Why another gangster film, was the question which many people asked me when I wanted to make CONTRACT

!irst of all I don"t really understand what a gangster film means !ilms are primarily made on character conflicts and the issues it deals with The #ackground $ust gi%es it a dimension !or e&ample the story of CO'(AN) could ha%e #een set in a Corporate set*up with the outcome of conflicts $ust coming to indi%idual #eings fired from their $o#s instead of #eing literally fired upon The underworld #ackground $ust gi%es it a sharp edge to make it more hard*hitting +a%ing said that I must also confess that normal, ci%ili,ed, nice family people #ore me to death Now coming #ack to my reason for making another so*called underworld film is this that in -../ 0the year 12atya1 released3 according to police statistics there were -45 shootouts related to the underworld and in 6447 there were $ust 89 It does not mean the underworld as we knew is almost finished It has $ust meta*morphed into something much more dangerous, and in some instances it has #ecome a conduit for terrorist networks The reason why the terrorists would require this kind of support is #ecause mostly the terrorists would #e from outside and primarily moti%ated #y ideology They would require ground support, safe houses, local intelligence, sea routes and land routes to get in arms and e&plosi%es and informants in the (olice department 2ince the underworld is a criminal #usiness organi,ation it can easily collude with the corrupt forces in the (olice :epartment to which a terrorist cell might not ha%e an access to And these the underworld would pro%ide, for either financial gain or in some cases sympathi,ing with the cause The menace of this ne&us has caused a comple& pro#lem for the %arious policing agencies of the country like the R A W, I ;, C ;, C I :, Crime ;ranch, Anti Terrorist 2quad etc for they can no longer afford to #e secreti%e and are forced to share their information with each other which results in leakages for the simple reason that the more people know, the more are the chances of it #eing leaked out CONTRACT is a film against this #ackdrop Check out the Contract promo trailer. .<=/ (' > Add a comment > Read comments 07-3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it > !ilms 6=@47@6445

My reactions to reactions - )ou could ha%e e&plored the connect #etween the $anata and the Nagres more and shown their compassion for 2hankar"s deathA Ans< If you noticed I ha%e always treated the people who idoli,e 2arkar %ery am#iguously They are almost ghostly in their demeanour Case in point is when 2arkar gets arrested in 2arkar*I Instead of them shouting slogans and a#using the police, there is a strange unnatural deathly stillness a#out them I copied this from a scene in BThe !inal ConflictC the Drd in the series of BThe OmenC where when :amien 0the son of 2atan3 addresses a crowd they ha%e a %ery similar #ody language That"s #ecause one would know what kind of people would worship 2atan Taking a leaf from this I thought gi%en the unusual nature of a leader like 2u#hash Nagre it"s safer to keep them at a distance and lea%e it to the imagination of the audience 6 What was running in your mind while making BNisha#dC Ans< Nisha#d D (eople @ media critici,e you #ecause of their e&pectations from you Ans< Any criticism made #y any#ody is only for the e&press purpose of entertaining themsel%es and others = Why did you make B'adhyanam +atyaCA (lease don"t say B#ecause I wanted to make it C Ans< Thanks for making me feel predicta#le ;ut that"s the only reason and it"s the same reason for all my films 8 I ha%e heard lot a#out the hardships you went through #efore making your first film Ans< Not true I always ha%e had a #all in my life e%er since I can remem#er :ifficulties and hardships are a state of mind If you truly #elie%e and understand that you are nothing, #ut $ust one more person among the millions of people out there and also understand that none of them owe you anything, you will come to terms with the fact that you cannot and should not depend on any#ody or anything and the onus is on you to make it in life Eet"s say you desire to go from your town to another town and en*route it starts raining 2omeone tells you that the road might #e flooding ahead Now you ha%e a choice to turn #ack or somehow get a ride in a car or continue dri%ing taking the risk of may #e getting stuck or e%en dying as long as your o#$ecti%e is to reach the other town ;ut one thing you should not do is to #lame the rain or get angry with it or pray to it or plead with it The rain is the difficulties and the town I wanted to reach is making my first film and I en$oyed and got enriched #y my $ourney each and e%ery minute of it

7 In 2hi%a, was Chinna hitting the pole shot, thought at scripting stage or did it happen during the shootA Ans< Actually I copied that from a scene in ;alu 'ahendra"s film B2admaC 0B'oondrum (iraiC in Tamil3 starring Famal +assan and 2ride%i In the clima& 2ride%i is in the train which is mo%ing towards us in the right of the frame and Famal is running in the left of the frame towards us desperate to see 2ride%i 2o the audience"s eyes are caught in #etween Famal and the train $ust in case 2ride%i will come out, so they miss the entry of pole from the left till they see Famal suddenly hit it I re%ersed this in 2hi%a I esta#lished Chinna #eing chased #y the goons In that particular shot he is running towards the camera I deli#erately kept space to the left and as Chinna looks #ack to the left of the frame #ehind him to see if the goons are following it draws the attention of the audience to the same and they miss the poles entry from the right of the frame till he hits it ;ecause they are in the emotional state of Chinna the suddenness of it creates an impact as if they themsel%es ha%e #een hit As per your question whether I thought of it in the script or it happened at the shoot you should address this to 'r ;alu 'ahendra As you know now I copied it from him Incidentally 2udhakar hitting the rock scene is from 'ansoor Fhan"s BGayamat 2e Gayamat TakC which more or less has the same psychology / I heard you are remaking Aag Why would you want to remake your own filmA Ans< Who else would do itA A flop one at thatA I am #asically like the spider in that Fings story where he learns from it ne%er to gi%e up 5 Hnough of mafia, horror and thrillers9 'ake some responsi#le mo%ies that can #ring in change in all of us Ans< Ok 2ir . I did not understand your answer on why you are so fascistic in your decisions Can you e&plain it for this FI student of filmmakingA Ans< * Wait till you grow up -4 With e%ery mo%ie you ha%e an incredi#le story to tell Just that in a few of them the e&ecution strays Ans< * Well that"s the story of my life 'ost of them I would say9 -- +ow did you ha%e money to produce a #ig #udget mo%ie like Rangeela after your failing in Telugu

AnsK * It"s a #ig misconception people ha%e that to make a film you need money It is your story idea and your con%incing power which will generate money and anything else required The primary and only concern for stars or in%estors is a#out making fame and profit from the people who will come to see it and they make a decision of in%esting the capital on the strength of your idea and your potential at least #y the standards of their %ision and e%erything else will follow I would like to sum it up as this that nothing is more cheaper in financial terms and more powerful than an idea -6 Was your first film 2hi%a inspired from BAr$unCA Ans< )es It was also taken from Ardh 2atya, Faal Chakra and 'ackanna"s Iold The clima& fight on the terrace #etween Nagar$una and 2hi%a was a total rip*off from 'ackenna"s Iold cliff fight #etween Iregory (eck and Omar 2hariff -D +ow does the main culprit in 2arkar Ra$ communicate with the rest of the gangA Ans< Ask 2arkar -= Why are you answering so rudelyA Ans< I thought I was #eing funny -8 :o you think the inter%al scene in 2arkar ra$ would ha%e worked without the BA C on karoC lineA Ans< 'y pro#lem there was I had to gi%e some logic to why the #om# got triggered off when it did )ou see the car for a long time in the #ackground and if I didn"t ha%e that line it would ha%e gi%en rise to unnecessary dou#ts -7 If one mo%ie after one more fails will you still en$oy supportA Ans< I think you still ha%e not got the point )ou need to understand the word Lfail" Without knowing the cost price and sale price you can"t arri%e at an understanding of that Also in case a :irector makes films which loose money for all concerned one after the other you still ha%e to take into consideration the aspect that the industry needs at least -64 films per year to cater to the theatres Considering that no :irector can make more than 6 films a year that too a rarity )ou still need 74 :irectors to do the $o# Then it #oils down to your list of choices Try and think of :irectors whose films you would like to watch I dou#t you can think of more than -8 H%en if you did not like my last 8 films it"s still possi#le if you come as a (roducer that my name might still crop up somewhere in the top -4 to -6 names 2o in

other words if the industry were to make films only with :irectors you like, 54M of theatres will close down The #ottom line is that there will always #e work for a worker -/ Where do you get inspiration to make comedies like 'oney and Anaganaga Oka Ro$uA Ans< Eife9 I #elie%e that life is actually a comedy which pretends to #e a tragedy -5 I would like to see your take on inter*culture romance and marriages Ans< I don"t #elie%e in all D whether inter or not -. )ou see the crockery #efore you #uy it and #uy it only if you liked it unlike a mo%ie where you ha%e to see it to know if it is good That"s where re%iews and trade analyses matter Ans< It"s a gi%en fact that no two people will ha%e the same sensi#ilities and tastes and state of minds and intelligence le%els which would #e the principal parameters which will influence your appreciation of a film ;ut on the other hand it goes without saying that if you think someone else can $udge for you and he will ha%e the same taste and sensi#ility as you whether that"s your friend or your wife or a critic or your ser%ant, you are welcome to go ahead and make that choice for yourself Also like any product like a car or a cell*phone or anything else you see on an Ad or hear a#out it or you trust the company that manufactured it only when you e&perience it will you truly know whether you like it or not 2o all I am saying is that any creati%e work can #e only an interaction #etween the indi%idual %iewer and the maker 8<D8 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 07.3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it 6-@47@6445 MAKING OF AAG BAH ! "AMBI KAHANI HAI #$H The idea of wanting to do something with 2holay came appro&imately around fi%e to si& years ago One day I got a call from 2asha 2ippy

saying that his grandfather 'r I ( 2ippy wants to meet me As he is a respected man #y all, as well as the producer of 2holay and a senior in the fraternity, I went all the way to town to meet him There 2asha 2ippy mentioned that they are interested in making a sequel to 2holay +e also had a storyline already worked out in his mind As per his story after the song of B'eh#oo#aC Ia##er 2ingh sleeps with +elen, she #ears the son of Ia##ar 2ingh who was to #ecome known as Junior Ia##ar The #ig pro#lem with the sequel of 2holay was that some of the cast or some of the characters ha%e died One of the main characters Jai died, and in reality 2an$ee% Fumar and Am$ad Fhan passed away Therefore one has to make do with the remaining characters and cast and possi#ly creating new characters +elen"s son wants to take re%enge for his father Ia##ar 2ingh who was #ehind #ars #ecause of Jai and ?eeru ?eeru and ;asanti keep coming to Ramgad %illage now and then to meet Jaya$i1s character Radha who is still residing in the %illage They are kidnapped #y $unior Ia##er Then #oth ?eeru and ;asanti"s sons come to the rescue This was the #asic plot line he had in his mind In the a#o%e plot he wanted me to create a character for Jackie Chan I first thought he meant some local actor named Jackie Chan till I reali,ed that he was talking a#out the +onk Fong superstar 2asha 2ippy"s Jackie Chan #rainwa%e was due to the influence of BRush +ourC where an American and an Asian actor together ga%e a #ig hit I found the whole thing so #i,arre and I declined it and came out laughing Eittle did I reali,e that the last laugh will #e on meN9 K#A %OCHA& K#A NIK"A& Anyways cutting again to the flash#ack, on my way #ack from 2asha 2ippy"s meeting a thought occurred to me what if the story of 2holay was set in contemporary times in a city That felt interesting and I #ounced it off to some people around me and all of them thought that it was a super# idea Then $ust for the heck of it, I started doing changes as simple as instead of LFitne admi the" Ia##ar should say LFitne" I thought if 2an$ee% Fumar doesn"t ha%e hands so how could he ha%e sha%ed e%erydayA 2o let"s ha%e Thakur with a #eard 2o I #asically went on

this trip of literally ha%ing interpretations of shots and dialogues and scenes, and completely forgot the #asic emotional aspect of the film 2o when I was talking a#out each of the shots and scenes, people around me were praising and getting affected so much with whate%er I said, I started thinking may #e o%er the years 2holay has completely #roken up into audio %isual #ytes )ou still remem#er lines from it, made characters from it, made cartoons out of it and so it is kind of fragmented into parts and you don"t look at it as a whole film e&perience and that"s how I think it #ecame at least in my mind The people around me also went into that mindset primarily psyched #y me I know it sounds stupid, it sounds stupid to me too 2o I can understand how others feel a#out it I made a few people sit and started talking a#out for e&ample Amita#h ;achchan"s character In ;a##an"s introduction, I told them he will #e drunk with power, hence a laid#ack stance And he will ha%e a characteristic laughter which will sound like a cough H%ery#ody around me thought it was a fantastic interpretation Now when the film released one particular gentleman told me Ia##ar looks like he has fe%er as he is coughing in his introduction scene in the film Now if one looks at it from that point of %iew, yes it sounds like he has fe%er 2o e%erything what I thought so seriously went seriously wrong One day when I was sitting with = to 8 people, this commercial poster designer came with the poster of how Ia##ar should look 'y first instinct was Lwhy would any city dweller wear such clothes" #ecause my idea still at that point of time was to make it %ery realistic #ut the people around me said it was fantastic When I said that it didn"t look real, the designer said BIn the old 2holay Ia##ar was a normal guy and o%er the years he has #ecome a legend 2o Ia##ar should not look realistic, he should look %ery styli,ed and %ery fantasy oriented C They all said he was perfectly right Now the point is that they didn"t know what I had in my mind They were reacting to a still image #ut $ust under the influence of that particular moment of so many people seemingly so e&cited a#out it, I thought that may #e I was missing on something 'ay#e he is right in what he meant #y legend, so I thought let me $ust not get stuck to my original thought and I should #e fle&i#le

Then I took it o%er and showed it to 'r ;achchan and he also said it was fantastic ;ut 'r ;achchan also didn"t know what I was doing +e also was $ust reacting to a still image +e took it for granted, a professional that he is, that I know what I am doing And he has de%eloped so much of trust in me as a director post 2arkar, he thought I must #e ha%ing some reason #ehind why I would e%ocate such a look The fact that Amita#h ;achchan also thought it was fantastic and people around also found it fantastic I took it for granted that may #e this was the right one Then keeping a reference to that I started changing the look of each of the characters and situations, what kind of a place he will stay in etcN 2o I went into the technical aspect of trying to match up to this design which some#ody ga%e and I got completely carried away after that 2o e%erything I was trying to match to that and it o#%iously can"t #ecause the scenes and the characters and emotions were at loggerheads 2o I started manipulating it or psyching myself and whoe%er was there 2o now each of the actors, when I spoke to whether A$ay :e%gan or 2ushmita 2en or 'ohanlal or 'r ;achchan or Nisha Fothari or (rashant Ra$, all of them were completely con%inced primarily #ecause of the analysis I was gi%ing 2o they were also not a#le to look at the film in totality Also #y that time the hype of the film was so much that I was making 2holay, it was almost impossi#le for me to detach and re*look at it in totality To complicate this whole thing, another thing that happened was that initially the lawyers told me that there is no pro#lem the way you are interpreting it, you don"t need to take rights After I started, they said you can"t do this and you ha%e to change this character, you cannot ha%e these many scenes in a sequence, so I constantly started changing scenes and characters It is %ery dangerous to start changing scenes once you start the film #ecause you don"t know which and where what is going to #e affected in the final cut I%K$ '$$CH$ BHI $K KAHANI HAI I could not get the title 2holay I said like Ram Iopal ?arma"s 2arkar or 2an$ay Eeela ;hansali"s :e%das, so let us call it Ram Iopal ?arma Fe 2holay What is the #ig dealA Then #y the time it came for release, the court ga%e an order not to use the word 2holay 2o I had no choice #ut to change, #ut I wanted a sound which has got a meaning like sholay This is how the word Aag came in, so the pu#licity guys $ust took the name 2holay out and put Aag in 2o that"s how Ram Iopal

?arma ki 2holay #ecame Ram Iopal ?arma ki Aag 2o in one sentence e%erything whate%er could go wrong, went wrong with Aag ;ut all these are still minor things in comparison to the most dangerous thing that any filmmaker can #e su#$ected to It"s to #e surrounded with people who will not tell him the truth or lie to him Not necessarily #y intention to harm him #ut it could #e $ust to please him or are scared of him or psyched #y him or in cases they take it for granted that the filmmaker knows what he is doing Also it came as a shock to me that most people in the age group of -6 to D4 ha%en"t seen 2holay They ha%e seen parts of it or at least their knowledge of it was a %ague memory 2o they couldn"t make head or tail of the film and people who remem#er the original 2holay didn"t like the intrusion of these new characters and a new way of telling the story 2o to all of them Aag looked like a ridiculous collage of scenes going nowhere To sum it up thinking of Lkitne admi the" to Lkitne" as my interpretationN the tremendous reaction that I got from %arious concerned people was the first nail in the coffin 2econd is this pu#licity designer getting that poster of ;a##an"s look and me getting carried away again, third is the court cases and fourth is the way I was changing e%erything and ha%ing as ridiculous a title as LRam Iopal ?arma Fi Aag" completely prepared the ground for the disaster #AA( )AKHOONGA When people ask me if I got hurt #y the #rick#ats, I was not #ecause I learnt a lot from the e&perience #oth in terms of the making and its aftermath and I truly #elie%e that today I am a #etter human #eing and director #ecause of Aag, #ut yes I feel terri#ly guilty #ecause I made so many people, actors, technicians, in%estors party to a #lunder I committed They put in their time, money, hard work and trusted my %ision and suffered for no fault of theirs * )am+opal ,arma ( 2< This piece I wrote is $ust a trailer of how LAag" happened In future #logs I would get into many more details of the same from time to time D<D8 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 05/3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it > !ilms 64@47@6445

Hits - Flops ;asically I #elie%e that hits and flops are emotional terms, without any comprehensi%e meaning I say this #ecause film in a true sense is a one*to*one e&perience #etween the filmmaker and each indi%idual %iewer A film is made #ecause the filmmaker has a story which he desires to tell and film #usiness is a#out carrying the film effecti%ely to as many %iewers as possi#le and in the process to make money out of it There is the hardware which is the hundreds of theatres in e&istence and hundreds still #eing #uilt cross the country and they need software to play And then there are thousands making a li%elihood O actors, technicians, producers, distri#utors, suppliers, etc, etc, and that"s why it"s called an industry Now the industry needs to fill in the theatres to make ends meet and it doesn"t care as much a#out the quality of the film as it cares a#out the turno%er Guality is there only from the filmmakers" perspecti%e and the indi%idual %iewer"s perspecti%e as it is a %ery su#$ecti%e word )ou can"t generali,e it #ecause each indi%idual is %ery specific in his taste, sensi#ility, and intelligence, etc We keep hearing that .4 M of films are flops and no#ody e%en attempts to understand what it really means +ow can any industry run if it is losing money .4 M of the timeA In reality this is how it happens Eet"s say a producer spends -4 Crores in making a mo%ie which goes in payments to %arious artistes, technicians, suppliers etc Then let"s say some#ody #uys it for -6 Crores The #uyer further retails it to %arious others lets say for a sum total of -D Crores and the film finally collects -8 crore Now this would #e a case of the film making money for e%eryone in%ol%ed Eets say now the producer spent -7 Crore #ut it was #ought only for -6 crore #ecause the sale price ne%er depends on the cost price It depends on the producers" compulsion to sell to safeguard himself and the #uyer"s perception and %ision of its street %alue with the consumer In the a#o%e case for the producer it is a flop #ut for the #uyer it is a hit This is as per the financial part of it Coming to the creati%e part :arr is a super hit for 2hahrukh and a super flop for 2unny :eol as far as their star #randing is concerned In the year 2atya released, a 2alman Fhan starrer B;andhanC directed #y 'urli 'ohan rao which released around the same time collected much more than 2atya ;ut is it #ecause they liked it #etter than 2atya or is it #ecause many more went to see ;andhan #ecause of 2alman"s pullA 2o the fact that there are more collections necessarily does not mean people liked it more It only means that more people

saw it !or instance 2atya when it released was taken off from the theatres on the 6nd or Drd day in parts of P(, Ra$asthan for lack of audience 2o it was registered as a super flop in those areas ;ut a year later when I went to those areas for some other work e%ery#ody recogni,ed me as the director of 2atya +ow does that happenA It"s simply #ecause when it was released no#ody heard a#out it and did not go to see ;y the time they heard a#out it, it was taken off the theatres 2o they must ha%e finally seen it on %ideo or ca#le Today I dou#t that you can find a single indi%idual who will say that he liked ;andhan more than 2atya #ut the collections at that time told a %ery different tale Now coming to the indi%idual"s point of %iew at #est I will try to descri#e it in an e&ample 2uppose you go to a crockery store to #uy a dinner set )ou will check out the %arious designs a%aila#le and pick the one you like the #est )ou will ne%er ask the salesman if it"s a hit or flop and neither will you ask a critic to re%iew it Anyone with a mind of his own will do the same with a mo%ie This was #est illustrated #y A#hishek ;achchan recently When he was planning to see a mo%ie I told him that many didn"t like it and he said he would like to make his own pinion Often you will hear a#out a film"s opening in terms of percentage Eet"s say a film opens in -4 theatres ha%ing a capacity of 644 seats each On the first screening if all shows are full it will register as -44M opening meaning 6444 people saw it ;ut if the distri#utor opens it in 64 theatres and it registers 84M opening then it is considered #elow the mark ;ut the #ottom line is that still 6444 people saw !air enough that the additional theatres will incur e&tra theatre rentals and print costs #ut that decision will always #e with the distri#utor of the concerned circuit on his perception and %ision of how many people will watch it and has nothing to do with the filmmaker #ut e%entually it is the filmmaker"s #randing which will suffer on account of ignorance and of a decision made #y someone else To sum it up strictly from a filmmaker"s perspecti%e I would define a hit and flop in terms of what the film cost to the producer and how much he could reco%er on the first immediate sale Any further trading of it is strictly su#$ect to %arious indi%iduals decisions of how and how not to market it which cannot #e controlled #y the filmmaker If a #ook is written #y Ayn Rand and a wholesaler or retailer tries to sell it to a 'ills and ;oon reading audience, he is #ound to #e unsuccessful And I really don"t think Ayn Rand could #e #lamed for

the failure and the same thing goes in re%ersal of trying to sell a 'ills and ;oon"s #ook to an Ayn Rand reader !rom his sensi#ility a filmmaker will make a film which some lo%e, some hate and some ridicule on an indi%idual le%el which is perfectly all right ;ut to e&pect the filmmaker and the actors to #e responsi#le on print deployment decisions to occupancy percentages to #o&*office figures etc, is a#solutely unfair #ecause they will #e truly ignorant and unaware of that side of films, namely the film #usiness, as it cannot and will not #e e%er in the pur%iew of creati%e people To further illustrate this point I am gi%ing a certain input here taken from http<@@www i#osnetwork com@newsmanager@templates@template- asp& AarticleidQ6-=--R,oneidQ= for you to understand and ask queries

Ramgopal Varma
-6<85 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 08/3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it > Hntertainment -7@47@6445 %ome more thou+hts on criticism. 2ince I am not a net sa%%y guy and only $ust now entered this world I made a startling disco%ery I ha%e ne%er read re%iews #eyond D to = 'um#ai #ased newspapers e%er and I thought that was it On the net there are literally hundreds of re%iews When I went through them I was ama,ed at so many di%erse points of %iews #oth in liking and disliking the film 'any of them ha%e #een much more intelligently written than the so*called names attached to popular newspapers I am not talking a#out praise or criticism hereK it"s $ust a#out their analytical power H%eryone has a mind and e%ery mind has an opinion and e%ery opinion*maker strongly #elie%es that he is right and the whole world is wrong, not reali,ing that pro#a#ly each of all those other millions of minds will #e thinking the same I think this is the most #eautiful part of lifeN that each of us creates a world of our own in our heads and when we seriously listen to another person it"s almost like %isiting another world When I read a nasty re%iew or a glowing re%iew many a times I get struck #y how differently they %iewed it from how I intended it The philosopher !riedrich Niet,sche said Bthere are no facts only interpretationsC I think this is %ery true of cinema

In all my good, #ad and ugly films I keep getting stumped when people who meet me o%er the years tell me the reasons why they liked something and why they didn"t, as in more often what I did not intend is what they took from the film I saw BArdhsatyaC se%en times When I happened to meet Io%ind Nihalani years later and discussed the film with him, I was shocked to reali,e that what reasons he made it for was not what I liked it for +e made it for the father*son relationship and I saw it for Rama 2hetty and for my curiosity of what happened inside a police station I didn"t ha%e the heart to tell him that I always used to fast*forward the father*son scenes ;ut yes, there would #e pro#a#ly many others who would connect to that part of the film and the proof of that is the e&istence of 'r Io%ind Nihalini himself The fact that he thought like that is proof that there will #e people who think like him In my growing years I was greatly influenced #y 'r 2hyam ;enegal"s Ankur, Nishant, Falyug etcN Company is actually a rehash of Falyug Instead of politics in the Corporate world I dealt with politics in the underworld ;ut I %ery hea%ily #orrowed from Falyug In my few interactions with him I ha%e reali,ed that he is an e&ceptionally knowledgea#le and well*read and would understand the su#$ect matter so well 2o as a result he has a tendency to tell the story almost from a top angle whereas me I do it from a low angle I like to #e intimidated and awed #y the characters and situations I am dealing in with a child*like fascination Coming #ack to the point of opinions now thanks to the net anyone can literally access anyone"s opinion across the glo#e What more can a filmmaker ask forA (eople ask me whether I know what the audience wants Eet me tell you an o#ser%ation I made on a recent %isit to a :?: li#rary near my house on )aari road I went to pick up a film, spent a#out 64 minutes in the store While I was doing that %arious customers were coming in . out of -4 of them were picking up films which for the life of me can"t imagine why any#ody would want to see 2o if my disconnect right under my nose on the street where I li%e in is so off the mark, on what #asis can I e%en #egin to think I know the audience of the country Eet"s say there are -844 titles in the store If any of us spend one full day I dou#t we will #e a#le to decide more than 644 films what we ha%e seen or what we want to see Then what are the other -D44 films doing thereA The fact that they ha%e #een made and put on the shel%es is proof enough of the e&istence of the people who would watch them too

:hoom 6 is the #iggest hit of last year It reportedly collected 64 Crores in 'aharashtra On an a%erage price of -44 rupees a ticket, 64 lakh people saw :hoom 6 !or a film like that I guess half of them would #e repeat audience 2o my question is if -4 lakh people in a population of 7 crores of 'aharashtra can make the years #iggest hit then what are the rest of 8 crores .4lakh people doingA :o they watch films or noA Is it the same people that watch Tare Sameen (ar and Welcome or are they differentA Anyways the point I am trying to make here is that you can"t generali,e audience and as long as you can"t do that why think of the audience and delude yourself :a%id :hawan uses the term audience, 'aniratnam uses, 2an$ay Eeela ;hansali usesK I use the term audience, like*wise %arious directors of %arious different styles and sensi#ilities ;ut how can those audiences #e the sameA The truth is that we all directors do what we as indi%iduals like and tell oursel%es that this is what the audience wants !ilm in the truest sense of the word is an e&pression of ones own personality A filmmaker is not a primary artist in the sense of the word The actor is acting, the writer is writing, the music director is composing etcN etcN #ut all these primary works are #eing processed in the directors mind to create a coherent whole, at least in his mind 2o he might not #e a#le to compose the music #ut we only get to hear what he likes to hear We only get to see characters such as what he would like to show us, likewise all the other departments )ou go to a clothes store and you might not like many shirts #ut you will find something you like The ones you don"t like are all #ought #y some#ody else or the other 2o I think at #est for #oth, for the manufacturer which is the filmmaker and the retailer which is the theatre and the consumer which is the ticket #uying audience, the one*to*one interaction and reaction are $ust a#out the only truth H%erything else is a matter of commerce My reactions to reactions. - Eea%e something for the audience to decipherA Ans<* )ou missed the point 6 2ince when did Anita suddenly #ecome familyA Ans< 2ince I decided D We didn"t know who e&actly the central character is among the two Nagres

Ans< 'y answer was intended for the re%iewer who thought there was one = ;eg to differ, sire Ans< Okay dokey9 8 Always your Hkla%ya Ans< I am impressed with your o#ser%ations 7 )ou ne%er re%ealed the #enefits of the plant in 2arkar Ra$ Ans< The film is not a#out the #enefits It"s a#out the interplay of %arious characters ha%ing their own moti%ations and agendas in the making of the plant / Why are you so fascist in your decisionsA Ans< * I get a kingly kick 5 I would say that RI? is not #ettering himself Ans< That"s #ecause I am already the #est +a +a9 Just $oking9 On a serious note may #e I am not +a +a9 Joking again9 . Why did you lea%e out Tarun AdrarshA Just #ecause he ga%e a good re%iewA Ans< It"s not a#out good or #ad It"s a#out where I wish to make my point -4 I think you like praise )ou $ust ha%e inferiority comple& Ans< Okay dokey9 -- Eo%e the D to 8 minutes single shot scene in :eyyam Any insights into that9 Ans< I forgot -6 )ou are #eing harsh when you say you copy Ans< I copy with $oy and pride --<D8 A' > Add a comment > Read comments 0--D3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it > !ilms -D@47@6445 Aish/arya0s )esponse to a 1uestion aske2 on my Blo+.. 3uestion. %hankar looks like an emotional 4ool /hen he opens his heart to a +irl 4rom America /hom he met yester2ay& Ans< 'ay #e he has a weakness for worldly #eauties

Comments 4rom Aish/arya )ai Bachchan on a5o6e 1uestion. TWhen you ha%e two people 1confide1 in each other, it1s such a personal e&perience, it underlines a deep connection #etween the two on %arious le%els and makes this o#%ious to the o#ser%er +ere the audience Ii%en the realistic space in which the characters e&press themsel%es which is %ery much clear in the language of the film 0Realistic in acting, dialogue, camera etc 3 we chose CON!I:INI IN as hugely intimate an e&perience to con%ey this deep connection, rather than 1fans #lowing hair and clothes, #ackground aalaaps or song, round trolley mo%ements, or rain out of nowhere and walt,ing etc1 to con%ey this It1s all in the Hyes of the Characters and in the intense intimacy of confiding999 That1s 2ARFAR RAJ9T 7<6- (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0-4-3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it > !ilms My reactions to reactions. - :o you want to #e a ma%erick filmmaker or a #usiness manA Ans< * Neither I $ust want to #e what I want to #e 6 A What does 'ani Ratnam think of your cinemaA ; What do you think of his cinemaA Ans< * A Nothing ; Nothing D Ii%e me an ad%ice how to #ecome a successful director Ans< * The only ad%ice I will gi%e you is not to ask ad%ice = Are you selfishA Is selfishness a sinA Are you an atheistA Ans< * )es I am Nothing is a sin as long as you are not consciously hurting others )es I am an atheist 8 Was Nisha Fothari $ust a professional decision or something elseA Ans< * )ou can go ahead and imagine what e%er entertains you 7 )ou forgot your main goal and got interested in the o#$ect rather than the su#$ect Ans< * Hnglish please9 / )ou should go #ack to #eing a student and start from 2atya again Ans< * Come here and lead the way, teacher9 5 2tand firmly on your decision for dedicating 2arkar to Copolla Ans< * I can"t #ecause I ha%e got wo##ly feet Jokes apart I agree with

the o#ser%ation made I made a mistake that I didn"t dedicate it to (u,o #ecause only I know what I ha%e learnt from the no%el . 'y take on why you find it difficult to make good filmsN Ans< * :on"t think so much Eife is not that serious -4 I recommended to someone Ram Iopal ?arma ka #log Ans< * 2uper# I lo%e the title -- I am looking forward to know the stories #ehind the films you made Ans< * And I am looking forward to tell them -6 )ou are like +oward Roark Ans < * )es and No I am not as sincere and as committed as him #ut then I ha%e much more fun than him 2o no complaints9 -D Where do you find your strengthA Ans< In my will to #e what I am -= Creati%ity is all a#out hiding your sources O Hinstein CommentA Ans< * Ireatness is a#out re%ealing them -8 H%en people who ha%e not seen Aag ha%e #ad opinion of it Ans< When some#ody told me that so many people didn"t like Aag I said I don"t agree #ecause so many people ha%e not seen Aag If they did then it will register as #o& office collections which would ha%e made it a hit Come on now Answer that smarties9 -7 I ha%e seen moments of pure cinematic #rilliance in Aag Ans< * With great pride I think the same -/ :oes a director make a film or his #ody of films makes a director Ans< * I agree with the latter #ecause in a #ody of work his personality will come through -5 Which film has turned out to #e closest to your conceptionA Ans< * None #ecause #y the time I finish it I am a different person from the time I concei%ed it -. 2hould a director adopt scripts of market potentialA Ans< * it"s $ust a fallacy that anyone can know a market requirement

