’90s villain Shiva set to make solo debut as director

Mumbai, Sep 17 (IANS) Actor Shiva Rindan, best recalled for his numerous villain acts in the eighties and the nineties, is all set to make his solo directorial debut with a film titled "Kandy Twist".

"Somewhere down the line, I always wanted to become a director. When I was shooting for 'Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak', I would watch Aamir Khan and (the film's director) Mansoor Khan talking about different shots and various issues, and I asked Mansoor sir one day, 'what does it feel to be a director?' He told me, 'It satisfies you creatively'. I feel a director makes his film and people wait for its release, to see how it has shaped up. So, I wanted to become a director whose films people would wait to watch eagerly," said Shiva, interacting with the media at the trailer launch of his film with the s cast and crew on Monday in Mumbai.

Shiva became a familiar face in the Bollywood commercial circuit primarily in the nineties, with numerous roles in films including "Hum", "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak", "Ghatak", and "Roja".

He has earlier co-directed a film called "Raqt" in 2013 with Adi Irani, but "Kandy Twist" will mark his solo directorial debut. The film is a crime thriller.

"It was really a good experience to direct this film. Basically, most of the cast are my friends, and they are really good actors," he said.

Asked to name his inspirations, Shiva said: "I have taken inspiration from filmmakers such as Mani Ratnam and Mukul Anand. Apart from them, I feel that new filmmakers also teach you a lot. I never differentiated between A-grade and B-grade filmmakers. I just wanted to learn good things from them."

"Kandy Twist" features Akshay Khardia, Divya Singh, Pari Chaudhary, Shiva Singh, Adi Irani, Arti Joshi, Nirmal Guneria, Ashish Mishra, Dinero Ash and Greg De Souza in key roles.