Anees Bazmee

Some Lesser Known Facts About Anees Bazmee

• Anees Bazmee is an Indian film director and screenwriter who is well-known for directing and writing scripts for Bollywood films. He is best known for directing the popular Bollywood films No Entry (2005), Welcome (2007), and Singh Is Kinng (2008). In 2022, Anees directed the Bollywood film Bhool Bhulaaiya 2, the sequel to the famous Bollywood film Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), which emerged as the fourth-highest-grossing Hindi film of 2022 with a massive worldwide collection of Rs 266.88 crore.

• Anees Bazmee belongs to a Muslim family. When he was a year old, his father shifted from Gujarat to Mumbai with the entire family.

• Anees, on being asked about how he developed an interest in writing revealed that during his childhood days, his father, Abdul Hameed Bazmee, motivated him to write poetry in the Urdu language. Anees used to accompany his father and their poetic friends, who often gathered at the Wazir Hotel in Mumbai for poetic sessions, and Anees used to look after them and provided them with refreshments like tea, paan, or cigarettes. ^[4]Firstpost Anees while spending most of his time with his father and his poetic friends, got inclined towards writing.

  

• Besides writing poetry, Anees’ father used to construct buildings in Mumbai, and Anees also helped his father at the construction site.

• The declining financial condition of his family persuaded Anees to work at an early age. He entered the film industry at the age of 12 and started working as a child artist. After his debut as a child artist in the Bollywood film Kitaab (1977), Anees acted in the Hindi film Bhayaanak (1979) and Naseeb (1981). His role as young Vicky in the film Naseeb was well-appreciated by the audience.

  

• After acting in a few films, Anees realised that he lacked interest in acting because he felt unexcited while acting in the films. In an interview, on being asked about why he didn’t choose acting as a full-fledged career, Anees said,
  

  I never wanted to be a part of the film industry. That time it was a necessity for me to work and I got a job in this profession. I always had the feeling that I am not meant to be an actor. Not because I wasn’t a good actor but I lacked satisfaction.”

• After losing interest in acting, Anees got inclined towards filmmaking and direction and went on to work in various departments of direction like sound direction, art direction, and editing, Anees assisted a few directors and additionally worked as a clapper boy on the shooting sets of Bollywood films.

• In 1982, Anees assisted the renowned filmmaker Raj Kapoor in the famous Bollywood film Prem Rog, starring Rishi Kapoor and Padmini Kolhapure.

  

• In 1983, Anees assisted the director in the Rajasthani film Mhari Pyari Chanana.

  

• In an interview, on being asked about his first salary, Anees stated that he received Rs 13 as his first salary.

• Later, Anees worked as an assistant director for a few Bollywood films like Lava (1985), Jaanoo (1985), and Insaaf Aone Lahoo Se (1994).

• Apart from assisting film directors, Anees wrote scripts for many films but was never credited for his work. Despite not getting adequate credit for his work, Anees considered the audience’s reaction to his film as a motivation, which drove him to pursue a career as a writer.

• Apart from assisting film directors, Anees worked as an assistant writer to well-known film writers, Ravinder Peepat and Jainendra Jain.

• Anees wrote scripts for a few famous Bollywood films like Shola Aur Shabnam (1992), Aankhen (1993), Raja Babu (1994), Laadla (1994), Deewana Mastana (1997), Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha (1998), Sirf Tum (1999), and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004).

• In 2005, Anees was nominated for Best Screenplay Award at the Zee Cine Awards for the Bollywood film Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004).

• Anees rose to fame in the Hindi film industry after directing the Bollywood film Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, starring Ajay Devgn and Kajol, in 1998, which came to light as Anees’ first commercial hit. ^[5]The Times of India Later, he directed some popular Hindi films like No Entry (2005), Welcome (2007), Singh Is Kinng (2008), and Ready (2011).

• In an interview, Anees stated that he preferred to write his film’s scrips in the Urdu language and later, the script was translated into other languages as per the instructions of the actors and crew members.

• The popular graphic humour painting used in the Bollywood film Welcome (2007), which illustrated a donkey over a horse was sketched by Anees and his art director, Pritam Patil.

  

• In 2007, Anees, in an interview talked about an incident, where he organized the first trial screening of the Bollywood film Welcome for a few people. After the screening of the film, he received negative and poor feedback from the viewers, which caused him high blood pressure, and eventually, he was admitted to the hospital. He said,
  

  I made the film Welcome, nobody liked it after the first trial screening. I asked them what they didn’t like about it, and they said, ‘It’s not funny at all’. I became stressed about taking the film to the public. I decided to write the screenplay again, I was in the hospital at the time because of high blood pressure. I was very stressed. But when I wrote the script, I became doubly sure that Welcome was a fantastic film and I had no idea why people hadn’t liked it.”