64 What is the production worthiness of a particular scriptA Ans< * 'y opinion if I were to produce and your opinion if you were to produce 6- I #elie%e that you can make a #etter comedy film than anyone Ans< * What did you think Aag wasA 66 I could recollect omen II listening to the tracks of 2arkar Ra$ Ans< * )es I copied it from there I saw Omen II se%en times in ?i$aywada, Eeela 'ahal $ust to listen to the title track 6D Is the scene of 2arkar #orrowing money from Chandra from IodfatherA Ans< * It"s a 'aharashtrian tradition 6= Its painful to read your #log with the #lack #ackground Ans< * Am changing it 68 :o you plan shot di%isionsA Ans< * No I do it instincti%ely on locations 67 )our films ha%e the same kind of photography Ans< * That"s my style 6/ )ou should use green tone #lah #lah #lahNNNNNNNNNNN you should use #lah #lah #lahNNNNNN do not #lah #lah #lahNNNNNNNNNNNNN why don"t you #lah #lah #lahNNNNNNNNNNNNNN I want you to #lah #lah #lahNNNNNNNNNNN Ans< * I do what I want to do and I see what I want to see and I hear what I want to hear If it"s a pro#lem for you don"t watch my films 65 Why don"t you let the sarcasm #e and talk more a#out film makingA Ans< * Will try 6. (lease keep kicking these critics Ans< * my intention is $ust to gi%e my %iew point D4 I hope you will discuss your mistakes Ans< * that"s the main thing I want to do in here for the simple reason that you can learn from your mistakes and grow, pro%ided that you truly reali,ed the mistakes in your head

D- 'ine and my friend"s friendship started due to our common lo%e for Fshana kshanam Ans< * I feel %ery uncomforta#le whene%er any#ody praises me for Fshana kshanam as I copied it mainly from the premises of three films called B!oul (layC BRomancing The 2toneC and the third I can"t remem#er In hindsight I feel I did a pretty #ad $o# at it The only freshness if there was any is my personal and professional o#session for 2ride%i I was ,apped with her in 'r India and I desired to present her #etter than that There were a couple of things I will share with you on the making of that film There is a scene of ?enkatesh and 2ride%i running in the forest chased #y the cops, led #y Ramireddy in which in one particular shot a monkey is #usy ni##ling on a tree hears a sound and sharply turns The camera ,ooms #ack fom its close up and sharply pans to the left to catch ?enkatesh and 2ride%i running 'any people wondered how I took that shot +eres how I did that We were shooting in 'udumalai forest and there were these monkies on the trees looking at the #usy shooting crew when I got an idea I placed ?enkatesh and 2ride%i at a certain place and ga%e them instructions what to do I asked the cameraman to ,oom in to the close up of a monkey and I told the crew to #e completely silent and still After a while since nothing was happening the monkey lost interest in us and resumed ni##ling Then on my cue the whole crew shouted at the same time in unision The monkey got startled and sharply turned on that action the cameraman ,oomed #ack and panned $ust in time to catch them #oth running and the shot was canned Another interesting episode was when ?enkatesh and 2ride%i were crossing a #ridge 2ride%i asks him BWhy is there a #ridge in the forestAC and he replied Bhow should I knowAC This is actually a con%ersation which happened #etween me and my assistant director When I saw the #ridge in that forest I found it %isually %ery interesting and I concei%ed that scene keeping the #ridge in mind 'y assistant asked me #ut why should there #e a suddenly a #ridge in the forestA I replied how should I know #ut it is there, to which he said you and me know #ut how will the audience know it 2o I said then let"s put it in the scene so what we spoke is what ?enkatesh and 2ride%i spoke I reasoned out with him that if we think the audience will question a#out something we should let one of the characters in the film also

question a#out it which would then make it right ;ut the real reason is that I wanted that #ridge scene anyhow Also one of my fa%orite e&amples of how you can create drama through editing is in the a#o%e mentioned chase in the forest I start from a mid close up of ?enkatesh and 2ride%i running towards the camera they look #ack to see if anyone is following them and as 2ride%i turns #ack she looks at something on the ground screams and #oth fall from the frame we start wondering what has happened then I cut to see Ramireddy and cops looking around We further wonder where they disappeared Now we suddenly see #oth of them against a mud wall crouched Now we know they are safe #ut still wonder what that falling from the frame was a#out Then 2ride%i sees something stifles a shout ?enkatesh reacts to that and reaches out towards the camera and I cut to a top angle to see Ramireddy in the foreground standing at the edge of a pit and a hand reaching out in the ditch to retrie%e 2ride%i"s floating hand#ag The audiences then reali,e that they fell in a ditch in the first shot This is a classic case of manipulating the audiences mind with dramatic editing technique If in the #eginning itself when they drop out of the frame, if I showed them falling into the ditch the whole sequence will look %ery informati%e ;ut #y re%ealing it #it #y #it I was making the audiences imagination race D6 ;etween 2arkar and 2akrar Ra$ I liked 2arkar Ra$ #etter Ans< * 'e too DD In 2arkar Ra$ I feel like I ha%e seen AntiO!idel documentary of an American propaganda I am really confused Ans< * There is no need to #e confused I lo%e America and what it propagates I am a huge follower of Ayn Rand"s philosophy It"s another matter that I don"t practice it D= That was a different RI? That was a different time Ans< )es I change e%eryday and sometimes in a single day That"s #ecause I get #ored %ery easily and mostly with myself D8 )ou are making films for pu#lic not critics Ans< * I don"t differentiate Anyone whether he is a employed #y a paper or a T? channel or a guy I meet on the road who has something to say a#out the film is a critic If I feel like it and I think he merits an answer I will reply

D7 'a$ority of the audience ha%e poor taste Ans< * What you are actually saying is that only you ha%e great taste !irst of all I think it is wrong to think that the audience as a single entity They are all particular indi%iduals coming from %arious different #ackgrounds, sensi#ilities, state of minds and with their own emotional #aggage etcN the factors which could influence their reaction o%er a certain film would #e highly %aria#le, innumera#le and not completely fathoma#le That"s all the more reason that I do a film for myself and hope there will #e enough people out there who will relate to it 2ometime they do 'any times they don"t D/ I kept my two month old son at home and went to see your mo%ie Ans< * I too like mo%ies #etter than I like kids D5 Is it true that the cameraman was running and #reathing to make the scene more intense in the 2hi%a chaseA Ans< * +ello9 +ow can any#ody run without #reathingA We posted the #reathing sound of 2udhakar on the shot which might ha%e gi%en you that feeling Also the camera didn"t go through the leaf I made the lens $ust hit it to gi%e a cutting point D. I would like to know what happened #etween you and your criticsA Ans< * Criticism =4 What happened to 2ha#ariA Ans< * It is ready and would #e released #y 2eptem#er =- Why do you #other to reply to criticsA Ans< *I want to reply to any#ody who #others me =6 We are getting a lot of entertainment form your thought process Ans< * Thanks9 =D (lease don"t forget my friend Celeste Ans< * +ow can I forget any#ody who liked AagA == )ou should ha%e showed what happened instead of 2arkar $ust narrating to Aishwariya Ans< * I #elie%e that it would ha%e made it %ery informati%e instead I #elie%e that to see the surprise and shock on Ashwariya"s face was more emotionally engaging for me

=8 The glimpse of humanity when 2hankar knows that his wife is pregnant is too #rief to know what he must #e like Ans< +e is like what he is like =7 I don"t know how to play cricket #ut I can ha%e an opinion on how :ra%id or Ianguly should lead the team Ans< * )es you are right #ut :ra%id and Ianguly also can ha%e an opinion of your opinion as at least they know how to play cricket #etter than you do =/ Carry on man9 Feep reminding us we are ali%e9 2crew what we think Ans< Thanks a ton man This is the greatest piece of ad%ice I ha%e e%er recei%ed and I mean it from my heart =5 One must think what was the state of mind when the director was making the film Ans< * I will ela#orate on this %astly later on It"s a %ery special and important o#ser%ation =. ;ackground score was a lift form Omen II It"s e%il Ans< * )es it is a lift like most of my ideas There they used the Iregorian chants in a certain conte&t which makes it sound e%il 2o this feeling of e%ilness comes from association and not #ecause #y themsel%es they are e%il 84 2hooter scene is a lift from 'alayam film August One I felt few more lifting I can"t place Ans< * I ha%en"t seen or heard of that film If I did and I liked it I would ha%e lifted it ;y the way each and e%ery film of mine are lifts, not necessarily only from +ollywood, foreign, regional films #ut also from no%els and stories I read, or incidents I heard form someone Articles read in newspapers, maga,ine etc, scenes and situations I ha%e #een in or o#ser%ed etcN etc We are all #orn with a #lank mind and whate%er comes in comes from somewhere 8- 2hankar looks like an emotional fool when he opens his heart to a girl from America whom he met yesterdayA Ans< 'ay #e he has a weakness for worldly #eauties 86 The scene where the %illains ask each other in 2arkar Ra$ Bkya FarenAC is #rilliant Ans< * I lifted that scene form the mo%ie Jungle ;ook where the %ultures discuss what to do sitting on a #ranch

8D I hope you can create Pma Thurman in ;ollywood Ans< * I don"t like Pma Thurman 8= Celeste is your #iggest fan and she is a #eautiful Italian damsel Ans< I am on my way to the airport 88 Can you create space for uploading my stories to youA Ans< * I ha%e enough stories in me )ou keep yours for yourself 87 The critics will target you #ig time Ans< Eet me confess a dark secret of mine I am a masochist, I lo%e #eing ridiculed, critici,ed and #itched a#out AAAAA+++9 -4<8= A' > Add a comment > Read comments 08/3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it 4.@47@6445 )G, )e6ie/ o4 )e6ie/s If the point of a re%iew is to critically analy,e someone else"s work and to possi#ly inform@educate or psyche the %iewer why to or why not to watch a particular film, I think it"s only fair that the filmmaker too should gi%e his reaction to what the re%iewer commented upon The fact that the film releases and a group of critics out there with their only qualification #eing that they are employed #y some newspaper or a T? channel say whate%er they want to a#out the film without the :irector getting a chance to gi%e his point of %iew to, thankfully has come to end with the technology a%aila#le now that ena#les one to reach the concerned audience directly A film is a statement of an indi%idual It"s fair enough that there will #e people out there who agree or disagree or not interested or fascinated depending upon that particular indi%idual"s sensi#ility, intelligence, #ackground, etc ;ut why should one indi%idual try to influence them $ust #ecause they are tagged as critics What is their qualificationA Is it their quality of #itchiness or e&pertise in rhyming or knowledge of cinemaA Fhalid 'ohammed has made such horrendous films like !i,a, Teh,ee#, 2ilsilay etc If he or any#ody thinks otherwise, the whole industry knows how many actors and in%estors are queuing up in front of his house fighting each other to get his films made H%en I made #ig flops and precisely #ecause of that I don"t #ecome $udgmental on someone else"s work ;ut what ama,es me is that Fhalid without an iota of guilt

sits in $udgment on other"s films week after week I would really like him to look at his own films #efore he starts re%iewing anyone else"s film 'adam :eepa Iahlot has #een going around with scripts to #e made as films for years and most (roducers get turned off in the first -4 minutes when she starts narrating and that"s the reason they ne%er got made To my knowledge may#e a film or two would ha%e #een made with her story is the last -8 years or so and #oth must ha%e #een super flops since no one has e%er heard of them 0in case any#ody remem#ers or knows please let me know3 2he too is a resident e&pert of how films should #e made Incidentally she ga%e a %ery #ad re%iew to 2AT)A Ra$a something of rediff com is an aspiring director who literally hounds film (roducers who refuse to touch him These are $ust a few e&amples of the kind of critics we ha%e Others I will come to later on The critics ha%e a tendency to #e #itchy to ridicule, to make sweeping statement to camouflage their ignorance of cinema with profound sounding lines and the reader for want of an opposing %iew might get taken in 2o as long as the critic or anyone else has a right to re%iew I think I ha%e a right to re%iew the re%iews 2o read on my re%iew of re%iews of 2ARFAR RAJ in my #log I e&actly know what the reactions of the critics are going to #e They will write as nasty and as #itchy articles as possi#le in their capacity and influence whate%er they might ha%e with the management of their concerned outfits ;ut I will answer them too in my #log )ou readers ha%e a ring*side seat and watch Khali2 Mohamme2s comments on his %A)KA) )A7 re6ie/. - When someone talks out loud #efore a portrait of the dead, you know you are in trou#le Ans< WhyA Incidentally are you aware that the ma$ority likes the last -8 minutes and most especially #ecause of that scene 6 A hired assassin wears woolen glo%es Ans< Why can"t heA D A#hishek mistakes infle&i#ility, a dour ga,e and dark #usiness suit for intensity AnsK Can you please name D intense performances in +indi cinema in the last D years of who you think was #etter than A#hishekA

= Aishwarya for a tough Re#ecca 'ark sheds too many crocodile tears Ans< Who told you that she is playing Re#ecca 'arkA And in which scene did she shed crocodile tearsA 8 ?arma goes to the underworld as always Ans< Where is the underworld in the filmA 7 H&tolling such a (lants #enefits is nai%e and irresponsi#le Ans< +owA / ?ictor ;aner$ee could do with more e&pensi%e suits Ans< 2ince when ha%e you #ecome a costume designerA 5 A #eardo from Iu$arat sings, Lgapuchi gapuchi gam gam" Ans< Iu$arati"s don"t sing or whatA . A prayer ceremony in the memory of ;rando is suggested Ans< If that is a comment on Amit$i"s acting prowess I would dare you to get $ust one more person from the millions who lo%ed #oth the 2arkar"s to second you on this Not that you will listen #ut since you are so free with your ad%ices, let me also ad%ice you not to fire off guns from on the shoulders of +industan Times re%iew column to settle your personal scores (eepa Gahlots comments. - One would like to see RI? grow out of his #oyish preoccupation with power and %iolence Ans< 2ince when are power and %iolence a #oy"s domainA 6 Only a $u%enile person will admire a man who has no moral compass Ans< No#ody asked any#ody to admire anyone The film tells the story of one such man and in the same film there are others who don"t #elie%e in him D RI? didn"t #other to take an informed stand Ans< What is the informed standA = 2limy flunky +assan Ga,i Ans< +e was meant to #e slimy 8 +e $ust lets 2hankar to #e right and turns him into a %isionary Ans< 2ame answer as to question no 6

7 A singing Industrialist a#ruptly shifts the plant to Iu$arat as if these multi*#illion pro$ects are a game of monopoly Ans< +e doesn"t shift #ut he wants to shift and not with his singing either, and trust me 'adam, all things in life are a game of monopoly It"s only the scales which differ / ?arma #adly needs to rein%ent himself Ans< I would #e thankful if you can impart your knowledge of how to do it to #oth me and the other readers of this Gaura6 Malini 8 in2iatimes mo6ies. - While adhering to the original he also sets up repetiti%eness in the screenplay, shot e&ecution, the %illains" quartet etc Ans< That"s the point The intention was to follow the tradition of what 2arkar was a#out )a9ee6 Masan2. - H&cessi%e talk seldom makes for e&citing %iewing Ans< Which talk was e&cessi%eA Can you quote any line or lines which you didn"t think were necessaryA 6 2arkar Ra$ doesn"t ha%e a premise as engaging as the first part Ans< I would %ery much like you to write down the premise of the first one and also the second one for readers to compare D Aishwarya is restrained and stays within character for most part Where in other parts did she $ump aroundA ///.tele+raphin2ia.com. - Anita is hardly repelled #y 2hankar"s confession of his #rother"s murder Ans< If you noticed the scene starts half way of 2hankar finishing the story which means that he has narrated the entire story of 2arkar 2o if the audience of 2arkar O(art - were not repelled why should she #eA 6 +e reduces the :eputy C' into a caricature Ans< If you ha%e ne%er seen a caricaturish politician you must #e li%ing on 'ars D ?arma gi%es short shift to the language of cinema and the %isual plot Ans< I would %ery much like to #e educated #y you a#out these two terms

%u5hash K 7ha. - 2arkar is a#out the lacerated life of a Thackeray like family with the concept of spatial harmony acquiring a surrealistic meaninglessness #ecause of the disem#odied camera mo%ements Ans< :oes it mean that if the camera mo%ement were em#odied 0whate%er that meansAA93 it will #ecome meaningful realityA 6 In 2arkar he o#ser%ed, studied and pondered Ans< What did I o#ser%e, study and ponderA D +e drags the uneasy relationship #etween 2u#has Nagre and his kicking, screaming and wailing son into an arena of heightened scenes no e&acer#ated emotions Ans< I am impressed with your Hnglish I would #e more impressed if I understood what it means = Character"s #ark orders and scream grie%ances Ans< Can you e&plain any scene and situation where they are not supposed to do and also that what they should ha%e done insteadA 8 The camera stops only long enough to capture the D protagonists in tight e%ocati%e close*ups rationali,ing the presence of ;ollywood"s first familys startling transformation into ?arma"s Lthirst" family Ans< I announce a reward if anyone can tell me what the meaning of this is )es, I am not as educated as 'r Jha is and neither do I ha%e the time to sit with a Thesaurus #ook or go online to find words as comple& as possi#le to sound as intelligent as possi#le 'r Jha it will help you greatly if you yourself in your head think of the meaning of what you are writing Just picking up words from the Thesaurus #ook or on the internet will not make sense unless how you use them makes sense 7 The films frames scream for attention Ans< )es, that is the intention 2o what"s your pro#lem / The women are either on silent mode or #umped off quickly Ans< 2hould they #la##erA Who should ha%e #een #umped off insteadA 5 2arkar and its sequels are essentially emotional father son stories Ans< Oh reallyA We didn"t reali,e that -4 The emotions when they come in 2arkar Ra$ con%erge entirely on Aishwarya"s di%ine face as she #ecomes towards the end the recipient and #eacon for all the pent up resentment, anger, anguish and misery

that the Nagre family has encountered Ans< I gi%e up and I hate the Thesaurus for gi%ing multiple options to Jha for word usage and I hate it e%en more for not teaching him how to use it in a meaningful and understanda#le way -6 In two hours of play time there is not one humorous moment Ans< :id the promos indicate thatA Why don"t you watch the rerun of the umpteen comedies which are out there if that"s what you want -D What sort of mind would script such a#$ect tragedy for a man who lost his first son in 2arkar and now his only sur%i%ing son Ans< That"s the whole point of the film"s theme, my friend -= (ra#ha%alkar is a #i,arre representation of Iandhism in these trou#led times when fathers kill daughters and ministers go to prison Ans< Whate%er that means -8 Amit Roy"s cinematography and 2unil Nig%ekar"s art are a raga pf rusty #rowns Ans< )ou want it to #e #lue or whatA Incidentally 'r Jha has gi%en 6U 2tars to TA2+AN and 6 2tars to 2arkar Ra$ Ra$a 2en * Rediff com< - A well*lit and o%erdone follow*up to an o%er*rated original Ans< O%er*rated #y whomA ;y the people who lo%ed itA 6 2ickeningly yellow #eams of light filter in Ans< Just now you said well*lit D Whole film seems like a desperate series of finely composed frames Ans< :esperate and finelyAAA = Characters don"t talk #ut deli%er dialogues Ans< :ialogue is not talkingA 8 Eiterally there"s $ust a line or two of quirky humour relief Ans< )ou e&pected to see a comedyA 7 This is a massala #ang #ang mafia mo%ie Ans< Where is the mafia in itA / Its attempt is to stay on a constant high Ans< )es What is wrong with thatA

5 2arkar turns school masterly as he tutors Ash in the art of warA Ans< WhereA WhatA +owA 'oste2 in ///.meetyou.com. - Twists in the clima& should #e accepted $ust #ecause 2arkar says so Ans< )es that is #ecause he knows #etter than you 6 A part from 2arkar I would like to see other characters moti%ations Ans< Remem#er that a film can ha%e only a limited time and also it"s a story from 2arkar"s point of %iew D Central Character is not consistent Ans< Where did he strayA = A#hishek"s quiet demeanor goes with sudden #ursts of anger Ans< Without reason whereA 8 It"s ama,ing how deglamori,ed Aishwarya looksA Ans< :oes that mean good or #adA 7ohnson !homas 8 (NA. - Consists mainly of sparse frames, diffused lighting and unending close*ups Ans< Would like you to understand first what diffused lighting means and also please tell which close*ups you think were not necessaryA 6 All characters ha%e deep seated roots in darkness Ans< It is meant to #e a dark film D<-7 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0-/-3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it > !ilms 4=@47@6445 My )eactions to reaction 'art*: - 2houldn"t we make films which can make an impact on the worldA Ans< +ello, you are talking to the maker of AAI and also I #elie%e in making films such as what I want to see 6 I don"t think you"%e made any #ad films, some of them $ust didn"t work Ans< !ilms should only #e made with an intention of making them work Iood and #ad are %ery su#$ecti%e

D Are the su#tle sense of humour scenes in your films your ideasA Ans< All ideas in my films whether they are good, #ad or ugly, are mine = +ow do you see RI? doing -4 years from nowA Ans< I don"t think #eyond today 8 +oward Roark did not dislike anyone +e was $ust indifferent Ans< Indifference is worse than dislike 7 2hi%a was an incomplete film The 6nd half is with me Ans< 'ake it yourself / AAI is my fa%ourite film Ans< Can you please send your picture so that I can frame it and keep it at home ( 2< :on"t tell any#ody #ut AAI is my fa%orite film too 5 )our penchant to contradict yourself is #ecoming predicta#le Ans< The only e&citing thing a#out life is contradictions and I also ha%e outgrown the anger of Nigga disi adugu . It was always meN I trusted youN I took time and watched your mo%ie, how can I #lame you Ans< Ahhhh9 Wisdom at last -4 I had fallen in lo%e with 2ride%i after watching Fshnam Fshnam Ans< I made that mo%ie #ecause I was in lo%e with her -- I am in no comments after reading your #logN $ust #ackground music Ans< I lo%e you for this -6 In one shot in ;hoot after the car lea%es the #asement the shot changes with the sound of a dol#y click Ans< That was not a dol#y click It is the igniter sound which Prmila uses on the gas sto%e Anyway as long as you felt the impact it does not matter The psychology of that shot is that the audience would #e used to the fact that the shot will #e cut after the car left the frame ;ut the fact that it lingers on automatically puts them into a heightened tension there#y making them anticipate something terri#le will happen and that"s why e%en an ordinary click sound will scare

them 2imilarly one more e&ample of this is when Prmila comes down into the hall to go into the kitchen for a glass of water In a wide*angle shot I show the audience that there is no one in the li%ing room If the camera follows #ehind her they will #e half e&pecting something to $ump on her from of the frame ;ut the fact they can see the whole room their eyes will #e darting all o%er to see if anyone is hiding somewhere 'eanwhile Prmila takes her time to drink water and comes #ack As she goes up the stairs I cut to top angle where the audience can see #ehind her Now as the audience can"t see anything in the #ack and from Prmila"s e&pression they can see that there is nothing in the front, they slowly rela& as she comes close to the camera into out focus distance there#y e&pecting the shot to #e cut ;ut as she crosses the camera we re%eal 'an$eet under the stairs making them $ump out of the seat -D I don"t know if LIo%inda Io%inda" theme suited the film 2arkar Originally it was from your Telugu film Ans< )es 2ince I lo%ed that track in the Telugu film and that film flopped I was adamant on tying to ram it down people"s throats once again and I ga%e a logic to myself that 2arkar is like Eord Frishna which $ustified the Io%inda word No#ody else got that #ut as of now it"s the most identifia#le sound #yte from the 2arkar films 'y case rests -= +ow does 2arkar make a li%ingA Ans< +e didn"t tell me -8 What do you feel when you look at your mo%ies that are 7*/ years oldA Ans< That they are 7*/ years old * Ram Iopal ?arma -4<66 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 05.3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it > !ilms 46@47@6445 My )eactions to reactions..... I ha%e answered the questions randomly from the queries on my ;logs

Can you gi%e me your email idA I want to #ring to your notice important socio*political issues Ans< 2ocio*political issues are not important to me - 2ometimes you don"t stick to your words Ans< Actually most times I don"t 6 Was it your idea to change 2hi%a"s clima& and end scenesA They didn"t work at all Ans< )es and the o#%ious reason for that is I thought they will work #etter D I find RAAT path #reaking Ans< I find it #oring = If you don"t ha%e light moments such as of Tanisha"s character in 2arkar Ra$ the film will make people drowsy Ans< I find light moments drowsy 8 :id you watch Iood 2hepherdA Ans< No 7 I hope you will make !ountainhead one day Ans< It"s my dream / What state of mind were you when you were making $unkies like AAIA Ans< :rugged with arrogance 5 (lease make commercially successful films Ans< Thanks for the ad%ice It didn"t occur to me . Why are you so fascinated #y dark themesA H%en your #log has a dark #ackground Ans< Well -4 If you like 'ario (u,o"s Iodfather no%el more than the film, why did you dedicate 2ARFAR to CoppolaA Ans< )ou are #ang on right That was downright stupid Thanks for pointing it out -- )ou ha%e to screen the new directors you work with Ans< If I knew how to screen good directors so that they can make good films, why would I myself #e making #ad filmsA

-6 )our films like AAI, Nisha#d scared me and I don"t want to watch your films anymore Ans< Thanks -D ;e more hardworking Ideas can"t sol%e pro#lems (roper e&ecution can Ii%e your #est as its still in you (ush your #oundaries and you will fly againN Ans< I think you ha%e talent for ad%ising and also may#e poetry -= If you see your film #efore releasing you will definitely know what you ha%e made Ans< A film Idea primarily comes out of a certain emotional state of mind 2o #y the time you go through the entire process, scripting, constructing scenes, editing etc it"s not possi#le to emote with the finished product the way you felt it the first time At #est you can listen carefully to people to who you show it for the first time #efore release ;ut if they chose to lie to you or are scared to tell you the truth, as so often it happens, you ha%e had it Will detail on this aspect when I start putting on this #log how I came a#out making each of my films including my magnum opus AAI What I thought of them when I wanted to make them and what they turned out to #e -8 Hinstein said that if someone tells that ha%e not made a mistake then they ha%e ne%er tried anything new in life )ou will face challenges when you tread new paths Ans< To start with I ne%er consciously ha%e this thought of tying something new or to take up as a challenge to tread different paths At #est I am like a child in a candy store e&cited to try anything and e%erything whate%er catches my fancy at that time depending on my mood and state of mind Whate%er good or #ad comes out of this is completely #y accident and not out of intention -7 Aishwarya"s character is inspired from :agny Taggart in Atlas 2hrugged Ans< NO -/ A study on you would #e incomplete without AAI Ans< Ahhhhh9 )ou are telling me9 The greatest education I ha%e e%er had in my life with regards to cinema, my life and my self is due to AAI and its aftermath I must ha%e had one million twenty se%en lakh thirty thousand and twenty three ad%ises, and criticisms not including

the ones I deduced myself Now you can see how much more richer I am Want any charityA -5 )ou should ha%e a pro%ision in your #log for short films from #udding filmmakers Ans< )es -. )ou are retarded )ou talk crap in News Channels )ou might #ecome the ne&t Tim 2e#astian Ans< I am, I do I don"t know who he is 64 )ou need to go #ack to Aamir Fhan for one more #lock#uster Ans< That"s a fantastically fa#ulous ad%ice I am ama,ed I didn"t think of it 6- )our emotional scenes are half*#aked and not well*e&ecuted Ans< Guite a few people feel the same as you It could #e #ecause I ha%e a su#conscious dislike towards people who cannot control their emotions !or me emotional displays are more %ulgar than wealth displays I like to see only strength in my characters, so e%en when they are in a highly %ulnera#le situation I still want to see them strong It"s pro#a#lKy this which results in the scenes not working for people like you ;ut then I only do what I want to do 66 )ou ha%e the ner%e to test it whereas others play safe Ans< I am like a guy on the #each who suddenly sees this island in the distance and is gripped #y a sudden intense desire to reach there 2o I $ump in e%en though I am not a swimmer, with this #asic assumption that at #est I will learn to swim and at worst I will drown ;ut I hate to stay put on the #each worrying a#out sharks and storms I can"t really claim that I play safe #ecause I don"t really care a#out the dangers I know that sounds stupid, #ut that"s me 6D )ou #eauty is that you accept your flops Ans< Not accepting your film as a flop and standing #y it is like telling a $oke to someone and when he does not laugh to claim that he does not ha%e a sense of humour The intention of telling the $oke to him in the first place is to make him laugh like the intention of making and releasing a film is for the people to like it

2tanding #y a film is also like you proposing to a girl and when she re$ects you, you tell yourself that BI lo%e myself, so what if she doesn"t C =<D8 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0853 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it > !ilms Ho/ I came a5out makin+ %A)KA)

I was in my senior inter when a friend of mine ga%e me this #ook called The Iodfather +e told me that there is a %ery e&plicit se& scene on page no 67 and that is how Iodfather came into my life After I read that page, I read the #ack*co%er and it said something a#out mafia, a word that I had ne%er e%er heard +a%ing nothing else #etter to do, I started reading it The narrati%e, the characteri,ation and the drama affected me incredi#ly The #ook had such a tremendous impact on me that I think almost #ack*to*#ack I must ha%e read it three to four times H%ery time I finished reading I started reading again and e%ery time I read it I kept disco%ering so many nuances and minute details of what has made that impact The effect was to the e&tent I would say my interest in wanting to #e a story*teller through films started primarily from the Iodfather

After that when I #ecame a director, lot of times I used to take references from Iodfather * the scenes, the dialogue style or some moment from here and there And they were in 2hi%aK they were in 2atya !or e&ample in 2atya there is the %oiceo%er after Amodh 2hukla"s murder descri#ing the aftermath That was a direct take*off from a certain chapter of Iodfather wherein 'ario (u,o descri#es the aftermath of 2olo,,io"s killing ;ut consciously to make an adaptation of Iodfather to the truest e&tent struck me pro#a#ly sometime in -... Once I met 'r ;achchan and I %aguely told him I ha%e this idea of making an adaptation of Iodfather In spite of many people not ha%ing heard of the 'afia as it is a American phenomenon it had a such a high resonance across the

world #ecause those kind of people e&ist all o%er in forms of gang lords, political leaders, dictators or kings who can influence a lot of people with the strength of their personalities and their tremendous (ower In the Indian conte&t I thought the closest reference was someone like ;alasahe# Thackeray There is this one man who without any official position or a political seat out of his personal charisma he can affect people to the e&tent of they are willing to die and kill for him I thought he was also the right reference for a character like Iodfather to #e created The primary difference #etween the Iodfather and 2arkar is that the tone of the Iodfather no%el has impressed me much more than the film %ersion of Iodfather #ecause it had a certain mythological larger than life quality In the #ook there is a line where (u,o mentions Bfrom -.D8 to -.D/ the name of 2antino Corleone sent shockwa%es through the underworld C James Caan playing 2antino Corleone"s character does not $ustify this line #ut ?ishnu Nagre does That is what I mean #y taking reference of the tone of the #ook Eikewise in the #eginning when Amerigo ;onasera talks to the :on to help him to #ring $ustice to the people who hurt his daughter I disagreed with the con%ersation which was %ery like Bhow much do you wantA Why did you do this to meA Why didn"t you come to me first, instead of going to the policeAC I felt it was %ery unreal #ecause any of these #ig people who ha%e reached a certain status, whene%er a person comes to them #ecause of some trou#leK they will go out of their way to help them to make them feel emotionally o#ligated That"s the reason they get inde#ted There is a reason why they #ecome so #ig as they de%elop these many people"s gratitude and trust and there#y they will start doing whate%er they ask them to do at the end of the day That also I took from a thought from the Iodfather no%el The opening scene of 2ARFAR when a guys gets out of the rickshaw and comes into 2arkar"s #ungalows gate, you can see the defeat in his walk and feel it in the %oice when he is talking to 2arkar a#out the in$ustice he suffered There you get sucked into the mind state as that of 2arkar and you feel the anger as much as him, whereas in Iodfather you look at the scene o#$ecti%ely Also my intention was to make the audience constantly feel intimidated #y the characters All of them should come with an in#uilt #ackground score !or e&ample the way Rashid enters the house, the gate opening, the #ackground score and the way he gets down from the car and goes up the staircase its almost like a 'aha#harat character coming with a full piece orchestra 2o #y the time he reaches 2arkar the #ackground score and the shots are commanding the audience to take him %ery seriously Then on top of that sitting in front of 2arkar, taking his own time and not seemingly concerned or

