Anurag Basu - Passionate for 'Dark Cinema'

Among the new lot of Indian film directors and script-writers, known for directing films with themes of dark passion and adultery - Anurag Basu is a renowned name. Basu's films like Life in a... Metro, Gangster and Murder have all been dark and portray realistic cinema.

Personal Life

He was diagnosed with acute leukemia in 2004 and underwent chemotherapy thereafter. Actress Kangana Ranaut who made her debut with his film Gangster was his discovery.



Beginning

TV Career

Television was the platform for showcasing the talent of Anurag Basu initially. He started his career in the television industry, directing 'Tara', one of earliest and longest running daily soap of the 90's. He was in his mid-twenties when he started, and went on to direct 70 episodes. He went ahead to direct more television serials and tried a hand at different genres ranging from daily soaps to thrillers like Saturday Suspense and horror X-Zone.

His most succesful work during this period was Balaji Telefilms daily soap "Koshish ...ek aashaa' in 1998, which went on to become one of the top shows on Zee TV.

In 2002, Basu directed the TV series Miit , which was based on the novel Noukadubi , written by the great Indian poet and writer Rabindranath Tagore. In 2007, he returned to the television circuit to produce and direct the college-drama Love Story for SAB TV.

Awards

Basu was nominated in the Best Director category at the 53rd Filmfare Awards for Life in a... Metro (2007). He received the Filmfare for Best Screenplay for Life in a Metro (2007)

Career

Film Career

Anurag Basu made his directorial debut in 2003 with the slasher film Kucch To Hai, co-directing with Anil V. Kumar and starring Tusshar Kapoor, Esha Deol and newcomer Anita Hassanandani. It was produced by Ekta Kapoor, with whom Basu had earlier worked on Koshish ...ek aashaa. Although the film was well promoted and had a decent opening at the box office, it failed commercially as well as critically.

After the failure of his first film, Basu went and joined hands with Mahesh Bhatt's production company Vishesh Films, where he directed his next four films.

The first was a mystery-drama Saaya starring John Abraham and Tara Sharma. It was inspired by the Kevin Costner starrer 2002 thriller Dragonfly, but it failed to register any cash at the box office and was critically panned by the critics for a loose screenplay.

Basu's third film Murder in 2004, which was inspired by Adrian Lyne's 2002 film Unfaithful was the benchmark in his career. The film dealt with adultery, and had one of the boldest scenes ever in the historyof Indian cinema. Despite, getting an A-certificate from the CBFC, the film became Basu's first hit. It was well-received by the critics too, appreciating the performaces by Mallika Sherawat, Emraan Hashmi. The music in the film by composer Anu Malik was also a hit, with chart busters like Kaho Naa Kaho and Bheeghey Hont Tere. The film gave Mallika Sherawat and Emraan Hashmi the star status instantly, and Murder, till date, remains one of the few commercially successful adult-certified films in India.

Filmography

As Director:



Kites (2009)
Directed by: Anurag Basu
Main Cast: Barbara Mori, Kangana Ranaut, Hrithik Roshan, ..
Synopsis: A triangular love story set in US.



Life in a Metro (2007)
Directed by: Anurag Basu
Main Cast: Shiney Ahuja, Shilpa Shetty, Dharmendra, ..
Synopsis: Intertwined 4 love stories, set in the fast paced maddening
city of Mumbai. All characters ar..



Gangster (2006)
Directed by: Anurag Basu
Main Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Shiney Ahuja, Kangana Ranaut, ..
Synopsis: On the run from the police, gangster Daya seeks shelter in a
bar dancer, Simran’s, place. T..



Murder (2004)
Directed by: Anurag Basu
Main Cast: Ashmit Patel, Mallika Sherawat, Emraan Hashmi, ..



Tumsa Nahin Dekha (2004)
Directed by: Anurag Basu
Main Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Diya Mirza, Anupam Kher, ..



Kucch To Hai (2003)
Directed by: Anil Kumar, Anurag Basu
Main Cast: Ashay Chitre, Esha Deol, Vrajesh Hirjee, ..


Director Anurag Basu has wrapped up the shooting for Kites starring Hrithik Roshan, Kangana Ranaut and Barbara Mori, recently on 10th March. The film will move into post production after this. Kites has been extensively shot in Las Vegas, Mauritius and Mumbai. The film will be simultaneously released in English and Hindi. And for both Hrithik Roshan and Anurag Basu, along with the film’s producer, Rakesh Roshan (Filmkraft Productions), there is a lot riding at stake. The movie will be released by Reliance BIG Pictures.