• During the shoot of the Bollywood film, Singh is Kinng (2008), Anees revealed that he used to sleep only an hour a day as in the daytime he focussed on the direction of the film and at night he wrote the script for the next day’s shoot.

• In 2015, Anees made a guest appearance in the Kannada film Care of Footpath 2.

• In 2015, Anees who directed the Bollywood film Welcome Back, the sequel to the popular film Welcome (2007), accused the film’s producer Firoz Nadiadwala of not paying his fees for direction on time. Anees alleged that Firoz was obliged to pay him the specified amount before the release of the film, but he failed to furnish his remuneration. In an interview, Anees expressed his resentment of not paying him the dues timely and said,
  

  I am waiting for the producer to pay my dues. I gave three years of my life for this film. I worked hard for this project, but I still haven’t got my remaining payment. I was to get over Rs 4.5 crore but he asked me to do some settlement, so I asked him to pay me Rs 2 crore, I let go the remaining amount. I was supposed to get the money before the release of the film. But I still went and made the film for the relationship we share (Firoz and I). I kept patience. Even though the film has released and is doing well, I am yet to get my money. I am not greedy. I am not angry, I am hurt. I will not take any harsh step. I am not that kind of a person. I called up (Firoz Nadiadwala), but no response from him.”

• Anees serves as a designated partner at a few firms like Buzz Mee Films Llp, Anees Bazmee Production Llp, Kosei-Teki Healthcare Llp, Silverleaf Builders And Pramoters Llp, and Afb Production Llp.

• In an interview, Anees talked about his preference for directing only clean and complete family-oriented films and therefore he never included any onscreen kissing scene in any of his films. ^[6]Hindustan Times

• In February 2019, Saba Shaikh, Anees’ daughter, accused her husband Mohammed Wasim Shaikh and her in-laws of allegedly harassing her and demanding dowry from her since she got married. Saba registered a complaint at the Oshiwara police station, Andheri, Mumbai, alleging that her husband Mohammed Wasim demanded money from her father Anees and forced her to convince her father to get him a role in his films, but after she resisted, he harassed her physically and mentally. ^[7]Mid-Day

• Anees enjoys consuming alcohol at various events with friends.

  

• In September 2021, Mallika Sherawat, in an interview, talked about her replacement in the Bollywood film Welcome Back (2015), which was the sequel to Welcome (2007), and revealed that she was not cast in the film as the director Aneez Bazmee favoured his girlfriend for the role. She said,
  

  Welcome ka sequel banega toh director apni girlfriend ko hi dalega na usmein. Welcome 2 bana toh usmein apni girlfriend ko daal diya batao, ab main kya karun.” ^[8]Hindustan Times

• Anees joined as a director in the companies “Anees Bazmee Creates And Directs Entertainment Private Limited” and “Anees Bazmee Creates Private Limited” on 21 and 22 September 2022 respectively.

• In 2022, Anees directed the Bollywood film Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, starring Kartik Aaryan and Tabu, which was immensely admired by the audience. In 2023, he was nominated for the Best Director Award at the International Indian Film Academy Awards for the Bollywood film Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022).

  

• In an interview, Anees stated that he considered the famous Indian screenwriting duo Salim-Javed, comprising Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, as his inspiration behind writing scripts for films.

• As of 2023, Anees had written over 60 films of different genres in a few languages including Hindi, Tamil, and Marathi. ^[9]Firstpost

• In January 2023, three well-known Indian film directors Anees Bazmee, Indra Kumar, and Satish Kaushik, were invited to the talk show “The Kapil Sharma Show” on Sony TV. Anees, during the episode, talked about an incident, where while directing the climax scene of the Bollywood film Welcome (2007), his script was torn into pieces. Anees, who had a habit of writing scenes on the day of the shoot, prepared the climax scene on the set, where Nana Patekar had to ride a horse. Vijay Raaz, who portrayed a director in the film had to shoot a scene, where he was supposed to be exasperated. To make the scene look authentic, Vijay, accidentally took the original script and tore it into multiple pieces. ^[10]The Times of India

• In January 2023, during the telecast of an episode of the talk show “The Kapil Sharma Show,” Anees talked about how he convinced Nana Patekar to play a comic character of a don, Uday Shetty, in the Bollywood film Welcome (2007). Nana, who is known for his serious roles and unwanted tantrums, consented to play the character because Anees wanted Nana to set an example to the aspiring actors on how to portray a comic character.