How’s it shooting in Hyderabad?
Honestly, the Film City is like a fortress (laughs). But we are having a great time shooting in Hyderabad. Despite the studio being far away from the city, I’ve managed to come to town a record number of times to watch The Expendables.
Remakes seem to be the flavour in Bollywood these days. You have followed suit with Himmatwala.
At the onset, I would like to clarify that my Himmatwala is not a remake, but a rewrite. I was 11 years old when I watched the original starring Jeetendra and Sridevi. When I began my career as a filmmaker, I always thought about the movies I watched while growing up, and imagined what it would be like if it was written differently. I then went about rewriting the story in a different scenario. And when I got the chance to make my version of Himmatwala, I jumped at the opportunity. So, I’m not remaking the original, but working on a rewritten version which is a tribute to it. Of course, my film too has been set in the 80s because the punch lines I’ve written, goes well with the era.
Ajay Devgn and Tamannaah star in your film. An unusual choice, considering the original starred Jeetendra and Sridevi.
At the time that Jeetuji did the movie, he was known as Jumping Jack. That was the tag he earned for the films he did. When I was reworking on the script, I realized that today Ajay Devgn is an actor who can pull off any genre with ease, without being tagged. And that’s the sort of person I needed for the movie. Look at Ajay’s repertoire of films — he’s done comedy, action, drama, suspense. He does everything with intensity. As far as Tamannaah is concerned, I was clear from the beginning that I wanted to cast a popular actor from South India as I wanted to stay true to the original, in which Sridevi, a diva was the South was cast opposite Jeetuji. Tamannaah had done a Hindi film earlier, but nothing compares to her popularity down South. She fit the bill perfectly. And mark my words — Tamannaah is going to be the next Sridevi in Bollywood. She is immensely talented and hard working. Plus, it’s always a joy to work with South actors as they are extremely disciplined. If the shoot is at 6 am, trust my heroine to be on the sets with make-up on, right on time! That’s the kind of professionalism a filmmaker looks forward to from his actors.
You have three back-to-back blockbusters in your kitty. Yet, all of them have been thrashed by the critics. Honestly, movie critics in India lack the basic knowledge in cinema. The tragedy of it all is that they are in a position to review films because they have somehow managed to land themselves a job in that particular organization. Yes, all my films have been thrashed — mercilessly, if I may add — by critics. But the audience gave it a thumping response at the Box Office. The real critics are my audience and if they have given my films a thumbs up, I don’t care what movie reviewers have to say.
Quite ironic considering that not too long ago, you were reviewing movies on a TV show. Well, yes I did review cinema before I become a filmmaker. But if you’ve seen my show, you’ll know that I spoke about the different aspects that the movie brought out. I knew what I was talking about. Tell me, how many critics today know what they are saying or writing? I openly challenge 1,000, no make it 10,000, critics from the country to sit across from me at the table and have a debate on cinema. I guarantee you, at the end of the session, I’ll shut them all up. I’m a big fan of Hindi movies and as a filmmaker I’m staying true to the spirit of Indian cinema.
So, how are you “staying true to the spirit of Indian Cinema”?
Well, for one, my films have something for every age group. Also, I am the only filmmaker today who still works with animals. Who else does that? Even though it is tough to get permissions to shoot with them abroad, I insist on having animals because I know that a kid sitting in the theatre will enjoy it. I must admit that they are taken care of better than most technicians (laughs). Also, my movies borrow from the past and have a bit of nostalgia attached to it, making it special to the audience. The fact that my movies make more than Rs 100 crores at the Box Office is proof enough that the audience loves it. Right now, every filmmaker aspires to be in the “100 crore club”…
Unfortunately, that’s the parameter of judging cinema these days. Earlier, people talked about how long a movie ran in theatres and accordingly, they celebrated silver and golden jubilees. In today’s scenario, a film can’t possibly have a good run for a month. The opening weekend is crucial as it brings in the audience and moolah. So now, parameters to judge cinema too have gone through a sea change and now it’s the ‘100 crore club’. So, yes, as a filmmaker, even I speak in commercial terms. Actors like Akshay Kumar and Riteish Deshmukh constantly feature in your films… Well, I share a great rapport with them. Plus, they are good actors and they totally suited the roles they did in my movies.
COURTESY TOI
