Appetising fare

Since you were making your debut in Bollywood with a remake, were you apprehensive about the comparisons that would be made? In retrospect, do you feel that you could have improved on certain aspects of the movie?

I was 100 per cent ready that there will be comparisons. In fact, I received a lot of flak from Tamil viewers when we released the promos on YouTube, and that did hurt in the beginning. The film is a namesake of its original. We have adapted a lot and tried to make it the best experience using the best of technology and actors. I had watched the Tamil film as an audience and found it very entertaining, but when I saw the film as a director, I realised that I could change a lot of things, and I am grateful to UTV and Bejoy Nambiar, who gave me a free hand to change what I wanted in the film. So, it was like making a completely new project. Since, there are pre-conceived notions of making a remake, the way the director adapts the film and convinces his producers is important.
It has been a learning experience for me and I feel that there are a lot of things that I wouldn’t repeat in my next movie. For instance, there were a few scenes that I felt were mediocre and in future, I will make sure that I do not venture into that mediocre space.

Did you feel that making a horror film would automatically cut out the family audience especially since it was your debut film?

I did not make a choice, the opportunity came to me and I took it up. Earlier, I had assisted Bejoy on a TV show and later was the first assistant director on David. When Bejoy offered me this film, I jumped at it, because for me making the film was more important than the genre that it belonged to. Besides, it is not a complete horror film, there is a romantic angle thrown in along with providing a thrilling experience, so it is a mix of different genres.

What were the challenges that you faced while making the film?

This being my first Hindi film was the biggest challenge. It was not a big film, but one that was made on a compact budget and our only concern was to make it into a successful venture. We had to make a lot of compromises, because when you are making a film, you have a vision that also needs to translate into commercial success. Shooting in 3 D was again a big challenge. People think that this technology is a gimmick, but once you start filming it, after the initial hiccups, you start enjoying the experience and realise that it is more fun shooting in 3D. This is the only film in India that has been completely shot using this technology and made in 40 days. Otherwise, it takes 80 days to shoot such a film, so we had to be very sharp, as there was no scope for experimentation while shooting.
Skyworks Studio in Mumbai had provided the technical expertise. Besides, the equipment that we used to shoot the film was the same that has been used in big Hollywood films like Transformers.

What will your next project be?

I am working on a couple of scripts, but my sensibilities are definitely not regional. I am not sure whether my next would be a mainstream film.

farida.khanzada@expressindia.com