“I nearly missed the world’s first ‘A’ grade film with a ‘C’ grade backdrop. I am glad I chose to do Miss Lovely. Looking back, it was the most amazing film of my life,” reminisces actor Anil George, who makes his presence felt as the elder brother Vicky Duggal to Nawaz in Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely hitting the marquee this Jan 17. Anil plays one of the stellar roles in the film with Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Niharika Singh.
The makers who auditioned him in Delhi after seeing his performance in the play, Mirza Ghalib, wanted him to travel to Mumbai to meet the director.“The dialogues had expletives, and I was worried as to why they were taking so much interest in me,” grins Anil at his first meeting and audition with Sanjay Shah of Miss Lovely. Anil wasn’t sure, but Sanjay Shah and later on, director Ashim Ahluwalia on seeing the audition seemed very sure. They gave him the tickets to travel to Mumbai.
“It was only when I met Nawazuddin Siddiqui who was in the same Delhi theatre circuit with Sakshi Group, I felt comfortable that I was in the right place. But once I read Ashim Ahluwalia’s script, I was blown away by the storyline and realised that the ’C’ grade setting contributed to this film being a top ranker. I was in an ‘A’ grade film with a C’ grade backdrop. The unique manner of storytelling excited me. I worked on every scene as though it were my last and the scenes by themselves were very wellcrafted and indepth. When you have the perfect script and the perfect director, it is a boon to any actor,” gushes Anil George.
“The film stood out with its Uncertain Regard selection at Cannes, but to me, when I read the script, it was like winning the Oscar. I realised that Ashim knew exactly where I fitted into the mould. I am glad I let my guard to the winds and signed Miss Lovely. The respect I got from the makers during the film is simply something I would always cherish.”
