Tinnu elated at state’s film-shooting potential

Sandeep Rawat

Tribune News Service

Rishikesh, March 18

“Had I been to Uttarakhand in the 80s and 90s, surely I would have filmed many scenes of my films here. There are abundant scenic-natural locations that will enhance the cinematography as well as the entire look of the films.”

These are the words that noted film director-producer and actor Tinnu Anand spoke when questioned about possibility of the hill state becoming a regular film shooting spot.

Taking a holy Ganga dip and performing rituals during holy Ganga Aarti at Parmarth Niketan ashram Ganga ghat today, the veteran actor-director seemed spiritually inclined and said that he felt blessed to be in this part, which is known as land of deities.

Talking to TNS after spending two hours taking part in the shooting of a television serial in various locations of Rishikesh, Pauri Garhwal and Tehri Garhwal, Tinu Anand said that the majestic Himalayas, holy Ganga, Yamuna rivers, mountains, greenery, scenic locations and simple yet hard life of hill people have left a special mark on him during his short stint.

Anand, who had directed Amitabh Bachchan in blockbusters such as ‘Shahenshah,’ ‘Main Azaad Hoon’ in the late 80s ,said that he would have surely filmed many scenes of his movies in Uttarakhand had he known about the nature’s bounty that is found in abundance here.

Citing his age, Tinnu Anand remarked that now, age is not on his side as he just turned 70. “So it is not easy to don the mantle of a director.’’

“Otherwise, if I had come at least two to three decades ago, surely I would have explored hills of Uttarakhand and brought them on the silver screen,” averred Tinnu, who had worked with Oscar awardee Satyajit Rai in his initial fim career. Tinnu Anand also shared an incident, which is not known to many, related with his initial years in film industry.

“In 1968, K Abbas was casting six actors for his film ‘Saat Hindustani.’ I was almost on the verge of being finalised but I had to go for directorial work with Satyajit Ray to Calcutta.When a young lad was suggested to Abbas ‘saab’ he got selected and was finalised. Rest is history, as this lad was none other than Amitabh Bachchan. So I had my share in getting Amitabh, one of my dearest friends, into filmdom,” he added.