Director Milind Ukey had 1st gained a recognized limelight with a Shahid Kapoor & Nana Patekar starrer movie ‘Pathshaala’. And then he came into his own with varied language films made every once in 2 years and he is still around with many more filmy martial arts tucked up his directorial sleeves. At present, he is ready with his extraordinaire martial art movie named ‘Ranviir – The Martial’, whose imminent release is just round the corner.
To start off with, how about giving us a brief lowdown on your pre -filmic background?
I am from Nagpur. I am basically a Mechanical Engineer from VNIT. I had done my 3 year Film Direction Course from FTII Pune.
Now tell us how & from where did your cinematic journey begin?
I had started off as an associate director for Sanjay Leela Bhansali in ‘Khamoshi’ & ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’. I had made my 1st independent feature film in Marathi named ‘Devaki’ which had won 27 awards. Then I had made films like ‘Hanuman’ the 1st animation film, ‘Paathshaala’ with Shahid Kapoor & Nana Patekar, ‘Dehradun Diary’ with Adhyayan Suman. Then I had made 2 more films in between namely ‘Deshdevi’ & ‘Humne Jeena Seekh Liya’. I was also a creative director for ‘Naina’.
Fine! By the way, why was there such a long gap in your directional arena?
I have made 1 feature film every 2 years for the last 10 years. Hence, there is not much gap in the directional arena. Making good films from conception to release does take around 1.5 to 2 years.
Time to reveal about your upcoming film ‘Ranviir – The Marshal’ in a nutshell’?
‘Ranviir – The Marshal’ is the 1st of its kind film in India which is completely based on 8 kinds of martial arts. All artists are expert professional martial artists. Every character , story, backdrop, twists & turns deals with only martial arts. The fights are choreographed by professional martial artists, supported by International Taekwondo Federations of India. The feel, the structure & the execution of this film is on the lines of the international martial arts films.
What according to you are the highlights of ‘Ranviir – The Marshall’?
The great martial arts fights of the lead hero and the professional martial artists, the arena fights, the pure martial arts competition fights involving 800 students, the international look of the characters & the backdrops and above all 8 kind of martial arts in the finale and above all 6 International fighters are the highlights of the film.
Scores of martial art movies are being made time & again, so what’s so special about ‘Ranviir – The Marshal?
You see full-fledged martial arts films are not made in India. There is specific writing, designing & fight composition of martial arts films, which nobody understands in India. I myself practiced martial arts. I studied martial arts cinema from ‘Enter The Dragon’ to the recent ‘Grandmastar’. Besides I also learnt some cinematic fight technique from Hong Kong fight master in London. So I can proudly claim that ‘Ranviir – The Marshal’ is a 1st of its kind of martial arts film completely based on art, culture, skills & designs of only martial arts.
When is the movie finally releasing and what was the specific reasons for its delay?
It is finally releasing on 23rd Oct, 2015 and there was no delay in the film as such. Its only that lots of post production work takes time as much as ground level marketing does. We had long connect programme with 5000 martial arts clubs all over India. So it takes time.
Is your film a message oriented one and what message are you trying to impart?
This is a sports film based on martial arts sports. Today’s children are too absorbed in electronic gadgets, video games, internets,
smart phones et al, thereby restricting their physical growth. This film will inspire them to come out of their closets & play ground games. The Guru in my film says, “Martial arts ek jeene ki kala hai, ek aam aadmi se ek kabil insaan banane tak ka safar” It will also inspire girls to learn the self-defence techniques.
How was it moulding & working with debutante artistes. Did they deliver the goods and finally are you satisfied as a director?
Every actor has delivered a superb performance. Rishy as Ranviir is outstanding in fighting as well as emotional & dramatic sequences. Rajesh as a stylized villain is unique. Shibani Kashyap debuting as a vamp with a hunter is too good to be true. NSD Guru of acting Robin Das adds the spiritual angle to the film. Viswajeet Pradhan as composed guide & Ratiji as over powering mother are amazing. The professional martial artists Sameer Khan, Vinod Koomang, Prateek Parmar are outstanding in their fights of international standards.
As a parting shot tell us what is next on your filmmaking agenda?
I am busy making 3 films at the moment. Firstly I am working on the next level of martial arts film. Another project is a true international story about Gomla village. Period!
