Mozez Singh on his inspirations, Vicky Kaushal and international acclaim

Imagine an Indian debutant director winning praise from Hollywood actor Will Smith. Well, young Mozez Singh was applauded by the Hollywood biggie when he saw Zubaan’s trailer at the Palm Springs International Film Festival last year. Zubaan also opened at the Busan International Film Festival with Mozez bagging the Rising Director Award, months before the film released in India this year. The film may not have done well at the Indian box-office but Mozez has plenty of reasons to smile. After all, the film garnered huge laurels offshore. When it was selected for the Busan festival it surprised him. Also this was the first time they selected a debut director’s film to open the festival. “The head of the festival told me, ‘I chose your film because it has the power to heal people with its positive message. Also, it has elements of world cinema along with song and dance’,” smiles Mozez.

 Though his grandfather was the founder and chairman of Ranbaxy, young Mozez never showed an inclination towards the corporate world. He was more inclined towards the arts. The Delhi-based Mozez reveals that while kids like to listen to stories, he, as a child, loved telling them. “I used to sharpen pencils to different heights and make characters out of them to tell a story,” smiles the filmmaker. Making movies was always on the agenda. The director says he wanted to make a film about music, faith and father-son relationship. “Just like the protagonist Dilsher in Zubaan, I too had a stuttering problem as a child. In fact, I still have it. Especially, when I’m nervous and anxious,” he states.

Mozez says that even though Neeraj Ghwayan’s Masaan released first, it was Zubaan that Kaushal signed first. “It was a good thing that Masaan released before Zubaan. The responsibility of launching a new guy was off my shoulders,” he laughs adding, “He had already won two Best Debut awards and people were talking highly about him, which helped my film.” Talking about his protagonist he says the best thing about Vicky Kaushal is his emotional intelligence. “He understands the role with utmost clarity. Even if it was something as small as a twitch, he would be able to do that for me on the screen.” He believes Sarah-Jane Dias fitted the role of the female protagonist Amira perfectly too.

“I wanted a girl who was bohemian and had the body language of a singer.” Yet, it was crucial to bring out the contrast in their personalities. “The boy and the girl are different from each other. He is rustic, she is urbane. Their love for music brings them together,” he states. Shooting the film was like a ‘paid vacation’ given the warm vibe on the set. He shares an interesting incident where French dancers, Les Twins, brothers Laurent and Larry Bourgeois, flew down from Las Vegas for two days to shoot the song Kori pukaar. “They had never done a ballad-like number. They were like two fluid angels. They couldn’t stop dancing. Even when I yelled ‘cut’ they put on their own music and kept dancing. Soon, the whole unit began to dance!” He credits music director Ashutosh Phatak for bringing in the correct vibe and mood. 

Mozez who’s inspired by directors like Manmohan Singh and Prakash Mehra, is clear about following his heart where making films in the future is concerned. He’s working on two scripts, both intense love stories. As an advise to newcomer directors, he says there are no rules. All that he says is, “Don’t get bogged down by people who try to dictate what you should do or not do.”