After having bonded with Naseeruddin Shah since Taj: Divided By Blood, director Vibhu Puri reveals how he almost blackmailed the senior actor to star in Gustaakh Ishq. The film starring Vijay Varma and Fatima Sana Shaik is the debut of Manish Malhotra as a producer
A still from ‘Gustaakh Ishq’
Many films are born as adaptation of books. In contrast, Gustaakh Ishq was born because a book could not be adapted. First-time producer Manish Malhotra had initially approached Vibhu Puri to adapt a 400-page book. When the director said the adaptation would take far too long, Malhotra asked him one question: ‘Do you have something that you want to make?’ Enter Gustaakh Ishq, starring Naseeruddin Shah, Vijay Varma, and Fatima Sana Shaikh.
Puri recalls, “I told Manish this story set in old Delhi and Punjab. As soon as he heard it, Manish said he wanted to make it.”
Vibhu Puri
For the director, reuniting with the veteran actor after Taj: Divided by Blood was a dream come true. But the dream was on the verge of not materialising. “Initially, I thought he would be khadoos. But Naseer saab was so nice to me during Taj that I fell in love with him. He agreed to star in this film, but then we had some date issues. So, Manish and I went to his house and I said, ‘If you don’t want to do it, tell me who I should work with.’ Naseer said that I was blackmailing him, to which I said, ‘Yes, I will. I have a right to do that to you’,” he grins.
Romances have dominated the box office in 2025. As he brings his love story, Puri believes the audience has had enough of action offerings. “Between 1987 and 1989, films like Aag Hi Aag [1987] and Aag Ka Gola [1989] were being made. Then suddenly, there was Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak [1988], followed by Maine Pyar Kiya [1989] and Aashiqui [1990]. It changed the entire decade. After COVID too, everyone thought people will only watch event films. But in the end, a person needs happiness, love, and affection.”
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