#othered or scared of the #igness of 2arkar, the character, the audience and also on the su#conscious le%el, they feel the impact of a new actor sitting in front of Amita#h ;achchan and not #eing scared When people ask me my thing of casting new actors, it works in a scene #ecause people ha%e ne%er seen that guy, I can play around with the audience"s imagination If I take a #ig name in the effort of trying to match some#ody with Amita#h ;achchan, some#ody like :anny :en,ongpa or Amrish (uri, I don"t think the scene will #e effecti%e enough #ecause su#consciously the audience will feel the final outcome there#y making it predicta#le With the new guy they won"t know what to make of himN how #ig he isA +ow small he isA And what he can doA That unpredicta#ility of an unknown face I think works %ery well in films of this genre As per with A#hishek"s character initially I thought of a guy who"s $ust a chilled out #oy and he #ecomes a man in the course of the film ;ut later I thought that right from the #eginning I should make him larger than life The fact that he #ecomes what he #ecame there is o#%iously a special quality in him +e does not do what his father does or may not agree with it or he many not #e so much into it #ut that does not mean I should take away the larger than life quality that 2hankar can ha%e right from the time when he comes out of the airport the way he walks you still feel the sense of largeness around him It is what I maintain more or less with all the characters in the film 'y tendency is to ha%e %ery dramatic and in*the*face #ackground score I ha%e two reasons for itK one reason is I find #ackground score dri%es the emotion of the audience in a specified intended direction At times I ha%e #een accused that I use it so loud almost to the point that you cannot hear the dialogue properly 2ometimes the reason for this is when I reach the mi&ing stage at times I am so #ored of the dialogues myself #y hearing it so many times I feel like listening to the music at that time I know it sounds stupid #ut it can happen 2o I think more or less if we know of the emotion of what they are going to talk a#out so why do we need so specifically for them to hear the lines 'y fa%orite shot in 2ARFAR is the end after the whole thing is resol%ed This shot was of 2arkar in the #ackground wa%ing to the crowd and as he turns #ack and walks we hear the %oice of someone speaking and then Tanisha comes in and for a second you feel Tanisha was talking Then as the camera mo%es #ack we see the silhouette of a women talking to someone a#out her pro#lem and as it pans, you see 2hankar The fact that 2arkar for the pu#lic is still the head and 2hankar not really wanting to take credit for what he is doing is in the

#ackground ;ut his transition to take o%er has started so I wanted that to #e communicated in one shot so the silhouette of this woman and 2hankar and 2arkar #eing in the #road daylight Its not that the audience will consciously understand this was the essence of the communication of the scene #ut I think one will feel the difference and will feel the impact I don"t think the craft of cinema is not so much a#out the audience consciously understanding #ut they ha%e to feel the impact :uring the making of 2ARFAR, me and A#hishek used to discuss the possi#ility of making a sequel 2ARFAR is e%entually a#out character conflicts O#%iously there will #e so many situations that will happen in 2arkar"s life If he dealt with one such type of situation and one set of antagonists then you can scale it up further and create another situation When I thought #ack a#out it I felt 2arkar was a %ery simplistic story It is so #ecause it is taken from the original Iodfather plot 2o many films ha%e #een made on that story line #ut it"s $ust the newness of the meeting and the performances which made it stand apart In the sequel, I thought the newness of the first will #e taken for granted #ecause they ha%e already seen it ;ut I cannot change that style #ecause that is the tradition of 2ARFAR ;ut if I put a story in it which is %ery original and make on a scale, on a span and on issues which are #igger, I thought I can make it a lot more interesting than the first 2arkar One thing I felt when I saw Iodfather (art Two O is that the characters were taken for granted There was no intention on the part of the :irector to make them look larger than life, the way it was done in the first part 2o I somehow was disappointed to see 'ichael Corleone running here and there No dou#t that it is a great film and I ha%e seen it many a times #ut I didn"t want to miss out on the intensity and the larger than life quality of 2arkar in 2ARFAR RAJ 2o in fact I worked more than in 2ARFAR to sustain the feeling of larger than life treatment in terms of character portrayals In spite of applying new technological ad%ancements which ha%e #een de%eloped in the last few years in terms of %arious treatments, I still tried to stick to the tradition of 2ARFAR and e%ery technique was employed to capture the intensity of the actors #ecause I don"t #elie%e anything is #igger than an actors performance and any time technique is trying to take away or go away from that is where any film will falter * )am Gopal ,arma

Instead of reviewing reviews of CONTRACT I decided to do that on my series of reactions henceforth. If the idea is to react to the reactions of various people on my thoughts and works then why should I give special attention to the Khalid s and the !eepa s of the world" I find more #uicier$ %itchier and insightful comments coming from others. Come on guys. &et s have fun' (. )ords can make you or %reak you * at least that was what I was taught in grammar school. Ans+ I was %ad at school and worse at grammar. ,. If only ideas and thoughts matter what is the logic %ehind -A film %y Ram .opal /arma s0 in the end. Ans+ I love to see my name on screen. 1. If you don t need acknowledgement and perception$ why do you seek attention" Ans+ I am like a kid. 2. )hy do only stars get paid %undles and not the people who worked %ehind" Ans+ 3oney is never paid to talent or work. It s paid to the names who get people to %uy tickets. 4. Are you a follower of Ayn Rand s o%#ectivism philosophy" Ans+ 5es. 6ut I rarely apply it. 7. I %elieve it takes more faith and persistence to %ecome an atheist. Ans+ I really think that is a wonderful o%servation. 8. !o you read only crime sections in newspapers" Ans+ I definitely don t read articles on politics and social welfare$ and yes$ I love watching pictures of se9y %a%es too. :. )hat was the %udget of Kaun" Ans+ Rs.84&akhs shot in (, days. ;. )hy does an army man in Contract listen to a terrorist ranting a%out his purpose" Ans+ 6ecause he found it interesting and that s the point of the film. (<. In Contract why is a kid perched on the Commissioner s desk"

Ans+ I #ust called her and asked her and she told me that the kid is her younger sister s son who came for holidays. ((. The lawyer 6hansali %eats up an invisi%le woman. Ans+ =he is not invisi%le. =he is off the frame and that was intended to capture the kind of man 6hansali is. (,. )hy is the gangster permanently stationed at sea with a family of intelligence officers and spice girl" Ans+ >ither pay more attention or ask another viewer with more %rains or %etter still don t watch my films in future. (1. ?ow can the protagonist finish off the entire gang in a #iffy" Ans+ It s not in a #iffy. If you noticed it was shot in a suspended time. (2. )ho killed R.! and the ?ome 3inister" Ans+ The point was to leave a dou%t in the audience s mind which would %e more interesting than to clearly tie@up all the loose ends. (4. )hy did you engage in %lasphemy %y calling Contract a trilogy after =atya and Company" Ans+ I didn t. The media du%%ed it as a trilogy. I was only trying to highlight the variance in the concepts. (7. Contracts reAuires serious trimming" Ans+ )here" (8. )hat was =hama =ikander doing in the so@called item num%er in the party seAuence" Ans+ !ancing. (:. )hy did you make a film like Contract" Ans+ That is a secret. (;. Not %adB is not good enough. Ans+ Coint taken. ,<. Ne9t time I will wait for one of those pathetic critics to review your film %efore I rush to see it. Ans+ That #ust e9plains how much more pathetic you are.

,(. )ho keeps financing you after you keep making such turkeys" Ans+ The same people who will never finance you for the classics you are planning to make. 48<=8 (' 6D@4/@6445 8<D. (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0/43 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 0-3 > ;log it -=@4/@6445 )eactions to reactions 1. Did you apprenticeship under anyone? Ans: No. 2. Is it possible for someone to direct without any prior experience? Ans: The only thin you need to direct! is the clarity of your own "ision and the ability to communicate it to your cast and crew. #xperience has ot nothin to do with it. $. %ow was the shot in &shanam &shanam of the uy fallin between 2 carria es ta'en? Ans: That was a dummy. The close(up of )ride"i*s reaction after that is what created an illusion of seein a real person fall. +. Do you ma'e calculated statements for attention? Ans: #"erythin I do is only for attention. ,. %a"en*t you e"er cried? Ans: -nly wea'lin s cry. I psyched myself to feel li'e )uperman. /. %ow can people li'e 0lac' 1riday! )atya and &aran*s films at the same time? Ans: It ta'es all 'inds to ma'e the world. 2. I thin' you are antisocial! ha"e no decency! ha"e no morals or respect 3ust li'e other atheists. Ans: 4es! 4es! 4es! 4es. Anythin else? 5. If you copy scenes from other mo"ies then how can you be the best? Ans: I am the best copier. 6. 7as the scene in )hi"a of Na ar3una reactin to Naresh in hospital bed thou ht of instantaneously? Ans: I copied it from 8ad 8ax.

19. Amitabh and Aamir ta'e pains to ac'nowled e the reader while answerin . 7hy don*t you? Ans: Names and people don*t matter. Ideas and thou hts do. 11. 4ou don*t see the need to please anybody? Ans: The only one I want to please is myself. 12. I am extremely pleased that you read my comments and responded. Ans: %ere*s a piece of unsolicited ad"ice. Don*t care about what others thin' of you. 4our identity should ne"er be dependent upon others ac'nowled ements and perceptions of you. 1$. :lease don*t water down your instincts by fearin ;a3ee" 8asand*s e Ans: I lo"e e s. 1+. 1or all the bra"ado you pro3ect I thin' you et sha'en with people*s criticism. Ans< If thin'in that ma'es you happy! please do. 1,. The :hoon' postin of yours is 3ust a cle"er ad for the film. Ans: It is meant to be. 4ou thou ht I was concerned about sharin my experiences with you 3ust for the hec' of it or what. 1/. I noticed the shadow of 3ib camera in )ar'ar ;a3. Ans: I did too. 12. The word a nostic would be better than atheist. Ans: As lon as you et my point does the ri ht word matter? 15. In )ar'ar why did you ma'e Abhishe' ta'e such a lon wal' before he tells )ar'ar that he 'illed his brother. Ans: -nly because of the lon pause I thin' that dialo ue has the effect. 16. 7hy don*t you write your scripts yourself? Ans: I hate both writin and typin . 29. 7hy do you ma'e films in a hurry? Instead of that why don*t you ta'e more time and come up with stories that will be remembered for lon ? Ans: I want to ma'e a thousand films and I don*t care to be remembered. 21. I couldn*t help but notice all these thin s bein an eccentric myself. Ans: I felt "ery happy and was elated with your obser"ations till you said this. Than's for bein a spoil(sport. .

22. Did the name =)atya* come from a irl you 'new in school? Ans: >olle e. 2$. Do you thin' seein "iolence affects 'ids? Ans: I thin' 'ids are more "iolent than adults. Did you notice with what relish they 'ill insects and throw stones at do s? 2+. =)atya* to me seemed li'e a underworldish "ersion of =Drohi*. Ans: It is. 2,. 7hat is the reason for your portrayin some characters without any dialo ue and 3ust playin upon their facial expressions? Ans: I belie"e that then these characters power will come out of the ima ination of the audience and hence more effecti"e. 2/. I hope >ontract will reli"e )atya experience. Ans: It won*t. 22. 7hy do you 'eep usin the bird flyin shot often? #xample )atya! )ar'ar ;a3! >ontract etc. Ans: No reason. It*s 3ust my childli'e homa e to a shot in one of my all time fa"ourite films 8ac'enna*s ?old. 25. >an a promotional campai n prepare an audience what to expect? Ans: @ery important Auestion. I will soon write a lon piece on this.

D<D- (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0-473 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it 4.@4/@6445 My tryst /ith the un2er/orl2 When I first came to ;om#ay from +ydera#ad I couldn1t get o%er a train ride through the :hara%i slums It looked like one single roof and I wondered how people li%e there, how any#ody can go in and go out I saw children 6*years old crawling $ust a#out D feet away from the

railway track while the trains were rushing to and fro Those things made me understand the nature of the city The general atmosphere of 'um#ai was one thing I was really fascinated right from the time I was making Rangeela, while tra%eling around doing %arious shoots Once in a while I used to hear the word Pnderworld O#%iously I knew a#out :awood I#rahim and many of the gangsters, through whate%er was re%ealed in the papers ;ut I ne%er consciously thought a#out what e&actly is the underworld Then one day I was sitting in a (roducer1s office and he got this call that a prominent person was shot dead #y some gang The producer was telling me that the person who died woke up around / 44am and had called him in the morning and said that at 5"O"clock he went somewhere, at 5 D4 am he was suppose to meet some friend of his etcN etc (eople ha%e this ha#it of recounting each and e%ery moment what happened #efore someone met with a %iolent une&pected death While he was talking, since I ha%e this tendency all the time to think cinematically, I thought BIf the person who got shot got up at / o1clock, then at what time did the killer get upA :id he tell his mom to wake him up #ecause he has a shooting to doA :id he ha%e his #reakfast #efore killing or after killingAC These things were coming into my head #ecause I was trying to intercut the moments of the man who died with the man who killed Then it suddenly struck me that you always hear a#out these gangsters only when they either kill or when they die ;ut what do they do in #etweenA That was the first thought which e%entually resulted in 2atya While #eing in that frame of mind, I saw some photographs in Times of India of arrested gangsters co%ered with #lack cloths on their head Nothing a#out their #ody language looked like how ;ollywood portrays them They are like any ordinary people The guy walking on the road could #e a gangster H%en the guy li%ing ne&t door could #e a gangster The whole point is that they ha%e to mi& up in the society and look like any#ody else and #ecause of that you will not reali,e that he is a gangster A friend of mine, not a film guy, who li%es in Oshiwara on the fourteenth floor, told me a#out an instance A guy li%ed in his #uilding somewhere in a flat a#o%e him 'y friend used to #ump into this guy in the #uilding"s lift once in a while And they used to e&change pleasantries, T+ello, how are youA +appy :iwaliT and things like that And then one day my friend"s wife told him that this guy has #een arrested and taken away as he has #een a#sconding in a murder case

in Farnataka or somewhere +e told me Bthe thing a#out ;om#ay is that you may li%e for ten years as neigh#or to some#ody yet ha%e no idea who he isC That was where I got the plot line for 2atya The fact that Prmila1s character li%es in a chawl and 2atya li%es right ne&t to her yet she has no clue that he is a gangster and is ha%ing normal relationship with him Then one day I met this guy called A$it :e%ani an e&*secretary of 'andakni and #ecause of that he reportedly knew and interacted with some of the gangsters That1s what some#ody told me In my con%ersations with him he accounted to me an e&perience he had when he met this gangster whose #rother was killed #y the police +is #rother was also a gangster A$it went to meet him +e said that the gangster was a#using his #rother1s dead #ody for not listening to his ad%ice which resulted in his death That startled me as I ha%e ne%er heard a reaction like that of a person a#using a dead #ody Then I thought a gangster li%es on power and the #rother #y not listening to his ad%ice and getting himself killed, he took away his #rother"s power to sa%e him and that #rought a#out his anger +is grief came out as anger I took that as the soul ;heeku 'atre1s character An aspect of this was in when ;heeku 'atre laments o%er Chander"s death We are social #eings We say LIood morning", Lhello how are you" when greeting someone We #eha%e ci%ili,ed I thought an anti*social element li%es #y his own rules and he would not a#ide #y the social rules and systems The way he sits on a chair, the way he laughs, his general #eha%iorN there will #e a certain wildness a#out it There is a difference in the look #etween the domestic cat and a wild catK the eyes $ust gi%e it away ;heeku 'atre should #e like a wild cat If ;heeku 'atre would ha%e gone to school he would ha%e #een one of the last #enchers and pro#a#ly he wouldn1t ha%e taken his studies seriously or wouldn1t ha%e taken any kind of ad%ice seriously 2o he would want to #e a law to himself H%en when he asks a question it should come across like a statement It doesn1t come as a question #ecause his pride wouldn1t allow him to make anyone feel that he doesn1t know a#out something I went to a #eer #ar in ;ori%ali to check for some location and happened to meet a guy, who was supposedly an e&*gangster +e made me feel %ery uneasy with his #eha%ior and attitude Then later on when I met him while I was shooting in that area, he was %ery friendly, he looked like a different person altogether Then I reali,ed that the first time I met him he was trying to play up to an image which he thought I had of him #ecause he knew that I knew who he

was 'any cele#rities do thatN if they think that anyone thinks %ery highly of them, then his or her #ody language changes It happens #ecause they tend to pretend That is what this gangster was doing O#%iously anything you pretend you can1t sustain it for long period of time 2o after some time he #ecame e&tremely normal That1s what I took for Fallu 'ama in 2atya When the #uilder comes to meet him, Fallu 'ama #asically pretends as if he is some #ig*time gangsterN #ut actually he is a clown in the gang which people come to know later 2ince the #uilder is coming with a mindset or with an awe that he is talking to a dangerous gangster he creates an image that intimidates Then one day at a place called ;ara Chawl, I met a man who supposedly #elongs to Arun Iawli"s gang There was so much of #uilt up that people ga%e me a#out him, #ut when I met him he came across as a sweet*natured guy In e%ery sentence he will use the name of Iawli, BIawli #hai ne yeh kiya, Iawli #hai ne woh kiya, Iawli #hai ne mereko ghar leke diyaC 2o his whole e&istence was a#out his awe of Iawli and he doesn1t ha%e any identity #y himself +e #elie%es that and li%es on #elonging to Iawli That I took in Chander"s character 2o each and e%ery character in 2atya was modeled on someone I had met or someone I had heard of or something I ha%e heard from a person not necessarily from the underworld It could #e from some people outside the underworld, e%en in the film world H%eryone had a reference point ;ut the protagonist"s character was the most unclear in my head +e was unclear to me till e%en after the shooting I was confused #etween whether he had a criminal streak in his head or he is $ust a normal guy who #ecomes that way Once I decided that this is a kind of film I wanted to make, the first person who came to meet me as a writer was Anurag Fashyap 2o, I put him on #oard and he got 2aura#h 2hukla We discussed a lot #ut nothing was clear 2o there was no script on the day we started shooting I went #y instinct And the ad%antage was that we didn1t ha%e stars, so all the actors were a%aila#le all the time In the first scene we were shooting, this guy comes to 2atya for hafta and 2atya slashes a knife on his face In my mind the time he slashes I thought that would #e the cutting point Now 2ushant played the goon"s role 2ushant was someone my department had got I didn"t e%en know that he as an actor as I thought he was some $unior artiste ;ut since 2ushant is a good actor, he impro%ised and after 2atya slashes him #efore I could say Lcut" he screamed, and his scream

startled me #ecause I wasn1t e&pecting him to do that so I forgot to say Lcut" ;ecause I didn1t say Lcut" this guy who was showing him the koli had impro%ised saying, BOh ho pani lao paani laoC That is when it finally struck my mind as to what 2atya should #e a#out While capturing a scene, all the :irectors ha%e a tendency, this is how it starts and this is how it ends I thought this film should #e made in the style of what happened #efore and what happens after All realistic performances came in #ecause I stopped restricting actors after that scene I $ust wanted them to impro%ise whate%er they feel like Actors were instructed not to follow written lines #ut $ust say whate%er they feel like, so most of the times the content was told to them and they kept on impro%ising and I controlled it on the editing That1s as far as the shooting part of 2atya goes The interesting thing to note here is that the style of 2atya is largely due to 2ushant"s une&pected scream If he had not screamed or if I had told him #efore itself that shot will cut on the slash, 2atya would not ha%e #een the same Eike I said I didn1t ha%e a clear story I kept on changing my mind e%ery day Lwhat should happen, what should not," #ut I was %ery clear a#out the characters Where 2athya""s character is concerned things went wrong compared to e%eryone else was #ecause of my non*clarity as the story was not clear in my head and also what the protagonist was too was not %ery clear 2o I kept on changing it for the con%enience of the plot line Whereas ;heeku 'atre, Fallu 'ama, 'uleyN all these people could #e consistent #ecause there was nothing for them in the main plot of the film which was primarily the growth and decline of 2atya 2atya slashes someone in cold #lood in one scene and in another scene shyly smiles at ;heeku 'atre after killing Jaggu and when ;heeku 'atre is ha%ing a fight with his wife, like a ,om#ie 2atya stares at them Why did he do thatA +e did that #ecause I told him Bdo itC The inconsistency kind of disconnected him relati%ely from the audience while watching the film unlike the other characters The #asic secret of 2atya"s performance not coming out so well was due to this In the course of the making of the film I gathered so much of information talking to cops and people that I couldn1t compile all that in one film I met one guy who happened to #e an associate with :awood I#rahim in the earlier days, he was not an underworld guy, pro#a#ly only knew him +e told me a line which has really caught my attention TThere are so many people who ha%e died in the war #etween :awood and Chotta Ra$an They are out to kill each other for

such a long time ;ut the #asic truth is that e%en today if :awood I#rahim calls Chotta Ra$an on the phone and if Chotta Ra$an is smoking a cigarette at that time, he will throw the cigarette and say T+aan #haiT +e has that much of respect for :awood I#rahim They hate each other #ecause they lo%e each other T That line mo%ed me so much and I thought that the line itself deser%es a separate film to #e made and that was how LCompany" got made Now Contract %ery technically speaking is not so much a#out underworld, yes it is a#out the underworld #ut unlike earlier films where the protagonist is from the underworld, here the protagonist is not from the underworld There is also a marked change is in the making style around which the story is #uilt 2o when people ask me a#out Contract Lhow it will compare to the earlier films" I say that when I went to see Casino after Ioodfellas as that is the ne&t gangster film of 2corcese after Ioodfellas, I half e&pected to see Ioodfellas again 'y first reaction was negati%e #ecause it is not the same It is %ery difficult to tear off from Ioodfellas and watch Casino as a fresh film I e&pect the same thing to happen to the audience in Contract ;ut that"s a professional ha,ard I ha%e to li%e with so no complaints Contract is different story shot in a different style 2o if 2atya dealt with that aspect of a certain time period -4 years #ack of the inside %iew of what gangsters are all a#out and Company is an o%er%iew of how a gang functions Contract deals with a completely different aspect (eople say Company is realistic and 2atya is realistic ;ut how do they know it is realisticA They ha%en"t met these people The connection to the realism is due to the characters When ;heeku 'atre comes home, his wife is upset with him 'any wi%es are upset with their hus#ands when they come home 2o people connect with that emotion and #ecause of that it looks real The characters in 2atya are pro$ected differently than the characters in Company in spite of that #oth of them are called realistic films #ut the personality of the films is markedly different What actually happens is that each film creates its own mind state Contract is different not in terms of emotion #ut in terms of the su#$ect matter itself and I made it in a %ery entertaining way It is not a dark and moody film like a 2atya or Company )ou can make a gangster film in the style of a Ioodfellas or Iodfather I would think that, if Company is Iodfather, and 2atya is mi& of Ioodfellas and 2carface, then Contract is styled more closely on a Euc ;esson film It is styli,ed and the characters are designed to create a high, rather than make you take them seriously in the mood of the 2atya or Company ;ut the fact remains it is taking a step further in to the

underworld One could #e staying in chawl, one in #oat, one in a mansionN different gangsters will ha%e different lifestyles I kind of mo%ed away from many things from 2atya and company in terms of atmosphere and treatment I ha%e done it %ery differently from what people are used to seeing and so some people might find it unrealistic as they will take a #enchmark from 2atya and Company ;ut this is my take on it 2ome#ody asked me if Contract is a trilogy I wouldn"t say that, #ecause trilogy sounds more like a finale and my intent is to make a hundredology of gangster films 8<D6 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0-643 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it 4/@4/@6445 )eactions !o )eactions - Is failure not #eing a#le to achie%e your goalA Ans< I think there"s no such thing as achie%ement for the simple reason that as soon as you achie%e it its #oring It"s the run towards it is what is e&citing 6 Instead of answering yes or no why do you su#$ect us to your gyanA Ans< 2orry sir D 'ake good mo%ies and let your work speak for you Ans< Ok sir = :id you e%er cry on a girlA Ans< )es I pretended I #elie%e that no#ody genuinely cries We all pretend to draw attention to our cause 8 Why did the people in 2arkar Ra$ cele#rate if they were supposed to #e am#iguousA Ans< That was a mistake I hoped that you would not catch it 7 Was it a conscious decision to not ha%e dark antagonists in 2arkar Ra$A Ans< 'y intent was to create a new set of characters To like them or not is your prerogati%e / (lease write a#out the making of Company Ans< Will do as soon as I get time 5 +ow is it that +ollywood recogni,es talent #etterA

Ans< ;ecause they ha%e #etter #rains and for a change I am not #eing sarcastic I mean it . )ou say that 2atya released in ./, the promo says .5 Ans< :oes it matter that much to youA -4 What role did you play in :il 2eA Ans< None ;oth mine and 2hekhar Fapoor"s names were there $ust in a friendly le%el -- What do you think of Chiran$ee%i"s political entryA Ans< Nothing -6 Iet rid of those =*8 people around you Ans< Thanks for the #rilliant suggestion -D !rom your actress Amrutha am e&pecting good performance apart from clea%age show Ans< )ou mean you want #othA -= I didn"t e&pect a #ack flip of that guy with the use of wires from Contract a quasi*trilogy of 2atya and Company Ans< To start with Contract is not a realistic dark moody film like the earlier films Also the protagonist is not from the underworld It"s more in the genre of a Ram#o kind of film #ut packaged in a %ery rustic and realistic setting The scenes and characters are designed to create a slightly tongue*in*cheek entertainment If 2atya is a mi& of Ioodfellas and the 2carface in its treatment, Company is from Iodfather, then Contract is deri%ed from the tone of Euc ;esson films -8 2orry to say I will not watch Contract Ans< Thank you sir -7 I am trying to get hold of a copy of :rohi Ans< Now why the hell would you want to do thatA -/ Contract will #e a warning to those who thought Ramu is out and dead Ans< Or it might put him out and dead -5 I think all the time you are $ust ha%ing fun Ans< )es -. +ow were you in your childhoodA

Ans< Eike an adult 64 What kind of horror mo%ies do you like to watchA Ans< The kind which lets your imagination scare you 6- Is (hoonk copied from H&orcistA Ans< H&orcist was a#out demonic possession (hoonk is not 66 Why don"t Iods or their prophets $ust make an appearance and put a lock on e%ery atheist"s mouthA Ans< 2uper# o#ser%ation Eet"s $ust hope that the Iods read this #log and take a cue 6D 'y mum comforted me saying people ha%e hit you for making Raat and scaring children Ans< +a +a 6= )ou are the prestidigitator of mo%ie making Ans< Whate%er that means, it sounds o#scene -<67 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0=83 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it 46@4/@6445 ;hy 'hoonk& H%er since I can remem#er I was always an atheist I ne%er went to a temple, and e%en when there was Ianpati pu$a at home my only interest was in the sweets and that I could keep the te&t #ooks away at the idol for three days That was the custom #ack in 2outh The point of non*#elief or not caring for the forces that supposedly control us can either come out of ignorance or e&treme self* confidence ;ut there were instances when something happened and there were no answers Three times this happened to me !or instance, ten to twel%e years #ack there was an incident when there were rumors that Ianpati is drinking milk all o%er the country I was in my office and I $ust laughed the rumours off and thought people will #elie%e anything When I went home, my nephew came running out and said Ianpati is drinking milk inside I got scared, #ecause as long as things are happening far away it is fine ;ut to confront it right in your home is something else

:reading to see a miracle I went in and it didn"t happen 'y nephew claimed that an hour #ack it did I #rushed it off with a sigh of relief ;ut what was nagging me was that I was scared of the ten feet walk in to my home It means #asically my so*called non*#elief is $ust on the wall It $ust needs one push here and there to fall off either side The second incident occurred when 2hiamak :a%ar, the choreographer, was with me on a flight to Chennai I ha%e ne%er worked with him I had $ust met him at a social occasion for a #rief time few weeks #efore I saidK B+i 2hiamakC and I went and sat ne&t to him I was on aisle seat and he was at the window seat and we started talking shop 2uddenly he looked to the side and stared as if some#ody is ne&t to me B)our father is deadAC he asked me out of the #lue without any pream#le I was taken a#ack for a while and said B)aC +e said B+e is here with usC I was o#%iously $olted and said BWhat do you mean #y he is hereAC +e further added B+e is a little concerned a#out youAC I didn"t know anything a#out 2hiamak )ou know all sorts of people claim that they ha%e all kinds of power I said B2hiamak, I don"t #elie%e in all thisC and he again looked to the side, stared and said B)our father says he ne%er #elie%ed in it either C 'y father was an atheist too I was scared, and all kind of thoughts came to me I $ust got up and went to my seat I was like how the hell he knows something like my father died and he was an atheist There has to #e an e&planation I was refusing to acknowledge that my father"s spirit was there on #oard of that flight as per 2hamiak :a%ar"s claim Then I thought okay I am a popular person and it is highly possi#le that he $ust may ha%e got to know somewhere a#out this and he is $ust playing this trick on me This is one possi#ility And second point I thought that either my father is ali%e or dead, or my father is an atheist or not it"s $ust fifty*fifty chance the odds are not so great that he couldn"t ha%e struck lucky 2o I thought it has to #e one of the two 2o #y the time flight landed I was con%inced it has to #e one of the two reasons and I $ust got it off my head The third incident happened at my home Three years #ack, I was sitting with my mom and sister, and a relati%e of ours came with her =*year old son 'y mom and sister claimed that the kid has some powers #ecause of #eing #lessed #y some #a#a and he can answer any question posed to him and people from all o%er come to him +e can"t speak #ut he $ust writes the answer I was $ust quite amused to hear the claim and I at random asked what is DD5 multiplied #y =57 and the kid"s mother started coa&ing him +e took a#out 64 to D4 seconds as

she was #ri#ing him with a chocolate and in front of me he wrote the answer )es, I was scared to see something like that happen right in front of me I was e%en more scared of my mother and sister #ecause they took it so casually as if he has written -,6,D or A,;,C Then I reali,ed that they are taking it casually #ecause they ha%e faith, they #elie%ed and took it for granted that he has the power so he can write the answer ;ecause I don"t #elie%e I am fucked Now years later after this incident happened I think I imagined it, may #e I dreamt a#out it I am scared to ask my mother L:id it happenA" #ecause if she says )H2 I am screwed9 2o in all the instances first the Ianpati ne%er drank milk in front of me, 2hiamak :a%ar I ne%er met him again and the kid, I imagined so I still can claim that I don"t #elie%e in supernatural forces ;ut what if Ianpati drank milk in front of meA What if 2hamak :a%ar said something what only my father and I could ha%e knownA What if the kid continued to #e in my lifeA I would like to know what would ha%e happened to my con%ictions 2o the point is you can #rush off superstitionsN you can counter the e&istence of dark forces or argue a#out them in a drawing room ;ut what if it happens to youA :o you really understand the nature of what you are denying and acceptingA ;eing an atheist I would like to #elie%e that there is a rational and scientific e&planation to supernatural occurrences ;ut till I know and understand the same I am forced to presume that they are supernatural happenings B(hoonkC is the story of a confirmed atheist whose #elief systems are shaken up when his lo%ed ones are su#$ected to unspeaka#le horrors #y forces whose %ery e&istence his rational mind refuses to accept It is also the story of a fanatical de%otee who is forced to turn her #ack on Iod in the face of traumatic e&periences B(hoonkC is also a %ery scary film, #ut the fear element is not $ust on the surface le%el like for instance in a film like B;hootC +ere it seeps into you and plagues your entire #elief system there#y making you highly %ulnera#le and will also put you into an emotional state wherein

you would start fearing the most inane o#$ects which you would normally take for granted in the daily course of life !inally I would like to say, not as a tall claim from a directorial position #ut $ust as an o#ser%er of the sheer content of (hoonk, B:on"t say I didn"t warn youAC D<-4 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0/853 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 0D3 > ;log it

