Sunday, October 28, 2007
Shah Rukh Ran Through Fire for Om Shanti Om
Om Shanti Om is a film set in a 'film backdrop'…
Yes, the much-awaited film is all about the making of films and is set in the '70s. It will portray the film industry of the '70s, the bell bottoms, side locks, flashy, colourful shirts et al. I think the term Bollywood is a coinage of this period as it witnessed the making of the maximum number of classics. I have grown up watching these films. I love Sholay, Amar Akbar Anthony, Zahreela Insaan… and Rishi Kapoor's romantic films. My name in OPM is Om Prakash Makhija as my father in the film is a huge fan of Om Prakash.
Are the characters inspired from any actors of the '70s?
No. We have deliberately not spoofed anyone. Everyone has a distinct style and they are all stars of the era. Arjun Rampal is a big star and looks like Vinod Khanna of Khoon Pasina. But he is not a spoof of any actor and neither is Shreyas or Javed Shaikh. After the initial two months of the script, I decided that we will not spoof at all as that will take the emotions away and a love story can't be a love story without emotions.
What will be the difference between the '70s and the 2007 film industry in OSO?
When the film goes into 2007 you will see a huge difference especially in terms of the media presence. There are things like the Dare-E-Disco song and the heroes coming late on the sets and changing scenes. There is also a scene where fans are waiting to hear the star's comment and after they see him there are comments like `Yaar yeh to gidda lagta hai' and `real life mein itna handsome nahih hai yaar'. I have heard this on so many occasions that I decided to use it in the film.
I believe that you ran through fire in one of the scenes and actually burnt the sets at Film City for your death scene?
Yes, but thankfully there was no injury unlike in Koyla where my entire back was burnt. I had done it before but now there are much more security measures. I had poured lot of water on myself before the fire sequence. Fire is a very important element in the film as he dies due to fire and the fear remains even in his next birth. We burnt the whole set that we had created in Film City. I remember when Manmohan Desaisaab had done that in Naseeb he destroyed the entire `Kanch mahal'.
It is said that you have already earned Rs 50 crore from Om Shanti Om?
That's ridiculous and complete misinformation. I am a little disturbed by this news and I am upset with Farah for speaking about it. I will shout at her after I finish this interview. If I have earned Rs 50 crore from the film already then it means that the film has been sold for Rs 85-90 crore and I am wasting my time speaking to you here. I should be in the Caribbean having wine. I think it is very superficial to say that I have made an X amount of money as an actor. It is for the producer to know how much money the film has made and as an actor I should only know whether the film is a hit or not. If I were honest I would say that Chak De is the most successful film of the year.
But these days, actors are being offered Rs 15 to 18 crore for a film…
I have never been offered that kind of money and I am not open to anyone who wants to offer me money and not make a film. I do 2-3 films a year and don't want to be a part of the rat race. It is strange to know when I read that the film has made Rs 200 crore. I produce my film for say Rs 10 and sell it for Rs 12 and always make money from it. If I sell it for 15 rupees and the film does not work like in the case of Paheli, I will refund my distributors. That's the reason I have made money in all my films except Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani.
Saawariya is releasing along with OSO. Your reaction…
It is as simple as my son going for a fight. I am not scared about the opposition but I am just scared about my son. My only concern is that he should do well. I am not scared of any other film as such. I wish that OSO also had a solo release like Chak De but it's okay. I had planned my release in July and although I knew that I wanted a Diwali release, I announced it in July as I sold my film that time and asked my distributors book the theatres. Sanjay was not sure at that time as he was busy with post production. If I knew that time I would had changed my date. It makes no difference to me if my film comes a week ahead or a week later. I would have had loved to release the film on Nov 2, which is also my birthday.
Ranbir came and met you on the sets…
I have seen Ranbir as a child and like I said Rishi Kapoor is my friend and an integral part of my film. He came on the sets and wanted to speak about his career and Saawariya. He calls me Shah Rukh Sir and all and I wish him all the best.
But there has been media war between Farah and Sanjay…
Sanjay is my friend and he has given me Devdas, the best film of my career. I don't know about Farah and Sanjay however. Rishi Kapoor and Anil Kapoor are fantastic people. Salman is brilliant and Rani is family. Sonam and Ranbir I have seen growing up. My competition is Sanjay and the stars of the film but Columbia Tristar and I think I am big enough to compete with them. I wish Sony and Columbia all the best as they have taken a big chance fighting with me.
There are reports that you will be working on a thriller with Yash-Raj soon…
Not true at all. I think Ittefaq was the last thriller that Yash-Raj made. I wish I can work on a thriller with Yashji and I am trying to convince him right from the time we did Darr to make a murder mystery.
There are also reports that you want to remake Deewar…
No, I have no intentions of making any remakes. I have done two remakes in Devdas and Don only because both the directors were keen to make them. Don was exciting simply because it had a different ending from the earlier version. I don't think Deewar can be remade because the drama and the writing is dated now.
