The big idea/Boney Kapoor

He's busy as hell, overseeing the publicity design for his new film, Pukar. But Boney Kapoor, whose latest production arrives in early Feb...

He8217;s busy as hell, overseeing the publicity design for his new film, Pukar. But Boney Kapoor, whose latest production arrives in early February, can speak about his job for hours. quot;Yes, the film has taken a little longer to make than is normal but most lavish films take over two years to make,quot; he says, justifying Pukar8217;s 34-month production time. quot;We8217;ve shot the film all over the world we8217;ve been to the US twice, we shot in Alaska, Mexico, Ooty, Hyderabad, Agra and even Kashmir.quot;

The film, the proud producer reveals, is a romance set against the defence background. Kapoor, who in the past has produced as many as eight films, describes himself as a quot;creative producerquot; who involves himself in almost every department of filmmaking. He insists he8217;s not one of those table producers who is responsible for merely doling out the money. quot;I8217;ve always shared a very comfortable working relationship with all my directors and actors. The film is always conceived by the director, but I8217;ve been the guardian ofthe project right from the beginning.quot;

Kapoor, whose resume also includes such colossal disasters as Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja and Prem admits he has made some mistakes in the past. quot;Roop Ki Rani8230; was the only film I wasn8217;t really 100 per cent satisfied with. I guess I just psyched myself into being satisfied with it. I guess I8217;d just packed it with too many highlights, so many that the film lost its soul.quot; Prem, meanwhile, despite its dismal box-office performance, remains a movie close to Kapoor8217;s heart.

Kapoor is of the opinion that aggressive promotion for a film is a necessary evil. quot;Hyping a film extensively helps the film get attention. Often it does raise expectations too.quot; Citing the examples of Mr India and Judaai, both of which he produced himself, Kapoor explains that quot;you have to be careful to promote your film in a way that helps it reach out to huge audiencesquot;.

Describing his job as, quot;sometimes gratifying, sometimes satisfying, often upsetting,quot; Kapoor says, quot;you have to take it allwith a pinch of saltquot;. He insists the job doesn8217;t tire him at all, quot;but often I am caught unaware by the surprises that it throws upquot;. Pukar, which the producer describes as a lavish film, features Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit and Namrata Shirodkar, and has been directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. quot;We8217;ve made sure that it8217;s a lavish film, but not ostentatious like Roop Ki Rani8230;.quot; Also on the floors, is the Satish Kaushik-directed Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai, a social subject starring Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai and Sonali Bendre.

Next up, Kapoor will begin work on a untitled film to be directed by Vinay Shukla featuring Jaya Bachchan, Aftab Shivdasani, Esha Deol and Sanjay Kapoor. Ask him how he manages to work on more than one film at a time, and pat comes the reply: quot;I8217;ve been doing it for so long now, it doesn8217;t seem like a bother at all.quot;

Also on the cards, he confesses, is a project to feature Amitabh Bachchan and Anil Kapoor, and8230; surprise, surprise8230; one featuring Sridevi. quot;We8217;ve come up with asubject, and she8217;s interested,quot; he says. quot;She8217;s the best,quot; he says, with finality in his voice.

8212; RAJEEV MASAND