By Subhash K. Jha
Mumbai, March 26 (IANS) Writer-director Manish Acharya wanted to set his second film in the 1970s, but “Om Shanti Om” beat him to it. So the “Loins Of Punjab Presents” director is now planning his action-drama with a 1980s backdrop. “To me the 1980s was the archetypal decade of filmy happenings. The suspense, action and stunts were all so cinematic,” Acharya told IANS.

“Today, the car chase sequences look so hi-tech. I want to shoot those famous car chases from the 1980s on Fiats and Ambassadors screeching down dusty roads. I want the cars, trousers, hairstyles and shoes from that decade. To me that’s the era of true Hindi cinema, the era of Amitabh Bachchan,” he added.

Although his English language film “Loins Of Punjab Presents” didn’t do great business at the Indian box office, Acharya says he was flooded with offers in Mumbai.

“But most producers offered me films without seeing ‘Loins Of Punjab’. I found that peculiar. Ironically, my made-in-America NRI film got acceptance in India and is now being recognised abroad.”

The film, starring Shabana Azmi, Ayesha Dharker, Jameel Khan, Darshan Jariwala and Seema Rahmani, was a huge hit at the Dubai Film Festival. It is all about scratching the surface to discover the painfully embarrassing dreams and ambitions of a generation that has moved as far from ‘home’ as India has moved in the world of globalisation.

Manish is happy to be on home ground.

“I’m now in Mumbai and looking forward to making my very filmy flick from Bollywood. Of course, it’d be in Hindi. The only reason ‘Loins Of Punjab Presents’ was in English was because the NRI contestants at the film’s music reality show would speak in that language.”