‘Today,you don’t need to doll up a movie. Just make it dhinchak’

This has been a good year. First,Do Dooni Chaar and then the acclaim for Band Baaja Baaraat.

It’s been an eventful year but it wasn’t planned like this. I finished Do Dooni Chaar in 2009 but,as we know,small-budget films are tougher babies to bring to the world. When I was busy with its post-production,Band Baaja Baaraat came my way. Director Maneesh Sharma had this idea about two Delhi-based wedding planners and it hooked me instantly.

Like Band Baaja,Do Dooni Chaar got critics talking. But one expected it to make a bigger box-office impact. Do you agree?

The younger audience connected to Band Baaja Baaraat because of the love story. Once the positive reviews trickled in and word-of-mouth publicity began picking up,the YRF machinery kicked in and backed the film. In the case of Do Dooni Chaar too,the word-of-mouth appreciation was very good but no one capitalised on it. One has to understand that after a point,films become products and then it’s up to the manufacturer.

What do you enjoy more: writing or directing?

I find writing to be at once therapeutic and schizophrenic. When you are writing,you start talking like your characters and have mood swings like nobody’s business. Writing is like extended PMS. But it is easier than direction because you’re creating it,and it is perfect — the lighting,the camera angles,the performances. They hustle and flow. Not that it is a mystical art form. It is as tangible as making a chair. There is a design,there are bits and pieces of wood and you have your aesthetics to back you. Film,on the other hand,is a director’s medium. The writer might have a vision but it can only be brought out through the interaction of the characters,which is controlled by the director. Personally,I see myself as a crew member. When I’m directing,I need to put down everything on paper. If I’m writing for someone else,I hope that the director,the producer and I become one voice. Films go wrong when there is dissonance.

Both Do Dooni Chaar and Band Baaja Baaraat treat Delhi as a character. Can you explain the Delhi factor?

Honestly,I didn’t see Band Baaja Baaraat as a love story. I saw it as an extension of Do Dooni Chaar — what if Santosh and Kusum Duggal (Rishi and Neetu Kapoor in the film)’s daughter Payal fell in love. As a character,Payal is aspirational and so is Shruti of Band Baaja. It’s just that Payal is more angsty than Shruti. Both the films have a similar idiom and language. I’ve grown up in Delhi. I only moved to Mumbai eight years ago. The city where you spend your early years tends to form you as a person. That said,I’m neither a xenophobe nor a separatist. I look forward to exploring Mumbai in a film soon.

As a writer,what inspires you most about Delhi? How do you interpret its energy?

If I were to use one word to describe Delhi,it would be fursat. People have a lot of fursat in Delhi,which is good as it allows you to assimilate and learn. The flip side is that you tend to poke your nose in everybody’s business. In Mumbai,a person is programmed to go from the place he lives to the place he works. I think of Mumbai in terms of places while Delhi is all about fursat.

You and Maneesh Sharma are being talked of as the second Jaideep Sahni-Shimit Amin team in YRF.

I don’t know how to respond. Jaideep and I have our own space. I don’t want to be a part of comparisons. That’ll be an insult to both of us. As far as teaming up with Maneesh is considered,if time permits,I’d like to write for him again. In spite of the 14-year age difference between us,we are more or less on the same page.

This year,all the films that clicked had an Indian feel. They were our stories,be it Ishqiya,Peepli Live,Udaan,Love Sex Aur Dhoka and even Band Baaja Baaraat. What do you make of it?

Well,look at TV. Earlier,women were shown sleeping in their brocade saris but now serials are being set in a rural or middle-class space. I think this is a reflection of Post-Manmohanomics India. There is a sense of confidence in people. The cynicism has gone down and so we are more willing to see real images. We are more willing to look at the ‘many Indias’ that exist and are comfortable enough to say that we are this also. Today,we are willing to see the love story of a Miss Janakpuri and a boy from Saharanpur as long as we throw in Ainvai Ainvai in the mix. Today’s Indians know that a beautiful romance is possible in the backyard. It doesn’t need to be all Barbie dolled up but it needs to be dhinchak.

New directors are pushing the boundaries with fresher stories but Dabangg proves that the formula still works. What is your opinion?

You know,I don’t think Dabangg is only formula. Sure,it is around a star image but what’s the harm in it? I’m sure if someone had thought of Band Baaja Baaraat when Shah Rukh Khan was younger,he would have loved to do it. About Dabangg,I think,a lot of injustice has been done to its director Abhinav Kashyap. There is no denying that the film became what it has because of Salman Khan’s presence but hats off to the guy who thought of casting Salman with all his metro urban style and turn him into Chulbul Pandey.

It’s so much fun.

So are you saying that the formula will always work?

I’m saying that today’s formula is to burst the clutter anyhow. Dabangg tweaked the formula and worked. The danger of repeating the formula is the danger everyone is avoiding right now. The bottom line is that people want to be entertained. As long as there is no compromise on values,as long as the film is accessible to people and you don’t use pornography to sell a film,it’ll do well.

Is there anything that the audience is not ready for?

One can only make a film and test it. Look at Love Sex Aur Dhoka. It was an experimental film but the marketing was so bang-on that it clicked. One can only know this if one keeps experimenting.

Is there any writing stereotype that you want to change?

I’ve started the process with dialogues. As a viewer,I always felt that our dialogues come out of a bank. There seems to exist a readymade phrase for every situation. I try and break out of that. Our women characters can also be made more intelligent. In Dabangg,I liked the way Sonakshi’s character was developed by little touches though it was largely a Chulbul-driven film. I think our storytelling can be made more interesting if every character is given a point of view. When I started writing,I was told,‘Yeh scene toh filler hai.’ In my opinion,no scene in a film should be considered so. Every minute of screen-time is precious and should be paisa vasool.

Name some of your favourite screenplays.

Mughal-e-Azam,Padosan,Teesri Manzil,Teesri Kasam,Rang De Basanti and Lage Raho Munnabhai.