Director Inder Paul Singh who makes his debut with Upcoming Punjabi Comedy film O.G.J. – Hun Vajjega Band spoke exclusively to PunjabiMania about his experience of making his directorial debut, his past life and his upcoming projects.

Tell us something about your background.

-> Basically, i hail from a simple service class family from Patiala. My father is an ex-Government employee, now retired. My family background is very humble and non-filmy but i don’t know how, films excited me since my childhood. Also i am a Graduate in Arts from Punjabi University, Patiala.

You have been in this industry for quite some time now. We would like to know about your past works.

-> Yes, i have been in this industry for over 13 years now. Earlier i have worked in various media houses like ETC Punjabi, Lashkara Channel, Channel Punjab to name a few. There i worked as an Executive and Associate Producer. I mostly dealt there with various religious programmes and documentaries. For Channel Punjab i wrote and directed a 35-Episode weekly documentary on various Gurudwaras in different-different parts of India titled as ‘Jithe Mera Satguru’. It was telecasted in 2009-10 season. Also i worked as a Line Producer in a Hollywood film titled ‘Little Terror’. Indian actors like Om Puri and Deep Dhillon worked in that film. I have also made 6 telefilms like Vich Pardesan De, Dharam te Talwaar to name a few.

Thats Great. We have a Punjabi film-maker who has experience of working in Hollywood. Now your first film is about to release in a week’s time. How’s the excitement?

-> Well it feels very exciting when your first film’s release is just around the corner. I have has a great time while making this film and i am hoping that even the audiences have a great time while watching the film. I have worked on the script of the film for around 1 year before we started shooting.

What’s O.G.J all about? The title sounds different!

-> O.G.J is a very funny and also situational comic caper film. Its a comedy of errors and i have wanted to make such type of a comedy from a very long time. I was inspired by Hrishikesh Mukherji sahab to make a film like this. He has been a genius at making error comedies. This is my way of paying tribute to the legend. Also it is a technically sound film. It is completely made in sync sound and dubbing has only been used for voiceovers. My Creative Producer Sandeep is a a genius when is comes to using technology. Also the music of the film is fantastic. I myself have written the lyrics for 4 songs.

Share your ‘On the Sets’ experience while making O.G.J.?

-> Believe me, we had a blast while making the film. All the crew members from stars to spots were like family and had a nice time while making the film. Although there have been delays in the release but we are still in touch with each other. Also the complete film is shot in my hometown, Patiala so it was more easy to access all the things like managing locations and schedules as i was familiar with all the places. Another advantage which I had was the availability of actors at their own comfort level. Most of my actors are from theatre and serials, so they carry ample experience with them. As such i did not have any difficulty while making this film.

According to you what is the most important attribute of a director.

-> Choice of various attributes makes a good film. But for a director what i feel is that it is the choice of a right script which makes a good film. Script to a film is what foundation is to a building. No doubt even the technical aspects are also important but it will only work when you have a good and a proper script. Dibakar Banerjee’s ‘Khosla Ka Ghosla’ is a very fine example of what i am trying to say. I would like to add one more thing about O.G.J. that it is a very simple and situational comedy and not a larger than life film like we have seen in various films. My merit is my script and performances and not fancy locations and vulgarity.

Who is your source of inspiration for turning into a director?

-> It would be 2 people – Guru Dutt and Rajkumar Hirani ji. Both these filmmakers have made films where scripts have been the real heroes in the films.

What are your Upcoming Projects?

-> I am working on 1 script at the moment actually 2 of them. But these days everything is on hold as i await the release of O.G.J. But i will tell you one thing that my next film is not a purely commercial film but a film of a different league.

# O.G.J. – Hun Vajjega Band releases March 8, 2013….