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Journalism of Courage
Once you make a film and put it out,it has a life of its own. Thats Zoya Akhtar for you,presently basking in the success of her second film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. The movie may not have generated the rave reviews her first outing Luck By Chance did,but it certainly has catapulted her to the bracket of talented and market-friendly which by all standards is an enviable tag to wear.
The film toplining Hrithik Roshan,Abhay Deol,Farhan Akhtar,Katrina Kaif and Kalki Koechlin also has significant bearing for its leading actors. The film has handed the three male stars a much-needed hit considering Aisha Abhay,Karthik Calling Karthik Farhan and Guzaarish Hrithik had not worked at the box-office. Simultaneously,it has notched up the hit score for its female stars Katrina Raajneeti and Kalki Shaitan. According to her,the best compliment she received was people promising her that they will watch the film again and again.
The response has been overwhelming. My inbox is flooded with messages and so is my Facebook page. It is very exciting.
At present she is living the moment before she takes off on a Spanish sojourn to show the movie to her crew 70 per cent of them were from Spain and then to Mallorca island. But not before answering a few pertinent questions.
Did the comparison with Dil Chahta Hai bother you?
I would be worried about what I am making. I hope people think of it as a story well told. Its better that people have good expectations than no expectations after watching your first film. I hope each movie is not like my last.
>Considering the number of movies made for the youth how challenging was ZNMD?
You cant say there are so many movies about friends,so whats different? Do you ask that to someone who makes love stories?
One would,because its only those that reinvent the wheel that stand out in memory. So as youth films go,how different is ZNMD?
Obviously,I will make a movie that has not been made before. As you know its a road trip set in Spain with a very eclectic cast. It has Reema Kagti and me writing the script and from both our first films it must be pretty evident that we are both not of the norm at some levels.
As teams go,what are the standard expectations of an Excel Entertainment film helmed by you?
I think people expect a new storyline,people expect it to be well-mountedlike have great production values. In short,slick goodlooking films that slightly push the envelope.
How easy or difficult is it to have a constant writing partner Reema?
Reema is my best friend.We met when we were both assistant directors and have been writing together ever since.We have both cowritten this film and the one shes making with Aamir Khan.We fight a lot but we jell well and since both of us are directing films,we have to plan ahead. I dont think I can work as easily with anyone else as I can with her. We have very different strengths but very similar sensibilities. We complement each other.
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
She is very good with screenplay and shes a very good editorshe gets to the bone of a story. Not that I dont,but my strengths lie in character development,dialogues and drama particularly emotional scenes.
And in which language do you choose to write?
I write in English because I am comfortable with it but I dont have a problem with someone else writing my dialogues in Hindi. My father wrote it in Luck By Chance. I am very comfortable watching Hindi films but I dont express well in Hindi so I wouldnt want to damage my own film by writing in Hindi laughs.
And what of the other creative partnership with Farhan?
Farhan and I have a great partnership.We have worked together for years in different capacities and it is wonderful. I find him honest and stimulating. Hes my touchstone somebody with whom I bounce off all creative ideas.
As a director,what would you say are Farhans strengths as an actor?
He does not have an agenda that he has to be the number one star. He doesnt come from that school. He comes from a very deep understanding of characterisation. Hes been an actor through school and it is something he wants to do. He is physically very mobile and a good dancer who is comfortable in his skin. He is also somebody who is flamboyant. He has no inhibitions. And then
theres a sensitivity to people and to life that makes him a very good dramatic actor.
What are the things that you like or dislike about each others creative functioning?
I like his writing. He likes my characters,the fact that they are not one-dimensional or caricaturish. He always comments on that. He doesnt like the fact that I take a long time over editing. If I was given three years to edit a film,I would keep editing it. I can just keep tweaking it and he goes crazy with it.
Speaking of which,there were reports of two editors having bowed out?
One of the editors had a slipped disc so he couldnt possibly continue and when you are the director there is no question of disagreement someone either understands your sensibility or does not. There is room for only one director. You either get the directors vision or not.
Were you following a trend in making your actors sing?
Theres only one song in the film where they have to lip- sync and half of it is Spanish,so I thought it would be attractive if they were singing.You have been with these characters throughout the film and you would buy it more if they sang it themselves. I thought it would be charming.
How was it to bring together actors that belong to very diverse schools of cinema?
It is certainly very interesting. They are all good actors and bring something to the table. Their collective energy and how they feed off each other is important. They all look like they belong in the same world. It wouldnt work if they didnt. And because they come from different schools its so fresh. It has brought in a new energy,so I think it completely works.
Tell us something about your creative rapport with Hrithik.
I like working with Hrithik because hes a very giving actor to his co-actors. He really understands what he wants. You can tweak him to a degree and he will get it bang-on. He loves his crafthe wants to take the best shot.
