Sandeep Vanga On His Next Film

Mired  in controversy  Sandeep Vanga’s  Kabir Singh has become a raging success, ‘raging’ being the  key word.

“Very  frankly I knew the Hindi version would connect as much with the  audience as  the Telugu version did. But I never expected  Kabir Singh to do so well. Of course  there are  speedbreakers(the critics’ reaction, the feminist interpretations of Shahid Kapoor’s abrasive characters). But nothing can take  away  from the  wholehearted love  the audience has  given us,” says  Sandeep happily.

He  now prepares  to direct  his  next ,and is willing to share some  details. “My next film will be  a crime thriller, a totally different universe  from Arjun Reddy  and Kabir Singh. Would it be in  Telugu  or Hindi? Probably both the languages. I’ve now started working on the script.  But for now, after  giving five years  of my  life to Arjun Reddy  and Kabir Singh I  am spending some  time with  my family. The last few years I’ve been travelling back and forth between  Hyderabad  and Mumbai. I finally have some time  for  myself and  my  family.”

Sandeep is taken  back by the  enormity  of  the success of  Kabir Singh.  “I  knew it would  work. But to this extent? Never!  I thought  I had already said what  I had  to in Arjun Reddy. But I ended  up directing the sequel.And in spite  of  so many scenes being identical in  Arjun Reddy and  Kabir Singh, I’ve managed to make the re-make walk and dance to its own music.”

Speaking on  the exact moment when Sandeep realized that Kabir Singh would work as  effectively  at  the boxoffice as the  original Telugu  film, Sandeep says, “The day after Kabir Singh released I was  persuaded  by the team to  visit Mumbai’s monumental  Gaiety-Galaxy twin theatres. I was curious. Why  was  the responses at  these  landmark single-theatres so essential? But when I  reached  Gaiety-Galaxy I  knew this was the audience that made  or unmade  a film. The crowds were  cheering, screaming, jumping on  their sets. That’s when I  knew Kabir Singhwould be as big a success as Arjun Reddy, if not  bigger.”

Kabir Singh is now a bigger success than Arjun Reddy. “I  knew  it would connect with the  youth. But I  never  imagined  the  connect would be  so  deep.”

Sandeep is  just…relieved.  “When  the  reviews came out I  was worried they’d affect  the collections of  KabirSingh. But  that didn’t happen. I’ve given five years of my life to Arjun Reddy and  Kabir Singh.I am exhausted  but also very very happy. For those who think I am  angry,all I can say is, That’s not me. That’s  Kabir Singh.”