Someone sent me a printout of a review of Sarkar Raj posted on Passion for Cinema website titled Sarkar Raj: Get Him While Hes own Cause Hes Gonna Come !a"k with a #a$num and then %ou Gotta &sk %ourself: ' o ( feel )u"k*+ Well, o %a P-./01 ( was thrilled to bits seein$ the venom that spewed out of that writer on to me1 ( just "ouldnt believe the amount of hatred he had developed towards me throu$h m* films1 2he interestin$ thin$ is that he saw the film with mu"h more intensit* and seriousness than with whi"h ( made it, and he saw it with one and onl* e3press purpose of hatin$ it1 Similarl* on a visit to Pune 4ilm (nstitute where ( s"reened m* new Shiva, ( was ama5ed to see this violent an$er in one *oun$ster be"ause of his hatred towards the film1 ( was both amused and also felt sad for him1 ( am fas"inated to see how people run down m* films, "riti6ue them, ridi"ule them, bit"h them out and sometimes also deepl* tr* to anal*5e m* mind throu$h m* films1 (t is so hi$hl* entertainin$ to see others views and interpretations of m* works1 ( think its as entertainin$ as this s"ene from Shola*1 When 2hakur is seethin$ with ra$e on Gabbar after the massa"re of his famil* a hi$hl* amused Gabbar not able to "ontrol his jo* "hu"kles and sa*s, e jitni $aali de 2hakur1 7ee bhar $aali de10 2hakurs famil* is m* films, the hate "lub of mine is 2hakur and ( am Gabbar1 !ut the sad part for m* hater8s is that unlike how the Shola* 2hakur $ot 9eeru and 7ai to finish Gabbar, m* hate "lub 2hakur is hi$hl* unlikel* to $et their own 9eeru and 7ai, namel* the films whi"h the* plan to make, and this is the point ( want to make1 ( "an understand people bein$ bored or disinterested: but wh* hate+ ( dont bu* the theor* that it "omes out of e3pe"tations from me1 ( have repeatedl* made the so;"alled bad films mu"h more often than not sin"e the last <= *ears1 (t is not as if ( have surprised ever*bod* with a bad film1 2he reverse is true, that ( have surprised people on"e in a while with a so;"alled $ood film1 ( am not $enerali5in$ it but ( feel their hatred is towards me more than towards m* films1 2he* feel that ( am $ettin$ awa* with murder1 2he fa"t that ( seem to be so "allous and dispassionate about m* work and *et bein$ able to $o on makin$ what the* think is "rap da* after da*, and *et there are ba"kers and ba"kers for me while m* haters with all their passion and the

wonderful stories, the* think the* have, "ant even $et a produ"er to hear them out let alone fund them1 2his is wh* a"tuall*, ( think, in the majorit* of the "ases the an$er spews out1 (ts a ver* similar an$er that lots of ver* honest law abidin$ "iti5ens feel on the su""ess of people who the* think are uns"rupulous and "orrupt1 )ove and hate, ( think are e3tremel* valuable emotions and should not be wasted1 (t is more worthwhile to lean ba"k and stud* what makes those people ti"k1 When ( was tr*in$ to $et a break for m* first film ( was tr*in$ to meet this produ"er, who in m* view was makin$ "rap films "ompared to m* s"ript1 4or hours ( used to stand outside when he is sittin$ with, who ( used to think were, worthless dire"tors1 !ut instead of $ettin$ frustrated and an$r*, in that time ( used to tr* and stud* him, the people around him and his surroundin$s and kept makin$ plans of how to somehow make him see the wisdom of trustin$ me1 When there is someone up there and he is worth bein$ up there, tr* to learn from what he has a"hieved1 !ut if *ou think he is not worth it, still tr* to learn from what he has a"hieved and add *our own worth to it as it mi$ht result in *ou "limbin$ far hi$her than him1 !ut *ou should not sit on the $round, $a5e at him with hateful e*es and wait for him to fall down, be"ause his fallin$ wont help *ou in bein$ elevated1 &nd also *ou mi$ht often be missin$ the point that probabl* people who *ou think are far more worthless than *ou, are a"tuall* far more hi$her than me1 2hats the order and "ourse of life, and there is no point in hatin$ that aspe"t1 &n*wa* to "ut a lon$ stor* short and to sum up, ( feel its trul* wasteful to e3pend ones ener$* in hatin$ someone1 )ove at least will sometimes $ive *ou $ood se3 whereas hate will $ive *ou nothin$1 >k, ok, before *ou ask me to, ( will shut up now1 (f ( misread, misunderstood or misinterpreted or misrepresented *our hatred ( apolo$i5e and *ou just please "onsider this pie"e of writin$ as one more flop of mine1 ( have no doubts that after readin$ this *ou will surel* hate me more, but then dont for$et that ( will love *ou more1

#mmmuaaaah? 5<-- (' > Add a comment > Read comments 07=3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it 68@45@6445 %tars an2 actors People when told to see a parti"ular film, the first 6uestion the* will ask is who is in it+0 2his is how a star is born1 !e"ause the* "annot know how the film is, the least the* "an depend on makin$ up their mind to see the film is the presen"e of a "ertain star1 2he primar* differen"e between a star and an a"tor is that the star is a personalit*1 >ne prime e3ample of this is Sharukh /han1 Whether he is in a "ommer"ial or doin$ a show or a"tin$ in a film or just bein$ himself, he has the same "harisma1 4rom personal intera"tions that ( had with him, ( found him mu"h more effe"tive, entertainin$ and "harmin$ in person than in his umpteen blo"kbusters1 >n the other hand an a"tor is pla*in$ a "hara"ter and it is the "hara"ter whi"h people "onne"t to1 &t an &wards fun"tion post Sat*a release when #anoj !ajpai "ame on sta$e people were s"reamin$ out !hikku !hai inspite of Sharukhs presen"e whi"h obviousl* thrilled #anoj1 ( "autioned #anoj after the event not to $et "arried awa* as he should reali5e that the* are "allin$ him b* his "hara"ters name and not his personal name1 Sharukh b* that time mi$ht have $iven <@ super hits but nobod* remembers what his "hara"ters name was in an* of those films1 2hat is the power of a star1 &"tors die alon$ with their "hara"ters and stars live on1 )ot of people "omplain that Sharukh does the same kind of a"tin$ all the time meanin$ that he is repetitive1 ( believe its pre"isel* be"ause of that he is su"h a bi$ star1 (n fa"t the moment an*one tries to make him do somethin$ other than bein$ himself the* will fail1 Some e3amples bein$ Paheli and Swades1 ( think it works like this on a ps*"holo$i"al level1 (f *ou meet a person and *ou like him wh* the hell would *ou want him to "han$e ever* time *ou meet him+ &t best *ou will want him to be in different situations and in different ba"k$rounds or intera"tin$ with different people1 !ut he himself should never "han$e1 2he prime e3amples of this are Sharukh

and Rajnikant1 >n the other hand when *ou are makin$ a film whi"h has a subje"t matter revolvin$ around e3tremel* believable "hara"ters, a star "an be"ome an impediment be"ause he alon$ with him $ets his own ba$$a$e of ima$e and e3pe"tations and this "uts into the believabilit* of the film1 4or e3ample, if 7ohn &brahams stardom is due to his deadl* looks in hoom wh* spoil it b* makin$ a film like .o Smokin$0 with him1 2he ire"tor mi$ht have $otten out a performan"e out of him and he also mi$ht have done ver* well but the 6uestion is whether people want to see him a"t or just look $ood1 So "onversel* in a situation like this the ver* star who is supposed to pull the people in "an be"ome an e3"ess ba$$a$e to the film1 When *ou $o to a 9 store and look around at the "hoi"e of films, man* times *ou will "at"h *ourself pi"kin$ up a film not so mu"h for the stars but be"ause *ou liked the title or the poster desi$n or what is written in A or B lines on the ba"k of the "over1 So if who is in the film "an be a pullin$ fa"tor, what is it about also "an be a pullin$ fa"tor1 Phoonk belon$s to this "ate$or*1 ( "ast ever*one in Phoonk with the intention of makin$ ever*one sittin$ in the theatre to feel that it is his famil* or his nei$hbours famil* whi"h is $oin$ throu$h the pro"eedin$s1 (t is "ommon knowled$e that man* a time stars are si$ned b* ire"tors not be"ause the* fit the "hara"ters but be"ause the istributors and trade pundits demand them1 2he tremendous openin$ of Phoonk all over the "ountr* proves that instead of Crores "har$in$ #allika, Paresh et" *ou "an pull audien"e with a @== Rupees;per;shift "har$in$ "row also1 ( am takin$ this e3ample be"ause stars are what we put on the posters to attra"t "rowds into theatres, and the star we put on the posters of Phoonk is the "row1 -6<=5 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0--73 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it My reaction to reactions 1. Why is that you turn a deaf ear to many of our questions? &ns: ( onl* answer what is worth answerin$1 2. Why dont you make movies for societys good? &ns: ( am not into so"ial welfare1 ( am into self welfare1 2he Gaa*am son$ is

a $reat pie"e of work but if *ou 5oom out and observe *ou will reali5e that when we "onstantl* blame the s*stem for not servin$ the people it es"apes out attention that man* times us people are worse than the s*stem and that is be"ause we are the ones who "reate it and "onvenientl* for$et about it1 3. Have you explored digital media to have revenue for your archives? &ns: Worr* about *our own mone*1 . !iven an opportunity" #ould you live your life exactly the #ay you have up till no#? &ns: Cver* se"ond of it1 $. %ecause of your quantity your #ork quality is suffering. &ns: 2hanks for the $*an1 &. ' can read ho# your (rain #orks. &ns: Con$rats1 ( have been tr*in$ to fi$ure that out m*self sin"e lon$1 ). *lease define luck. &ns: Whatever it is, sin"e it is not in our "ontrol b* its ver* definition wh* waste time thinkin$ about it+ +. Why the fuck ,good in parts- #e #ant the #hole film to (e good. &ns: ( think ( s"reamed m*self hoarse answerin$ variants of this 6uestions1 So here $oes on"e a$ain1 .o dire"tor, let alone me, would want to do a film whi"h is $ood onl* in parts1 !* the time *ou finish it thats how it turns out1 -nless *ou make a film *ourself ( $uess *our thi"k head wont understand this1 .. /o you (elieve in 0he !uevara? &ns: ( dont know who he is+ 11. 0ool do#n. /il pe mat le yaar. &ns: Well: if *ou are so dumb that *ou didnt $et the humour in m* answer *ou deserve to wat"h &a$ a$ain1 11. 2et 3ag (e. 2et him (e. 2et us (e. &ns: 2hanks for the trouble *ou have taken in writin$ that lon$ pie"e

defendin$ m* "ase1 !ut sorr* to sa* this D but *ou have to understand that ( have an aller$* to motherin$, brotherin$ and patroni4ing instincts. 12. ' have #ritten some scripts. Would you like to read them? &ns: .>1 13. ' think people misunderstood that scene in 5isha(d #hen 6ia runs her legs up and do#n %achchans leg under the ta(le. &ns: ( am not sure misunderstood is the ri$ht word1 ( would sa* the* "ould have wat"hed from different perspe"tives1 People who wat"hed it throu$h 7ia found it "ute1 People who wat"hed it throu$h !a"h"han found it se3* and people who wat"hed throu$h Revath* found it ver* offensive1 1 . 7ome of Woody 3llens quotes remind me of you. &ns: 2hanks for makin$ me reali5e that ( am not the onl* weirdo on the planet1 1$. /ont create false #orld around you. &ns: >k sir1 1&. Ho# can a person living in this country say that he does not like it? &ns: ( like the "ountr* all ri$ht1 ( onl* dislike people like *ou who live in it1 1). Ho# does one deal #ith fans? &ns: 2here is no su"h thin$ as fans1 Cver* human bein$ lives for himself and for his own $ratifi"ation alone1 (f an artiste entertains them throu$h his musi", a"tin$ et", the* will appre"iate and pa* mone* to him or her one wa* or the other, and the da* someone else does better the* will move on1 &fter Shahrukh entertained them for a de"ade when Hrithik "ame in with /aho .a P*aar Hain it just took them one da* to tear off Shahrukhs posters and put up Hrithiks1 &nd then later when some of Hrithiks films bombed the* went ba"k to Shahrukh1 So what fans are we talkin$ about+ 2he* will just be there as lon$ as *our work interests or entertains them1 2he other kind of fans who sti"k on to their idols irrespe"tive of their work are those who strike a self identit* with a feelin$ of belon$in$ to the said "elebrit*1 2he* will be in the "ate$or* of a "ult followin$ whi"h is ver* akin to followin$ politi"al ideolo$* or formin$ a radi"al $roup1 2his is parti"ularl*

prevalent in the fans of South stars1 2he* develop a tenden"* to defend the star and $et blind to his work1 9ersions of this *ou "an see, for e3ample in someone ardentl* defendin$ R1 !urmans musi" forever in his life and he wont even allow both himself and an*one else to even let another musi" dire"tors work to be spoken hi$her1 What he will be prote"tin$ here is more a part of his own personalit* than R1 1!urmans work itself1 ( used to be obsessed with 7a*a Sudha a 2elu$u a"tress in m* teens and ( used to hate an* other heroines film workin$ better than hers1 So here it is not the work of the artiste an*more but it is m* sense of belon$in$1 1+. /o you prefer to let go one arro# after the other #ithout making sure it #ill hit the target? &ns: ( think *ou are a little dated1 ( prefer a ma"hine $un1 1.. What #ill you define as fresh ideas? 5e# ideas? &ns: .ot ne"essaril*1 (t "ould be a new presentation of an old idea or an old pa"ka$in$ of a new idea1 21. 7hould you not go to a hill station and think? &ns: ( dont think from a pla"e1 ( think from m* mind1 21. 8y hum(le request to you sir" dont make movies 9ust for the sake of it. &ns: &nd m* humble re6uest to *ou Sir, please understand that if ( dont have the intelli$en"e to understand it m*self *our le"ture wont help me either1 (nstead of that m* humble re6uest to *ou, Sir, is to spend that le"turin$ time on betterin$ *ourself in whatever *ou do, that is if *ou do an*thin$ at all in the first pla"e1 -6<=8 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 06D3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it 6D@45@6445 For critics& For Bo<*o44ice& &n* filmmaker primaril* wants to make a film whi"h people will a""laim1 2he "olle"tions are more the Produ"ers and istributors "on"ern1 !ut the "olle"tions also indi"ate how man* people a"tuall* saw the film1 oes one feel

that the film has served the purpose be"ause a few individuals like the Print E 2elevision "riti"s sa* it is $ood or is how man* ti"kets audien"e bou$ht+ Without battin$ an e*elid even the most award savv* ire"tor would sa* that it is the audien"e bu*in$ ti"kets whi"h is important be"ause it will at the end of the da* it will be his primar* obje"tive to see that as man* people as possible wat"hes his work1 (n the *ear Sat*a released Godmother0 $ot the .ational &ward and Sat*a was "ompletel* i$nored1 Godmother ran for < weeks and Sat*a ran for <@ weeks in the same theatre and F= *ear later Sat*a is remembered as a "ult; film and the jur* members of the .ational &ward "ommittee would have for$otten both Godmother and its ire"torG and worse the* would not have been even bothered to follow that ire"tors "areer1 ( alwa*s knew that it is the audien"es not the "riti"s reviews whi"h made Sat*a work so tremendous1 2he* $ave as mu"h or better reviews for #a6bool, /hamosh Pani, et" and we all know their bo3;offi"e fate1 /halid #ohammed mentioned in his review when Raat released that time, that it is an unintended "omed*1 &part from him most reviews to trashed it1 F@ *ears later man* "riti"s of present times term it as a "ult;"lassi"1 2hats not be"ause Raat was ahead of times but the "riti"s of toda* were just audien"e at that time and hen"e unbiased1 &n*wa* to "ut a lon$ stor* short, not to undermine #umbai #eri 7aan0 or its maker who re"eived ravin$ reviews "ompared to Phoonk0 ( just would like him to answer sin"erel* from his heart whether he himself would have preferred /halids and #a*anks and the et"s reviews and opinions of his film or the "olle"tions of Phoonk01 --<65 A' > Add a comment > Read comments 08D3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it 64@45@6445 My reactions to reactions 1. :his excuse of making films only to en9oy the process sounds irresponsi(le. &ns: %ou $ot me wron$1 ( am not makin$ an e3"use, ( am sa*in$ that it is the onl* "hoi"e an* filmmaker has whether he reali5es it or not1 Cver* one of the

makers of the F<= or so films made in !oll*wood ever* *ear think that the* are makin$ a film whi"h will be a bi$ hit1 .o one in the ri$ht mind will $o ahead and make a film aimin$ it to be an avera$e or a flop film1 H@I of them will not rea"h their intended obje"tive1 When the audien"e sees the final film the* ima$ine it has been done with "arelessness and a non;thinkin$ attitude but that would never be the "ase1 & viewer is spendin$ a "ouple of hours and around Rs1F==; to bu* a ti"ket1 & maker is spendin$ a *ear or more and "rores of Rupees1 He would never be irresponsible be"ause he has mu"h mu"h more to loose than the viewer1 (t happens be"ause it is an e3tremel* diffi"ult thin$ to mat"h the mind;state of the ire"tor, where he started from and the mind;state of the viewer when he enters the theatre1 (t is too "omple3 and too lon$ drawn out for me to e3plain here1 2. ;ou yourself have raised your (ar and thats the (urden you carry. &ns: #a*be *ou are ri$ht but that is also the reason ( be"ame what ( am1 3. ' dont #ant to read articles posted (y fakes like you. &ns: >k1 . ' think #atching 3ag #ill (e scarier than *hoonk. &ns: )ets make a deal1 (f *ou shut up about &a$, ( swear on *our mother that ( wont make another &a$1 $. ' think you source your actors from theatre. 8ohanlal is kno#n" 0hakri and the 0ontract guy are :elugu actors. *hoonk guy is a <annada actor. ' #ont even get into ho# you get your heroines. /id you select =ardeen <han (ecause he gave you money? &ns: %es sir, %es sir, %es sir, *ou are absolutel* ri$ht about what all *ou wish to be ri$ht1 ). ;ou spelt 5iet4sche #rong. &nds: 2hat was a t*pin$ error1 2hanks for the lesson an*wa*? Where do ( send the "he6ue+ +. Why are you an atheist? &nds: !e"ause ( "an $o ahead and "ommit as man* sins as ( want without $ettin$ s"ared1

.. 7tick to making movies. 7exist 9okes dont make good comedy. &nds: >k, #am1 11. >nly if a !overnment committee regulates the sensationalisation of ne#s the media scene #ill improve. &ns: ( disa$ree1 (f its re$ulated b* a Govt bod* it will just breed "orruption and "ensorship whi"h will make the situation worse1 &t least now the least the media is doin$ is to entertain us1 & Government bod* will destro* that too1 11. ' think most cele(rities have found solace #ith internet (logs. &ns: efinitel*1 &t least theres one pla"e where the* "an "ommuni"ate to whoever is interested or "on"erned without bein$ edited, 6uoted out of "onte3t or lines bein$ hi$hli$hted whi"h were not meant to be et"1 12. 7eems like you have very good material for the media film. *lease dont scre# it. &ns: ( wont s"rew it1 ( will fu"k it1 13. Why do you target only <halid" /eepa and 7u(hash? &ns: Read m* blo$ a$ain1 ( $ave them just as e3amples be"ause ( know them onl*1 1 . 'nvest in a good screenplay" good #riter" good cinematographer and a good music director. &ns: Please dont $ive awa* su"h brilliant strokes of advi"e for free1 1$. 7top manipulating things. &ns: >k, %our honour1 1&. 'n films you are driven (y techniques alone and fail and in (logs you are driven (y analytical vie#s" so they come out good. &ns: Partl* true for most part1 1). ' #ant to kno# if the confidence you exhi(it is real or fake? &ns: Wh* dont *ou ima$ine whatever makes *ou happ*+ Wh* know and spoil it for *ourself+

1+. ' think 3yan ?and has seeped into your (lood. &ns: %es, but the problem is that she doesnt "ome out as sweet1 1.. ' request you to use all your #itty humour in the media movie. &ns: >f "ourse1 o *ou think there is an*thin$ more funnier than the media+ 21. :his 9ourno rushed to the village to tell her a(out her hus(ands death so that he can capture her reaction. &ns: 2hanks /G1 ( appre"iate this input1 %ou $ave me an idea for a s"ene1 21. 3 #ise man learns from others mistakes. 3 practical man learns from his o#n mistakes. &ns: %es1 2hats what sensible men do, but mostl* men dont reali5e that the* have made a mistake as the* dont think with "ommon sense and that is be"ause theres nothin$ "ommon about "ommon sense1 22. /oes your psyche fascinate you? &ns: &"tuall* after readin$ *our understandin$ of mine, *ours fas"inates me more1 23. %y the #ay" #hen are you going to get married? &ns: &mon$ all the weirdos ( intera"t with, *ou take the "ake1 (f *ou "an take time off from whatever *ou do Jwhi"h ( am sure would be nothin$K and look for a $irl for me ( will1 >therwise $et sensible and at least make an attempt to ask a little more reasonabl* relevant 6uestion1 2 . 3re you patriotic? /o you respect our country? 0an #e expect a patriotic film from you? &ns: .>1 .>1 .>1 ( am prett* mu"h immersed in m* thinkin$ of how to serve m*self and dont even spend a minute in thinkin$ of servin$ an*one or an*thin$ else1 2$. Have you ever thought of making something like 8ackennas !old? &ns: *in$ to1 2&. 3re there any movies that made you cry? &ns: .o, but there are plent* whi"h made me lau$h when the* made others "r*1

2). *lease take care of your looks and dress #hen you come on :@. &ns: Wh*+ %ou want to marr* me+ 2+. ' have a feeling ' #ont like *hoonk. &ns: (f *ou dont *ou "an find me in the 9ersova $rave*ard1 Come there if *ou dare1 8<=. (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0//3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it -=@45@6445 My take on the me2ia. 2he media is a reportin$ a$en"*1 (t reports news1 .ews is what *ou hear for the first time and for it to "at"h *our attention the media has to make the news sound as dramati" as possible1 2he publi"ations and Channels have no "hoi"e but to do that so as to be able to sta* in business and make mone*1 So finall* is it onl* about just makin$ mone*+ .ot ne"essaril* intended b* all "on"erned, it "ould also be for the individual e$os and "lamourin$ for fame amon$ the journalists themselves1 #ost of the media people bit"h about ea"h other as mu"h as the* bit"h about others1 !ut a$ain like an* other industr* *ou "annot $enerali5e them1 )ike there are $ood, bad, u$l* filmmakers, there will be $ood, bad and u$l* media people as eventuall* the* are all human1 2he interestin$ point is that how smoothl* and without an*bod* "ons"iousl* reali5in$ the media has transformed from a truth tellin$ ma"hiner* to a power;mon$erin$ and mone*;makin$ enterprise1 What the media basi"all* does is, it just strips ever*bod* and makes mone* out it1 2he onl* differen"e between a strip;teaser and the media is that a strip;teaser bares herself so that others "an enjo* her and $ive mone*, and the media strips others so that some others "an enjo* and $ive them the mone*1 ( know it sounds far fet"hed but does an*one out there believe that an*bod* in the media trul* feel the $ravit* or the tra$ed* of happenin$s1 2he* "an hardl* "on"eal the $lee in their e*es when bad thin$s happen1 2he badder the better, as there will be more e*es readin$ and wat"hin$ them1 id *ou

noti"e the pleasure the* $et in rippin$ films or personalities apart+ !ut wait a minute1 2he film people are worse1 4or all the an$er film people show a$ainst "riti"s it is a"tuall* the film people who enjo* and relish the nast* and bit"h* "omments or reviews mu"h more than the publi" who read them, that is, e3"ept obviousl* the people who are bein$ bit"hed and "ommented upon1 2he reason for this is nothin$ but jealous* and jealous* is a human trait and like lots of other emotions it $ets ma$nified in the "onte3t of the entertainment industr*1 2he main reason for the jealous* is be"ause people b* nature "annot bear an*one else to be su""essful e3"ept themselves and one wa* of feelin$ su""essful even if one has not a"hieved an*thin$ is to wat"h with $lee someone else fall down and to be ripped to shreds and the media supplies this pleasure to ever*one in well;"ooked $reat helpin$s1 ( trul* think ( deserve $reat "redit for "reatin$ a proje"t su"h as &a$ to enable the media to dish out su"h fantasti" entertainment to all "on"erned in rippin$ it apart1 (f entertainment is the sole purpose of a film, ( think &a$ has done more than a wonderful job, definitel* mu"h more than what it "ould have done in the theatres even if it turned out to be a damn $ood film1 2he pressure to perform and the fear of failure and ridi"ule are at utmost peak in the film industr* more than in an* other pla"e and that is mainl* be"ause of the media1 .obod* knows or is interested what de"isions went wron$ in an hoteliers or a "loth mer"hants business and how mu"h mone* he lost but if a filmmaker makes a flop ever*bod* will know that be"ause of the media1 4air enou$h the media is also responsible for the fame it $ives to the same1 &nd fame is the ke* word here1 #u"h more than mone* ever*bod* wants to be"ome famous, whoever "omes to the industr* the* want to develop their own identit*1 2he /halid #ohammeds, the eepa Gehlots and all the other et"8s of the media are all desperate to $et their individual fame and identities re$istered with all "on"erned as mu"h as the film people1 So as a "onse6uen"e the* tend to fall in love more with the wa* the* rip the film apart mu"h more than the* hate the film1 2he reporters is a trul* thankless job what with da* after da* hour after hour to fill in so man* papers and Channels and on top of that it has to "at"h e*eballs at an* "ost in fear of "ompetition so the* do it even if the* have to

be ruthless enou$h to hurt and s"andali5e personalities, and the* do this to even to the people who the* know on a personal friendl* level1 J&$ar $hoda $haas se dosti karli*a toh khaa*e$a k*a+K1 When the* $et a "ertain whiff of an interestin$ stor* on someone a journalists $reatest fear would be that it will be denied b* the person1 !ut still the ne"essit* of havin$ to feed the media monster he will "ook up somethin$ even in that situation1 & few da*s ba"k one &shwini eshmukh from #umbai #irror te3ted me to ask if there was rift between me and &mitji, to whi"h ( replied in the ne$ative1 He sent the same messa$e to &mitji, to whi"h &mitji replied that he was plannin$ to do <= films with me1 So now one would ima$ine that he would drop the stor* as the onl* < people who "ould "onfirm or den* the stor* have spoken1 !ut he went ahead and put a stor* with a headline /aput: Ramu and !a"h"han relationship over01 He $ave all kinds of reasons, what he heard or ima$ined and in"redibl* at the end 6uoted mine and &mitjis denials in small print1 .ow wh* would he do that+ (t is simpl* be"ause he knows mostl* people read onl* the headline and even if the* read the rest of it the* will onl* remember the headline like alwa*s people remember the number of stars more than the reviews1 2he proof of this is the number of media people who asked me about the rift takin$ their "ue from that arti"le and when ( said 'didnt *ou read our denials at the end+ the* $rud$in$l* said '*es almost as if $iven a "hoi"e the* will believe the rift part of it than the denial be"ause the rift is news and it will help fill pa$es, web;spa"e and 29 foota$e whereas the "loseness of me and &mitji will be e3pe"ted and hen"e borin$1 So the lo$i" is if so man* media people and film industr* people "an have a field da* dis"ussin$, spe"ulatin$ and $ettin$ entertained on it, the irritant it will "ause to just < people, me and &mitji, "an be i$nored in the lar$er interest of makin$ fools out of the "ommon people1 Similarl* a report mentionin$ a war between me and /aran 7ohar appeared where Subash / 7ha the reporter "laimed that he has seen me lashin$ out at /aran on m* blo$1 .ow even a dim nitwit "an see that ( was jokin$ and makin$ fun of ever*thin$ and most of all m*self in that blo$ post1 (ts not that the reporter "ant see it but he will "hoose not to see it as he wants to take out onl* what suits his own a$enda1

&nother interestin$ part of the media is the differen"e between the #umbai media and the media elsewhere1 (ts primaril* be"ause the most of the #umbai media hobnobs and rubs shoulders with the film people1 2he film people out of their fear and $reed and in order to use the media people open their doors to the media people and almost be"ome informants to the media about the rest of their "ollea$ues in the industr*1 So the media kind of looses its primar* obje"tive and tends to $et embroiled in the "amp "ulture of the industr*1 &n out"ome of this rubbin$ shoulders with film people, results in the journalists steppin$ be*ond their job responsibilities1 While /halid #ohammed initiall* in his position with 2imes of (ndia and his supposed influen"e over the 4ilmfare awards wanted to use a"tors and te"hni"ians to make his "lassi"s, the* all primaril* obli$ed in fear of $ettin$ bad reviews and the $reed of $ettin$ awards1 He openl* uses his position in the newspaper to write arti"les and bit"h* pie"es a$ainst several people who he wants to settle his personal s"ores with and on top of that he bra$s about it to all1 (t beats me how the mana$ement of those papers "ant see this1 2oda* he "ant do it that mu"h as Hindustan 2imes does not "arr* the same wei$ht as 2>(1 (t mi$ht be a $ood idea for him to "onvin"e H2 to start H2 &wards for him to be able to be ba"k in business1 Subhas /1 7ha has a uni6ue trait of "allin$ up film people whenever the* are in a low like just after a flop1 He will "all them with soothin$ words and $ives them a shoulder to "r* on1 He $ives and takes information from various film people and passes it on to all "on"erned1 #ost in !oll*wood trust him more than the journalists who sta* in #umbai be"ause he sta*s in Patna and he is a voi"e on the phone1 So the* feel safer "onfidin$ in him as he is far awa*, and ima$ine that what the* tell him wont "ome ba"k here1 2he media elsewhere sin"e it does not have that mu"h of a""ess to the film people is relativel* unbiased and "omparativel* has mu"h more inte$rit*1 &nother bi$ problem is that we all film people believe that A or B papers in #umbai represent the whole "ountr* for the simple reason that we $et onl* them into our homes1 >n a tour to @ to L towns it "ame as a revelation to me and how mu"h of a fro$ in the well ( was when ( reali5ed ever* town in the

