All your films like ‘Ek Hasina Thi’ (2004), ‘Johnny Gaddaar’ (2007), ‘Agent Vinod’ (2012) and ‘Badlapur’ (2015) delve into the darker side of the human psyche. Are you intrigued by it?
As a filmmaker, I tilt towards stories which are crime-led. I can’t think of any psychological reason as to why I tend to tell these stories. Right from childhood, I have enjoyed films which belong to the thriller genre. As a kid, I would read novels written by Agatha Christie and James Hadley Chase. Also, in these films, you get a chance to live vicariously through someone else’s chaos. You feel safe that it’s not happening to you and yet, you go through the adventure and can experience the thrill.
All your films like ‘Ek Hasina Thi’ (2004), ‘Johnny Gaddaar’ (2007), ‘Agent Vinod’ (2012) and ‘Badlapur’ (2015) delve into the darker side of the human psyche. Are you intrigued by it?
Don’t you ever feel the need to take a break from such dark subjects?Well, I wanted to make a less intense film after a dark revenge drama like ‘Badlapur’. ‘AndhaDhun’ is a thriller on the lines of ‘Johnny Gaddar’. It’s a fun film in the macabre sense of the word. It also has moments of wickedness and brutality.
Don’t you ever feel the need to take a break from such dark subjects?
Were you always fixated with being a filmmaker in Bollywood? Or, did you have other plans, too?
People don’t know what filmmaking is even after they have made ten films (laughs!). Even I didn’t know what filmmaking really was, but I knew that I wanted to be a part of this world, because I was not particularly good at anything else. I assisted the late Mukul Anand for a while and then I joined FTII, and that’s where I started enjoying the process of learning the craft. My parents were huge film buffs, but as kids, we were allowed to watch only films like ‘Born Free’ and ‘Ben Hur’.
Were you always fixated with being a filmmaker in Bollywood? Or, did you have other plans, too?
In fourteen years as a filmmaker, why have you directed only five films?
It’s not something that I orchestrated. My second film ‘Johnny Gaddar’ got delayed because of financial reasons. The film was taken over by another production house, and in the process, we lost a year. With ‘Agent Vinod’, there was a lot of chaos with schedules and the film took a year-and-a-half to shoot. ‘Badlapur’ was the only film which was wrapped up in nine months. I have never had the problem of finding a producer for my films. In fact, ‘Badlapur’ was the first film when I saw box-office success. I often got offers to remake films, but that didn’t interest me. I have no interest in remaking a film in Hindi which has already been made in the South. I prefer adapting from a book than a movie. My problem has always been about ensuring that I have a solid story to tell. In that sense, I am choosy about the stories that I want to tell.
In fourteen years as a filmmaker, why have you directed only five films?
The commercial viability of an actor doesn’t matter to me when I am writing the film, but it does to everyone else around (laughs!). The producers will say that a particular actor’s last film did only a certain amount of business, but according to me, that’s utter nonsense.
As a creative person, how do you navigate this tricky territory because the studio is after all producing the movie?
As a creative person, how do you navigate this tricky territory because the studio is after all producing the movie?
The studio producing a film also believes in good cinema and wants the best for the film, but according to their wisdom. The trailer of ‘AndhaDhun’, which everyone has liked, has its own story. According to me, it was the story of a blind man and I said there should only be sounds in the trailer and no visuals. The studio was shocked. They had a particular trailer in mind and I had another. I understood their point of view and they understood mine. After heated discussions, we decided on this particular trailer. I didn’t want to give away too many things about the film in the trailer and they understood my point of view.
Have you ever had to compromise as a filmmaker because the studio was not willing to go ahead with your creative take on a film? We often hear studios say that there is no point producing a film which only the makers will want to watch.
Have you ever had to compromise as a filmmaker because the studio was not willing to go ahead with your creative take on a film? We often hear studios say that there is no point producing a film which only the makers will want to watch.
That is a constant argument. The studio might be right at times, because filmmakers also tend to be indulgent. I have not faced a situation where I have been given an ultimatum by the producers. If I am given an ultimatum, then I will bid the producers goodbye.
