After the success of Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani with Ranbir Kapoor, apparently the film’s producer Ramesh Taurani was most keen that Santoshi do a sequel. Admits Rajkumar Santoshi, “Yes, the pressure to do another Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani was there. But I wouldn’t repeat myself. To me repetition is death.”
So now the director who has constantly been identified with gritty films is back in form, with Amitabh as his hero.
Speaking for the first time on the song-less, rigorously researched saga of an elderly NRI’s struggle abroad, Santoshi says, “I’m returning to my style about one-man crusade that I patented in Damini and Ghayal. The Outsider is a story of man’s fight for justice and tolerance. It’s the story of a hero who stands up for what he thinks is right, even if it means losing everything.”
The recurrent theme in Santoshi’s cinema is one individual’s fight for his or her beliefs. “And that’s precisely where I’m taking Mr Bachchan in The Outsider. Interestingly, in Khakee he was a law maker, in Family he was law breaker. In The Outsider he’s placed in an ambivalent position. The challenge is to project this amazing actor in a new light. In The Outsider Mr Bachchan’s character controls the entire plot and its movements.” Read more….