"ountr* has its own media and ( found far superior journalists there1 ( dont think its be"ause the* are ne"essaril* better journalists but ( think its be"ause the* live in a relativel* far less polluted atmosphere1 >n the bri$hter side, ( dont think both us film folk and the media are all that bad be"ause after all the pressures and the frustrations we $o throu$h, the least we are doin$ is entertainin$ the people in one wa* or the other1 Whether its a lie or a truth or half;lie, what is the bi$ deal+ (f the "ommon mans interest is in knowin$ who slept with whom+ &nd who slapped whom+ 2he media will suppl* it and us film industr* folk will suppl* it to the media1 ( think its a fantasti" threesome1 ( want to sum up this arti"le b* takin$ the line from Compan*0 whi"h best des"ribes both us film folks and the media1 %eh bas hamare dhande ki jaath hai10 P1S:; ( am just on the ver$e of finishin$ a s"ript ( am workin$ on about the fun"tionin$ and ps*"holo$* of media1 So far *ou have seen the media e3posin$ thin$s and now ( want to e3pose the media in all its naked $lor*1 ( promise *ou that it will be one fu"kin$ hell of a strip tease1 Cheers? 7<64 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0-453 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it 4.@45@6445 Fearin+ 4ear ( would des"ribe fear as a feelin$ whi"h "omes out of bein$ threatened with either emotional or ph*si"al violen"e, and it $ets ma$nified espe"iall* if it "omes from an unknown or an un;understandable sour"e1 (f *ou trul* understand the me"hani"s and the motivations of the for"e whi"h is threatenin$ *ou, *ou wont be half as s"ared1 4or e3ample if *ou are "onfronted with a snake *ou will be "hilled to the bone but if *ou "an re"o$ni5e the spe"ies, know what its poison "ontains, how it "an effe"t *our s*stem, how fast it "an move et" kind of details, instead of bein$ s"ared *ou will think of wa*s of es"apin$ it or killin$ it1 Similarl* if *ou are alone at home at ni$ht and *ou hear a moanin$ kind of sound from inside a room where no one is supposed to be there, the slow war* walk of *ours towards the room to "he"k the sour"e of the sound is

when *ou will be s"ared ma3imum1 2hat is be"ause *our own ima$ination takes over *our mind1 !ut on"e *ou see the sour"e no matter how dan$erous or fri$htenin$ it is, *ou will either s"ream for help or run or atta"k it dependin$ on *ou as an individual1 %ou will simpl* jump into a defense mode and *our fear at this time will be mu"h lesser that what it was durin$ the walk1 !elief in God ( believe primaril* "omes out of fear be"ause we have an overwhelmin$ need to feel safe and we will never trul* trust our famil* or the so"iet* or the poli"e or the Government to prote"t us1 Hen"e we are "ompelled to believe in a for"e whi"h we desperatel* want to prote"t us in ever* whi"h wa* and that is where God "omes in and in order to feel the power of God we have no "hoi"e but to invent and pit his power a$ainst a "ounter point and thus evil for"es like demons and bla"k ma$i" are invented1 !la"k ma$i" is supposed to be used to hurt or kill an enem* b* either pra"ti"in$ it or hirin$ its pra"titioners1 Whether it e3ists or not, nobod* "an tell for sure, but ( am trul* stunned b* the sheer number of people who in spite of their edu"ation and so"ial status, how mu"h the* believe in it1 ( think its mainl* be"ause whenever the* dont understand the reasons behind some ne$ative happenin$s or at least when their minds refuse to a""ept the obvious for whatever reasons the* tend to believe in the aspe"t of bla"k ma$i"1 ( know of parents of this a"tor who was seein$ a $irl who the* hi$hl* disapproved of1 -nable to break their relationship and refusin$ to see a possible ne$ative side to their own son the* started believin$ that the $irl did some bla"k ma$i" on him, and it started $rowin$ to the e3tent of them fearin$ ever*thin$ about her1 ( was alwa*s fas"inated with the feelin$ of fear, how it "ons"iousl* and sub"ons"iousl* affe"ts people in so man* wa*s1 (f *ou are travelin$ in a "ar on a hi$hwa* and *ou see a ver* dirt* lookin$ tru"k "omin$ from the opposite dire"tion with broken headli$hts, peeled of paint and han$in$ bumper, that will s"are *ou more than a sli"k lookin$ well maintained tru"k1 )o$i"all* speakin$ both will do the same dama$e if the* hit *ou1 !ut its somewhere *our sub"ons"ious insi$ht into the driver of the

dirt* tru"k that if he doesnt "are so mu"h about his own tru"k he mi$ht not "are so mu"h about himself or *ou too1 &lso if *ou observed when we with the whole famil* leave the house and $o on a holida* for a few da*s, when we return, open the lo"k and step inside a thou$ht fleetin$l* mi$ht "ross our minds what the house and the various obje"ts in the house have been up to while *ou were awa*1 Can we be reall* sure that the various inanimate thin$s in our house we so take for $ranted in the "ourse of the da* dont reall* "ome alive in the ni$ht after we $o to sleep+ (n MPhoonkM ( attempted to use the above aspe"ts of human ps*"holo$* to a""entuate fear1 ( went to the e3tent of attemptin$ to make people feel not safe even with idols of Gods around1 2o make the viewer fear and 6uestion ever*thin$ and ever*one around and what he depends on and what he believes in is the primar* obje"tive of MPhoonkM1 Comin$ to the "ontest of wat"hin$ Phoonk0 alone in the theatre a"tuall* no one reali5es what the e3perien"e "an be like1 2o sit in a lar$e empt* dark theatre let alone a horror film even a normal film "an be a s"ar* e3perien"e espe"iall* if *ou are sittin$ in the middle of theatre *ou will develop a na$$in$ feelin$ that someone or somethin$ is behind *our ba"k1 &"tuall* even at home if *ou are alone b* *ourself it is ver* s"ar* to wat"h a horror film1 ( would sa* probabl* it would be s"arier at home than wat"hin$ it in a theatre for the simple reason that there will be more hidin$ pla"es in a home than a theatre for somethin$ to hide and poun"e on *ou1 When &5am /han, the Produ"er of Phoonk0, asked me what ( think will be the rea"tion of people who wat"h Phoonk, ( said the followin$ @ t*pe of people "ould be there1 JaK1 >ne is the kind of a person who will be s"ared even before he enters the theatre as he "onne"ts to the intent of the film and his mind takes over after that1 JbK1 &nother one will be a $u* who will keep "hallen$in$ the film to s"are him1 2his spe"imen is "ommonl* seen in theatres showin$ horror films1 He will be

booin$ and titterin$ in the silen"es, spoilin$ it for others1 &t heart he will be more s"ared than an*one else, so he tries to release his tension b* makin$ noises1 J"K1 %et another one would not see most of the film espe"iall* whenever it is s"ar* as he simpl* will "lose his e*es and ears1 JdK1 &lso there will be a $u* who will just wat"h the film without an* feelin$ and this will be be"ause he has absolutel* no ima$ination at all1 JRead 'dumbK1 JeK1 &nd finall* *et another $u* mi$ht not even "ome to see the film not ne"essaril* be"ause he is s"ared of Phoonk0 but it "ould be be"ause he saw Contra"t01 /<64 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0/83 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it =>> thin+s /hich scare me the most? JFK1 2o be "loseted in pit"h darkness1 J( would like to see what is about to kill me1 (t will be prett* dumb to die without knowin$ that1K J<K1 2ravelin$ alone on lone hi$hwa*s in the ni$ht1 JGod knows where it suddenl* mi$ht lead to1K JAK1 !ein$ alone on a deserted bea"h1 J( have this na$$in$ feelin$ that somethin$ is lurkin$ just under the water, just waitin$ to "at"h me alone1K JBK1 Some women who dont know an*thin$ and dont listen to me about an*thin$1 J( so wish to God that he makes them with a built;in remote "ontrol1K J@K1 2he spirits of whoever died in the "ast and "rew of Shola*01 J2he poli"e "an prote"t me from the livin$, but who will prote"t me from the spirits+K JLK1 People who are m* well;wishers and "ant stop advisin$ and patroni5in$ me1 J2he* just make me feel as if ( am d*in$ or dead1K P1S: ( love the "riti"s and the people who hate and bit"h about me and m* films as atleast the* make me feel alive1

JNK1 Children be"ause the* take the attention awa* from me and also keep makin$ me reali5e that ( am as kiddish as the* are1 JOK1 Poli"e;men be"ause ( have this na$$in$ feelin$ that ( am a "riminal somewhere deep inside and the* will some da* find out1 JHK1 Criminals be"ause ( feel one of these da*s the* mi$ht just think that ( am lettin$ too man* of their trade se"rets out and: well1 JF=K1 /aran 7ohars films for the ver* ver* obvious reasons1 JFFK1 #* own films for even more ver* ver* obvious reasons1 He* women, "hildren, well;wishers, spirits, "riti"s, Poli"e;men, "riminals and /aran, ( was just kiddin$1 &nd then ma*be: ( am not1 /<-= (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0-/3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it My reactions to reactions. 1. What is or #ho is shameless? &ns: .othin$ and nobod*: as shamefulness is somethin$ whi"h "omes out of a so"ial pro$rammin$1 (f *ou have the wisdom and the understandin$ to see throu$h the pro$rammin$ *ou wont feel ashamed ever1 2. 3part from that quote a(out <halid" you said so many other nasty things a(out 3amir. What a(out that? &ns: ( alread* said in m* post, ( wanted to state ever*thin$ here as ( "an be sure that it will "orre"tl* "ome out1 ( "ant reall* know what all mi$ht have been printed, if it was mis6uoted or 6uoted out of "onte3t1 (f *ou still have doubts about me then let me sa* this that &amir is a super fantasti" $em of a $u* and ( am a selfish untrustworth* $ood for nothin$ $u*1 4ine+ Happ*+ Smile now1

3. :his 'layara9as #ay of #orking #ill not #ork. &ns: Got the point loud and "lear1 2hanks Sanja*1 . Ho# did you learn so much Anglish? &ns: %ou dont have s"hools where *ou "ome from+ $. :ruth lies al#ays (et#eenB &ns: (t alwa*s does1 /<48 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 073 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it 47@45@6445 !he strokes 5ehin2 )an+eela . (n m* "olle$e ( used to han$ out with a $u* "alled Ramesh who was a kind of a street $oonda1 2hose da*s there used to be a lot of hobnobbin$ between students and $oonda elements1 Ramesh was a ver* feared $u* in the lo"alit* and me and m* friends used to be in awe of him1 We used to spend endless hours with him in an (rani hotel1 He developed a hu$e "rush on one of the "olle$e $irls whi"h slowl* turned into intense love1 !ut he alwa*s used to look at her from far and never used to $o near to her or talk to her in spite of our en"oura$ement1 ( used to think it prett* ironi"al that su"h a tou$h $u* be"omes so tender when it "omes to her1 He alwa*s used to wear some dirt* "happals and one da* he "ame wearin$ a brand new pair of .ike shoes1 2he* looked so funn* on him and ever*one lau$hed1 He was hurt and ( "ould see that it was his attempt to smarten himself to impress the $irl1 2he $irl started seein$ this ver* $ood lookin$ $u* who was also ri"h and one of the ver* few $u*s who had his own "ar1 &ll of us "ham"has of Ramesh sat in (rani "afP and started $oadin$ him to $o and beat up that $u* and $et him out of the wa*1 Ramesh turned around and with a "hoked voi"e said that she deserved the best and the other $u* was better suited for her than him in ever* whi"h wa*1 Ran$eela took birth at that moment in that (rani "afP1 2he .ike shoes in"ident of Ramesh would appear as #unna wearin$ the *ellow dress later in the film1

( used to hear stories of a how Sridevis mother used to be a junior artiste and how she used to to $o from studio to studio to make her dau$hter a star1 ( kind of "ombined bother her and her dau$hter into one and "reated the "hara"ter of #ili1 7a"kie Shroffs "hara"ter ( took from the Countess "hara"ter in 2he Sound of #usi"01 ( was ama5ed at the di$nit* with whi"h her "hara"ter was treated resistin$ from the temptation of depi"tin$ her as a vamp1 >n"e ( finished the stor* ( wanted to make it in 2elu$u with Sridevi and .a$arjuna and was plannin$ to ask Rajnikant to do $uest appearan"e1 !oth Sridevi and .a$arjuna did not like the stor* and the* preferred another stor* ( had whi"h was made into a film "alled Govinda Govinda01 Primaril* ( think the* were not hot on the subje"t, not so mu"h be"ause of the subje"t itself but it was more be"ause the* thou$ht ( will be better in a"tion films be"ause of m* Shiva ba"k$round1 So ( kind of for$ot about the subje"t for a few *ears1 #eanwhile at some point ( "ame to #umbai to si$n #adhuri i3it for a role opposite .a$arjuna for m* film &ntham0 J rohiK1 #adhuris dates were not available and !one* /apoor su$$ested to me that there is this new $irl "alled -rmila in a film "alled .arasimha01 ( didnt think mu"h of her but be"ause there was no time and no one else available ( si$ned her1 .either the film nor she worked1 & few months later #ani Ratnam and me wanted to work to$ether and we wrote a s"ript "alled Ga*am0 in whi"h Revathi was the main lead and for a supportin$ role #ani su$$ested -rmila not be"ause he thou$ht mu"h about her but for that role he thou$ht she would be fine1 ( was plannin$ to shoot a son$ with -rmila for Gaa*am in 9i5a$ when a "horeo$rapher "alled Su"hitra missed her train from 9i5a$1 So instead of "an"elin$ the shoot ( asked -rmila if she "ould dan"e on the musi" b* herself to whi"h she did1 Seein$ her dan"e to that son$ "ompletel* b* herself ( was mesmeri5ed and ( de"ided to make Ran$eela with her that moment1 ( loved &amir in Qa*amat Se Qa*amat 2ak and also Raakh1 ( off and on used to meet him in #umbai1 He loved m* first film Shiva and we were plannin$ to work to$ether and ( went to meet him with the Ran$eela s"ript whi"h he immediatel* liked1

( happened to see #ani ratnams Roja son$s whi"h reall* blew me awa* and for the first time in m* "areer ( wanted to shoot son$s as beautiful as possible1 So ( went about seein$ all the $reat Holl*wood musi"als in the "ourse of whi"h ( made an observation that m* mother was not flin"hin$ in the son$ se6uen"es of Sin$in$ in the rain0 where there was so mu"h e3posure of the $irls bodies1 She was otherwise "onservative and used to look down upon the Sarka*lo /hati*a avid hawan;/arishma kind of son$s1 2hen ( reali5ed that the wa* the heroines used to e3pose at that time was in an atmosphere where the* were made to feel dirt* and "rass with the use of l*ri"s and movements and that hardness use to "ome on their fa"es whereas $irls from Sin$in$ in the rain0 were e3posin$ with a sense of pride and with a feelin$ of jo*1 (n both "ases m* mother was "onne"tin$ to the feelin$ and not to the bodies1 2his is what ( told -rmila and ( said 'if *ou feel beautiful *ou will "ome a"ross beautiful and if *ou feel that *ou doin$ somethin$ vul$ar *ou will "ome a"ross like that1 ( wanted to shoot the son$s ver* $lamourosl* and Hai Rama0 e3tremel* eroti" with lust in7a"kies and -rmilas e*es rather than roman"e1 ( thou$ht animals dont hide behind "losed walls or look for a dark pla"e to make love1 When the* are in the mood for that the* do it in broad da*li$ht an*where, an* pla"e and e3"ept their feelin$s for ea"h other ever*thin$ else around them vanishes1 %ou see that aspe"t in the se6uen"e in Hai Rama when -rmila and 7a"kie are "ir"lin$ ea"h other in the /uldhara ruins with intense lust in their e*es1 Somewhere half wa* throu$h the film &amir started havin$ doubts on the s"ript and definitel* with a lot of valid reasons1 He said if #unna is an e3trovert, sells ti"kets in bla"k and has su"h a flambo*ant personalit* wh* would he dela* tellin$ #ili that he loves her1 He felt that just for the "onvenien"e of the s"reenpla* ( was dela*in$ that aspe"t1 Put that wa* he was absolutel* ri$ht, but ( thou$ht nobod* felt it when ( was narratin$ the stor* in"ludin$ aamir whi"h means the emotional dram must be "arr*in$ it forward whereas now sin"e &amir had the time to think he sees it as a problem1

He also felt if #ili is a ni"e $irl, #unna is a ni"e $u* and 7a"kie is also a ni"e $u* there was absolutel* no drama an*more and the whole film is restin$ on just that one line of #unna not tellin$ #ili till the end1 He told me that as no two people "an have the same vision and sin"e ( am the ire"tor he would $o alon$ with m* vision inspite of his disa$reement with me1 Contrara* to popular per"eption, &amir is absolutel* non;interferin$ "ompared to an* a"tor ( worked with or ( have heard of1 He is a ver* intelli$ent man with a tremendous sin"erit* and a superb reasonin$ power1 !ut sin"e most people dont have his sin"erit* in"ludin$ m*self the $uilt in us would make us sa* that he interferes even thou$h ( never said that1 When the film released and was de"lared a bi$ hit &amir hu$$ed me and said that he was $lad ( proved to be ri$ht1 !ut that is not ne"essaril* true1 #a*be the film would have been a mu"h bi$$er hit if ( in"orporated all his su$$estions1 &lso in m* heart ( know that if the film didnt work it would have been pre"isel* for the same reasons &amir feared1 &n*wa* the famous "ontrovers* between me and aamir happened L to N months after Ran$eela released1 /halid #ohammed was doin$ an interview with me in whi"h ( was $ivin$ an e3planation that the audien"e "an rarel* understand the differen"e between a "hara"ter and an a"tor1 ( "ited the s"ene in Ran$eela when &amir takes -rmila to restaurant1 .ow the waiter bein$ a 4ive Star Hotel steward is more hi$her in so"ial status than #unna but bein$ a waiter he has no "hoi"e but to serve him1 !ut on a human bein$ level he "an barel* hide his dis$ust hearin$ #unnas lines1 So ( told /halid that the lines are bein$ delivered b* &amir but the look on the waiters fa"e is what is makin$ the audien"e lau$h1 So it "alls for more "omple3 a"tin$ on the waiters part "ompared to &amir in that parti"ular s"ene1 /halid who apparentl* had a personal a3e to $rind with &amir went ahead and printed this arti"le whi"h read like as if ( said 2he waiter was better than &amir01 !* the time the arti"le "ame out ( was off on a 2elu$u film shoot in interior &ndhra Pradesh1 &amir tried to "onta"t me and those da*s there were no "ell phones1 2he fa"t that ( was not $ettin$ in tou"h with him and him not knowin$ where ( was, he thou$ht ( was avoidin$ him and as the media was houndin$ him to rea"t he went ahead and rea"ted and the media blew up the thin$ into a full s"ale war1 2he moment ( reali5ed what happened ( met &amir and e3plained it to him1 He wanted me to $ive a statement in print a$ainst /halid that ( was mis6uoted to whi"h ( said ( "ant be"ause all those

thin$s ( did sa*, its just that its too te"hni"al for a la*man at that time to understand and ( should not have spoken to a man like /halid about that and that was a mistake1 Some "old vibes still remained with $ood reason till *ears later we met at a part* and had a lon$ "hat and sin"e then we are "ordial1 So whatever happened between me and &amir was "ompletel* F==I m* fault and ( am sa*in$ this now here be"ause ( was not trustin$ an* journalist to put it a"ross in the "orre"t perspe"tive1 &nd before some minds out there jump to this "on"lusion that this is an effort on m* part to pat"h up with him in order to do a film with him ( want to "ate$ori"all* state here that ( will never ever do a film with him and the reasons for that are: JaK1 ( am not as sin"ere or as "ommitted as him1 JbK1 ( dont have his patien"e1 J"K1 &bove all ( trul* think he is a far better filmmaker than me1

7<47 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0543 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it My reactions to reactions. 1. 's *hoonk a copied version of the Axorcist? &ns: C3or"ist was about demoni" possession and Phoonk is about bla"k ma$i"1 !la"k ma$i" is a""ordin$ to le$end the appli"ation of an evil for"e to harm or kill an enem*1 So in that sense there is no similarit*1 !ut *es in the emotional aspe"t of the near and dear ones "on"erned for the affe"ted part* there is a similarit*1 2. ' cannot keep #atching your assem(ly line of productions. &ns: ont1 3. ' think you have great ideas (ut not so good execution. &ns: 2ea"h me1

. Would you consider changing the format or presentation of your movies? &ns: Wont $. ' am ready to take up the challenge of #atching *hoonk alone. &ns: ( am just the ire"tor of Phoonk and the idea of "ontest was the >ne #ore 2hou$ht produ"tion "ompan*s1 Sin"e ever* movie has some kind of "ontest $oin$ on, for a film like Phoonk the* thou$ht that this kind of "ontest will be ver* apt as the film belon$s to the s"ar* $enre1 2he* are workin$ out the te"hni"alities of when and how to implement it1 &s soon as the* are done with it the* will post the details on a desi$nated website1 &. 3 strip dancer sho#s all to a cro#d to make a living. 7hameless are those #ho #atch. &ns: .either are shameless1 2he* are "onsentin$ adults1 N. ;ou often tend to sho# only #hat you #ant #ithout thinking of ho# it unfolds to the audience. &ns: %ou "ould be ri$ht1 !ut like ( alwa*s sa* *ou "ant $enerali5e audien"e1 What for one $oes above his head, the same for the other will affe"t him deepl*1 2here is a ver* thin line between spoon feedin$ and bein$ "lear1 +. What is vulgar? &ns: 9ul$arit* does not e3ist e3"ept in the mind be"ause an*thin$ and ever*thin$ is there for a predetermined purpose1 2he wa* one "hooses to look and think and feel about it is what whi"h differs1 2he mode of presentation of an*thin$ to a re"eiver is a"tuall* what pro$rammes him to feel in a "ertain wa*1 & womans bod* is the same1 (f its ba"k;lit its "alled eroti"a, and if its front;lit its "alled porn1 (f *ou are seekin$ intense $ratifi"ation *ou would want to see hard "ore front lit se3 and mere eroti"a wont suffi"e it1 ( remember that in m* teens readin$ a porn ma$a5ine with provo"ative titles and bad paper and bad $rammar used to arouse me1 ( dont think readin$ it in a hard bound well;written smart and profound lookin$ books will serve the same purpose1 & feelin$ "an be neither vul$ar nor aestheti"1 & feelin$ is a feelin$1 .. /o you think you can ever take the idea of /aud and make it #ork again?

&ns: %es, be"ause ideas are never wron$1 >nl* their implementation and e3e"ution "an be1 11. ' think 7himit 3min is (rilliant and he #ont take up a pro9ect like !aya(. &ns: 2his onl* tells how brilliant *ou are1 (f *ou read m* arti"le on"e a$ain *ou will reali5e that ( was not talkin$ about Shimits or an*bod* elses brillian"e but onl* about how non;brilliant ( am1 11. ' think you 9ust got hurt #ith the failures of your recent films and you #rote that article ,Avery(ody is a no(ody-. &ns: ( said what ( wanted to sa* and *ou "an think whatever makes *ou happ*1 )ike the philosopher .ietrs"he said 2here are no fa"ts, onl* interpretations01 7<4- (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0D43 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 0-3 > ;log it 4-@45@6445 $6ery5o2y is a no5o2y . I always find it very strange the tendency of people to emphasise on whose idea it is rather than the idea itself. I for one have %een credited many times for innovative ideas and also discovering so many talents %oth in actors and technicians. 6ut did it occur to anyone what I might have thought a%out those ideas and the talents at that point of time" The fact is that I never thought anything of any%ody or anything or thought everything of every%ody and every thing. The only reason I took Anurag Kashyap in =atya was nothing to do with my perception of his talent$ %ut it was %ecause he was the first writer to approach me after I decided to make that film. And later on he got =aura%h =hukla to #oin in as a co@ writer. )hy I credited =aura%h =hukla s name first in the titles of satya was %ecause he was older in age than Anurag. Ceople thought Anurag was the main guy among the two %ecause I continued to work with Anurag and not =aura%h. The

reason I did that was %ecause =aura%h got married and he did not have as much time as Anurag to hang out with me. =imilarly I did not think that =himit Amin was more talented than Crawal Raman #ust %ecause =himit made A% Tak Chappan and Crawal made .aya%. On the contrary I %elieve that given the material of A% Tak Chappan Crawal would have made a %etter film and given the material of .aya% =himit would have made it worse. I made =atya and !aud %ack@to@%ack at the same time. =o who is the real me" Anurag writes -=atya0 and -3ain Aisa ?i ?oon0 and makes -6lack Driday0 and No =moking0. =o who is the real Anurag" &ikewise why would Rakesh 3ehra make -Aks0 first and -Rang !e 6asanti0 ne9t" )hy did Ashutosh waste his time and talent on -6aaEi0 %efore he could make a -&agaan0 and why were 5ashra# making %lock%usters last year and failures this year" The fact is that each and every one of us here are as good or %ad as the material we take up at that particular time. The rest of the hype is in the media s$ the industry s and the audiences mind. Dair enough the material I or anyone picks up surely is an individual choice %ut without knowing what factors affected that choice at that particular time$ one cannot take it for granted that someone is very talented. That is #ust %eing ignorant a%out what goes %ehind the making of a film. In effect I am saying if Anaurag came to me for !aud$ we would have made as %ad a film and if some other writer was in =atya it would have %een as good. I am not taking away the credit off him or =aura%h s or =andeep Chowta s or the various actors and technicians of that film. All I am saying is that we all shined %ecause of the material I picked up %y chance and Fchance is the operative word here. If I precisely knew what material to pick up why would I %e also making %ad films" And what did all those actors and technicians of the film do %efore and since =atya released (< years %ack" All you have to do is to list down the works of Anurag$ saura%h$ 3ano# 6a#pai$ =andeep Chowta$ 3aEhar Kamran the cameraman etc including myself for you to see my point.

In =atya an idea #ust fell in place. >very one connected should #ust %e happy with it and forget it$ and %e thankful that no%ody realiEes that a good film or a %ad film can happen as random as that. The day you start thinking that your idea is you that is when you start taking yourself too seriously and you will start falling in love with the FI and start losing track of your thinking there%y loosing track of the source where the FI is coming from in the first place. If I come up with a hundred ideas$ out of which (< could %e film ides$ :< of the other ideas also fail and 8 of the film ideas fail too. The people will only know a%out the failure of my film ideas. Dor instance I am known to %e a huge success in my video li%rary %usiness when I started which is true from the perspective of my family and my colleagues in the video %usiness at that time. 6ut only I know that it was a %ig flop and here s why. The reason I had started my video li%rary was %ecause I knew a%out ,< people among my friends and relatives who owned video players. =o I thought that if they %etween them hire ,< cassettes$ going %y Rs.(<@ per cassette I would get Rs.,<<@ a day and Rs.7<<<@ a month which was the running cost of my shop. Anything e9tra I thought would %e a profit which I can take a chance upon. )ithin a month of starting my shop I was renting out more than (<< cassettes a day %ut none of the ,<$ I was counting upon ever came to my shop or if they did$ they never paid the money as they were my friends or were related to me. =o in effect what I counted on didn t happen and the success came from une9pected Auarters. 6ut I know in my heart that if I knew those ,< people would not come$ there is no way I would have started my shop. =o am I a success or a failure" I would say that I was a failure in intent and successful %y chance. I %elieved in Raat more than =hiva and I only made =hiva first %ecause the producers did not allow me to make Raat first. I %elieved in !aud more than Rangeela and the proof of that is why would I make a film like !aud after Rangeela unless I think it is %etter. I had the same %elief in G.!.Chakravarthy to 3ano# 6a#pai to /ivek to Crashant to 3ohit to Adhvik. I had the same %elief in Hrmila to Antara to Nisha to Amruta. I had the same %elief in Anurag Kashyap to Gaideep =ahani to =a#id Darad to Crashant

Candey and my %elief in any of them does not change till today. =ome of them made it and some did not. 6ut the people are seeing the effect of them and making #udgments on them whereas only I know the cause of what made that happen. Any way to cut a long story short the point I wanted to make was that all my successes were %y default and all my failures were %y intent. Then what made me sustain all this time" It is nothing %ut me going on making decisions. !ecisions led to me making an appalling film like !aud after the super success of Rangeela and decisions led to make a highly e9perimental film with sweaty %earded faces like -=atya0 after the failure of !aud. I would any day go on making my decisions and make my lot of good$ %ad and ugly films rather than sitting in a 6arista or the 3arriott coffee@shop having endless cups of coffee tearing down others films and planning to make masterpieces which will never go the floors. I would rather any day live the moment and make my film right now which might not %e remem%ered %y others than endlessly plan and never make the film which I want to %e remem%ered forever. 6ut then I never said I am into pu%lic welfare. I am #ust a supremely selfish guy and my only intention is to have a %all which I am surely having. Cheers' 5es$ ideas are the main thing. 6ut if the people who got the idea themselves do not know the power or value of their own idea what is the %ig deal" =o it is far more profita%le in every which way for all you concerned out there not to waste time on knowing or %eing in awe of ideators and concentrate on their ideas which worked for you. 8<6. (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0/=3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it My reactions to reactions. >. What is the need to (e so spiteful? 0ome on" you are intelligent enough to understand. &ns: Come on, what ( said was in $ood fun1 ont take me or m* films or for that matter *our own anal*ti"al "omments that seriousl*1

2. 0ontract is a(solute trash. &ns: 2hanks1 3. Ho# do you deal #ith your sexual desires? &ns: !* havin$ se31 ( am "urious to know how *ou deal with it1 . Ho# to get extreme self confidence like you? &ns: 7ust b* bein$ plain arro$ant1 (f *ou are su""essful people will "all it "onfiden"e1 $. Ho# come !oonga did not recogni4e 'ya if he kne# ?/ (efore? &ns: %ou win1 &. /o you say anything and everything out of guts or shamelessness? &ns: Guts, is a personalit* trait, whi"h "omes out of either out of "omplete understandin$ or absolute i$noran"e1 Shamelessness is in the "onte3t of havin$ to be morall*, reli$iousl* and so"iall* "orre"t1 .ow *ou "an dedu"e for *ourself whi"h "ate$or* ( fall in dependin$ on whether *ou likeRhate me or likeRhate m* films1 P1S: &fter *ou finish the above e3er"ise please let me also know1 ). What do you say a(out 0ontract (eing a flop? &ns: ( just sa* this that *ou sti"k to whether *ou liked or hated the film1 2he finan"ial affair of the film is the investors "on"ern and b* no stret"h of m* ima$ination "an be of "on"ern to *our mental or ph*si"al health1 (f the film wasted *our < hours and Rs1F==; and also $ave *ou a heada"he or an aller$* and *ou re$ret *our de"ision of wat"hin$ it, then sta* awa* from m* films in future1 2his *ou should do even if the film is a hit at the bo3;offi"e be"ause even in that "ase the mone* is not $oin$ to "ome into *our po"ket1 +. Why are doing cheap pu(licity for *hoonk? &ns: When publi"it* "omes "heap wh* should ( pa* for it+ .. *eople around me are saying that you are an unrelia(le director. &ns: >bviousl* the* are smarter than *ou1

(. )hy are you fond of camera shots that move close to the ground" Ans: I think its the infantile nature in me. I like crawling. ,. )hat do you think of the Telugu Industry" Ans: I dont think of anything except myself. 1. ?ow did you conceive the scene at the railway crossing in =hiva where Nagar#una rescues Amala" Ans: Obviously from my imagination. An interesting thing happened at location when I was shooting that scene. My assistant director walked up to me and said its very illogical that there are no other vehicles near the crossing. he kidnapping has happened in the city and there is no reason that the goons will be taking her out of the city. Also since !agar"una is on the other side of the gate# he could not have been coming from out of city. $o for all practical purposes the incident was happening in the city. %onveniently during the entire built up of !agar"una watching them and slowly walking around and delivering his lines# there are neither the railway guards nor any people or vehicles in the vicinity. I told him that the audience will be hooked on to what is happening with !agar"una and Amala and with the music and his expressions and the situation their mind wont go to those things. &e was not convinced and was 'uite shocked that nobody brought it up after the release. his is a classic case of illustrating the strength of Alfred &itchcocks line (where drama begins logic ends). &e is supposed to have come up with this line while he was filming (!orth by !orthwest)# where there is a scene when the hero is being chased by the baddies. As he is running to escape he gets onto a train. *ust when the audience thinks he has escaped there are baddies on the train too. &ere his assistant asked him that how will the baddies know that he will get onto the train to which &itchcock replied that the audience will be driven by the emotion whether he will escape and hence will not think. hats the difference between a book and a movie. In a book you can stop reading and think whereas in a movie its pace that controls your thinking. Also an example of this is in $atya when +handilker closes the doors of the movie theatre and walks into the theatre and announces to the crowd that there is a dangerous gangster among them which is logically very stupid. ,ealistically# in a situation like that they would come in plain clothes and ask the informants to point him out as the

audiences are coming out so that they can nab him unaware. -hy would they forewarn a dangerous gangster who is in the crowd so that he can take anybody hostage there. &ere my thrust was to manipulate the audience into thinking in the direction of how $atya will escape without .rmila coming to know his identity and hence in the drama they will miss the larger picture of logic. -hen $andeep %howta started doing background# he and his musicians felt that the scene was ridiculous because of the same reasons. I thought maybe I stretched the drama versus logic too far this time but it was too late to do anything about it. I couldnt come up with a solution so I had no choice but to release the film as it is. After the release and /0 years since# I have not met a single guy who had a problem with that. !ow why $andeep and his team felt and nobody else did after that is anybodys guess. I would think that $andeeps team was watching the film in parts as he was doing the music and hence they were emotionally not involved. 1et another example is the climax of ,angeela. If the premiere ended at presumably /2:30 in the night# *ackie and .rmila come to 4akya. *ackie "ust asks him where is Munna and I cut to shot of Munna lying on top of a truck. !ow whose tempo is that# I never established a vehicle for Munna in the film# so either it is being driven by a friend of his who is going somewhere or he is "ust taking a random ride. If it is a random vehicle how will 4akya know how he is going5 -ere *ackie and .rmila driving for 6 hours in the night since /2:30 and looking for what5 %onveniently for them to spot him# I made Munna lie on the top. If he was inside and *ackie stopped it# it would have raised unnecessary 'uestions in the audiences mind or whose vehicle is it# on the other hand if the driver is a known guy to Munna# who is he5 o escape that logic I "ust simply applied the oldest trick in the trade (out of sight is out of mind). After Aamir gets out and the long drama starts between the three# I composed all the frames in such a way that both the truck and the driver were out of the frame not letting the audience mind wonder from the point of the scene. If you look at it# the climax scene could have happened in the night too if 4akya said Munna "ust left and maybe he can catch him walking around the conner of the road but I strongly felt that the climax scene for a film like ,angeela should not happen in the night. It should be a pictures'ue location to give a feel good finishing. Max logic I applied was to treat the scene as early morning light so as not to give a visual

"ump. Anyways to cut a long story short very fre'uently whenever I get into such above predicaments I "ust say (*ai Alfred &itchcock) and go ahead. 2. !o you ever advise people" Ans: 1es# I advise them not to ask advice. 4. It seems like you are a very dry person" Ans: 1eah but I sure like wet things. 7. Am%itious$ arrogant$ honest$ creative$ impersonal$ detached and eccentricI neurotic J R./" Ans: 1ou can also add liar# con# complex# funny# impulsive# impatient# contradictory and distrustful. 8. The only unselfish relationship is that of a child taking care of his aged parents. Ans: 7rom that to 8andhi"i giving his life to the country to Mother eresa working for the lepers are acts of emotional indulgence which are choices made by those particular individuals and do not concern selfish individuals like me. :. The last film I saw of yours was !arna Karori hai. )hich of your su%seAuent films would you recommend to me" Ans: !one ;. )ith whom will you share your happiness" Ans: If it does not strain your brains too much try to ask a little more intelligent 'uestion. (<. 5ou name a movie after a girl$ whom you met long %ack$ #ust to remind her that you still remem%er and you still claim that you don t give in for relations. Ans: &mmm... 1ou got me there. ((. ?ow to overcome fear" Ans: 9y making a horror film because then you can study fear instead of feeling it. (,. ?ow do you decide on camera angels" !o you do any homework on it" Ans: I dont do homework. I decide angles and frames on the set directly going by how I wish to see what is happening.

