Stranger than Fiction!

It's the truth... Siddharth Anand wants Priyanka Chopra and Ranbir Kapoor to meet as strangers

It's the truth... Siddharth Anand wants Priyanka Chopra and Ranbir Kapoor to meet as strangers

Director Siddharth Anand is bending over backwards trying to ensure that Priyanka Chopra and Ranbir Kapoor avoid each other completely, to ensure the element of surprise on the first day of shooting Anjana Anjani in Bangkok in mid-November. Incidentally, the two have never met formally and barely know each other.

Jab they didn't meet: Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra

Says Anand, "One of the main reasons for signing them is the fact that Ranbir and Priyanka have never met, let alone interacted. That's why they are even more perfect for the roles. I wanted the surprise in their introductory scene to be genuine."

Adds Siddharth, "That's why we aren't even having any workshops or rehearsals although Priyanka and Ranbir are the only two characters in the film." That's the other USP in the film. Priyanka and Ranbir are together on screen for the entire film with no other characters apart from incidental walk-on parts, intruding on their growing relationship.

Explains Siddharth Anand, "The film begins shooting on December 11 and ends on December 31. It's also in sync sound. So Ranbir and Priyanka need to be fully prepared when the camera rolls. But I don't want them to look rehearsed or like a couple who know one another. I'm hoping Ranbir and Priyanka won't attend the same parties and come face-to-face before the shoot."

Anjana Anjani is based on an idea given to Siddharth Anand by his biwi. "One day my wife Mamta told me this story. It immediately clicked."

The film will be shot in Bangkok, New York, San Jose, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Mumbai.