Coming to Allahabad after 20 years is like life coming full circle: Anshuman Jha

Actor Anshuman Jha, identified for his role of the lovelorn wannabe director Rahul in 'Love Sex Aur Dhokha', has come a long way. Having also produced a movie for the time being, the Allahabad-born actor was thankful to be again in his hometown to shoot for a movie. "I can't believe that I am shooting in Allahabad! Coming to my hometown after 20 years to shoot for a film is like life coming full circle," stated Anshuman, adding, "I was 10 years old when I left Allahabad. It was a very strange feeling when I reached here. For the first few days I was just enjoying myself but then we were shooting non-stop so it was even more fun."
Anshuman, who was taking pictures in Allahabad for the movie 'Ishwar' directed by means of Pradeep Singrole, had a good time visiting previous haunts or even his college whenever he got loose from paintings. "The first day I reached, I was supposed to ride a horse and go around the city and I was pleasantly surprised that I still knew the roads fairly well. So I just rode around and I went and checked out my old house. I also went past my school, St Joseph's and Company Bagh and Ganga Colony, the area where I used to live. I went to Civil Lines also. It's a very famous area in Allahabad and at that time there used to a be a very famous restaurant there, Hot Stuff karke."
Anshuman provides, "As a kid, I used to have numerous stuff there. So I went there. It's more or less going again in time. I am trying to revisit the entire puts I used to grasp in Allahabad. In reality, main Hanuman ji ke mandir pe bhi gaya. Woh lete hue Hanumanji wala temple. I've a very prepared reminiscence as a kid of the statue being under water and I used to find that very interesting as a kid. Everything seems to be pretty much the same though it's a lot

extra congested but general stunning."

Anshuman at his college St Joseph's College in Allahabad (BCCL/ Pankaj Singh)

Not just eating his favorite meals at Hot Stuff, Anshuman has been having his fill of Allahabadi golgappas too. "I've been eating a lot ever since I've come here," he says, adding, "I don't remember how many motichoor ke laddoos I've had. And Civil Lines ke Hanumanji wale mandir ke besan ke laddoo. I've been having lots of things here."

Although the actor does find Allahabad changed somewhat a little, he says the previous international allure of the town is still maintained. "There's a certain old world charm that's still intact in Allahabad which I find very charming. Like outside El Chico, that chaat-walla thela is still there like it used to be 20 years ago. Or for that matter El Chico still has those old waiters who were there back then when I used to go there as a ten-year old. So I find all these things very amazing that even now they have maintained their quaint identity. The only thing that I'm not liking is all that honking. People unnecessarily honk a lot which is rude and bad. But overall, I'm so happy to be here," says Anshuman, who's also been catching up with previous friends within the town. "I have a friend here called Shweta. I had last seen her 20 years ago when we both were 10 years old. And we were very unhappy and sad and cried when I was leaving and now we met now after 20 years. In these past years we hadn't kept in touch and it's only when she saw me in the movies that she messaged me on Facebook and we sort of got in touch. And now, it's just a lovely experience to actually come to Allahabad and meet her. I went to her place for dinner and we plan to go to Hot Stuff because we last met at Hot Stuff. So for me it's a lot of nostalgia coming back to school."

And extra reminiscences got here alive for Anshuman the next day when he visited his college St Joseph's the next day. "I loved going back to visit the school. It was super nostalgia.I am a proud Allahabadi. In fact, all through my theatre years and now films, my Hindi has been a huge asset and this school and this city are a big reason for my command over the language," says the actor. "In fact I was shooting with Amitabh Bachchan ji for a commercial and we spoke mostly of Allahabad and our Hindi. We spoke about our efficiency in the Hindi language being Allahabadis. So that's a big thing that I owe to my school and to the city."

Talking in regards to the movie that Anshuman is taking pictures for in Allahabad, he says, "It's a love story based on Romeo And Juliet with UP politics as a backdrop. It's a lovely film with Sharib Hashmi playing a key character. But what I am most happy about is that I waited 20 years to come back to my place of birth and I am happy that it's for a film shoot. Through this film I'm getting to see a lot of the city that I hadn't as a kid. I used to live near that church in Civil Lines and every day I would pass it on my way to school but I had never been inside it. And shooting ke liye we did and I saw how beautiful it is!"