(1. )hat happened to Dactory -=ir0" I miss its products a lot. Ans: $ince many were missing its products I wanted to miss the factory till I get the products right. (2. I am waiting for your %log on -Nisha%d0. Ans: $oon. (4. If the film has stuff why pu%liciEe and promote" Ans: 9ecause us folks in the film industry are not as brainy as you and also there is that little thing of creating awareness and drawing attention to our product. (7. 6y the way did all the guys who you conned finally come to know" Ans: 1es# much after the release. :ike the saying goes (Alls well that ends well). (8. 5ou easily would have %een the most dangerous and wicked person in the world. Ans: *aideep $ahani the writer used to say in the making of %ompany that it is the polices good luck that I was not in the underworld. (:. )as there a contingency plan if =hiva didn t work" Ans: My whole life works only on contingency plans. (;. )hat s the difference %etween Ramu and Ramu#i" Ans: I am basically ,am and a few people who misread me and attribute a certain loftiness to me call me ,amu"i. ,<. !on t use this platform to em%arrass little fellows like Tarani. Ans: 4oint taken. $orry to you and sorry to arani too. 5<D/ (' > Add a comment > Read comments 05-3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it 6=@4.@6445 !he plant o4 %hi6a Ri$ht from m* "hildhood ( had a fas"ination for tou$h $u*s1 ( used to look up to the bullies in s"hool as the* were m* earliest e3posure to violent power whi"h slowl* $raduated to street tou$hs1 When ( was doin$ m* !12e"h in Siddharth Cn$$1Colle$e in 9ija*awada ( had a prett* tou$h $u* reputation1

2he iron* was that ( never beat;up an*one m*self but ( mana$ed to "reate an illusion that if need be ( "an1 &round L reall* tou$h $u*s who used to be with me knew that ( am not even worth a pun"h in a real fi$ht1 !ut in spite of that the* used to be under m* "ommand and the reason for this was ( made ea"h one of them believe that the other @ will violentl* defend me "ome whatever1 So for the outsiders, be"ause of those L $u*s, ( was a formidable for"e and for ea"h one of the L be"ause of the other @ to$ether bein$ with me, ( was a formidable for"e1 &ll ( used to do was to take "are that the* wont have a reason to $et to$ether behind m* ba"k1 &n*wa*, prett* mu"h this is the basi" prin"iple on whi"h all street $an$s, underworld fa"tions, politi"al re$imes et" operate1 #ost of m* understandin$ of politi"s of violen"e and "riminal ps*"holo$* whi"h ( e3tensivel* applied in 'Shiva, 'Sat*a, 'Compan*, 'Sarkar et" primaril* "ame from m* e3perien"e in Siddharth Cn$$1Colle$e and not from m* underworld "onta"ts as popularl* per"eived1 2he openin$ s"ene of 'Shiva where the* "ome in a "ar and bash up some students in front of the "olle$e a"tuall* happened in front of m* "olle$e1 2hat atmosphere of 'Shiva primaril* "ame from m* en$$ "olle$e and the prota$onist ( based it on a person "alled Golla Ravi who used to live in Punja$utta area in H*derabad1 He used to have a "ombination of a super tou$h and a super ni"e $u* ima$e1 2he plotline of 'Shiva was a dire"t rip;off from !ru"e )ees 'Return of the ra$on in whi"h )ee "omes from Hon$ /on$ to work in a Chinese restaurant in Rome where the lo"al $oons are tr*in$ to intimidate the owners1 &s he tries to take "are of them and fi$ht the $oons, the* $et tou$her and tou$her and in the end he has a one;to;one fi$ht with the tou$hest Chu"k .orris in the "oliseum1 )ikewise .a$arjuna "omes from another town to attend a "olle$e where the lo"al $oons are intimidatin$ the students1 &s he tries to take "are of them and fi$ht the $oons the* be"ome tou$her and tou$her and in the end he has a one;to;one fi$ht with the tou$hest Ra$huvaran on top of a terra"e1 Ha? Ha? So mu"h for ori$inalit*? 2akin$ su"h a simplisti" plot line ( wanted to "reate "hara"ters and s"enes and present them in a wa* as never been seen before, thou$h there were 6uite a few s"enes ( "opied from various films1 & few e3amples areG the Ganapati "handa "olle"tion s"ene has been taken from ilip Shankers

'/aal"hakra, &mala $ivin$ "offee to .a$arjuna before the son$ is from Sanjeev /umars some film, the "*"le "hase is from Rahul Rawails '&rjun and the s"ene where .a$arjunas dead friends mother slaps the inspe"tor is from Steven Spielber$s '7aws, to name a few1 2he shootin$ went 6uite well and uneventful mainl* be"ause of m* e3treme "larit* in what ( wanted to a"hieve1 >nl* after the final edit trouble started1 When we arran$ed a proje"tion two outside people who were not involved in the makin$ saw the film, said its too slow and borin$ with no drama1 2he e3"itement in all "on"erned "ame down 6uite a bit in spite of me sa*in$ that it is the la"k of ba"k$round s"ore and sound ef3 whi"h is makin$ them feel that1 Without them it looked like a silent film1 (n those da*s the* were not used to su"h underpla*ed performan"es and subtleties and hen"e understandabl* disturbed1 .a$arjuna was the onl* $u* who understood and stood b* me like a ro"k in that entire period1 When the films first trial happened man* distributors felt it was too violent and feared that women and famil* audien"e will sta* awa* as the industr* $enerall* believed that the* "onstitute the majorit*1 Surendra and 9enket felt that at best the film will do a ver* avera$e business and ( told them that it will be bi$ hit1 2he film released and the first da* report 9enket $ot from a distributor was that the audien"e was wat"hin$ the movie silentl* without an* rea"tion1 We "ouldnt make out what the means, till the same $u* "alled a$ain in the ni$ht and told us that he finall* fi$ured out the reason for that and told us the audien"es are simpl* stunned1 (t "reated a furore at the bo3;offi"e and for the sheer impa"t ( be"ame a household name in &ndhra Pradesh1 ( was ver* $lad that m* "onfiden"e proved the distributors, 9enket and Surendra wron$1 P1S: ( was even more "onfident of 'Raatri JRaatK and it be"ame a disaster1

Some trivia of 'Shiva:

/;. Originally <$hiva was the name of the villain in the script. In the narration !agar"una used to like the name so much he asked me to name his character as $hiva. 2;. I named the villain 9havani because I based his character on a guy called ,adha with a very violent reputation in =i"ayawada. $ince ,adha is a girls name# I named him 9havani which is a girls name too. 3;. Initially I had a scene of $hivas first fight with *.> when he is playing football which I wanted to loosely model on a similar scene of ice?hockey in <>amien @Omen II;. -hen =enket didnt react to it much# I came up with breaking the cycle chain idea. hroughout the shooting I wasnt too sure how that would be received because after =enket liked it very much I went home and tried to break the cycle chain and realiAed the impossibility of it# 9ut I told myself that since nobody would have tried it# it "ust might look believable. 9ut now after all these years the sheer number of people who come and claim to me that they broke a cycle chain after watching <$hiva is the ultimate example of how imagination can take over and become a reality in time. B;. I read about the steadicam in the <American %inematographer magaAine and I was talking about it to a camera assistant in the studio that something like that exists in &ollywood# when he shockingly revealed to me that there is one even in %hennai for the past B years but nobody uses it. I tested it out and wanted to use it but my cameraman was reluctant saying that one canCt center it or balance it# to which I said if we are using it in a chase scene as a point of view why should that matter. hus I became the first >irector ever to use a steadicam. -ithin a year of <$hivas release more than /0 steadicams were imported. D;. Most fight se'uences were choreographed by me in <$hiva and that is why you see !agar"una hitting mostly with a hook or a stomach punch. hats because I knew only those two from my boxing days. 6;. he first ever compliment I ever got in my life as a >irector from an outsider was when Ilayara"a was doing the background score for <$hiva in Mumbai due to some strike in %hennai# a violin player walked up to me and said# ( he film is fantastic). &is name was Ismail >urbar and he went on to later do music for <&um >il >e %huke $anam and <>evdas. /<=5 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0573 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it

64@4.@6445 Cons@ lies an2 one truth. J2his has to be read in "ontinuation to m* previous post titled Wron$ is ri$ht01K &s ( was han$in$ out on the sets of 'Colle"tor Gari &bba*i Surendra had an idea of makin$ a film based upon '2he Sound of #usi" whi"h was later made into 'Rao Gari (llu1 (n 'Colle"tor Gari &bba*i sin"e ( "ame towards the end after most of the s"ript was done and de"isions of "astin$ and sele"tion of te"hni"ians were alread* made, ( thou$ht it will be a uni6ue opportunit* to be involved in a film ri$ht from the in"eption of the idea1 !* that time m* status was that ( be"ame "lose to 9enket and Surendra and .a$arjuna but nowhere were the* remotel* in a state of mind to offer me a film to dire"t, their basi" "ontention bein$ ( dont have pra"ti"al e3perien"e1 !ut on the for"e of m* personalit* ( slowl* started influen"in$ Surendra who wanted an established ire"tor for 'Rao Gari (llu to take a new ire"tor with lots of e3perien"e1 ( su$$ested 2arani the <nd assistant in 'Colle"tor Gari &bba*i who had around FB *ears of e3perien"e and who ( knew well1 #* a$enda was that if he is dire"tin$ ( "an be an intrinsi" part in all the de"isions ri$ht from the be$innin$ or more simpl* put, that ( "an be a ba"kseat ire"tor1 So ( manipulated Surendra to de"ide on 2arani whi"h he finall* did1 ( was e"stati" be"ause of this development as it $ave me a "han"e to stud* ri$ht from the rin$side how an idea $rows and shapes up into a film1 )ittle did ( know how horribl* wron$ this would $o1 2arani initiall* was ver* $rateful to me as he knew that ( was the main reason for Surendra to take him as a ire"tor, but slowl* with time he $rew tremendousl* irritable with m* "onstant per"eived interferen"e whi"h ( thou$ht were m* "reative inputs and also be"ame ver* jealous of m* pro3imit* with the a"tors and the Produ"er1 &1.1R, .a$arjunas father, was the star of the film who kept a distan"e from ever*bod* in"ludin$ ire"tor 2arani1 &ll the other a"tors like 7a*asudha, Revath* et" used to "onstantl* want to intera"t with me more than 2arani whi"h understandabl* upset 2arani a lot1 & point "ame where 2arani $ave an ultimatum to Surendra that he wont shoot if ( am on the set1 Seein$ Surendras dilemma ( offered to sta* out1 !ut the problem was that sin"e it was me who narrated the stor* to all the a"tors and 2arani was not shootin$ it the wa* the* thou$ht it should be and also that he was not able

to tell them the reasons for the "han$es "reated a lot of dis"omfort on the set1 #eanwhile 'Colle"tor Gari &bba*i released and be"ame a bi$ hit and .a$arjuna was in form1 !* that time he alread* "ame into a frame of mind to take a "han"e with me as a ire"tor1 !ut &1.1R was "ompletel* a$ainst it and told .a$arjuna 'just be"ause Ramu "an speaks in Cn$lish and 6uote from Cn$lish novels and films does not mean that he "an dire"t1 .a$arjuna e3pressed his helplessness1 &s this was $oin$ on, one da* 2arani was shootin$ a ke* s"ene and &1.1R had a doubt on the stru"turin$ of the s"ene whi"h 2arani "ould not answer1 2o es"ape 2arani told him that the s"ene was "on"eived b* me and approved b* Surendra and that he was just for"ed to shoot it1 &1.1R "alled for me and Surendra1 He took off on me at the stupidit* of the s"ene when ( stopped him and e3plained to him the whole point of the s"ene and how it should be shot and in that dis"ussion &1.1R reali5ed how wron$l* 2arani was shootin$ and worse than that he didnt even understand the point of the s"ene1 He asked me to be present for the shootin$ of the s"ene and b* the end of it he told .a$arjuna at home that he was mi$ht* impressed with me1 With that pra"ti"all* all de"ks were "leared as &1.1R $ave a $reen si$nal at least to seriousl* "onsider to $ive me a break1 .a$arjuna was positive an*wa* and 9enket and Surendra were reasonabl* positive but still dill* dall*in$ a little now and then1 .ow the 6uestion was when+ 9enket said the* were shootin$ a film "alled '9ija* with !1Gopal and Surendra was plannin$ another film with /odandi Rami Redd* starrin$ the father and son a$ain and after that there was another proje"t with /1Ra$hvendra Rao1 So 9enket said the* "an think about m* film onl* after those films $ot over1 #* heart sank as ( was in no mood to wait that lon$1 !* that time ( understand enou$h of how the industr* operates1 Surendra asked me to make a stor* for /odandi Rami Redd*s film whi"h ( did1 He si$ned Ganesh Patro as a dialo$ue writer1 /odandi Rami Redd* durin$ those da*s used to do N to O films a *ear and most of the time would not even remember the stor* of the film he is "urrentl* shootin$1 ( took in this information1 ( narrated the stor* to #r1Redd* and #r1Patro who were fine

with it1 2hen Surendra wanted #r1Patro to $o to H*derabad, as at that time we were all in Chennai, to narrate to &1.1R as he was shootin$ in H*derabad1 )ater that ni$ht ( talked to #r1Patro and offered to $o to tell the stor* to &1.1R m*self1 #r1Patro to save the trouble of $oin$ "alled up Surendra and told him to send me to tell the stor* as ( an*wa* have written it1 So Surendra sent me to H*derabad to tell the stor* to &1.1R1 ( went there and b* a deliberate desi$n ( narrated the stor* in su"h a wa* that &1.1R1 had lots of problems with the s"ript1 He "alled up Surendra and #r1Patro and #r1Redd* and told them the stor* does not work at all1 2he* were taken b* surprise and waited for me to "ome ba"k to tell what the problem was1 ( went ba"k and told them a "ompletel* different version of problems for what &1.1R had, whi"h were desi$ned to "onfuse #r1Patro and #r1Redd*1 2he advanta$e ( took is that ( "learl* knew that #r1Redd* does not have a s"ript sense and he also has a weak memor* and #r1Patro at an* $iven point of time is bus* with F= films and he is primaril* a dialo$ue writer1 So the sum effe"t of all these pro"eedin$s of them not knowin$ what ( told them and the "ompli"ated desi$n ( worked on "onfusin$ them resulted in suddenl* there was no s"ript for the film and the dates of .a$arjuna were just around the "orner1 )eavin$ all three in the room in a state of "onfusion, ( went to .a$arjuna who used to live in the upstairs of the offi"e then and told him that there is no s"ript for the /odandi Rami Redd* film and theres no wa* a s"ript "an "ome up in the $iven time and ( said sin"e m* s"ript is read* as lon$ as he de"ided to take a "han"e on me someda* or the other wh* not take it now1 He asked me about what Surendra mi$ht sa*1 ( went to Surendra and told him that sin"e he will loose a proje"t with .a$arjuna and not $et his dates for 6uite some time, ( will tr* and "onvin"e .a$arjuna to do m* film in the same dates, to whi"h he a$reed1 2hen ( met .a$arjuna and told him Surendra is keen to do the film with me onl* and ( "alled Surendra in and told him .a$arjuna is fine with it1 ( dont know how "lear ( am bein$ here but the basi" point is that ( made both .a$arjuna and Surendra feel that it the others de"ision1 !ut both of them said the* have to talk to 9enket1 He wasnt home as he went for a part*1 ( waited till midni$ht until 9enket "ame and told him that both .a$arjuna and Surendra de"ided to do the film with me1 He was non;"ommittal1 (n the mornin$ before 9enket woke up ( told .a$arjuna and Surendra that 9enket was ver* happ* about the de"ision1 &nd

after 9enket woke up ( took "are that no two of them will meet with ea"h other without me bein$ present1 2he* three also had some subtle personal issues with ea"h other whi"h ( took advanta$e of b* makin$ ea"h feel that if one opposes the other two will support me1 2hen ( leaked out the news to the staff at the offi"e1 So when Surendra was asked b* a staff member if #r1Redd*s proje"t has been shelved, ( told Surendra it "ould have been leaked out be"ause of .a$arjuna or 9enket and told him that he should hurr* up and break the news to #r1Redd* himself before #r1Redd* $ets to know from outside whi"h is bound to "reate a bad taste1 So Surendra met #r1Redd* and told him1 2he news spread like a wild fire as a major produ"tion "ompan* like &nnapurna Studious droppin$ the rei$nin$ top ire"tor /odandi Rami Redd* and si$nin$ on a rank new"omer Ram Gopal 9arma has never ever happened before1 With a formal tellin$ b* all three to &1.1R, the* $ave a $o;ahead and Shivas0 pre;produ"tion work started in full swin$1 ( "onned and lied to ever*bod* "on"erned but the one and onl* one truth was that ( $enuinel* believed in m* heart that 'Shiva would be a far superior film to whatever #r1Redd* mi$ht make and also that it will do lot more $ood to all "on"erned and mainl* to me of "ourse1 P1S: 2arani after the su""ess of 'Rao Gari (llu made a few flops, is now ba"k to workin$ as an assistant dire"tor presentl* to Poori 7ajan1 .<87 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0.83 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it > !ilms -.@4.@6445 ;ron+ is ri+ht (n 'Sarkar Selvar #ani sa*s 7iske paas power hai uska wron$ bhi ri$ht ho jata hai01 ( believe its not so mu"h be"ause of power alone but it "an also be due to *our own personal attitude towards life1 Somewhere in this blo$ ( mentioned that whenever life de"ides somethin$ for me, ( immediatel* take a de"ision on top of that so that ( alwa*s mana$ed to make it work for me one wa* or the other1

>n"e ( de"ided to start m* video librar* #ovie House0 at &meerpet, with the Rs1<=,===R; "apital ( $ot, ( went about tr*in$ to bu* 6ualit* t*pes of video films and in the pro"ess ( trusted a friends father who deals in it and he sold me fault* tapes worth Rs1F=,===R; whi"h either dont pla* or $et stu"k in the video pla*ers, thereb* redu"in$ m* "apital to half even before ( started1 So b* the time ( started m* shop ( barel* had a F== workable tapes1 &lso ever* one "on"erned told me that it was a ver* bad idea to start a shop in the &meerpet area as its predominantl* a lower middleRmiddle "lass population who lives there who "annot afford a 9CR1 &nd also that it "ant "ompete with a librar* "alled 4antas*0 whi"h used to be on the Punja$utta Road as the ri"h !anjara Hills "rowd onl* patroni5e that librar*1 >n"e it started m* librar* be"ame so su""essful within a month and 4antas* went out of business in a few months1 .ow the same theorists said that these da*s ever*bod* owns a 9CR1 &lso #ovie House0 has a better parkin$ spa"e than '4antas* et"1 So the point is we "an have a theor* for an*thin$ after the fa"t1 (f it didnt work the* would have said we told *ou so0 and if it works the* $ive a new theor* and also the* will "onvenientl* for$et what the* said earlier1 )ikewise even for m* film de"isions from the be$innin$ till toda* ( keep $ettin$ these e3pert opinions and advises of what ( should do and not1 2he* told me ' aud will be a blo"kbuster be"ause its Sanja* utt after '/halna*ak, -rmila and Rehman after 'Ran$eela and the* advised me to shelve 'Sat*a on the basis of who wants to see sweat* lookin$ fa"es in dirt* lo"ations1 2he same people advised me not to do '&a$ and m* other failures too and toda* the* will all remember what the* said about '&a$ et" and "onvenientl* for$et about what the* said about ' aud and 'Sat*a1 (ts not that m* beliefs went ri$ht either1 &part from m* trust in m* friends father ( trusted on about <= people ( knew who had 9CRs who ( was sure will $ive me business1 2he business went to F== "assettes per da* but the <= never "ame and if some did "ome the* didnt pa* mone* on a""ount of their "loseness with me1 So eventuall* what worked is neither their belief nor mine1 Random thin$s keep happenin$ "ompletel* out of *our "ontrol but still *our "ontrol "an be in what *ou "an do in an out of "ontrol situation1 #* real su""ess ( believe is in m* abilit* to make de"isions and implement them super fast1

&n*wa* "omin$ ba"k to the video librar*, ( used to narrate the stor* of ea"h and ever* film to m* "ustomers dependin$ on what taste the* have1 (n due "ourse of time the* be"ame so addi"ted to the wa* ( present a stor*, 6uite a few of them used to sa* that m* narration was better than the film1 So ( sat behind the "ounter of the shop for about O months doin$ a fantasti" business finan"iall*, and with just one hi$h point of bein$ arrested and put in the Punja$utta Poli"e station lo"k;up for piratin$ &mitabh !a"h"hans '&akhri Raasta1 2hat was m* first stint with how the Poli"e were up "lose and i made friends with them and studied their ps*"holo$* and later put that understandin$ to use in m* "op films1 (n"identall* if an*one who lives in the &meerpet area is interested about m* #ovie House0 shop in &meerpet "enter whi"h ( $ave up when 'Shiva started, now runs as 'Rajdoot Sweet Home1 Comin$ ba"k to the 'wron$ is ri$ht stor* one da* ( overheard m* father tellin$ someone that 9enket the brother of .a$arjuna is lookin$ a for a stor* for a film as the* have /1Ra$hvendra Rao Jof 'Himmatwala fameK si$ned1 Surendra his brother;in;law was a "ustomer at m* shop and throu$h him ( mana$ed to $et an appointment with 9enket1 ( told him the stor* of Raatri JRaatK whi"h he said wont work in the 2elu$u market and asked me if ( "an write a stor* for a hero to be told to Ra$hvendra Rao1 So ( went ba"k and in about an hour ( wrote a one;line order of 'Shiva borrowin$ from m* own e3perien"es in "olle$e and also liberall* from Govind .ihalanis '&rdh Sat*a, Rahul Rawails '&rjun and ilip Shankers /aal"hakra1 9enkat liked the stor* ver* mu"h and he took me to narrate it to Ra$hvendra Rao1 #r1Rao said it sounds like an e3perimental film with no drama in it1 ( thou$ht ma*be he knows what he is talkin$ about sin"e he is so hi$hl* su""essful and asked him if ( "an rework on it1 &s ( was tr*in$ to rework it, ( happened to see his film '/ali*u$a Pandavruh and ( suddenl* reali5ed how he must be seein$ 'Shiva1 ( immediatel* $ave up the idea of bein$ a stor* writer and went and told 9enket the same1 ( also told him that ( would like to assist some dire"tor if the* all feel it is so important to do that to be able to dire"t1 Surendra with whom ( have be"ome a little "lose b* then was startin$ a film with dire"tor !1Gopal "alled 'Colle"tor Gari &bba*i starrin$ .a$arjuna and his dad &1.1R1 So ( formall* joined as a @th &ssistant to !1Gopal who was ver* ver* bus* in another film whi"h he was finishin$1 So (

started attendin$ s"ript sessions with < writers /omannapalli Ganapati Rao and Sur*adevara Rammohan Rao on the s"ript of 'Colle"tor Gari &bba*i1 (n the "ourse of overhearin$ their s"ript dis"ussions with Surendra ( used to "ome up with ideas and su$$estions whi"h visibl* had an effe"t on all three of them1 Within a few da*s Surendra started sendin$ a "ar to pi"k me up whi"h was a hu$e jump from m* bus and o""asional rides on m* fathers s"ooter life st*le1 !* the time Gopal was read* to shoot the film ( rose 6uite a lot in both Surendras and 9enkets e*es but ( did not meet .a$arjune *et1 #r1Gopal and his assistants used to feel visibl* un"omfortable with m* pro3imit* to the produ"ers "onsiderin$ that ( was merel* a fifth assistant1 &lso in those da*s assistant dire"tors were e3pe"ted to be ver* subservient1 #* attitude and m* speakin$ in Cn$lish used to understandabl* turn them off to the e3tent that when one da* Surendra was havin$ a dis"ussion with #r1Gopal to "ut the bud$et, he su$$ested to removin$ me as one of the "uts1 &lso in just about a week ( proved to be the worst assistant dire"tor ever b* often loosin$ "lapboards and "ontinuit* books1 So Surendra asked me to la* off and just han$ around the set without takin$ an* responsibilities whi"h worked out fantasti"all* for me and be"ause of me bein$ free on the set ( slowl* started developin$ a rapport with .a$arjuna who started shootin$ b* then1 .a$arjuna used to be prett* impressed with m* narrative skills and also m* "inemati" sense but he himself was not in a ver* stron$ position be"ause after the su""ess of his first film '9ikram whi"h man* attributed it to bein$ be"ause of &1.1Rs sons first film, he had a strin$ of flops and he was no position to make a de"ision to $ive me a film1 So in the film industr* ( mana$ed to attain the status of .a$arjunas "ham"ha and the worst assistant dire"tor ever and also as a $u* with a hu$e attitude problem with no hope for the future1 #eanwhile ( left m* video shop to m* staff and the* "heated me ro*all* and the business went for a toss1 &ll the we told *ou so0 $u*s appeared ba"k and le"tured me on how in "hasin$ a foolish dream ( went horribl* wron$1 &nd then ( turned that wron$ into ri$ht b* makin$ 'Shiva happen1

P1S: ( will "ome ba"k to bra$ about that shortl*1 D<8- (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0873 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it -8@4.@6445 !he One Kilometer ;alk.. 'y father was a sound engineer in Annapurna 2tudios and due to that he had a pretty good access to the #ig guns there I went to him and told him that I wanted to #e film director and he thought I had cracked my mind That was with good reason #ecause there was not a single constructi%e thing that I ha%e e%er done in my life till then I was a #ad student, I was in%ol%ed with goonda acti%ities in 2iddhartha Hngineering College in ?i$ayawada and I had a general track record of #eing quite a worthless #um Also at that time it was unheard of that someone without assisting or getting trained in an institute can actually direct 2o like I said with a %ery good reason he thought I got cracked up and ad%ised me not to ha%e pipe dreams Coming to terms with the fact that I can"t e&pect my father to help, I $oined as a site engineer in the construction of +otel Frishna O#eroi in +ydera#ad I went a#out trying to meet a few film producers and failed 'r Ramo$i Rao at that time, a few years earlier, started Psha Firon 'o%ies which ga%e quite a fresh #unch of non*run of the mill films for that time like B(ratighatanaC, B2ri%ariki (rema EekhaC etc 2o in order to ha%e an access to him I wrote an article for his then newspaper BNewstimeC titled BThe Ideas that killed D4 million peopleC The 2u# Hditor got startled when he saw the title of the article and he immediately pu#lished it The article was a#out the influence of the Ierman philosopher !riedrich Niet,sche on the mind of +itler and it was widely read and discussed at that time 2oon on the fame of #eing the author of that article, I got an appointment with Ramo$i Rao and pitched my idea of directing a film to him +e outright re$ected the notion on the #asis of me ha%ing no practical e&perience at all and my argument with him was that a director does not need e&perience +e $ust needs clarity of %ision and to ha%e the skill to communicate +e did not #uy it I was completely disillusioned with the e&perience as he was the only resort which remained, and then I got an offer of going to Nigeria as

an engineer I was #eing paid Rs 544@* per month at +otel Frishna O#eroi and the Nigeria offer stood at Rs =,444@* per month which o#%iously was huge and %ery much needed #y my family 2o I ga%e up my idea of #eing a director and went a#out preparing to go to Nigeria In the course of that I happened to require an international dri%ing license as one of the documents A friend of mine called Naidu was taking me on his #ike to an RTO office where he knew someone to do the needful and en*route he stopped at a %ideo li#rary called (riyadarshini ?ideos owned #y his friend near Eal#ahadur 2tadium Those were the days when %ideo li#raries were $ust coming up and that was the first time e%er I saw a %ideo li#rary As Naidu was chatting with his friend I was checking out the cassettes and an idea suddenly dropped into my mind on what if I start a %ideo li#rary 'y confidence was that I know a#out films more than any %ideo li#rary owner ;y e%ening I got so o#sessed with the idea that I took my father"s %espa scooter and went all o%er town to check out 7 to / %ideo li#raries and #y night I firmly made up my mind to drop the idea of going to Nigeria H%eryone including my father, grandfather and uncles thought I completely lost it I didn"t o#%iously ha%e any money at all for my #usiness enterprise 2o I went a#out gathering loans %arying from Rs -,444@* to Rs D,444@* and managed to raise a#out Rs 64,444@* That was kind of ok for #uying cassettes, #ut what a#out the shopA 'y father was nearing retirement and he was pretty worried on how to run the family One of my uncles had a shop in Ameerpet area which he ga%e to my father without asking for a deposit in which my father was planning to start a $uice parlour as a retirement plan 2o I went to my father and asked him to gi%e me that shop for the %ideo li#rary +e was $ust silent and I thought he wanted some time to think a#out it and I left The ne&t day night my uncle took me to 'adhu"s #ar in Ameerpet and while ha%ing a drink he told me how disheartened my father was with my asking for the shop 'y father apparently told him that what he kept for his old age also is #eing demanded from him I was emotionally so distressed with this that I decided there and then to drop the %ideo li#rary idea, return the loans I ha%e taken and resume my trip to Nigeria Now the #ar where my uncle #roke the news was a#out a kilometer away from my house 2o I started walking with the intent to $ust #arge in to my house and tell my father that he can ha%e his shop #ack ;ut as I walked my emotions slowly started going down and my logic started coming up

