Farhad Samji says Salman Khan has gone ‘all out’ for Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, reveals trick to direct him: ‘He is a megastar, but…’

“Salman Khan’s stardom is so huge it does play on your mind. His fans are also like bouncing board. You have to leave no stone unturned and play all your cards accordingly, because that pressure is there,” Samji tells indianexpress.com. The filmmaker, who has helmed films like Housefull 4, Bachchhan Paandey, both starring Akshay Kumar, says the task with Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan was to mount a film that does justice to the stardom of Salman while also stays true to the script.

“Whenever you direct Salman Khan, you need to be aware that the chair you are sitting on shouldn’t be director’s chair but the seat of a cinema hall. As an audience if I am sitting on that chair in a theatre, what do I want? If Salman sir is about to deliver a dialogue, then I need a buildup and for that a high-speed shot, a back shot. This thought process is required, especially when you shoot an action sequence.

“Salman Khan is a megastar, but at the end of the day, he is also playing a character in the script. We can’t always try to only do fan service because then the story will go flat. There has to be an amalgamation, where we handle the stardom and be true to the character. Like when you see the film, you will realise why Salman has three looks in it–long hair, bearded, clean shaven. There is a proper reason for it. It is not used as a gimmick at all, it was the need of the story.”

Samji’s association with the actor has been two-decade long, when he started his journey as a lyricist. He eventually wrote the Anees Bazmee directed comedy Ready for Salman. “I was having a jamming session with sir one day and we came up with this idea, so we started developing it. It was something we were truly kicked about, and everything started to fall in place. It is a big film with huge cast, but we also managed to get all the dates. We wanted South casting, like Pooja Hegde, Venkatesh, Jagapathi Babu and it just happened so smoothly. I must share that Salman Khan has gone all out for this film. It is a boon for me, the way he has been there as an actor and a producer.”

Also starring Shehnaaz Gill, Raghav Juyal and Siddharth Nigam, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan is a remake of the 2014 Tamil movie, Veeram, which chronicled the story of man whose four younger brothers want him to get married so that they can settle down too.