Co-producer Pandit recounts how Amitabh Bachchan, deeply invested in Chehre, decided to back the thriller, six years after his last production
Anand Pandit and Amitabh Bachchan
Almost a year after Gulabo Sitabo (2020), Amitabh Bachchan returns with the mystery thriller, Chehre. The veteran actor has deeply invested in the Rumy Jafry-directed venture—the megastar not only designed his look that includes a beanie, thick frames and the beard in a ponytail, but also wrote a 14-minute monologue over two days. Taking his involvement with the Emraan Hashmi-starrer a step further, Bachchan decided to back the film as well.
“Usually, a producer evinces interest in making a film, [thus setting the ball rolling on a project]. The producer then ropes in a writer and a director, along with whom the cast and crew is finalised, and then comes the announcement. But for Chehre, it was the opposite,” reveals co-producer Anand Pandit. “The producers were the last to come on board.”
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Pandit recalls that he got a call from Bachchan, who said that he should consider backing the upcoming project. “Bachchan saab believed in the film. There was already a director, writer, and now, the film needed a producer,” explains Pandit, who earlier collaborated with the veteran on Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkar 3 (2017). “That’s how I stepped in as a producer, along with Saraswati Entertainment, which is Bachchan saab’s banner. He is producing a film after a long time.” The movie marks Big B’s return to production after R Balki’s 2015 offering, Shamitabh.
The actor-producer, who plays a legal eagle in the film, roped in Pink (2016) co-actor Dhritiman Chatterjee for a pivotal role. “He was keen to cast him, as he wanted someone who has not done too many Hindi films,” notes Pandit, adding that the movie sees Bachchan and Hashmi team up for the first time. Even as Chehre gears up to hit the screens a year after its intended release, the co-producer is confident of its prospects. “Bachchan saab’s monologue in his deep baritone will be the mainstay. We gave him a standing ovation after the shot,” he says.
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