A film about bachelors road trip by a female directorso is the story being told from a male or a female perspective?
I dont have an option about the female point of view because its the only view I have! But I dont approach it like that. I dont care a st what the male or female point of view is this is my film so it has to be my point of view. Even if I was making a film full of women it would be my point of view and not necessarily every womans.
Considering your family is full of film writers,filmmakers and actors,whose influence is the most profound?
I am a mash-up of everything. My mom and I are huge movie buffs. I have the influence of literature from my fatherI have read a lot of books. I have heard many stories from him that have influenced my writing.
The kind of worlds and characters I am interested in comes more from literature than Indian cinema for sure,because we have very uni-dimensional characters. My mother and I watched a lot of world cinema and that makes a huge difference. It really opens your head up. Thanks to her,I have had a steady diet of Bollywood films all my life as well as American blockbusters so its a mix of everything.
Who are the filmmakers you admire?
There are directors like Martin Scorcese,Ang Lee or Christopher Nolan,David Fincher or the Cohen brothers whose movies I like watching. But generally I will watch anything that is good.
Any Hindi films that you enjoyed recently?
I really liked Dhobi Ghat. I thought it was special. It spoke in a very beautiful manner about things we dont address,like the class system that exists in our society. It really moved me a lot. I havent seen any big movies because I was busy with my film.
Speaking of class system,do you think it is addressed enough in our movies?
Its so there and we so ignore it. In Barah Anna also they addressed something that people just ignore the issue of domestic help. I dont believe that people still use the word servant! Its not nice! I find it shocking. That word went out with the British. But class system does exist in India and we may be a part of it but its still disturbing.
Does Bollywood have a class system the insiders versus outsiders debate?
Bollywood is good like that. Nobody cares about caste or class. They dont give a st. Shah Rukh Khan is not an industry kid. You dont become successful because you are an industry kid. You might get a shot at it but you wont succeed. At the end of the day,the audience is a great leveller.
Its very democratic. Do strictures like not showing smoking scenes in films pose a problem?
Absolutely. If you can sell cigarettes then why cant you show them in films? If you feel parents need to be warned that a film shows smoking,then make it U/A. If its not illegal for me to smoke then why is it so to show it on screen? But its not a censorhip problem. Censors follow guidelines they are just the shoulder from which the gun is fired.
And what would you say of the constant circus of protests and bans against films for using a word or a particular scene?
Films are soft targets because they get written about. The media should not give such parties any press. Just refer to them as idiots. People do it because they want publicity.
How would you describe the present scenario in Hindi films?
The audience taste is changing and that is very exciting. People are now open to seeing different kinds of cinema. There is more opportunity for smaller films without big stars and I feel that is very exciting. I also feel that a palette is developing,which is a good thing.
As a creative talent would you be able to customise your script according to data available such as the age-group of the target audience,their preferred genre etc?
I cant make a movie like that. If they call me and say,we want to make a film for people above 50 and we will get you so and so,what does that mean? As a writer-director,it takes a minimum of two years from the time you write a film till its green-lit. I need to be excited.
It has to be something that comes organically and then you say,Okay this sounds exciting,so lets see how we can make this commercially viable. And because it requires X amount of money,lets see how we can get these people. I cant work the other way around.
Different cities are now finding their way in our movies as characters or prime movers in terms of storytelling as much as Mumbai and Delhi. Comment.
There are diverse filmmakers so there will be diverse stories,various settings,milieus and different economic scenarios and its fantastic. As opposed to the whole NRI trend now suddenly everyone wants to make movies about the hinterland!
How does it feel to be a part of a generation of directors that is unencumbered by the formula?
I dont think I was ever shackled. And the formula will always be there but the minute the formula gets copied,it dies and something new comes and blows your mind. Its cyclical but you have to do what excites you otherwise there is no point in making films.
Surely you would agree that Salim-Javed created a formidable formula that was a major influence on Hindi films?
They didnt work to create a formula and thats what worked. They wrote heavy larger-than-life dramas but were very contemporary as writers. They were clued in with the social and political climate and the fabric of that era and the angry young man represented the common man in that era,which is why it kicked so big. They were really talented. They had a flair for dialogues,script and humour but more than that they were very rooted and both of them were politically aware people. They werent airy-fairy but at the same time they had larger-than-life heroes. It was a killer combination.
But Javedsaab always mentions that he does not have a free hand when writing for his children8230;
LaughsYes,in Luck By Chance I rejected the dialogue style. But there will be times when I will need dialogue and not conversation,and hes very good with thatcreating lines that can be repeated. Sholay,even after 25 years,remains a part of our culture.
Everybody knows dialogues from Deewaar.
Thats another art.
