Intensity unlimited

"Today, Hollywood films like Godzilla and Mission Impossible 2 are reaching out even to small, far-off corners of the country, and therefore it becomes essential that Indian movie-makers match up where gloss and style are concerned," he says. In keeping with that predicament, Chandra has ensured that Shikari is a slick and stylish offering.

Govinda, who plays his first negative role in this film, has supposedly delivered a fine performance. "Yes, we justify his negative behaviour," the director admits. "But that’s because he’s not the villain." Pointing to such previous films of his as Ankush, Pratighaat and Tezaab, Chandra says the lead actors of his films are often driven to the wrong side of life because of the dysfunctional system. "Today’s generation is truly the product of the system," he says as if to explain…

The reason he has considerably cut down on his work, Chandra says, is because "I’ve more or less worked on all important movie themes." The director says that his Ankush clearly inspired such other films as Satya and Vaastav. "Similarly, an intense love story as Tezaab was the starting point for so many other such films," he insists. Therefore, Chandra says, "instead of following a trend I myself started, I’d rather take my time and come up with something I’ve never attempted before."