Director Guddu Dhanoa, who has come up with the film Romeo S3, says there is no sure-shot formula for success

Like a true blue Punjabi, noted director-producer Guddu Dhanoa says it the way it is; no sugarcoating, no socially correct filters. Indeed, being the cousin of superstar Dharmendra has held him in good stead. Without batting an eyelid, he asserts being related to Dharmendra did open doors for him. With pride, he says, “Daughter of our family, my buaji gave birth to such a phenomenon.”In the same note of candour, he, who has gone on record to express his dismay with yet another Punjabi sensation Diljit Dosanjh, will not backtrack or cover up his sentiments on the singer-actor. Though he will not talk about Diljit, whom he had given a break in The Lion of Punjab, he does quip, “I don’t know why they behave differently when they are newcomers, call you godfather, touch your feet and then change with time.”However, that is not the reason why Dhanoa has not cast heavyweight stars in his upcoming film Romeo S3. All his life, the producer, who has given us one of the biggest names in the film industry, has worked with newcomers, be it Govinda and Kimi Katkar back in Mera Lahoo or King Khan in Deewana. And, yes, he does single out Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra among those actors unaffected by success. “Success and failure in this industry are never a constant but unpredictable,” he observes,So, what makes him think Romeo S3 will work, especially when films are flopping left right and centre? He agrees no one can know which film will work and when, “Every film has its kundli. Even a good film can flop and people try to find reasons, but no one can decipher the success code.” He cites the example of Sanam Teri Kasam, which flopped initially, but became a massive hit when re-released. He does believe that odds are in favour of his Romeo S3, whose trailer has already garnered a massive viewership. One of the reasons possibly could be that the film has been made with a modest budget of Rs 10 crore and hence it will not be difficult to recover costs.As for its title, before you presume S3 is an acronym for something else, well it stands for the film’s lead character’s name Sangram Singh Shekawat. Since his titular character too is a police officer, does he fear comparison with other films? Almost every superstar there is has played a cop with aplomb and filmmaker Rohit Shetty has almost created a ‘copverse’. Well, he is not afraid of comparisons and asserts, “Thakur Anoop Singh, our hero, has played his part exceptionally well and not copied anyone.” Dhanoa is all praise for his heroine Palak Tiwari, ‘big star of future’.Does Dhanoa who made the patriotic film Shaheed on the life of Shaheed Bhagat Singh have any message for his countrymen or Indian Army? He says, “Who am I to give any message to our Army, rather they have given us a strong one. They are the real heroes who have stood like a pillar between us and the enemy. It is because of them that we are safe in our homes.” As for working with his nephews, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol, in Shaheed and other films, he lauds them both for being thorough professionals and recalls how Sunny, in fact, was the biggest star he had ever worked with in Ziddi.If you think in recent years Dhanoa was on a hiatus of sorts, he shares how he was busy with regional cinema and even made a Marathi film. He adds, “At times, certain projects don’t work out. Like we were almost ready with Bichhoo 2, but Bobby told me someone else had already started making a film with the same story. So, we had to look for another subject.” Right now, apart from Deewaana 2 and Bichhoo 2 in the making, he is busy with a web series Shubhchintak, starring ‘fabulous actors’ Dimple Kapadia and Anupam Kher.Clearly, Dhanoa would not like to be associated with one kind of cinema, but a bouquet. For now, it’s action time as actioner RomeoS3 releases May 16. From the romantic Deewana-maker, Romeo incidentally stands for Operation Romeo and not any lovelorn lover. Of course, Dhanoa’s love for making movies will never ever ebb. As he says, “I feel alive only when I am on the sets.” So, lights, camera, action…will forever be his life!

Director Guddu Dhanoa, who has come up with the film Romeo S3, says there is no sure-shot formula for success

Nonika Singh

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