What happens after death? Do people come back after they die? "These are questions which have always haunted me," says Anurag Basu, director of Saaya, which released on Friday.
"I was with writer Amol Shetge and [filmmaker] Mahesh Bhatt in a meeting," he says, "when Amol told me about someone in his family who was speaking with a dead person. I knew someone like that in my family too. Soon, we found every fourth man's family had gone through this. I thought, why not make a film on this subject? Thus, Saaya was born."
Also Read: John Abraham shines in Saaya
Basu began his career in the mid-1990s as director of Zee TV's highly successful soap, Tara. He then went on to direct the popular Koshish -- Ek Aasha and, now, Mitti on the same channel.
Basu admits he had misgivings about casting John Abraham in his film. "Frankly, I was of the opinion that models could not be good actors. But Bhattsaab told me to watch his Jism [Abraham, Bipasha Basu]. I thought he was too good in it."
Saaya is about a man who cannot come to terms with his wife's death. It has been shot in Kerala and Delhi.
"I think Tara [Sharma, the heroine] suits the role [as Abraham's wife] perfectly. She was in London at the time. We were lucky to get her," says Basu.
Asked whether Saaya is lifted from Hollywood's Dragonfly [Kevin Costner, Sussana Thompson], he says, "Someone told me it is a remake of Hollywood's Ghost [Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore]. That is not true. Saaya is neither Dragonfly nor Ghost. I have seen those films. I am not a Film Institute graduate, but I have learnt how to make films. Watch Saaya and judge for yourself."
Click here for More Features