I told myself that $ust #ecause my father is feeling distur#ed, is it right that I gi%e up what I #elie%e that it will financially and in e%ery which way will impro%e the quality of our lifeA 2o the choice was #etween, to make him unhappy now and take a chance of making him happy #eyond his imagination later or to make him happy for the moment and we all remain unhappy for the rest of our li%es 'y logic finally took o%er as I finished the - kilometer walk and went into my house I $ust ignored my father and went a#out my preparation for setting up the %ideo li#rary The %ideo li#rary #ecame a huge success and was earning more than Rs 64,444@* a month which was a massi%e $ump o%er my Rs 544@* per month and my dad"s Rs -844@* salary 'y father ne%er e%er smiled so #rightly and till today I can"t forget the pride with which he looked at me Also this sudden change in my financial status ga%e me the strength and foothold to try again to get a #reak into films The point I wanted to make through this article was that the primary reason for me #ecoming a director was that unscheduled stop Naidu made at that %ideo li#rary and the distance of that - kilometer #etween 'adhu"s #ar and my house 8<87 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0--53 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 0-3 > ;log it My reactions to reactions >. ;hat 2ri6es you& Ans< 'ost times my Eand cruiser and sometime my +onda :. ;hat can people 2o /hen its too late& Ans< There"s no such thing as too late if you truly decide what you really want to do Right from our #irth we are taken forward to get into a trap of e&pectations and commitments towards our family or society or Iod or country etc !air enough 'any of us ha%e no choice #ut to heed them #ecause of our physical or emotional o#ligations The only alternati%e we ha%e is to make the choice and psyche oursel%es to make the #est of it #ut one thing you should not e%er do is to cri# or complain or feel frustrated as then the whole point of li%ing itself is lost A. O6erlookin+ heart an2 4eelin+s is a 2isease Ayn )an2 an2 many o4 her 4ollo/ers su44er 4rom. Ans< I don"t know a#out her followers #ut through her writings I

#elie%e that Ayn Rand has more heart and feelings than anyone else I ha%e know, heard or ha%e read of B. Ki2s speak the truth 5ecause o4 lack o4 un2erstan2in+ the conse1uences an2 6ery ol2 people speak the truth 5ecause it no lon+er matters. Ans< ;eautifully said ;ut then there is also a cracked guy like me who speaks the truth #ecause of an o#sessi%e desire to pro$ect myself plain pure and dirty C. ;hy /as !om Ha+en kicke2 out in Go24ather& I 2i2nt 5uy the lo+ic o4 him not 5ein+ a /ar*time consi+liore. Ans< Corporates 0of which underworld companies are one3 #y nature operate on result If an employee is gi%en authority, funds etc towards a pro$ect and if he fails in deli%ering the e&pected result he will #e kicked out If +agen couldn"t see the attack of 2olo,,o coming or couldn"t pre%ent the death of 2onny, he had to go +e was gi%en a position to deli%er results and not e&planations )ou and me as readers might feel it"s too harsh a thing for what we feel is not +agen"s fault, #ut #eing in the shoes of the :on and 'ike I think it"s highly understanda#le D. Ho/ 2o I 5reak my monotonous 5orin+ 9o5 an2 5e you& Ans< ;y taking a decision E. Featurin+ a character 2eri6e2 4rom the 6arious nuances o4 your personality mi+ht make a compellin+ 4ilm. Ans< I don"t know a#out compelling #ut it will surely make a madcap film full of contradictions F. I coul2 not +o past Ayn )an2. Ans< Reading a #ook is like %isiting another person"s world The more worlds you %isit the more richer you #ecome in your insights ;y sticking only to Ayn Rand you are $ust carrying forward what you learnt only from her, there#y defeating the %ery purpose of knowledge The knowledge you get from a #ook or any other source should #e $ust a stepping stone for the ne&t le%el )ou should not e%er carry what should carry you G. Ho/ 2i2 you react /hen Aa+ /as a 4lop an2 'hoonk /as a hit& Ans< I Aagghed and I phoonked9 8<=. (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0-=3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it

4.@4.@6445 !he Bi++est Flop o4 my "i4e 7ust felt like sharin$ this one personal e3perien"e of mine1 (t has nothin$ to do with films1 So those of *ou who are not interested "an $et off ri$ht now1 Sometime in FHHB ( just returned from Chennai to H*derabad in the mornin$ and was supposed to "at"h a fli$ht to #umbai in the evenin$1 ( was takin$ a nap in the afternoon when m* sister suddenl* woke me up and told me m* distant "ousin !ujji from !himavaram was on the phone1 J2hose da*s there were no "ell phones *et1K1 ( wondered wh* she woke me up for that and she said !ujji sa*s its ver* ur$ent1 Curious as !ujji was not even that "lose to me, ( went to the phone and !ujji said that ad had a heart atta"k and died, and before ( "ould sa* an*thin$ he asked me if ( was alone1 When ( said 'no as m* mom and sister were there near me, he asked me to "ome outside and "all him from another phone1 ( started walkin$ towards a S2 booth at the end of the road with m* brother;in;law followin$ me1 ( was wonderin$ wh* !ujji is bein$ so se"retive about his dad havin$ a heart atta"k and d*in$1 &s ( was nearin$ the booth it slowl* started dawnin$ upon me that he was talkin$ about m* dad1 ( turned around and asked m* brother;in;law where m* dad was and he said he went to !himavaram the previous da*1 #* fear bein$ "onfirmed ( "alled up !ujji and he told me the same and asked me whether we would be "omin$ there or should he brin$ the bod*1 ( told him to brin$ the bod*1 ( turned around and told m* brother;in;law about what happened and he just sat down on the road in sho"k1 ( personall* was not feelin$ an*thin$ as ( was seriousl* thinkin$ about how to break the news to m* mother1 ( 6ui"kl* made a few "alls to some relatives and told them that the* will $et to hear it from somewhere sooner or later and asked them not to "ome to m* house till ( prepare m* mother1 2hen in the walk ba"k ( thou$ht of a stor* to tell m* mother1 ( told her that ad suffered some pain in the "hest and ( asked them to brin$ him to H*derabad as there are better medi"al fa"ilities here1 When she $ot pani"k* ( told her "heerfull* that he is perfe"tl* fine1 #* whole intention was to redu"e the time of her "r*in$ before the bod* rea"hes and also for me to have time to plan how to make her slowl* absorb the final sho"k1 ( literall* went about doin$ a s"reenpla* of sorts, sent some $u*s to the end of the

road to stop an* over enthusiasti" relatives "omin$ to "onsole her and ( made a friend of mine do mo"k phone "onversations in front of m* mother as if he is talkin$ to people who are brin$in$ m* father and to sa* that the pain is in"reasin$1 2hat was m* wa* of attemptin$ to brin$ m* mother slowl* "loser to the ultimate truth1 4inall* this whole e3er"ise happened till FFin the ni$ht and ( went off to sleep1 So far ( have not felt an*thin$ at all as ( was too bus* doin$ s"enes around to "ushion m* mother1 &t around <1am m* "ousin woke me up and said the bod* is here1 ( "ame out and saw the "ar on the road in whi"h the* brou$ht the bod*, and thats when the realit* first hit me1 ( told m* "ousin to take the "ar to his house and onl* brin$ it in the mornin$ so that we "an 6ui"kl* do the funeral arran$ements in the mornin$ and spare m* mother from the trauma of sittin$ with the bod* till the mornin$1 #ornin$ around @1am m* $randfather broke the news to m* mother and b* that time seein$ all the a"tivit* buildin$ around ( am sure she suspe"ted it1 #* un"le "ame and told me that m* father has written a will that he wants to donate his e*es and bod*1 #* relatives told me to i$nore that will and just do the rites as per traditions1 ( said ( want to do as per m* fathers wishes, and ( went in and told m* mother if she will have an* obje"tion to me $oin$ as per dads wishes1 She asked me to do whatever ( thou$ht was ri$ht even as she was "r*in$1 ( "alled the e*e institute $u*s and two *oun$ nurses landed up in ri"kshaw1 ( still remember them lau$hin$, as the* $ot out of the ri"kshaw, at some private joke between ea"h other1 2heir "heerful lau$hter "ontrasted so ma"aberl* a$ainst the "r*in$ sounds and the somber look of the entire atmosphere1 2he* sent ever*one out, did whatever te"hni"al pro"edure to take the e*es and after the* left m* people told me its time to take the bod* to the hospital, ( went in to see m* mother ne3t to the bod* of m* father and there was a redness around his e*es and a slit whi"h was an$led be"ause of whatever the $irls from the institute did to take out the e*es1 ( felt a tremendous $uilt and an$er a$ainst m*self that ( subje"ted m* mother to see a man who she lived with for B= *ears that wa* for the last time espe"iall* sin"e she alwa*s used to talk about how mu"h she loved m* fathers e*es1 2hat de"ision ( have taken just in the name of fulfillin$ m* fathers wishes, but ( failed to foresee what the pra"ti"al appli"ation of

that pro"edure will subje"t m* mother too1 2his ( think is the bi$$est flop ( made in m* life1 .e3t da* ( told m* mother lets not do an* Nth da* or FFth da* kind of rituals as we should remember him from happ* times and not make an e3hibition seekin$ s*mpath*1 ( $ave her a lon$ le"ture of how she should look at ever*thin$ positivel*1 2he ne3t da* ( heard m* mother "r*in$ in her room and ( $ot upset that m* le"ture didnt work1 (n the afternoon ( heard a stran$e sound and when ( went upstairs, ( saw that it is m* brother "r*in$ and thats the first time ( ever heard him "r* and was thinkin$ to m*self that this is how it sounds when he "ries1 2hrou$hout this entire pro"ess ( did not feel for one se"ond an* $rief m*self and that was nothin$ to do with me and m* fathers relationship1 ( loved him and respe"ted him immensel*1 (ts just that ( was in a state of film, for want of a better term1 ( went to #umbai after a few da*s to meet .aseeruddin Shah as ( was "astin$ him in a "ertain film1 &s soon as he saw me he $ot up and said he was ver* sorr* to hear about m* mother1 Somebod* $ave him wron$ info that it is m* mother, so as not to embarrass him ( didnt tell him1 2hen he went on to talk about his mother and askin$ 6uestions on how m* father was takin$ it1 2he fa"t that ( didnt stop him in the be$innin$ itself it be"ame even more diffi"ult now to tell him that he $ot it wron$1 So ( went throu$h the entire "omed*1 %ears later somewhere in <==A or so, ( was in Pune in .ana Patekars house1 #e, .ana, Shimit &min and Sandeep the writer of &b 2ak Chappan0 were doin$ a s"ript session1 (n the "onte3t of a s"ene for a referen"e ( started narratin$ m* fathers episode and when ( "ame to the part of the nurses from the e*e institute and its aftermath, ( suddenl* $ot "hoked and broke down1 .ana had to hold me in his arms to "ontrol me1 (t took me H *ears to "r* and that too for more than m* father, it was for that bi$$est flop ( made1 7<8- (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0--83 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it My reactions to reactions >. (o you e6en think o4 social pro5lems like po6erty@ communalism@ alcoholism@ 2ru+ a5use@ pollution@ etc an2 /hat

/oul2 you 2o a5out it& Ans< No Nothing :. ;hat 2o you think happens a4ter 2eath& Ans< I am more interested in thinking of what will happen in the ne&t one hour A. ;hat you are sayin+ mi+ht an+er Hin2us. Ans< Ok, I am #uying a ticket to 'ecca B. ;hen you are not +oo2 at $n+lish@ ho/ can you un2erstan2 Ayan )an2s /ork& Ans< I read her thoughts, not her %oca#ulary C. ;ho is 7ohn Galt& Ans< Certain aspects of me D. Ho/ many relationships 2i2 you ha6e /ith aspirin+ actresses& Ans< If I tell you, you will die of $ealousy E. ;hat /as the one inci2ent that in4luence2 you the most in shapin+ you as )G,& Ans< When I was 7 months old I fell on my head F. In %arkar )a9 I sa/ !elu+u si+n5oar2s. Ans< I saw them too G. #ou are as 6ulnera5le as 'eter Keatin+@ as 5rilliant as $lls/orth !oohey an2 consi2er yoursel4 as Ho/ar2 )oark. Ans< Actually I ha%e a schi,ophrenic mi& of Hllsworth Toohey and (eter Feating in me, #ut many times I successfully pass off myself as +oward Roark especially to girls and in%estors 7<=8 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0-=3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it > !ilms 4=@4.@6445 My reactions to reactions 1. ;our movies and attitude sho# no sign of positiveness. &ns: &nd *our views on the same show no si$n of positiveness either1

2. What inspires you to resort to such radical compositions and o(lique camera angles? &ns: &n*thin$ and ever*thin$ are the same to all people1 2he wa* one individual "hooses to look at it is what whi"h makes it look different1 2hat is the wa* ( "hoose to look at thin$s1 3. /o you read philosophy? What are your preferences? &ns: ( was ver* influen"ed b* #ar3ism in m* earl* da*s till ( dis"overed &*n Rand1 !ut the fa"t that one readin$ of 4ountainhead "ould destro* *ears of m* belief in "ommunism drove home a point to me that when *ou believe in somethin$ or a$ree, its onl* valid till *ou hear somethin$ else whi"h "ould undermine what *ou believed until then1 So ( went on to read Spino5a, &rthur S"hopenhauer and 4riedri"h .iet5s"he amon$ others1 4inall* after the entire e3er"ise, .iet5s"he in terms of his intensit* of thou$ht and belief, and &*n Rand in terms of lo$i" and rationalit* sta*ed with me1 2he sum learnin$ of mine of applied philosoph* is best 6uoted in this line from &*an Rands 2he Romanti" #anifesto0 D 2he pursuit of truth is not important1 What is important is the pursuit of that truth whi"h helps *ou in rea"hin$ *our $oal0, that is of "ourse provided if *ou have a $oal in the first pla"e to start with1 #ost of us dont have a $oal1 We wish for thin$s but we rarel* will ourselves to a"hieve them1 2he German philosopher S"hopenhauer in his book 2he World &s Will and (dea0 said *ou see with *our e*es, *ou hear with *our ears, *ou feel with a tou"h, and all these senses are nothin$ but fun"tions of *our mind whi"h is nothin$ but a thou$ht whi"h is an idea10 So the fa"t *ou are readin$ this blo$ and intera"tin$ with me or doin$ an*thin$ with an*bod* or an*thin$ else "ould be just a fi$ment of *our ima$ination1 2hereb* if *ou "lose *our e*es and $o to sleep, ( and the* and ever*thin$ in the world "ease to e3ist1 &nd when *ou open *our e*es in the mornin$ the world "omes ba"k to *ou and this is the truth for not onl* *ou but ever* livin$ bein$, and it "omes ba"k in different shapes, forms and emotional states for ea"h and ever* life form on the planet1 &ppl*in$ this theor* of S"hopenhauer, ( identified a world of m* own whi"h is filled with m* kind of musi", m* kind of films, m* kind of people, $an$sters, $hosts, $irls with se3* bums et"1 (f an*bod* "hooses to visit it,

the* mi$ht like some, dislike some or "ompletel* reje"t1 (ts their "hoi"e, but ( surel* am not $oin$ to leave m* world until ( leave this world1 . 0an you differentiate (et#een making love" fucking and having sex? &ns: #akin$ love is an emotional e3perien"e whi"h makes *ou feel a hi$h about *our love and *ourself1 4u"kin$ is an intense e3perien"e whi"h borders on a feelin$ of wantin$ to "on6uer or a"hieve1 &nd havin$ se3 is a ne"essit* like to snee5e or to "ou$h1 $. =or #hat part of life do you do things you decide and #hat part does life decide for you? &ns: #* life onl* belon$s to thin$s that ( de"ide be"ause even if life de"ides some thin$s for me, ( immediatel* de"ide somethin$ else on top of lifes de"isions so that the* a$ain be"ome m* de"isions1 2he bottom line is that, ( dont listen to life1 &. Why re you using such derogatory language and calling it a metaphor? &ns: 2his blo$ is meant for evolved people and people who understand metaphor1 (f *ou dont 6ualif*, do *ourself a favour and dont "ome ba"k into this spa"e1 ). 3ll your leading ladies got similar personalities. &ns: 2hats the wa* ( like m* women, budd*1 +. What is #rong #ith =ellinis films? &ns: ( have no idea who he is+ .. ?elationships are 9ust love and not need. ;our mother #ont love you for need. &ns: 4or *our information m* mother $ave up on me when ( was in the @th standard1 &nd just in "ase, if *ou start off on a ps*"ho anal*ti"al trip on that be informed that ( hate friends, mothers love, do$s, kids and flowers1 4riends be"ause ( dont need them, and mothers love be"ause ( hate bein$ fawned, do$s and kids be"ause the* take awa* attention from me and flowers be"ause the* remind me that keep for$ettin$ to $et them for m* $irl friend1 &nd hello just in "ase *ou are about to hire a batter* of ps*"hiatrists reali5e that the whole above thin$ is just half a joke1 7ust tr* and fi$ure out whi"h half1

11. *lease (e hum(le to the audience (ecause #ithout them you are nothing. &ns: >k Guruji, wh* stop at just bein$ humble1 4or m* ne3t film ( will build a temple for them and pra* to them1 Will *ou please be"ome m* pujari+ 11. Why #as the camera lingering for so long on Hanumans poster in *hoonk? &ns: #a*be the* were lovers in their past birth1 -4<86 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0//3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it > !ilms 4-@4.@6445 I lo6e Hphoonkin+H ( "ame ba"k from m* Cn$ineerin$ entran"e e3am and told m* father that ( did the test so badl* that if ( pass the test ever*one else who has written will pass1 ( reali5ed later that it was a terribl* insensitive thin$ to sa* to m* lower middle "lass father who was stru$$lin$ to make ends meet1 (t8s just that at that $iven moment of time ( loved the wa* ( phrased that line of how bad ( was and 6uite oblivious to the "on"ern it would "ause him1 ( think this was a promo of how bad this parti"ular trait of mine would turn out1 2oda* instead of m* father, it "ould be the a"tors, te"hni"ians, investors, audien"e et"1 !ut was ( doin$ it deliberatel*+ .ot reall* be"ause the reason ( did the test so badl* was be"ause instead of stud*in$ ( was wat"hin$ films1 ( was and am on this "onstant hi$h of livin$ ever* moment of m* life to the fullest and in the "ourse of it ( MphoonkM thin$s unintentionall*1 2he onl* silver linin$ to this trait of mine is that ( "ontinue Mphoonkin$M relentlessl* so as a result $ood thin$s "ome out of it too1 2o $ive *ou an e3ample when somebod* asked me to name the worst film ( made, ( said it8s M rohiM1 2hat8s be"ause onl* ( know m* state of mind and how ( went about makin$ that film1 !ut inadvertentl* M rohiM be"ame responsible for two of the best films of m* "areer and probabl* m* standin$ in the industr* toda*1

( "ame to #umbai to si$n #adhuri i3it for M rohiM1 Her se"retar* told me her dates are not available for L months1 !one* /apoor su$$ested that there is this new $irl "alled -rmila who has done a film "alled M.arasimhaM1 When ( saw the film ( didn8t think mu"h of her but as ( was in hurr* be"ause of .a$arjuna8s impendin$ dates and no one else available, ( si$ned her1 2he film failed and she was written about ne$ativel* too1 (n the "ourse of makin$ M rohiM me and #ani Ratnam to$ether wrote a s"ript "alled MGa*amM in whi"h for a supportin$ role #ani su$$ested -rmila1 2hat8s not be"ause he thou$ht mu"h of her either but just that she mi$ht be ok for the role1 .ow while shootin$ for MGaa*amM when -rmila did a "ertain dan"e movement ( just $ot so mesmeri5ed that ( $ot inspired to make MRan$eelaM1 ( was ver* impressed with this stor* of a 7ames Hadle* Chase novel where a $an$ster falls in love with a $irl and the $irl does not know that he is a $an$ster1 !* the time he wants to $et out its too late and he dies1 ( made this stor* into M rohiM and when it failed ( "han$ed the settin$ and ba"kdrop and *ears later remade it as MSat*aM1 So in effe"t M rohiM "aused both MRan$eelaM and MSat*aM to happen1 (f ( didn8t meet -rmila, ( would not have made MRan$eelaM and if M rohiM worked ( wouldn8t have made MSat*aM1 So if toda* m* standin$ in the industr* is substantiall* due to MRan$eelaM and MSat*aM, onl* ( know how mu"h m* mind state of M rohiM "ontributed to it1 So an* outsider who would have thou$ht ( phoonkd M rohiM he would not reali5e how mu"h ( $ot out of the same film elsewhere1 Similarl* when ( "ame to #umbai to show Sanja* utt MGaa*amM he was ver* keen to $et it made in Hindi whi"h was titled M.a*akM1 ( also had MRan$eelaM proje"t with me1 #* funders were not keen on MRan$eelaM but were $un$;ho on M.a*akM, the reason bein$ Sanja* utt at that time was a mu"h bi$$er star than &amir1 Sin"e ( was insistent on doin$ both films the* relu"tantl* a$reed to fund both films thinkin$ M.a*akM will "over MRan$eela8sM lossess1 &fter shootin$ for F@ da*s for M.a*akM Sanja* $ot arrested in the blast "ase and was in jail for a lon$ time1 #eanwhile MRan$eelaM $ot "ompleted and be"ame a blo"kbuster1 &lso in the same waitin$ period ( did a 2elu$u film "alled M&na$ana$a >ka RojuM whi"h be"ame a super hit1 So b* the time Sanja* "ame out ( felt instead of makin$ a serious dark film like M.a*akM let

me s"rap M.a*akM and make a "aper film like M&na$ana$a >ka RojuM and ended up makin$ M audM1 %ears later ( remade M.a*akM as MSarkarM1 So in effe"t what ( started out to make what tri$$ered me off at ea"h point of time, what e3"ited me at an* $iven moment results in variousl* different $ood, bad, u$l* films but onl* ( know in m* heart what resulted from where1 Purel* based on that knowled$e, ( have no re$rets about a sin$le de"ision ( ever made be"ause as lon$ as *ou keep makin$ de"isions somethin$ or the other will keep happenin$1 2his is be"ause de"isions will "reate ener$* and work and whether the* turn out to be $ood or bad "annot be jud$ed ne"essaril* in referen"e to an* spe"ifi" time or event1 2he point is that a life8s momentum is in an abilit* to make de"isions and ( take $reat pleasure in doin$ that1 2hat8s wh* ( said M( love phoonkin$M even thou$h ( do $et MphoonkdM man* a time1 ( stron$l* believe that both makin$ love and fu"kin$ are e6uall* fantasti" in their own different wa*s but it is havin$ se3 is what ( think is obs"ene1 &nd before an* of *ou $u*s jump on to me with bla5in$ $uns for the above line tr* to understand that it is a metaphor111 but then ma*be it is not :K &n* wa*s see *ou, and Happ* Mphoonkin$M 7<D6 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0763 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it > !ilms My reactions to reactions 1. ;ou should make a special appearance in your film. &ns: ( know ( don8t look $ood1 !ut what *ou have su$$ested me to pla*111111 Well it hurt me1 ( hope m* $irl friends won8t read what *ou wrote1 2. Why did you highlight the artifacts in *hoonk? &ns: (f ( have to e3plain that, the purpose was lost1 3. Who killed the ne# contractor in *hoonk?

&ns: ( am not sure but it "ould be the "row or ma*be it8s the .imboo1 %ou never know in these kinds of films1 . 2ately you seem to (e a (it mello#ed do#n. &ns: %ou must be "ra5ier than me1 ( think man* "on"erned people are about to lo"k me up for m* "ra5iness1 $. ' have not seen <hamosh *ani" (ut 8aq(ool is a good movie. &ns: Hello? ( was not talkin$ about their merit1 Read m* pie"e a$ain and this time take the help of someone who has better brains1 &. Ho# #as the shot taken in *hoonk #hen the camera revolves around the girl as she is going to school? &ns: With a sa$wa* atta"hment to the steadi"am1 (t is a batter* driven two; wheel vehi"le whi"h allows the "ameraman to stand and travel on it holdin$ the steadi"am1 ). /o you hate the people #ho like you or do you like the people #ho hate you? &ns: )ike is not the ri$ht word1 ( definitel* am more interested in people who hate me than the people who like me1 !e"ause from the people who hate me ( "an learn or unlearn somethin$ whereas the people who like me ( take them for $ranted1 +. What is your vie# on human relationships? &ns: 2he* are need;based1 .. 7uccess lies in telling a complete story in an entertaining #ay. &ns: Ho;;Hum? 11. ;our post is very confusing. &ns: Wait a few *ears and tr* readin$ a$ain1 11. 'f :hakurCs family is your films" you cannot (e !a((ar as they (oth are staunch enemies. &ns: Hello, ( meant that in the analo$* of that s"ene1 (f *ou "an8t $et it, $et someone8s help to make *ou understand1

12. ;our talk on love and saying love only sometimes gives good sex leaves no room for other relationships. &ns: 2r* to know a joke when *ou see it1 Se"ondl* ( believe that true love "an onl* e3ist with a "hild or a do$ as in both "ases the re"eivin$ part* won8t e3pe"t more than a "uddle or pat or a sweet1 (n the "ase of adults, well111 13. 'ndifference is #orse than (eing hated. &ns: 2hanks for remindin$1 &fter readin$ *our post ( am indifferent to *ou1 1 . 'n *hoonk #hy did 8adhu perform (lack magic in a cave instead of her house? &ns: Cr111 ( wanted to ask #adhu1 !ut she died1

1. Ho# true is that post 3ag you #ent (ankrupt and shifted from your office to a dilapidated (uilding? &ns: .ot true1 &"tuall* ( have shifted to under a tree and ( now operate from a footpath1 2. What on earth #ere you thinking #hen you made 5aach? &ns: 2hinkin$+ 3. Who really manages your (log? &ns: #* $host1 . 7top reacting and start responding. &ns: $. Why dont you make a film as (ig as 7hankars film? &ns: Wh* dont *ou just $o and wat"h Shankars film+ &. ;ou #ill die alone. &ns: ( will prefer that to *our "ompan*1 ). /o you decide to go on a floor on instinct or logic or something else? &ns: (nstin"t and lo$i" and somethin$ else1 +. /id your engineering degree help you in filmmaking or is it 9ust 3yan ?and? &ns: &*an Rand amon$ plent* others and also plent* other thin$s but definitel* not m* de$ree1 .. Why does 7#ami in 7arkar have more (rains than ?ashid? &ns: 2he same reason wh* ( have better than *ours1 11. Why didnt you give another chance to 7aura(h 5arang of @astu 7hastra? &ns: ( dont $ive "han"es1 ( take "han"es1 ( took mine1 He does not want to take his1 11. Ho# much of technical kno#ledge do you need to understand cinema? &ns: .one1

12. BBBin that sense you #asted 3mit9i in 3ag. &ns: ( a""ept1 13. :hanks in advance for reading. &ns: ( a$ree with several of *our points1 1 . ;ou are one of my favourite directors. &ns: Please dont tell the names of the others and spoil it for me1 1$. 8eeting you is in my control. 5ot yours. &ns: Superb1 1&. 5isha(ds scene of 6iah (eing drenched #as (etter than in 3drian 2ynes ,2olita&ns: ( disa$ree1 .obod* "an shoot a woman better than &drian )*ne1 7ust "he"k the introdu"tion of omini6ue Swain in )olita01 1). 'f there #as no =ountainhead #ould there (e ,5aach-? &ns: .o1 1+. Was the (log on 3mit9i to (utter him? &ns: %ou are free to believe whatever will butter *our happiness1 1.. What is the importance of money to you? &ns: 2hanks for askin$ me1 ( have a lot to sa* on this and ( will write a pie"e soon1 .<85 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 07.3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it 66@-4@6445 My reactions to reactions 1. Will you cast 8ohanlal in any of your future films? &ns: ( think he will "ut m* hands if ( approa"h him a$ain1 2. %eing irresponsi(le and selfish do you have the right to question media responsi(ilities?

