The King of FEEL GOOD

In 3 idiots (or 3i as lead actor Aamir Khan refers to it),he has the most awaited film of the year and the satisfaction of knowing that his only competition is his last film. He plays down all the expectations being heaped on the film. I dont think its the most awaited film of the year simply because Ive already seen it, he says with a laugh. He insists that he doesnt bother about expectations. My constant battle is with myself… whether Ive made what I intended to make, he says.
Its a busy day in a post-production studio in suburban Andheri where Hirani is immersed in the edit of his latest film. He comes out to greet us warmly and then excuses himself to instruct his team. Hirani,who started out as an editor,will put his editing skills to use in 3idiots,as he did in the two Munnabhai films.
Hiranis ease with the entire process is evident. He even claims to have arrived at a Universal Truth of film-making: Every film has the same problem areas. So,in order to help his fraternity,Hirani is planning to write a manual of making films. It can be like a refresher course… a small notebook which can be like a Bible for film-makers, he says.

You dont need to read it to know that one of the most important chapters in Hiranis Bible will be the importance of having a theme. For Hirani,the germ of the film starts there. (The) theme is what you want to say through the film. If I dont have a theme,I dont have a story and I most definitely dont have a film. So if the theme of Munnabhai MBBS was that doctors need to be more compassionate,for Lage Raho Munnabhai,it was his belief that non-violence can work in todays world. In 3 idiots,a satire on the education system,the theme is that if you chase excellence,success follows on its own. Even if a kid wants to become a barber,he should aim to become the best barber in the world. Thats where true happiness and success lies, he says.

For inspiration,Hirani neednt have looked beyond his own life. This Nagpur boy turned to film-making because he couldnt get admission to an engineering college. His stint in Punes Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) was no less dramatic: he couldnt make it to the direction course in the first attempt. Thats when he took up editing. In hindsight,he calls it a blessing in disguise. After passing out of FTII in 1987,Hirani stayed afloat in Mumbai on odd editing jobs. His first salary as an editor was Rs 1,200. Editing,he feels,has also made him a better director. I think like an editor while shooting and writing. Its a personal record that till date in all my three films,I havent had to delete a scene, he says.
His association with producer-director Vidhu Vinod Chopra also started when he was working as an editor for Mission Kashmir. Vinod did not produce outsiders films,but I took the script of Munnabhai MBBS to him. He liked it and decided to back it.

Hirani wanted to make 3 idiots right after Munnabhai MBBS but the idea of having Mahatma Gandhi meet Munna was too tempting to let go. After Lage Raho Munnabhai,he started writing the third instalment in the Munna-Circuit adventures where they embark on a journey to America to meet the US President. But Munnabhai Chale Amreeka was put on hold when a stray comment by lyricist Javed Akhtar hit too close home. Javed saab said aisa lagta hai ki Munna aur Circuit aapke pados mein rehte hain. (It seems as if Munna and Circuit are your next-door neighbours.) That did it! For six years Id been living with these two guys,but now I wanted a fresh landscape and fresh characters, says Hirani.

Thus 3 idiots,which tells the story of Farhan Quereshi (R Madhavan) and Raju Rastogi (Sharman Joshi),who set out on a road trip to find their missing college friend Ranchhordas Shamaladas Chanchad aka Rancho (Aamir Khan). Hirani is confident that his idiots will strike the same emotional chord that the iconic Munna and Circuit did. Like the two large-hearted goons,the idiots are also chasing a value system. That is a must for all Hirani movies. Having grown up on a diet of slice-of-life films by the likes of Hrishikesh Mukherjee,Gulzar and Basu Chatterjee,Hirani says hell always make human interest stories that are treated in a light-hearted manner. My protagonists will always have values that they stand up for. Thats the way I think of life. If you dont stand up for something,you fall for anything.

Quiz him if hes as nice as the characters he creates and he jokes,I think so but my wife,Manjeet,will disagree. He admits to sometimes losing his temper and can even recount an incident when he yelled at one of his assistants. And yes,once he even threw a water bottle on the floor in sheer frustration. But I made sure it was empty! Anyways thats better than throwing cellphones as some directors do. I can never do that because cellphones are too precious, he says.

For someone who always has a readymade quip,Hirani feels his sense of humour has taken a beating after he turned director. I used to be the joker of the party but now Im quite sober. Guess when you are thinking of jokes,you become less of a joker, he says. The side-effects of his job are reflected in his social life too. Hirani confesses to be totally wired up when hes making a film so much so that he doesnt even attend important family functions,much to his wifes chagrin. Both Vinod and my wife tell me to detach. But I cant help it because when Im making a film,I dont want to do anything else. By now my friends know that I disappear when Im making a film, he says.

He promises to change this after the release of 3 idiots. He plans to make a road trip across India. He also wants to spend more time with his 11-year-old son Vir,who loves his dads films but any day prefers Jaadu from Koi Mil Gaya to a Munnabhai. Hirani is happy to discover that Vir has a photographic memory. I narrated 3 idiots to him a while ago and recently when he saw the film I was quite pleased to see that he remembered it scene by scene. Now I know apna future safe hai, he says with a laugh. Exactly what cinema lovers feel about Hirani.

RAPID FIRE
On Vidhu Vinod Chopra: Vinod loves cinema,gives me complete space to make my films and understands what Im trying to do. You can say,he gets me.
On Aamir Khan: His willpower and dedication is legendary. For the college portions of 3 idiots,he promised that he would look younger than he did in Dil Chahta Hai and Rang De Basanti and he fulfilled the promise. Yes,he asks a lot of questions but doesnt interfere at all. For Aamir,the last word is always the directors.
On Acting: Ive acted in about 20 ads for brands like Fevicol,Luna,Glucon D and Annapurna Atta. I had acted in my friends projects at FTII. Once,in Mumbai,when a model did not turn up,I was asked to fill in for him and thats how it started.
On Textbook Films: Hrishikesh Mukherjees Anand and Gol Maal are always in my library. Of the recent lot,I like the freshness of Jab We Met and the script of Lagaan.
On Iconic Film Characters: Jai and Veeru (Sholay),Anand (Anand),Raju (Guide),Bhuvan (Lagaan),Raj Kapoor as the tramp in many films,especially Shree 420.