MumbaiMirror
Yes, the much-awaited film is all about the making of films and is set in the '70s. It will portray the film industry of the '70s, the bell bottoms, side locks, flashy, colourful shirts et al. I think the term Bollywood is a coinage of this period as it witnessed the making of the maximum number of classics. I have grown up watching these films. I love Sholay, Amar Akbar Anthony, Zahreela Insaan… and Rishi Kapoor's romantic films. My name in OPM is Om Prakash Makhija as my father in the film is a huge fan of Om Prakash.
Are the characters inspired from any actors of the '70s?
No. We have deliberately not spoofed anyone. Everyone has a distinct style and they are all stars of the era. Arjun Rampal is a big star and looks like Vinod Khanna of Khoon Pasina. But he is not a spoof of any actor and neither is Shreyas or Javed Shaikh. After the initial two months of the script, I decided that we will not spoof at all as that will take the emotions away and a love story can't be a love story without emotions.
What will be the difference between the '70s and the 2007 film industry in OSO?
When the film goes into 2007 you will see a huge difference especially in terms of the media presence. There are things like the Dare-E-Disco song and the heroes coming late on the sets and changing scenes. There is also a scene where fans are waiting to hear the star's comment and after they see him there are comments like `Yaar yeh to gidda lagta hai' and `real life mein itna handsome nahih hai yaar'. I have heard this on so many occasions that I decided to use it in the film.
I believe that you ran through fire in one of the scenes and actually burnt the sets at Film City for your death scene?
Yes, but thankfully there was no injury unlike in Koyla where my entire back was burnt. I had done it before but now there are much more security measures. I had poured lot of water on myself before the fire sequence. Fire is a very important element in the film as he dies due to fire and the fear remains even in his next birth. We burnt the whole set that we had created in Film City. I remember when Manmohan Desaisaab had done that in Naseeb he destroyed the entire `Kanch mahal'.
It is said that you have already earned Rs 50 crore from Om Shanti Om?
That's ridiculous and complete misinformation. I am a little disturbed by this news and I am upset with Farah for speaking about it. I will shout at her after I finish this interview. If I have earned Rs 50 crore from the film already then it means that the film has been sold for Rs 85-90 crore and I am wasting my time speaking to you here. I should be in the Caribbean having wine. I think it is very superficial to say that I have made an X amount of money as an actor. It is for the producer to know how much money the film has made and as an actor I should only know whether the film is a hit or not. If I were honest I would say that Chak De is the most successful film of the year.
But these days, actors are being offered Rs 15 to 18 crore for a film…
I have never been offered that kind of money and I am not open to anyone who wants to offer me money and not make a film. I do 2-3 films a year and don't want to be a part of the rat race. It is strange to know when I read that the film has made Rs 200 crore. I produce my film for say Rs 10 and sell it for Rs 12 and always make money from it. If I sell it for 15 rupees and the film does not work like in the case of Paheli, I will refund my distributors. That's the reason I have made money in all my films except Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani.
Saawariya is releasing along with OSO. Your reaction…
It is as simple as my son going for a fight. I am not scared about the opposition but I am just scared about my son. My only concern is that he should do well. I am not scared of any other film as such. I wish that OSO also had a solo release like Chak De but it's okay. I had planned my release in July and although I knew that I wanted a Diwali release, I announced it in July as I sold my film that time and asked my distributors book the theatres. Sanjay was not sure at that time as he was busy with post production. If I knew that time I would had changed my date. It makes no difference to me if my film comes a week ahead or a week later. I would have had loved to release the film on Nov 2, which is also my birthday.
Ranbir came and met you on the sets…
I have seen Ranbir as a child and like I said Rishi Kapoor is my friend and an integral part of my film. He came on the sets and wanted to speak about his career and Saawariya. He calls me Shah Rukh Sir and all and I wish him all the best.
But there has been media war between Farah and Sanjay…
Sanjay is my friend and he has given me Devdas, the best film of my career. I don't know about Farah and Sanjay however. Rishi Kapoor and Anil Kapoor are fantastic people. Salman is brilliant and Rani is family. Sonam and Ranbir I have seen growing up. My competition is Sanjay and the stars of the film but Columbia Tristar and I think I am big enough to compete with them. I wish Sony and Columbia all the best as they have taken a big chance fighting with me.
There are reports that you will be working on a thriller with Yash-Raj soon…
Not true at all. I think Ittefaq was the last thriller that Yash-Raj made. I wish I can work on a thriller with Yashji and I am trying to convince him right from the time we did Darr to make a murder mystery.
There are also reports that you want to remake Deewar…
No, I have no intentions of making any remakes. I have done two remakes in Devdas and Don only because both the directors were keen to make them. Don was exciting simply because it had a different ending from the earlier version. I don't think Deewar can be remade because the drama and the writing is dated now.
MumbaiMirror
Labels: Deepika Padukone, Farah Khan, Om Shanti Om, Shahrukh Khan
Posted By Ivan Me ... at 7:14 PM
Post A Comment
Your comments are always welcome 0 Comments
Post A Comment
Your comments are always welcome 0 Comments
