10 yrs of ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’: Maneesh Sharma says he wanted to make his directing debut with ‘Fan’

With his debut film "Band Baaja Baaraat" completing 10 years, filmmaker Maneesh Sharma on Thursday revealed he wanted to make his debut as a director with 2016 movie "Fan" but fate had other plans.

The 2010 romantic comedy, which marked Maneesh Sharma's debut as a filmmaker, featured newcomer Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma as two wedding planners who start their own venture in Delhi.

Produced by Yash Raj Films (YRF), the film had a low-key release but benefited immensely due to its terrific word of mouth, with audience's showering praise on the chemistry between Ranveer's Bittoo and Anushka's Shruti.

Maneesh, who previously served as assistant director on films such as "Fanaa", "Aaja Nachle" and "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi", said he had written "Fan" with superstar Shah Rukh Khan in mind as his directing debut.

"By the time I was finishing 'Aaja Nachle', I told Adi that I wanted to make 'Fan'. He said it is a very ambitious film and I should work on my idea. Then, two months later, Adi called me again and asked me to come to YRF.

"He told me that he is making a film with SRK, which we now know as 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' and he told me he wanted me to work on this film. Obviously, I said ok. By the time 'Rab Ne' was finishing, Adi said, I think we should plan your directorial. I was thrilled, I was like 'Great, 'Fan' is ready, let's do that'," Maneesh said in a statement.

However, producer Aditya Chopra felt "Fan" was an expensive film for a first-time filmmaker and asked him to start with something smaller.

"I was genuinely very, very dejected by this. I was dejected that I'm not getting to make my dream film and now I have to think of a mid-sized film.

"I told myself that it's ok and now I need to think of a new film to make. I came across, or thought of, and somehow Bittu and Shruti came from somewhere in my life. When I got my characters, I worked on the story and I came up with 'Band Baaja Baaraat'. That's how my first film as a director happened, and thankfully it went well," Maneesh said.

The film went to become a countrywide hit, launching Ranveer as an actor in the industry.

Maneesh finally fulfilled his wish of making "Fan" and working with Khan six years later but the movie, which was bankrolled by YRF, was met with mixed response from the audiences and the critics.

Ranveer, who debuted as an actor with "Band Baaja Baaraat", is one of the most commercially successful actors of Hindi cinema, owing to his performances in movies such as "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela", "Bajirao Mastani", "Padmaavat", "Simmba" and "Gully Boy".