Trailer launch of CrazXy: What’s new and different this time?

With an output of two films since 2012, actor-producer Sohum Shah cannot be called prolific. “I believe in taking due time, right from the script stage till the post-production. This is done to achieve something different, something new, in each of my films,” explained Shah. He was speaking to the press at the trailer launch of his third film, CrazXy, at the Juhu PVR multiplex, on 17 February. Releasing on the 28^th of February, this film will raise his output to three films in 12 years. “The Ship of Theseus was vastly different from the films being made at that time. Tumbbad came at a time when horror films were categorised in the C category, but was widely appreciated. With CrazXy, we enter into a different genre, and yet it is vastly different from the films made with similar themes.”

Besides Sohum, the director and the co-producers of the film graced the event. “Ankit Shah (one of the producers and probably the main financer, present on the day) had agreed to 38 days of shooting,” continued Sohum, “but we needed five more days. I agreed immediately, because I had full faith in my director (Girish Kohli). Ankit needed convincing, and finally agreed. There was one action scene which took a whole day to film, but at the end of the day, Girish said that the footage would not make it into the film,” averred Sohum. That was that. No questions asked. The scene was reshot the next day, with major differences.

Asked about the quaint titles of his films, Sohum said that the title emerges from the script. “Well, you might argue that there was no Ship in Ship of Theseus, but the script is the basis of everything, including the title. And Girish came to me with a complete script." For his part, Girish, who makes his directorial debut, added, “The title of a film should be the summary of the contents of the film, in a few words. I know people are wondering about that X in CrazXy, but when they see the film, they will get the meaning. Besides, the film is really crazy.” Girish has written films like Kesari and Mom. He was grateful to Sohum for wonderful working conditions, and, instead of being an anxious debutant, when shooting commenced, he felt that he had already directed 10 films.

Before proceedings began, a song was played repeatedly. It ‘Abhimanyu, chakravyuh men phans gayaa hae too’. Sung by Kishore Kumar, it was written by Anand Bakhshi and tuned by Laxmikant Pyarelal, for the Amitabh Bachchan starrer, Inquilab. The first word refers to the mythological character from the Mahaabhaarat, and also happens to be the first name of Sohum in the film. During the event, we also heard references to ‘Golee maar bhejey men, bheja shor kartaa hai.’ Wonder how these two songs are woven into the film, which comes across as crime-action-thriller.

A Good Surgeon, a terrible father and a questionable human being, Dr. Abhimanyu Sood’s daughter has been kidnapped, and the kidnapper asks for a ransom of Rs. 5 crore, which is way beyond the reach of the doctor. Suddenly, he receives a call from a call centre telemarketer that they are offering loans. Abhimanyu asks if they will lend him Rs. 5 crore. A cut follows, because it is the trailer, and vital elements are not to be revealed in trailers. But Abhimanyu does say in one shot that he will rescue the girl, anyhow. And all of it happens on one day, the most terrible day of Dr. Sood’s life. Besides screening the trailer twice, the organisers also showed us the teaser. It would be premature to judge a film based on its trailer, but I found nothing majorly different between this film and a few other crime thrillers, including car chases and screeching cars.

Unable to resist the temptation, a fellow journalist asked the duo what were some of the crazy things, if any, the cast indulged in, during shooting. Sohum came up with, “We have shot a video of us actors between takes, talking about which actor should we imitate in the next shot!” The guy does have a deadpan sense of humour. Asked whether the hat of the producer puts high pressure on him or whether it is hat of the actor, Sohum surprised everyone by saying that it is the producer’s job that is taxing. “Acting is the easiest thing to do. Come, speak your lines and go, whereas the producer has to think of a hundred things.”

Replying to a question about his journey in films, he confessed,” I was a simpleton from Ganganagar when I came to Mumbai, and I have reached where I have thanks to audiences, who supported my films.” (He was referring to Sri Ganganagar, the northernmost city of the Indian state of Rajasthan, near the international border of India and Pakistan, which is his home-town). Sohum does betray the faintest traces of Rajasthani speech. Incidentally, he always answered questions in Hindi, even if the questioner had asked it in English.

A real-estate businessman, Sohum Shah came to Mumbai to make content driven films, and that is exactly what he has done so far. Never in a hurry, Sohum, who turned-up with a beard and in a suit, takes his own time to start a film and finish it. No wonder Tumbbad 2 has been in the pipeline for some six years, and shooting has not yet begun, for the 2018 surprise packet’s sequel. For both Sohum and Girish, the buzz words were “something new”, and “something different”. They repeated them at least a dozen times in the less than an hour of interaction they had. There is no denying that Ship of Theseus and Tumbadd were different and new. Question is, what’s new and different this time?

Trailer: https://youtu.be/7y_e35zZtac