Celebrating success

Yes,I was absolutely overawed by the amazing response. No one in the team anticipated that the film would do so well.

What do you think clicked with the audience?

Unfortunately,everyone is talking about the bad words,which are used casually by the youth today. But the film goes beyond bad words. After a long time,there was a film which was off-the-beaten track and ahead of its time,and the youth loved that.

What if the censors would have told you to make some cuts?

I am glad that they havent. I guess thats because we have not sensationalised a single dialogue or scene including the bad words or the sex scenes. Also,everything was treated in a light-hearted manner. I am sure if they did make cuts,it would have altered the film,and I would not have been too happy about it.

Do you abuse and use cuss-words in real life?

(Laughs) No,I dont abuse in real life! Of course there is the occasional use of slang and mild abuses when Im with my friends.

How did you make your actors feel comfortable,especially while shooting Kunal Roy Kapoors introductory scene where his butt is exposed and Imran Khans intimate scene with Shenaz Tresurywala?

I think that is what a director has to do,make everyone on the set comfortable and enable them to understand that whatever they are doing is for a role. On the sets of Delhi Belly,we were all like buddies so it was easy to achieve what I wanted. Kunal is also a director so he knows how things function. I had to cajole Imran at times,but at the end of the day he is a very mature actor.

What is your answer to cynics who panned the film?

I believe that any change invites extreme reaction and this was a big change for Bollywood. We have our share of critics but what satisfies me is that it has worked for the majority. The cynics were in a minority.

Looking back what do you think went wrong with Game?

We put in a lot of hard work in the film,but yes,something definitely went wrong. Various elements go into making a film a success or a failure. I am still in the process of finding out what went wrong,which is a challenge for me.

Is Delhi Belly 2 your next film?

No,that is all speculation. The writer Akshat Varma took six years to write this,I dont know what will be the fate of the sequel! Now we also have to live up to the audiences high expectations.

Did it hurt that Kiran Rao was named as the director of the sequel?

Since I knew it was not a true statement,I did not bother about it.

So whats next?

I am working on four to five scripts,which include a crime thriller,an out-and out-love story,a comedy and a childrens film. I really cant say which will be made first. But I like to tell stories that are slightly different so whatever I make will be off-the-beaten track.

geety.sahgalexpressindia.com