Feb 10, 2026 4:05pm IST
‘I was Fearless in My First Film and I Still Am’: ‘Pathaan’ Director Siddharth Anand Reflects on His 20-Year Filmmaking Journey (EXCLUSIVE)
Over the past decade, Siddharth Anand has established himself as one of the most prominent action filmmakers in Hindi cinema. With blockbusters like “Bang Bang," “War” and “Pathaan," he has built a reputation for making large-scale spectacles mounted on a massive canvas and headlined by the industry's biggest stars in their most mainstream avatars.
Yet Anand’s filmography is not defined by action alone. Before pivoting to high-octane entertainers, he had directed some of the most successful romantic comedies of the time, earning both commercial success and audience goodwill. For the filmmaker, genre has never been the driving force; the story is. Anand has consistently maintained that rather than chasing trends, he is drawn to narratives of every kind.
“I never saw myself as an action filmmaker because, honestly, till then, action was not a contemporary genre. When I became a filmmaker, the films that were doing well were love stories, slice-of-life dramas and comedies. That was a call of the day,” says Anand, reflecting on his shift toward action. He insists that he does not intentionally set out to make big-budget films. Instead, he begins with an idea that organically grows in scale during production. “I am not into big and small here; I just want to tell stories,” he adds.
In this first part of exclusive interview with Variety India, Anand talks about his transition to action after a successful run in the rom-com space, his desire to revisit romance, and why his female characters are rarely portrayed as oppressed or submissive. The director is currently shooting for his upcoming Christmas release, “King”, starring Shah Rukh Khan.
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It’s been 20 years since you directed your first film. What do you remember about the first day on the set of 'Salaam Namaste"?
It was my first film. I was really young. And Adi (Aditya Chopra) entrusted me with going and making the film in one long schedule in Australia. It was a 100-day schedule spread over three and a half months, and it was a daunting task in my head. But when you're young, you're fearless. You go ahead and just take the plunge—and that's what I did.
My first day was the beach scene where Saif Ali Khan and Preity Zinta’s characters meet face-to-face for the first time. It was a wedding scene. We had built a full set there. And, as destiny would have it, everything that could go wrong went wrong. A storm hit, and the entire set blew away before I could take my first shot. We were sitting and holding the tent up and nailing things to the ground, putting drapes around there and checking props. My wife, Mamta, was there, and we were all working like set people. My first day as a director was more like being a person from an art direction team.
Two decades and eight films later, has the feeling of stepping onto a set on day one changed?
On the first day on set of my first film, I was fearless, and I think that feeling is still there. I don't take pressure as such, though I love chaos. I'm always in a state of chaos in my head, so I don't generally take that pressure, and I hope I don't have to ever do that. I just enjoy my work and look forward to being on set. I feel like I'm on a holiday when I'm working. I'm just blessed that way.
You started your directorial journey with a romantic comedy and made four consecutive films in the romance genre. And then you pivoted to action with “Bang Bang”. How did this transition from a rom-com to action happen?
It wasn't planned. It just happened that I had finished “Anjaana Anjaani”, and I was looking for what to do next. I was working on a couple of ideas in the romantic space, the same genre that I was making for the last five or six years. One day, I got a call from Fox Star Studios, and they met me and offered me the remake of "Knight and Day"—a film with Tom Cruise that had just been released. And that took me by surprise. It was, in fact, one of the films that I had seen and really enjoyed, and I thought that there was great potential in the film. I had seen its trailer and thought, ‘Wow, that's a fun film.’ And it just landed on my lap. And the rest is history. I made “Bang Bang” from that material and have never looked back since. So, I guess the action films chose me more than me choosing that genre.
You often develop your own stories. Would you prefer ready scripts?
What happens quintessentially in India is that a filmmaker needs to become a writer himself and start hunting for a story he wants to tell and then write it himself. Traditionally, it's been that. I haven't been lucky where writers come up with scripts and hand over a ready script for me to make. I have to make my own stories and write my own stories. I've been happy doing that. Obviously, I'll be happier if I get a ready script which excites me. There's nothing that'll give me more happiness than that.
You haven't made a romantic movie in a long time. What holds you back?
I think it's time I made a romantic film—not for people, but just for breaking the mold for myself. Whether it's a romantic film or whether it's another genre, I want to do it all. But what drives me mostly is the story, and I need to find a story. I don't look to do a big film or just an action on a big scale. I don't seek that. I just seek the story. My stories are generally small and intimate, but I think the texture and the scale that I inherently bring to them make the film big in terms of production. But I look for that germ, that story that excites me, that is going to keep me excited for two years during the making of that film, so that I have to hold on to that one thought that excited me, that made me decide to make the film. I always look for that. And I keep reminding myself through the journey of the film that this is why I am making the film; this is why I chose the film, so that I don't deviate from it.
Do you have any romantic scripts right now?
I am seeking them desperately. I don't have any right now. Right now, it's all “King” for me.
But is it going to be easier? Can Siddharth Anand make a comparatively small film at this stage of his career?
As I said, I choose small ideas which turn out to be big films. That’s an inherent quality in me as a filmmaker. I don’t set out to do it intentionally. If the story really demands it, I will stay true to it. I would love writers to reach out to me and give me that film to make. I am not into big and small here; I just want to tell stories.
Heroines in your film are often portrayed as empowered, free-spirited, independent and strong—many of them even perform action sequences. What inspires this?
I think it also comes from having strong women in my life. From my wife, my mother. They have very, very strong personalities. My mother has brought me up. My father passed away 25 years ago when I was still very young. And I've seen my mother as a very strong lady. Then I met my wife, Mamata, who is really fiercely independent, very strongly opinionated, and rightly so. She has also shaped me as a filmmaker—bringing in a lot of nuances and a lot of tenderness and strength in me as a filmmaker. And I credit them for the filmmaker I am today. And so inherently, that’s what shows in my female characters. I can never see them as subdued, submissive and subservient. Because I don't have those kinds of women around me. I haven't met them. I think it's really from what I live, what I breathe. My female characters stem from that.
Can we expect a female-led film from you?
Why not? I think it's the time and day and age for character-driven films. And we've seen a lot of films around us that have outperformed. So, it's not about the box office but, again, about the story that will command it.
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