‘If Border Is Anyone’s, It Is Sunny Uncle’s’

‘Sunny
sir
keeps
me
distracted
from
my
morning
sickness.’

The
1997
hit

Border
is
getting
a
sequel
more
than
two
decades
later.
But
this
time,
filmmaker
J
P
Dutta
hands
over
the
reins
to
elder
daughter

Nidhi
Dutta.

Nidhi
takes
over
production
duties
while
Anubhav
Singh
directs
the
multi-starrer.

Nidhi,
who
is
expecting
a
baby
with
Director
Binoy
Gandhi,
chooses
the
production
route
to
build
her
career,
rather
than
become
an
actor
like
her
mum
Bindiya
Goswami
or
a
director
like
her
father.

“When
I
was
young
and
people
would
ask,
‘What
will
you
be
when
you
grow
up?’,
I
would
say,
‘I
want
to
help
Papa’,”
Nidhi
tells

Patcy
N/Rediff.com.

What
are
your
first
memories
of
being
on
a
film
set?
As
a
child,
did
you
accompany
your
father
on
his
sets?

It’s
not
a
very
proud
thing
to
say
—
even
though
I
am
proud
of
it
—
but
my
mom
never
really
cared
about
us
missing
school.

For
her,
birthdays
were
important.

If
it
was
Papa’s
or
Dadaji
(O
P
Dutta,
who
wrote
the
dialogues
for
his
son’s
films)’s
birthday,
mom
made
sure
we
went
on
set,
no
matter
where
they
was
shooting.

My
earliest
memory
of
being
on
a
film
set
was

Kshatriya

(1993),
the
film
Dad
made
before

Border

(1997)

But
I
properly
remember
going
to
Bikaner
for

Border.
We
had
gone
for
my
birthday
and
celebrated
with
everyone
in
his
tent.

His
tent
was
very
close
to
where
they
had
made
the
bunker
and
the
trenches
set
in
the
middle
of
the
desert.

Mom
was
pregnant
with
Siddhi
at
the
time
but
she
also
came.

I
remember
Sunny
(Deol)
uncle
in
his
costume
and
playing
with
me.

How
old
were
you
then?

I
was
nine.

I
know
so
many
people
from
film
families,
who
say
that
‘Oh,
our
parents
never
brought
work
back
home
or
they
never
discussed
their
work
at
home.’

In
my
family,
it
was
the
opposite.
Our
dining
table
conversations
would
be
movies.

There
would
be
no
other
conversation
because
everyone
was
working
together.

My
mom
did
the
costumes
for

Border
and

Refugee.

My
dad
was
producing
and
directing.

My
grandfather
was
writing
the
dialogues.

I
remember
when
Papa
came
home
after
recording
the

Sandese
Aate
Hain
song
and
playing
it
to
Dadaji
and
mom.

Stars
kids
usually
gravitate
towards
acting
or
direction.
Why
did
you
decide
on
production
and
script-writing?

Production
came
naturally
to
me.

I
started
assisting
Papa
on

Umrao
Jaan.

When
I
was
young
and
people
would
ask,
‘What
will
you
be
when
you
grow
up?’,
I
would
say,
‘I
want
to
help
Papa.’

He
is
a
one-man
army.

But
he
cannot
give
too
much
time
to
his
creative
process
because
he
also
produces.

When

Paltan
came
along,
I
felt
things
had
to
change.

So
I
suggested
that
he
handle
the
creative
aspect
and
I
would
handle
this
(production)
side
of
things.

I
did
that
film
single-handedly,
bringing
Zee
Studios
on
board.
From
then
on,
he
asked
me
to
handle
the
business
of
the
company.

Coming
to
the
writing
part,
I’m
as
shocked
as
everybody
else
is.

When
the
story
came
to
me
suddenly,
I
decided
to
write
it.

I
think
my
grandfather
has
blessed
me
with
his
writing
skills.

So
that’s
how

Border
2
has
happened.

What
was
your
inspiration
for

Border
2?

My
father
and
I
had
a
meeting
with
the
late
Chief
of
Defence
Staff
General
Bipin
Rawat.
We
lost
him
in
an
helicopter
crash
a
couple
of
years
ago.

When
I
first
met
him
during

Paltan,
he
had
handed
over
22
stories
of
soldiers
that
he
wanted
us
to
make
movies
on.

At
that
point,
I
was
busy
with

Ghudchadi,
which
we
produced
along
with
T-Series.
It
is
my
husband
Binoy
Gandhi’s
first
film
as
director.

I
still
remember
my
dad
telling
him,
‘Sir,
who
will
make
these
22
stories?
I’m
70.’

General
sir
had
looked
at
Papa
and
said,
‘She
will
make
them.’

And
I’m
making
it
now.

From
those
22
stories,
I
was
keen
on
making
three
of
them
as
one
film.

