Is The Ring the breakthrough film Shah Rukh Khan is looking for?

Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali says his forthcoming movie with superstar Shah Rukh Khan is an attempt to break free from all assumptions, and work on something which the two of them have not done so far.

Tentatively titled The Ring, slated for release in August next year, the movie marks first collaboration between the 51-year-old actor and the director.

For Imtiaz, who has directed six films in his Bollywood career of more than a decade, there is no pressure with regard to directing Shah Rukh or making a certain type of film that the actor is known for. “No. That is not the arrangement with which we are working. The reason why Shah Rukh and I are working is because both us wanted to do something which we were not doing really,” said Imtiaz.

Through his films, the 45-year-old director has often tried to tap the modern-day relationships and portray contemporary romance on the big screen.



Imtiaz, whose last film was Tamasha, says he did not want to stick to a certain kind of movie-making and feels even the Fan actor wanted to come out and try something new. “For me, I didn’t want to fall into pattern of certain type of film. And he (Shah Rukh) wanted to break out of the pattern that he was in. That’s the reason why we got to work.”

In the film, Shah Rukh is said to be playing a tourist guide and would be seen opposite actress Anushka Sharma.

Unlike Imtiaz’s last three films -- Tamasha, Highway and Rockstar -- the music of which was scored by A R Rahman, The Ring will bring back composer Pritam, who dished out chartbuster music for the director’s movies like Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal.

When asked if The Ring will be in a similar space to these two films, Imtiaz said as of now his aim is to just make the film honestly without any comparisons. “I am not really thinking of it that way. I am just thinking of this particular story and trying to make it in the best way possible, whether it turns out closer to Jab We Met or Rockstar, that I don’t know,” he said.