&ns: Hello+ Whos 6uestionin$+ &ll ( am sa*in$ is that it takes one to know one1 3. ;our scripts are not #ell developed? &ns: ( am waitin$ with bated breath for *our inputs1 . 'f a doctor tells you that you have only 2 months to live" ho# #ill you spend them? &ns: C3a"tl* the wa* ( do now as ( live moment b* moment1 $. ?ann sounds good. ' hope it #ont loose anything (et#een 'dea and execution. &ns: /eep hopin$1 &. Why are most of your male protagonists atheists? &ns: !e"ause the* are m* alter e$os1 ). Why do all your heroines have such terrific (odies? &ns: &hhhhhhhh? +. Ho# do you like the title ,?amgopal @arma ka ?ann-? &ns: &s mu"h as an*bod* would like *our stupid sense of humour1 .. :he scripts you are selecting lately have less su(stance? &ns: Ho: Hum1 11. /id you fail your directors or did your directors fail you? &ns: %ou as a viewer failed us both1 11. ;ou #asted the character of 3mit9i in 3ag. &ns: >h m*? Somebod* has woken up from a lon$ sleep1 Ck "offee laana please? 12. ;ou may (e eagleDeyed (ut ho# did you #atch peoples expressions in a darkened theatre? &ns: Sin"e *ou obviousl* seem to be stunted $o ba"k to m* ! and me0 blo$ and noti"e that ( said not so darkened theatre0 and this time write it down @= times so that hopefull* *ou wont for$et it1

13. 7ir ' have a story idea for you that has simplicity" love" passion" career gro#th and male escorting in it. &ns: !oo hoo? .ot fair1 .ot fair at all1 7ust be"ause ( made &a$ its not fair that *ou and *our breed want to torture me like this1 Please leave me alone or ( will make another &a$1 1 . Alectronic media is making lot of movies every day (ut they call it ne#s. &ns: Superb1 /<=. (' > Add a comment > Read comments 07.3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it 6-@-4@6445 B an2 me (n a ver* bad and not totall* darkened theatre Jbe"ause of the li$ht leakin$ throu$h some vents and $aps in the "losed doorsK "alled Ramapri*a in 9ija*awada town in &ndhra Pradesh, for the first time ( "ons"iousl* be$an to understand the phenomenon of &mitabh !a"h"han1 2he film that was pla*in$ was /huddaar and the s"ene whi"h was $oin$ on at that pre"ise moment was, when &mitji learnin$ the lie his own brother told him, bar$es into the dis"othe6ue where his brother is $roovin$ awa* with a $irl1 &s he shouts at the 7 to stop the musi" and looks at his brother at the far "orner with hurt filled e*es, a $an$ of vi"ious lookin$ boun"ers move towards him1 He looks at them and with an emotion "hoked voi"e sa*s that he will break their le$s if the* tr* to stop him1 2here was an audible $asp in the theatre from the viewers as he said this1 2he interestin$ point is that none of the $u*s in the theatre "ould speak Hindi as 9ija*awada is a 2elu$u speakin$ town1 So what did the* "onne"t to+ (t is just the raw emotions of an$er, betra*al, helplessness and above all the hurt he mana$ed to "ommuni"ate throu$h his bod* lan$ua$e, his voi"e and his e*es1 &s ( looked at the fa"es of the people sittin$ in the theatre ( "ould see a tremendous sense of awe, admiration, respe"t and above all a "onne"tivit* in their fa"es1 Ca"h and ever*one of his viewers "onne"ted to him deepl* throu$h the "hara"ters he portra*ed in his various films1 Ca"h and ever*one wanted a brother or a friend or a leader like him1

Cven after volumes spoken and bi$ fat books written on him, ( think it is still ver* eas* to underestimate his in"redible influen"e and his unima$inable impa"t not onl* on "inema but also on at least on a "ouple of $enerations "ons"ien"e1 /ids loved him in &mar &kbar &nthon* then and /ids love him now in !hoothnath1 ( have seen street $oondas emulatin$ him from /aala Patthar, /aalia et" and modern da* $an$sters are awe;stru"k with his intensit* in Sarkar1 Women used to swoon over his roman"es then and toda*s women would want a life;partner like him1 >ld people ba"k then wanted a son like him and toda*s old people see the refle"tions of their own life throu$h his performan"es in movies like !a$hbaan et"1 His "ontemporaries ba"k then were d*in$ of jealous* and unable to understand what is makin$ him ti"k and toda*s stars and te"hni"ians resume "annot be "ompleted unless and until the* feature with him at least in one film1 4or me &mitji is raw, real and $ritt* and he hit me like a thunder bolt both as a viewer and as a dire"tor1 His "harisma, his s"reen presen"e, his personalit* made su"h an impa"t both on me and millions of others like me unsupported b* toda*s so;"alled massive produ"tion values1 -nlike toda*s superstars he never had to hide behind "at"h* son$s or lavish sets or e3oti" forei$n lo"ales et"1 &n* random man *ou pi"k on the road an*where in the "ountr*, and if *ou ask him what *ou remember of &mitabh !a"h"han, he is bound to "ome up with at least a hundred of his favourite s"enes, dialo$ues or moments from &mitjis various films whereas if asked about an* of toda*s superstars ( doubt that the* will remember be*ond their hit son$s and their films bo3; offi"e "olle"tions1 4rom the time of bein$ awestru"k with him in San5eer, eewaar et" to "ons"iousl* understandin$ his s"reen prowess post /huddaar Jwhi"h in"identall* lar$el* was responsible in influen"in$ m* own te"hni6ue of

shapin$ up "hara"ters in m* filmsK, m* bi$$est desire "inemati"all* was to do a film with him whi"h eventuall* ( reali5ed in Sarkar1 (n the run up to the makin$ of Sarkar in m* several meetin$s with him ( started seein$ a ver* different side of him other than what ( onl* per"eived throu$h his films1 !ehind the obvious power and intensit* was a sensitivit* and vulnerabilit* and also listenin$ to his thou$hts made me sense his in"redible versatilit* as an a"tor1 !* that time m* pro3imit* to him blinded me as a viewer of him as a star and the filmmaker in me $ot $reed* and dumb enou$h to e3periment with him as an a"tor whi"h resulted in .ishabd and &a$1 (ts not so mu"h onl* about the 6ualit* of those films that ( am talkin$ here but it is just the idea of "astin$ him in those roles1 &mitjis make;up man eepak told me on da* one of shootin$ of .ishabd that the film will flop be"ause no one is $oin$ to a""ept &mitji in a role like that1 Whether that is the reason or not, ( for m*self as a viewer wouldnt probabl* want to see him featured in a role like that1 &s an a"tor ( think .ishabd is &mitjis finest performan"e mainl* be"ause of its sheer "omple3ities and it demanded su"h subtle nuan"es of rea"tions, whi"h most of the so;"alled art;house a"tors wont even be$in to understand in their life;time let alone portra* them1 !ut the 6uestion is does one want to see &mitji just as an a"tor+ ( for one dont want to, unless the a"tin$ is "omin$ from a "ertain immensel* lar$er than life perspe"tive1 Similarl* in &a$ there will be a differen"e between a viewers rea"tion and m* rea"tion to his performan"e1 &s a dire"tor ( jud$e an a"tor b* seein$ what he does with what is $iven to him1 2he viewer sees the final effe"t of that in the "onte3t of the film and hen"e he "annot have an idea of how ( "ould have s"rewed it up in the s"reenpla* and how badl* ( edited it or various other blunders ( "ould have "ommitted1 People seein$ the film rea"t on the effe"t, whereas as a dire"tor ( know the "ause1 >n the other hand if somebod* ar$ues that he had no business to do those films without knowin$ what he is $ettin$ into, *es he is $uilt* of mispla"in$ his trust in me but he is not $uilt* of not doin$ his best whi"h he does invariabl* better than an* other a"tor "an ever even hope to do1 4rom what ( $athered from m* asso"iation with him, ( understood that b* bein$ the ultra professional that he is, on"e he a$rees to do a film based on

whatever reasons he has, he "ompletel* su""umbs to the vision or non;vision of the dire"tor1 2he end produ"t sometimes "an look a mess but the inside se"ret will be that he would have alwa*s $iven mu"h more than what was e3pe"ted of him1 2he "lose;up of his when he stands on the steps lookin$ at &ftab takin$ 7iah awa* in the "lima3 of .ishabd "alls for an e3traordinar* understandin$ of human emotions and hen"e a far superior performan"e, "ompared to him sa*in$ 2ujhe bhi karne nahin doon$a0 in Sarkar whi"h he would have done a thousand times before1 !ut sadl* the effe"t of that line in Sarkar will be"ome "inemati" histor* whereas the .ishabds "lose;up mi$ht $o unnoti"ed1 >n the basis of what all ( said above if an*bod* out there understands, m* favourite performan"es of &mitji from m* films as a dire"tor are in the order of JFK1 .ishabd J<K1 &a$ JAK1 Sarkar Raj JBK1 Sarkar !ut for$ettin$ m*self as a dire"tor and thinkin$ like a viewer the* will be JFK1 Sarkar J<K1 Sarkar Raj JAK1 &a$ JBK1 .ishabd1 2he effe"t of Sarkars performan"e as "ompared to Sarkar Raj is probabl* hi$her for man* primaril* be"ause of the sho"k value of seein$ &mitji in su"h a role after a ver* ver* lon$ time but if *ou look deeper *ou "ant find a sin$le shot in Sarkar whi"h is "omparable to, for an e3ample the e3pression he has when he shows Sanja* Somjis bod* to Raosaab1 2here are man* man* su"h moments in Sarkar Raj, .ishabd and &a$1 So the point ( am tr*in$ to make in summation is that he never ever failed as an a"tor and he never will1 (ts onl* dire"tors, both others and me who fre6uentl* fail in framin$ his art in a $iven "onte3t1 /aran 7ohars favourite film of his is /abhie /abhie and Silsila whi"h ( loathe "ompared to m* favourites like eewaar and San5eer whi"h /aran

loathes1 ( dislike seein$ him in movies like )ast )ear and !la"k whereas Sanja* )eela !hansali and Rituparno Ghosh mi$ht not want to make films like .ishabd with him1 !ut thats what sublimal art is about1 %ou "an take whatever *ou want from it and interpret it in an* whi"h wa* *ou want to1 &mitji is an artiste who "an and will allow himself to be "onformed, adapted and shaped up in an* whi"h wa* one wants to mould him and the final result he will leave it in the hands of the dire"tor he is workin$ with1 !ut irrespe"tive of what on a personal level he mi$ht think of the result, the effort he puts in and the passion he brin$s in to elevate even the most mundane of s"enes, the performan"es he brin$s and the wa* he speaks his lines is for me m* personal proof of what &mitji trul* and reall* is1 &mitabh !a"h"han is that rare art form whi"h takes birth just on"e in several life times1 8<8. (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0773 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it -7@-4@6445 * a N$;% story ( have titled the film ( am $oin$ to make on the media as

means battle1 &nd battle is a fi$ht between lar$e or$ani5ed for"es1 (n

the "onte3t of a "ivil so"iet* and its deep "omple3ities, lar$e or$ani5ed for"es Jread news "hannels, politi"al parties and industrial "5arsK are not just involved in a fi$ht with ea"h other, but more importantl* and fri$htenin$l*, the* are battlin$ a war within themselves and this is espe"iall* true of news "hannels1 (f do$ bites man, it is not news1 !ut if man bites do$, it is news1 &nd if a "at bites a do$, its !reakin$ .ews1 Gettin$ news is not the easiest thin$ in the world, so the ne3t best thin$ obviousl* would be to make an*thin$ and ever*thin$ appear to be news1

2he wa* the news are presented toda* are mu"h more entertainin$ than famil* soaps and thrillers1 Whats worse is that we enjo* this kind presentation so mu"h that we have $ot addi"ted to them for our dail* dose of fun and drama1 AND HIGH DRAMA IS WHAT

IS GOING TO BE.

2here is the $overnment ; a s*stem whi"h runs the "ountr*, then there are wealth "reators like industrialists et" and then there are politi"ians in the rulin$ part* and the opposition1 &ll the above in a demo"rati" so"iet* are supposed to be workin$ for the "ommon people and the one and onl* means of the "ommon people havin$ an* idea as to what those are up to is throu$h the media1 Hen"e the media has been invented as a truth tellin$ ma"hiner* servin$ the purpose of the "ommon people so that the* know the* are in $ood hands or in "ase the* are told that the* are not, the* "an hope to e3er"ise the power of their vote to brin$ about a "han$e1 !ut in a free e"onom* s*stem where there is so mu"h "ompetition the media b* default is lost in its purpose1 2he #edia is a reportin$ a$en"*1 (t reports .ews1 .CWS is what is new1 .ew is what *ou hear for the first time1 So to be able to be the first to tell *ou the various .ewspapers and Channels have an intense "ompetition amon$ themselves and this the* do on a need to survive, on an e$o to be on the top and on a $reed to $et ri"h1 2o be ahead of "ompetition means more "ir"ulation and hi$her 2RPs whi"h in turn $enerate more and more &d revenue whi"h will translate into makin$ more and more and more mone*1 &lso the fa"t that in the pro"ess the people who run the media reali5e their power of influen"in$ the "ommon people inevitabl* makes them power hun$r*1 2o sum up this films intention would be to e3pose the behind;the;s"enes truth of how a truth tellin$ ma"hiner* b* the ver* virtue of its positionin$

has no "hoi"e but to "orrupt itself to be"ome a mone*;makin$ and power; brokerin$ enterprise1 Truth is Terri#le
- Friedrich Neitzsche (Ecce Homo)

8<-6 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0-6-3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it > !ilms -8@-4@6445 My reactions to reactions 1. Ho# are creativity and logical thinking related? &ns: Creativit* is a spontaneous burst of (deas whereas lo$i"al thinkin$ "an either result in an effe"tive implementation of those ideas or most often "ompletel* fu"k them up1 2. 7uccess defies everything as does failure. &ns: Superb1 (n m* e3perien"e failure does it better1 3. ' have some fantastic horrorEthriller scripts. &ns: Wh* dont *ou *ourself make some fantasti" horrorRthriller films out of them+ . 5o matter ho# intelligent you think you are there #ill al#ays (e someone more intelligent than you. &ns: ( have this na$$in$ feelin$ that *ou think *ou are that 'more intelli$ent $u* but let me inform *ou that ( am more intelli$ent than *ou thereb* provin$ that *our thinkin$ is absolutel* ri$ht1 C>.GR&2S and CHCCRS? $. ;ou are a shado# of your past. ' sa# 7arkar and 7arkar ?a9. :hey are ordinary. &ns: >k Sir1 &. 8y girl friend says that you look scarier than your movies. &ns: 2hanks1 ). 8ake films on international drug peddling and on street gangs. &ns: &n*thin$ else Sir+

.<=4 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0843 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it -D@-4@6445 My reactions to reactions 1. ;ou are a sociopath on the loose. &ns: %ou "an also add ps*"hopath to that1 2. What #ould have 7atya done if %hau asked them to come to his house? &ns: When ( die and $o up ( will ask Sat*a and let *ou know1 3. *eople #ho take you #ords seriously should get their heads examined. &ns: ( want to kiss *ou1 . ;ou are suffering #ith a 3ntisocial *ersonality /isorder. &ns: >k do"1 $. 8y mother says that you are half mad. &ns: &nd m* mother sa*s that *our mother is full mad1 &. ' find songs distracting in a movie. &ns: (f the son$s feature ni"e le$s, heavin$ bosoms, slim waists and voluptuous butts ( man* times find the stor* distra"tin$1 ). 0an a (ook change the reader? &ns: .o1 !ut a reader "an shut it1 +. 0an you pu(lish the article you have #ritten ,:he ideas that killed 31 million people-? &ns: ( dont have a "op* as ( wrote it <= *ears a$o1 !ut ( will 6uote a few passa$es from it1

2he start of the arti"le: &lthou$h the (deas that nourished the intelle"tual roots of &dolf Hitler "an be tra"ed ba"k to man* a me$alomania"al thou$ht that poured out from a few German minds of the FHth Centur* not other mans thou$hts have "ontributed so mu"h to the barbari" part of the .a5i mind as those of the philosopher 4redri"h .iet5s"he1

2he essen"e of the arti"le: ( 6uoted from .iet5s"hes 2he natural histor* of morals01 2he stron$ men, the masters re$ain the pure "ons"ien"e of a beast1 2he* return from a fearful su""ession of arson, rape, torture and murder with the same jo* in their hearts and the same "ontentment in their souls as if the* have indul$ed in a harmless students ra$1 When a man is a master b* nature and violent b* $esture, of what importan"e are treaties to him+0 #* writin$ in the arti"le under the above 6uote: 2hese words uttered b* the most terrible man that has even e3isted on the fa"e of the earth as .iet5s"he des"ribed himself in his autobio$raph* e""e homo0 had a profound impa"t on the shapin$ up of the mind of Hitler and host of lesser .a5is and in time the* would justif* su"h ruthless deeds as the brea"hin$ of the 9ersailles treat*, the violation of the Ha$ue Convention, the killin$ of his own followers in the blood pur$e of 7une FHAB and the senseless massa"re of millions in the ((nd World War and the brutal torture of 7ews in &us"hwit5 and other su"h "on"entration "amps01 2he end of the arti"le: &ll thin$s said and done no one "an blame Hitler for surprisin$ the world with his doin$s be"ause he bared ea"h and ever* intention of his, *ears before he was $iven the power to do them1 &n* reader of his autobio$raph* #ein /ampf0 will have no doubts about that1
.. What compels you to do something that you did not (elieve in? &ns: & little bit of not bein$ sure and lots of dumbness1 11. Why dont you shoot ur movie and #atch it yourself? &ns: Wh* dont *ou write *our "omment and read it *ourself+ 11. 'f you are so selfish can you make a movie #ithout cameraman" assist. /irector" choreographer etc? &ns: (f *ou are so "haritable wh* dont *ou $ive awa* *our pen, internet and *our brain and then tr* to "ommuni"ate+ 12. 0reativity should not fill your head. !ive some space for humanity in your grey cells.

&ns: Pompousness should not fill *our head1 Give some spa"e for "reativit* in *our $re* "ells althou$h ( suspe"t *ou have none1 13. 7atya and 0ompany are highly superior films. We (elieve in your genius inspite of 3ag. &ns: Hello1 Hello1 Hello111 if there is one thin$ ( am s"ared of more than m* haters its well;wishers and patronisers like *ou1 2hats be"ause ( "an so easil* fall a vi"tim to *our kind of breed as *ou $u*s "reate a false sense of se"urit*1 ( be$ *ou and plead to *ou and re6uest *ou to "hill and see m* movies and read m* blo$ if *ou feel like it or dont if *ou dont feel like1 ( dont need an*bod* to tell me how $ood or how bad ( am1 (f *ou praise me be*ond what ( think of m* worth is, ( will think *ou are a fool and if *ou praise me below what ( think m* worth is also ( will think *ou are fool1 .obod* knows me be*ond (, me and m*self1 >h m* haters? ( plead *ou all to "ome save me, a self;obsessed me$alomania"al fu"k;all filmmaker from the love of m* well;wishers and patronisers1 P1S: ( think ( have overdone this but what the hell1 ( was just in the mood 9aishak :K .<-D (' > Add a comment > Read comments 07=3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it > !ilms 4.@-4@6445 My reactions to reactions 1. 0an one really reach a state of moral indifference? &ns: ( did1 2. Ho# can you have the audacity of thinking yourself as !od? &ns: (f *ou are referrin$ to an answer ( $ave in an earlier post, ( said that ( was pla*in$ God1 (n truth ( think ( am bi$$er than God1 3. /o you contradict yourself (ecause you dont have clarity in your thoughts? &ns: >nl* be"ause ( have "larit* in thou$hts ( "ontradi"t m*self1

. ;ou are 9ust one more among the thousands of Fgot more than deserved %olly#ood (iggies. &ns: >k smallie1 $. 3part from 3yan rand #hat other (ooks do you read? &ns: #ad ma$a5ine for "omed* and .i"k Carter for se31 &. What principle of =redrich 5iet4sche guides you? &ns: 2he prin"iple of 6uotin$ from as "ompli"ated a writer as him be"ause most people dont understand him and hen"e the* will ima$ine that ( understand him just be"ause ( 6uote him and then ( "an pass off as a ver* well;read man and an intelle"tual1 ). ' think you are an escapist. &ns: .o1 ( am a fantasist1 +. Had you #ritten the F/ramacomic tragedy 9ust after the accident it #ould have (een surely different. &ns: >k #r1Ps*"hiatrist1 .. :here is no comedy at all in this tragedy. ;our callousness is disgusting. &ns: >k: ( will look *ou up in heaven on m* wa* to hell1 11. What made you divorce? &ns: #arria$e1 8<86 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0743 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it 45@-4@6445 A 2ramacomic tra+e2y %ears a$o ( was involved in a train a""ident, while travellin$ from H*derabad to .araspur for the shootin$ of 'Prema katha, whi"h resulted in around FN deaths1 (t was one of the most dramati", "omi" and tra$i" e3perien"es of m* life1 ( was sleepin$ on the upper berth in a 4irst Class "abin, when ( suddenl* heard a hu$e rattlin$ sound, and at the same time a moanin$ sound started

"omin$ from a person sleepin$ in the lower berth steadil* risin$ in its volume1 #* first thou$ht was that the train is off the tra"k and ( felt it will "rash when the moanin$ below will rea"h its "res"endo J( have this disease of "onstantl* livin$ in a state of filmdom irrespe"tive of the situationK1 !oth the rattlin$ and the moanin$ stopped suddenl* and there was "omplete silen"e1 (t was pit"h dark and for a few se"onds ( thou$ht ( must have been dreamin$1 2hen ( tried to $et up and ( "ouldnt as m* head was bein$ pressed a$ainst the wall of the "oa"h1 ( "ouldnt fi$ure out wh*, for a while, till ( reali5ed that "oa"h was on its side in"lined at about A= de$rees1 With $reat diffi"ult* ( mana$ed to $et down and started sear"hin$ for m* shoes1 &s ( wore them ( started hearin$ faint whispers of people askin$ ea"h other whether the* were alri$ht1 2he volume at whi"h the* were talkin$ almost made me feel that the* were s"ared to disturb the situation1 Slowl* ( mana$ed to rea"h the "oa"h door1 2here was a ver* faint moon li$ht outside1 &s ( stepped out m* shoe went into the slush of padd* field1 #* first thou$ht was %u"k, m* shoes are fu"ked10 ( bou$ht this new pair of shoes just the previous da*1 >n"e ( $ot over the tra$ed* of m* shoes ( looked around to see a "ouple of "oa"hes behind l*in$ on their side and people slowl* "rawlin$ out throu$h the "onne"tin$ doors of the "oa"hes whi"h broke in the a""ident1 ( went walkin$ to the tra"k whi"h was about @=feet from the train as it was dr* there1 !* that time people were "omin$ out1 2he initial reports were that nobod* was killed or hurt1 .ow where these people $ot these reports from is an*bod*s $uess1 >ne $u* $ot a bed sheet and a pillow from inside the train, put it on the tra"ks and instru"ted people around to wake him up when the res"ue train arrives1 &s ( looked around there was a mi3ture of shouts, sounds of people "r*in$ and stran$el* lau$hter too1 Quite a bit of m* unit was in the S@ "oa"h whi"h was about B "oa"hes down1 So ( started walkin$ towards it when a little ahead ( saw a man with a severed le$ on the $rass1 2hats when ( "ame to know that the 'all are well news were false1 &s ( went further ( saw the "oa"h just before S@ so man$led and ( "ould hear a man moanin$ in pain askin$ for water from inside1 ( "ouldnt see the inside throu$h the window in the darkness but ( "ould make out that he was somehow trapped1 & $u*

walked up to the window with a water bottle to hand it throu$h the window when somebod* shouted at him not to $ive the water1 2he water $u* turned to the shoutin$ $u* to ask him wh* and the shoutin$ $u* $ave his $*an on wh* an injured man should not be $iven water1 2he water $u* had a sudden desire to be edu"ated more on the subje"t1 So both the shoutin$ $u* and the water $u* went into an edu"ational tour of the dan$ers of $ivin$ water to injured people1 2he shoutin$ $u* suddenl* developed the personalit* of a all knowin$ tea"her and the water $u* of that of a wide;e*ed pupil, and this s"ene was happenin$ with the ba"k$round s"ore of the man inside the train moanin$ in pain and be$$in$ for water1 Sir, are *ou fine+0 someone shouted from the ba"k and ( turned to see C1.ivas who was m* assistant at that time1 He was in S@ "oa"h1 ( asked him what about the rest of the "rew1 He said mostl* fine but 9id*a is out01 ( knew even when he said it what he meant, but ( still thou$ht it was stran$e to use a terminolo$* of "ri"ket to des"ribe a known persons death in a situation like that1 9id*a was a "amera assistant who joined m* unit re"ommended b* m* "ousin who was ver* "lose to his famil*1 .iwas told me that it took him B@ minutes to "ome out of the "oa"h1 He was sleepin$ in the lower berth and after the a""ident he tried to move 9id*a and he "ouldnt and then he reali5ed he was dead1 ( took out m* "ell phone whi"h was workin$ and "alled up m* "ousin in #umbai1 (t was about Bam1 &fter ( told him 9id*a is dead, m* "ousins sleep* voi"ed first 6uestion was are *ou sure+0 ( stopped short be"ause ( reali5ed that ( was just "onve*in$ what .iwas told me and ( asked .iwas are *ou sure+0 .iwas also $ot into doubt and said that he was not movin$, for sure0 and ( said then ma*be he was just un"ons"ious01 2his put .iwas in further doubt, so both me and .iwas trud$ed throu$h the slush to $o to S@ "oa"h whi"h was l*in$ on a B@ de$rees in"line1 We went under it and .iwas started shoutin$ 9id*as name throu$h the $rilled window and ( heard a moan1 ( turned sharpl* to .iwas and said hes alive0 to whi"h .iwas said thats not 9id*a, its #urth*01 Who is #urth*0 ( asked him and .iwas said he was just a friend the* made in the "oa"h the previous ni$ht and he was sleepin$ in the middle berth ri$ht below 9id*a, and who also was apparentl* trapped1 .ow .iwas started shoutin$ at #urth* to tr* and nud$e 9id*a above him to see if he was alive1 #urth*s returnin$ moans from the darkness be"ame a "hara"ter and ( was instru"tin$ m* dire"tions to .iwas in soft whispers

almost feelin$ $uilt* about usin$ this new "hara"ter #urth* as a medium to find out 9id*as state1 So the "onversation went A;wa*s between m* whispers translated to .iwass shouts to #urth*s $roans and moans and all of us listenin$ to 9id*as silen"e1 Suddenl* a "heerful voi"e from behind said 9arma saab *ou are here+0 ( turned around to see a man with a $roup of people walkin$ towards me1 ( "ouldnt re"o$nise him1 He reali5ed that and introdu"ed himself as a Railwa* >ffi"er who ( met in the shootin$ of the "lima3 of /shana /shanam01 He had "ome on the res"ue train and went about introdu"in$ his "ollea$ues We have all "ome here to do the needful0, He is Station Supervisor Ram"handran0, He is m* "lose friend 9enkateshwarlu0 et" et"1 2hen he asked me Can we do an*thin$ for *ou+0 ( said Sir theres a unit member of mine "alled 9id*a who is trapped inside this "oa"h1 Can *ou help in findin$ out his state+0 2o whi"h he said %es, *es ( will do the needful10 Suddenl* a voi"e from behind said &re *ou suspe"tin$ an* sabota$e+0 We turned around to see a reporter with a i"taphone1 Suddenl* the >ffi"er be"ame ver* authoritative and told him 4irst we have to attend to the needful1 !ut an* information *ou should onl* ask me1 #* name is Rao10 ( "ould "learl* see that #r1.eedful wants to see his name in the paper the ne3t da*1 #eanwhile a $leeful lookin$ man from a nearb* villa$e was e"stati" about how nothin$ like this ever happened near his villa$e1 ( "ould ima$ine #r1Gleeful till the da* of death will tell his "hildren and $rand "hildren of his e3perien"es1 ( left .iwas and the Produ"tion #ana$er Giri to attend to the rest and alon$ with a unit member on the dire"tions of #r1.eedful ( started walkin$ towards a jeep to take me to a nearb* town Guntur1 &s ( was walkin$ man* offi"ers and passen$ers who re"o$ni5ed me were $reetin$ me and treatin$ me with $reat respe"t1 ( rea"hed the jeep, $ot in and told the driver to move1 He $ave me one dirt* look and pointed to the wheel whi"h was stu"k in the mud and then he went off on a lon$ barra$e of e3pletives "ursin$ the offi"ers for not listenin$ to him when he predi"ted that the jeep will $et stu"k1 He was least bothered about me or the a""ident1 So ( had no "hoi"e but to trud$e throu$h the padd* field alon$ with some unit members towards a nearb* villa$e from whi"h ( presumed #r1Gleeful "ame from1 &fter ( walked a "ertain distan"e to the villa$e ( turned ba"k to see the train on its side and there was a tree on the ri$ht between the train and me1 ( wished

that it was a little to the left so that the visual would have looked better JHello? Remember m* disease of livin$ in a state of filmdom+K >n"e we rea"hed the villa$e there were some vehi"les1 .a$arjunas famil* friend from Guntur took me into his vehi"le and drove me to his home1 He was hospitalit* personified and apparentl* a hu$e fan of mine and was in awe of me1 &s ( $ot down in front of his home, ( was unbelievabl* dirt*, both m* "lothes and feet1 Cven as ( asked for water to wash m* feet #r1Hospitalit* insisted ( "ome in1 So ( went in to fa"e a woman who "ouldnt "ontrol her an$er lookin$ at the dirt on m* feet1 #r1Hospitalit* introdu"ed her as his wife and she took off on him on wh* he "ouldnt $et m* feet washed outside to whi"h he s"reamed at her sa*in$ o *ou know who he is+0 to whi"h ( volunteered to $o out to whi"h she said Whats the point now as *ou alread* made the floor dirt*10 .ow #r1Hospitalit* wanted me to sit on the sofa and from the look in her e*es ( knew that both me and #r1Hospitalit* were in mortal dan$er if an*thin$ even near to that happens1 ( stomped m* feet down literall* and said ( am not doin$ an*thin$ e3"ept for "leanin$ m*self up1 >n"e ( $ot "leaned ( shifted to a nearb* Hotel where most people from the a""ident were put up1 .iwas "alled me and told that #urth* stopped speakin$1 !oth of us remained silent and did not speak about the 'death word1 2he S@ "oa"h was man$led and the* had to "ut the top open1 .ow it so happened that 9id*a was ri$ht below the roof as he was on the upper berth1 So in the pro"ess of "uttin$ the roof, his fa"e $ot "ompletel* burnt from the heat of the weldin$ tor"h1 Whether he died before itself or durin$ this pro"ess is an*bod*s $uess1 #* "ousin en;route from #umbai "alled me and said 9id*as father was "omin$ and ( have to break the news to him about his sons death1 His father was onl* told that 9id*a is injured1 ( felt terrible that ( am meetin$ this man for the first time in m* life and the first thin$ ( have to speak to him is that his son is dead1 ( "onfided about this to a relative of mine Pandu, who "ame to see me there, to whi"h he said not to worr* and he will take "are of that1 ( wondered how he will do that1 When 9id*as father walked in lookin$ at me ver* fearfull* not knowin$ what to e3pe"t Pandu sharpl* slapped his ba"k from behind and said in a tone of loud "heerful happiness '%our son is ver* lu"k*1 God loves him and took him

awa*1 We all are bastards and ( dont know when we will $et that lu"k*01 ( was sho"ked at the wa* Pandu broke the news1 2he effe"t on 9id*as father was mesmeri"1 He was startled both with the news and the wa* it was told to him1 #* first rea"tion was that it was ver* insensitive on Pandus part but on se"ond thou$hts ( thou$ht it was the most perfe"t wa* of breakin$ the news in that situation1 Pandu went on a barra$e of advanta$es, in"idents and ane"dotes about God and His wa*s not $ivin$ thinkin$ and feelin$ time to 9id*as father1 Pandu was instin"tive but ( think he was more a philosopher and ps*"hiatrist than an*bod* ( met1 )ater ( sat with 9id*as father and $ave a lon$ talk to him on wh* he should not show 9id*as bod* in the state of his burnt fa"e to his mother1 ( said 'let her remember him the wa* he was, to whi"h he "ountered how he "annot do that as he is her onl* son to whi"h ( was $ettin$ an$r* more with the fa"t that m* lo$i" was not bein$ listened to1 However b* the time he rea"hed his pla"e alon$ with the bod*, m* "ousin "alled me and told me that 9id*as father de"ided to $o b* m* advi"e and $ot the "remation done without the mother seein$ 9id*as fa"e1 ( felt triumphant of m* "ounsellin$ power1 &n*wa* after the entire e3perien"e the one truth ( reali5ed for m*self is that life is reall* a "omed* whi"h pretends to be a tra$ed*M1 7<=8 (' > Add a comment > Read comments 0=/3 > 2end a message > (ermalink > ?iew track#acks 043 > ;log it 4=@-4@6445 My )eaction to )eactions >. In %arkar )a9 %arkars /i4e is sho/n ser6in+ tea. %arkar 2oesnt ha6e ser6ants or /hat& Ans< Oh that"s such a fantastically mind*#lowing awesome o#ser%ation I am hum#led and will #e grateful to you fore%er for #ringing this a#solutely #rilliant insight into my pur%iew :. #ou nee2 an au2ience 4or the mo6ie an2 not the other /ay aroun2. Ans< +mmmN interestingly put

A. I /on2er ho/ you e<tracte2 that action 4rom a python in 4ront o4 %ri2e6i in Kshanam Kshanam. Ans< That is a russels %iper and there was a glass sheet #etween them B. ;here 2i2 you copy the 4irst son+ o4 Go6in2a Go6in2a 4rom& Ans< !rom my heart full of feelings for 2ride%i C. ;hat 2o you say a5out your assistants sayin+ that )G, is a school& Ans< Well, their non*education says it all D. Are /e copycats 4or callin+ our in2ustry Bolly/oo2& Ans< It"s one of the #latant e&amples of our hypocrisy On one hand we keep claiming L'era ;harat 'ahaan" and at the drop of a hat we want to ape e%erything from America from ;ollywood, Tollywood, Follywood to .@-- attack #ecoming /@--, 7@-4, 67@-6 etc attacks E. ;hat ma2e you cast 7iah in Nisha52& Ans< +er legs F. I am /orkin+ /ith the Greyhoun2s an2 I ha6e a story. Ans< (lease gi%e me your contact G. Its 6ery har2 to 4in2 a +oo2 mo6ie. Ans< And it"s e%en more harder to find a good %iewer >I. ;hat are your 6ie/s on marria+e& Ans< Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek9 >>. ;hy 2oes Mano9 Ba9pai call you the +reatest liar e6er& Ans< ;ecause I am >:. Can /e take out a part o4 the 4ilm an2 /ill it still 5e success& Ans< Eet me tell you an instance When 'ani Ratnam"s LIeetan$ali" released it had a %ery #ad talk in the first few days in the trade circles The story as per 'ani"s intent was a#out the protagonist and the audience knowing that he will die and then he falls in lo%e A panicky distri#utor of Iuntur remo%ed that scene where it is re%ealed that the hero will die, thinking it will make it more dramatic 2u#sequently the film #ecame a super hit in all areas as well as the one where that all important scene was cut

>A. By prayin+ to Go2 /e +et relie4 in certain situations. %ince you are an atheist ho/ 2o you cope /ith the same& Ans< ;y playing Iod >B. ;hy are you so stu55orn@ arro+ant an2 intelli+ent& Ans< ;ecause I am stu##orn, arrogant and intelligent )ou can #e too if you were $ust a little more smarter