defies genre, about a director and actor playing themselves.
"It's just such a great one-line idea. Which is what excites you most," Motwane quips at our Sit with Hitlist conversation. "As a young filmmaker, you fight the fact that the idea of your film should be encapsulated into one, single line. As you grow older, you realise that one, single line is what drives you forward. Writer Avinash Sampat, who's now become a good friend of mine, sent the script to us. He'd written it for Aamir [Khan] first. I was sure Aamir is never gonna do it, so let's not even try!
"There is Akshay Kumar, who we did approach, and it was a very interesting meeting - I mean, he didn't sort of outrightly say, âGet out of my office,' but it was close enough! For a while, I was making it with Shahid [Kapoor], which kind of happened, and then it didn't. The [actor] AKs kept changing. The [director] AK, that is Anurag Kashyap, was a constant. He's a fantastic actor."
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Well, Kashyap says he sucks at acting! "I think he is fab. In fact, everybody on the AK set was talking about Anil Kapoor. I think Anurag, especially in the last scene, is incredible. You actually tear up, when shit happens to him," says Motwane.
Watch the full interview here.
