Aanand L Rai Wants Shah Rukh Khan to be His New Raanjhanaa

Mumbai: Director Aanand L Rai, who has churned out beautiful romantic films, now wants to make a movie with Shah Rukh Khan, the king in this genre.

In Tanu Weds Manu, Mr Rai, who has a penchant for out of the box love stories, created this story of 'love at first sight' where the guy Manu, played by actor R Madhavan falls for Tanu, a free spirited girl, portrayed by Kangana Ranaut.

In Raanjhanaa, he showed a love triangle between south actor Dhanush, Sonam Kapoor and Abhay Deol. "As I deal with romance in my films I do wish to make a romantic film with Shah Rukh Khan, he is the right, best man in this space. If I have anything exciting and feel he will like it I will surely approach him," Mr Rai, who is readying for the release Tanu weds Manu Returns, told PTI in an interview.

"I was a little shy when I first met Shah Rukh. He is a relaxed man. There was a connect between us, we had a healthy conversation. But I did not tell him that I wish to make a romantic film with him," he said. He feels the absence of love in real life somewhere pushes him to create beautiful love stories on screen.

There were reports that he was going to make a film with superstar Salman Khan, was going to play a dwarf.

Apparently Salman was upset that the storyline of this film was out so he wished to stay away from the project. When asked about the status of the film with Salman, he said, "My entire focus is on Tanu Weds Manu Returns right now. I am too much into this. After the release of Tanu Weds Manu Returns I will be a bit relaxed so that time I will talk about it."

He would also be making another romantic film with Dhanush but that will also take some time.

"There are a couple of stories that I have, including the one with Dhanush. I have an idea about this film in my mind. Right now I am too focused on the release of Tanu Weds Manu Returns," Mr Rai said.

Tanu Weds Manu Returns is the sequel to the 2011 hit film Tanu Weds Manu. The first part had Kangana and Madhavan who will reprise their roles from the original. In this second installment Kangana also portrays the additional role of a Haryanvi athlete in the film. The movie is scheduled for release on May 22.

"When we made the first part we did not think of making it into a sequel. But the two characters - Tanu and Manu became so lovable that we got an idea and thought of making it into a film. We have retained both Kangana and Madhavan because they are perfect fit for the role that they played," he said.

"I did not think it (film) will become a brand. We have not made Tanu Weds Manu Returns for commercial reasons," he said.

According to Mr Rai, making a sequel is not easy as there are expectations from the first part.

"Keeping it real was a challenge for me. We did not want to make anything just for the heck of it. We want to make an entertaining film for the audience," he adds. He might make a third film in Tanu Weds Manu series, provided he gets an exciting story.