The laughter lines

There are two things that he couldn't move away from, and he wouldn't want to either, "Both are good for my mind, health and most importantly creativity," Punjabi film director Amit Prasher stays in the close company of criticism and world cinema.

He gives both an equal due, both keep him going. After the mixed response to his Punjabi film Ishq Brandy, Amit experienced a different side to movie making, which he calls the politically correct side of filmmaking.

As he shoots for one last song of his upcoming film Munde Kamaal De starring Amrinder Gill, Binnu Dhillon and Yuvraj Hans, Amit has stuck to a genre which we might call 'been there done that'. He laughs as he opens the conversation. "I love comedy, I am a great fan of David Dhawan, and I believe it is an art to make someone smile, forget about laugh," he is getting to the point.

"Despite what people or the film industry has to say about the overkill of the comedy genre, I see it as an area that still holds a lot of potential. Why should I deviate from something which is after my heart?"

Amit debuted as a director with his first comedy film Tu Mera 22 Main Tera 22, his second film, Ishq Brandy was a comedy too, and his upcoming film is again a comedy. He definitely comes across as a dedicated laughter fan. "I am," he makes his choice clear with two words.

It might just come cross as no big deal to pour comic dialogues and punches in the script, but for Amit it is more than what meets the eye. "Now that everyone is talking about how redundant comedy has become, getting a producer to invest in the subject was not easy. I am glad Prem Prakash Gupta had faith in me. At the same time, convincing actors, telling them they can create magic with comedy is an equal task," adds the director, who successfully managed to overcome both hurdles for his film Munde Kamaal De.

The film that revolves around deaf, dumb and mute guys is shot in Malaysia. With the state-of-the art editing technology, Amit has streamlined his work to quite an extent. The film releases on August 21 and the religious fan of comedy has something up his sleeves already.

Tell us it is comedy! "It is," the same two words throw enough light on his preferred subject. Amit would want to turn to Bollywood like most Punjabi filmmakers, and he would like to keep comedy as his genre. "Like I said in the beginning, two things, criticism and world cinema, work as an inspiration for me. When someone criticises, it just shows how closely they have watched my film which needs to be respected, and secondly, world cinema, it is a delight to watch what the other filmmakers are making across the globe."

And does he prefer comedy here as well? "First preference," he laughs. "Laughter, if you trust me is better than any tonic or steroid, it is kind of a balanced diet, which I personally take and distribute everyday."

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