Aanand L Rai: Bauua Singh is Meerut. Whenever you see him on screen, you will see Meerut

Anand L Rai’s 'Zero' is one of the most anticipated films of the year, and while one of the reasons is that the star cast headlined by Shah Rukh Khan, there is a lot that makes the film unique. For one, Shah Rukh is romancing two leading ladies but he is doing so as a dwarf. As Aanand L Rai says, “I took two feet of his height away from him, so when he extends those arms, woh bhi chhote hain.” Most notably, the film’s protagonist Bauua Singh hails from Meerut, and that too the rustic desi bylanes of Meerut.It is the first time a star of this stature has adopted the Meeruthiya twang and can be seen wandering at the city’s Ghanta Ghar (albeit recreated in a Mumbai studio). We sat down with the film’s director to chat about why Meerut was needed for the story, the idea of shooting there, and why Shah Rukh needs to have coffee once at the Ghanta Ghar.
Also See: Zero Movie Review
The story is set in Meerut. We see the Ghanta Ghar on the posters and Meerut is mentioned quite a few times in the trailer. Meerut is almost a character in the film from the looks of it. A filmmaker usually bases stories in towns and locations that they are familiar with but Meerut is not a city where you have lived. So, why did you choose a city that is not exactly alien to you but pretty unfamiliar?
It’s not the location that attracts me. It’s the person for me– the character. In this case, it’s Bauua (Shah Rukh’s character). Whenever you see Bauua, you will see Meerut. Whether he is in Meerut or New York hardly matters. He has described Meerut in himself. Banaras is totally different from Meerut and when I say that, it’s nothing to do with the Ghanta Ghar or the ghats. You look at Kundan (the protagonist in 'Raanjhanaa'), you will see Banaras. I can do a character sketch and it will apply to Meerut also and Bauua also.
Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma in Zero
While cinema may have found western UP and Meerut in particular, it hasn’t caught on to the linguistic differences between the eastern and western parts of the state that much. East UP has a different accent– the hum, the tehzeeb, the lehek, and mostly filmmakers use that as a blanket UP accent even if the film is set in Meerut or Bareilly. Were you surprised at the difference and decided to consciously use the Meerut accent hence?
That’s our learning. We are growing as makers. We are understanding and doing more detailed stuff now. That’s the need of the hour. As an industry, we are growing, as storytellers we are growing. What is making us work very hard is the speed at which the audience is growing. They are getting to see a lot of stuff coming from overseas as well. So, somewhere the kind of detailing that should have started a decade ago, we are doing it now. It’s important for us as storytellers that we stick to it and do our job properly.
Shah Rukh and Katrina in Zero
When you talk about detailing, there is often talk of shooting in the real locations, so the story is more realistic. You went to Meerut last year before filming began and there were reports that you wanted to shoot there in the Walled City. Is it true?
See, I have done that before–going to the real locations and shooting. But for me, those walls and monuments were not important. For me, it was whether I understand the person and the character. Whether I put up a set in Mumbai or shoot at a real location hardly matters. It’s about people, and I always say that people are always interested in people. It has nothing to do with the ghat or the India Gate. Delhi is not about the Rashtrapati Bhavan. It’s about the person. You see a person and say ‘Are you a Delhiite?’ You see Bauua Singh and you will say, ‘Tu Meerut se hai kya?’ It’s as simple as that. Now, I have been in Mumbai for many years...since 1993, it has been 25 years, nearly half of my life. But abhi bhi log mujhe bolte hain Mumbai mein, ‘Aap Delhi se hain?’ So, it’s like you can’t take Delhi out of me.
And logistically, it would have been impossible to shoot with Shah Rukh at the Ghanta Ghar...
It would have been difficult. But I wanted to take him to Meerut. I still do. Abhi bhi bolta hoon unse ki Khan sahib ek din 6 baje chalte hain bina kisi ko bataye. We will go to the Ghanta Ghar. I will have the chai there and you can have your coffee. But I just want him to get a feel of the land, the place where the movie is set. But for some reason or the other, it never materialises.

Now, even though you say the location doesn’t matter as much to you, it’s funny that Zero isn’t the first film of 2018 to show Meerut. Badhaai Ho did that as well. There are at least three other films and web series being written or shot that are all based in Meerut. Till a few years ago, the town was barely on the periphery of filmmakers’ radars. It did not exist in cinema. What has been the reason that this city, which does not have history of Banaras, Agra, or Lucknow, suddenly found so many stories that even Shah Rukh Khan is playing a character from there?
I don’t know. Maybe it is a coincidence. For me, I knew five years back that I wanted to do something like this and Himanshu (Sharma, the film’s writer) came up with this idea and we picked up Meerut. Trust me, tomorrow if I feel the story needs Thiruvananthapuram, I will go there, if my character is asking for it. This character required Meerut. He has got so much Meerut in him. I can’t place him in Banaras. That arrogance, that akad that I wanted in the character and the story was something I couldn’t have found in another city. Similarly, Manu (from 'Tanu Weds Manu') was a Delhi boy. I can’t take him to Meerut.
So maybe the stories of today are demanding the makers to set them in Meerut?
I think it is just a coincidence. I don’t know if people are specifically targeting Meerut. It’s not that. It’s just that maybe a couple of makers are thinking alike and it’s just reaching Meerut.