Friday, September 14, 2007

How do you react to the immense hype around your second directorial venture Om Shanti Om?

I'm excited about it. Surprisingly, I'm not scared at all. Maybe once the release date comes closer I'll get the nervous pangs. But still I don't think there is anything to be scared about since I've seen the film. Shah Rukh and I didn't expect Om Shanti Om (OSO) to get so hyped. We didn't expect that Main Hoon Na is remembered so well.


Main Hoon Na was an unapologetic masala Hindi phillum, what is the vibe of OSO?

This one is also a Hindi phillum. But unlike Main Hoon Na that had multiple tracks, OSO has a single track which is extremely dramatic. The best bit about OSO is that first half of the film is set in the 1970's Bollywood. This has made the texture of the film very refreshing. My team had a great time looking for references. If we had to shoot a hospital scene then we made sure we created a hospital out of a 70's film. The junior artistes in the film are also from the 70's. I think OSO will bring back the fashion trends of the 70's: the bell bottoms, the side locks and the curls. That's also the reason why my new girl, Deepika Padukone with a bouffant looks different than all the other girls in a mini skirt and a bra top. We're very confident about the retro look of our film that's why we have also sold the OSO fashion line to Shopper's Stop and Siya.


And what's with the huge poster of a film called 'Dreamy Girl' throughout the first half of OSO?

Oh that? I wanted to project Deepika as a huge 70's superstar aka Hema Malini so we decided to take off on the film Dream Girl. The making of Dreamy Girl is the funniest bit in the film since we've shown Deepika romancing the likes of Rajesh Khanna and Sunil Dutt. We've done some major computer generated imagery to make sure that happens. We've also made SRK wear white shoes and pants like Jeetendra and made him do all sorts of things like crawl on the floor for a song.

And you also made sure SRK gets a six pack for a shirtless song sequence?

See, SRK will do anything that is required for the film. He really worked out for OSO because he has two distinct looks in the film depicting 1977 and 2007. Since he plays a superstar of 2007 he had to look like a star of today. I told him during Main Hoon Na itself that I want to shoot a bare chest scene of his since he was playing an army officer. But we couldn't do that since he had just had a back operation. But he promised me that if he ever does a bare torso scene he'll do it for my film. For OSO he asked me to give him three months since his reasoning was that if he doesn't have a six pack he won't bare his chest. By the time we shot the scene he had eight packs. He worked so hard on his body that his constant joke on the sets was that 'Please let me go back to acting'.


Yeah well they say in the industry that SRK can never say no to you?

Well, I can't get him to do everything. I mean, he's not going to do anything stupid just because I'm telling him to do it. It's just that we share the same kind of irreverent humour and love for the same kind of movies so somewhere he trusts my judgment. I don't think anyone else could have made him stand quietly while Satish Shah spits on his face. He didn't do it blindly for me but he did it because he knew it'll work. There is no god baazi with SRK. We don't act like two eccentric geniuses making a film, we want to enjoy the process of making a film and so we have fun. In OSO we have both gone quite mental.


Why did you opt for Deepika Padukone as the leading lady?

I needed a new girl so that I could present a new pairing with SRK. Moreover since my heroine is a superstar of the 70's I couldn't have cast Aishwarya Rai or Rani Mukerji who are big stars of today and tell people to imagine them as the stars of 70's. I needed a new face for my character, Shanti Priya. Also Deepika is a classic beauty who has the poise of a South actress. She's also a fabulous dancer and after doing her screen test I was convinced she'll work for the film. I really felt as if I was launching my own daughter.


How did you manage to rope in literally the entire industry for a song?

Yeah well that one has turned out as the mother of all item songs. I don't know what others will do after this song. We approached 34 actors and 30 turned up. It took us six days to shoot the song. All the heroines came for SRK and all the heroes for me.


I believe Mithun Chakraborty caused a stampede?

You heard right. He caused a traffic jam. There was a queue of people just to see him. Ecstatic fans even asked SRK to click their pictures with Mithun da. He happily obliged.


SRK is also the producer of the film, what is his verdict about OSO?

He's already shown most of the film to everyone on his dirty laptop with its dirty sound. He's quite happy with it. We've gone through the phase of writing down the mistakes on paper. It's the biggest film out of Red Chillies and we realize the expectations.


You have a mini film empire in your home turf itself with husband Shirish Kunder and brother Sajid Khan also making films. How do you cope with it?

It's great. I'm more creatively involved with Shirish's films since we live together. Sajid does his own thing. We've always been a film crazy family so it's all good.


You're expecting triplets, how is that going?

Oh my babies are quite happy on the film set. They never trouble me when I'm shooting. Only when I'm in the house do they make me puke and feel all drained. I'm sure all three of them will also get into film-making since they are already film babies.


There are rumours that you're quitting choreography?

That's true. I can't do another wedding song. Only if an international song comes my way, I might think about it. I won't choreograph even for Shirish now. He's quite pleased with this decision since we fought a lot during Jaan-E-Mann.


Any recent film that you wish you had directed?

Rang De Basanti. I was totally blown over by it. Not only did it have a superb story, it was also technically awesome. I like well made and well shot films. Most of our films look like Gujarati TV serials.


What's next?

Next year I'll take a break since my babies will need me. I'll start my next film in 2009. Shirish will start his film, Joker with Akshay Kumar in 2008.

Harneet Singh, Screen India