I
started
looking
for
writers
who
would
weave
the
story
together.

Later,
I
decided
to
do
it
myself.

Why
didn’t
you
think
about
making
a
Web
series
with
so
many
stories?

When
it
came
to
me,
I
didn’t
know
how
to
start.

These
were
different
stories
from
different
timelines.
You
can’t
bring
them
together.

How
much
is
J
P
Dutta
helping
you?

He’s
here
in
Dehradun,
as
we
speak,
but
isn’t
coming
on
set.

He
understands
that
a
director
needs
space.

He’s
giving
Anurag
(Singh,
Border
2
Director)
that
open
hand
to
make
the
film.

Was
it
difficult
to
convince
Sunny
Deol
to
be
a
part
of

Border
2?

I
think
after
Dad,
if

Border
is
anyone’s,
it
is
Sunny
Uncle’s.

So
it
was
not
about
convincing
him.
It
was
about
getting
him
on
board
and
then
all
of
us
making
the
film
in
the
best
way
we
could.

Why
did
you
decide
on
Anurag
Singh
to
direct

Border
2?

I
think

Kesari
was
the
deciding
factor
for
Bhushanji
(Kumar,
T-Series
chairman
and
Border
2
Producer)
and
me.

We
needed
somebody
who
understands
not
only
Bombay
and
Delhi
but
all
of
India,
understands
what
it
takes
to
give
you
a
film
that
will
touch
every
part
of
India.

After
watching

Kesari
and
the
song

Teri
Mitti
Mein,
you
realise
that
the
filmmaker
knows
his
craft
and
his
emotion.

Border
was
such
a
big
hit
when
it
released.

I
remember
going
to
the
Screen
Awards.

I
was
about
10
or
11.
We
were
walking
the
red
carpet,
which
was
covered
on
one
side.

The
public
had
actually
climbed
on
the
opposite
buildings
to
watch
the
red
carpet.

When
we
entered,
people
started
screaming
my
father’s
name
and
‘Border‘.

They
sang

Sandese
Aate
Hain.

We
won
the
Best
Story,
Best
Director
and
Best
Film.
I
remember
holding
the
three
awards
and
walking
out
proudly.

=

You’re
producing

Border
2
as
well
as
expecting
a
baby.
Is
it
tough?

I
cannot
even
put
into
words
the
dream
I
am
living
now
—
to
bring
both
my
babies
into
this
world
at
the
same
time!

This
baby
is
growing
up
on
a
firing
range,
between
all
the
blasting
and
gunshots
and
bullets!

It’s
a

Border
baby,
as
the
media
has
termed
it
correctly.

It’s
not
tough
because
God
has
been
kind
and
my
health
has
held
up.

When
a
pregnant
woman
is
at
home,
she
has
five-six
family
members
taking
care
of
her.

I
have
280
people
taking
care
of
me
on
set.

So
how
are
you
balancing
morning
sickness
and
Sunny
Deol?
🙂

(Laughs)
Sunny
sir
keeps
me
distracted
from
my
morning
sickness.

Tell
us
about
Varun
Dhawan
in

Border
2.

Varun
is
going
to
be
the
biggest
surprise
package
of
this
film.

I’ve
known
him
through
my
husband
and
he’s
an
absolute
pleasure
to
work
with.

And
too
much
fun!

Sunny
Deol’s

Gadar
2
was
a
huge
success.
Are
you
expecting
that
kind
of
success?

I’m
expecting
more,
God
willing.

What
is
your
favourite
Bindiya
Goswami
film
and
J
P
Dutta
film?

My
mom’s
favourite
movies
would
be

Gol
Maal
and

Shaan.

For
dad,
nothing
that
tops

Border.
I
also
really
love

Kshatriya.

Tell
us
about
working
with
Aishwarya
and
Abhishek
Bachchan
on

Umrao
Jaan.

One
wants
to
be
a
part
of
films
which
have
powerhouse
actors
on
set.
This
not
only
had
Aishwarya
but
also
Shabanaji
(Azmi).

Abhishek
being
a
part
of
the
movie
was
another
green
light
for
me
because
he’s
family.

He
did
a
lot
of
bullying
because
I
was
an
assistant
and
like
a
younger
sister
to
him.

My
grandfather
was
supposed
to
make
this
film
with
Nimmi
in
1979.

It
never
got
made
because
another
film
on
courtesans
was
getting
made.

But
the
story
was
very
close
to
his
heart.

Few
years
later,
Rekhaji‘s

Umrao
Jaan
released.

My
grandfather
asked
Papa
to
direct
it
on
the
sets
of

LoC
Kargil.

I
think
it’s
a
family
norm;
we
don’t
say
no
to
our
fathers.

So
it
had
to
be
done.

Photographs
curated
by
Satish
Bodas/Rediff.com