While the upcoming movie 'Talaash' starring Aamir Khan, Rani Mukerji and Kareena Kapoor is all set to release soon, director Reema Kagti shared her views and experiences working with the film's cast in an interview.
Here's what the director had to say:
From a light-hearted low budget film to a suspense-drama starring Aamir Khan ? How did the leap happen? Where did you get the idea from?
Well, it wasn’t certainly the case that I was trying to jump or something. Earlier the story moved me and it is something that I actually fell in love with. And Zoya and I, kind of wrote the screen play being true to the story. And this suspense drama luckily struck Aamir’s fancy and this is how it all was.
Was Aamir Khan your first choice or did you have other actors in mind too?
When Zoya and I were writing the script, we were actually thinking of Aamir. Because I distinctively remember we had put in some swimming and I distinctively remember telling Zoya, I know Aamir doesn’t swim, so what are we doing here and Zoya used to say we have to write the story first, stop thinking of all this now. (Laughs)
Also when we had finished the screenplay, Aamir was kind of busy, he said he won’t see any script for a year or so and not planning to work on another film so soon, so we did take the script to couple of other actors. I also know there was a news spreading around that this one was supposed to do the film and that one was supposed to do it but in reality no one was supposed to do, we did approach a couple of people but it didn’t go anywhere. And by that time Aamir had finished shooting and was looking at scripts, so that was the time we went back to him and showed it to him.
Do you think having a superstar like Aamir in the film assures you of a hit before the release?
Yes, definitely. If you have a bankable actor and you make the film within a budget then you know you’re looking at a bright situation pre- release. So I think yes, it does matter.
Honeymoon Travels Private Limited mostly had debutants and constructing the fact that Aamir Khan is a perfectionist and all the controversies happened in the past, how was the experience with him?
No, definitely I didn’t find him very rigid. In fact I also found him very chilled out and cool. I have seen him on Lagaan and Dil Chahta hai sets, so I know how he is on sets, but I really wasn’t frightened, even during the prep time, there was nothing that I should be worried. He was always very supportive, very co- operative. I think he really took the trouble to understand my vision and supported me with it. Frankly all three of my producers did. (Smiles)
At the risk of being judgmental, Talaash doesn’t look like a film that would have taken 3-4 years of research or any such thing, but there has been a considerable gap from the first film to your second film, so why did u think of keeping it low…?
Certainly, it’s not the case that I had spent all these years researching Talaash as you’re saying (laughs). Umm, I don’t know what to put it down to, frankly of the five years the first 3 years I was really working very hard writing scripts. I’ll just put it down to ‘bad luck’. And yes, it was after three years of forced sabbatical that Talaash finally took off. So it does take time sometimes and I don’t think its very unusal, it happens to a lot of people. But I think my problem is my ideas are a little bit alternative and you know we are in an era of Hindi Cinema and this industry is kind of conventional. So for someone like me, things may not go as quickly. For me, the importance is that the film should be worth watching and memorable; doesn’t matter if the ideas are conventional or not.
Okay then, can we put Talaash as a commercialized version of alternative cinema?
No, what I am saying is I have an alternative bent of mind. That doesn’t mean my cinemas are alternative. Talaash is a commercial film. It may not be an out an out entertainer but it’s a very commercial film and I think the unique thing about Talaash is that the darker emotions are not considered as the stuff of commercial Hindi cinema. And I think the challenge for Zoya and I as writers when we fell in love with the story was to kind of say that, ‘hey wait, that’s not true, you can have darker emotions and it can be as engaging and entertaining as anything else.’
You and Zoya seem inseparable. What do you have to say about it?
Well, we are not stuck at the hip all the time (laughs). But yes we are best friends and we do enjoy writing together. So I guess when somebody is your best friend and you have a professional relationship with them, you end up spending a lot of time with each other.
Like you said, the Hindi film industry is conventional in a lot of ways, here we can even talk of women directors and that they never get much attention. What is your take on this bifurcation?
I feel this term ‘woman director’ is totally like a reverse prejudice kind of thing. When you say woman, it’s something I have no control over. I have never had a sex change, I was born like this, there are places and parts of this country where I can think it’s very difficult to be a woman but thankfully for me I never saw that. Though I had a very simple middle class upbringing, there’s me and 2 sisters and our parents celebrated us as daughters. They had no problem; we were never told that we rather would have sons or anything of that sort.
They always taught us to be independent and productive people in society, cut to I have come to Bombay, started studying and working in the film industry. I know lots of things are said but I feel the film industry is actually a very progressive place. I think the conditions for woman to work are really good and that’s why there are people like me and several other directors who are woman. I wouldn’t call them ‘woman directors’ but yes directors who are women and who have come up. The tag of ‘woman directors’ I think is a bit regressive.
Most of Aamir’s last films had a universal appeal; targeting everyone in the society. Did you think you will have to balance it out a lot considering that Aamir is too much of a universal appeal?
No… how it worked was I wrote the script and I was fortunate enough that all the people who came on to the project came with their eyes wide open. I wasn’t trying to make a film subversively, everyone knew what I was doing and they really supported me. So I didn’t have a problem doing it.
Also, in the past Aamir has been into controversy especially when female directors are concerned, so were you skeptical about it or were you in two minds about this whole issue…?
Well again, Aamir has been into controversy with director’s full stop. (Furiously) I don’t think specifically with woman directors. In Peepli Live he was the producer, he was directed by Deepa Mehta and Kiran Rao before me, and these were directors who are women and who have directed him and he had no problem with them. I am just clarifying. (Takes a pause) I have been asked this question about all those controversies and media reports around, the thing is again I am not an Aamir Khan expert. I don’t know what happened before; I can only tell you what happened with me. And with me he was actually very cool, very supportive. I would have never been able to make this film the way I have without him being in it. So I can honestly only tell you that. What happened with other directors you can talk to them.
Which was the most difficult time during the entire process of Talaash?
Ummmm, I think editing was the most difficult part personally. It’s just a difficult film to edit. Also we had too much footage and once the film is done, we had to segregate the promotion part and all. Personally to me, it was difficult. (Giggles)
Talaash is coming out after a really long time, so when can we expect the next one from you…?
I am hoping to hell, that it doesn’t take another 5 years for my next to come out. (Hearty laugh) Zoya and I have already started writing, we are developing 2 scripts, one for her to direct, one for me. And hopefully we will have something in hand within a couple of months, so we will take it on the floor ASAP. Also, I have some actors in mind already for my next that I don’t want to reveal now.
When you have a super star on board, many-a- times there is over powering either on the script or the film, so in that matter did you see any risk during the making of Talaash?
No, In fact, Aamir has deep respect for me and my vision. I guess something like that can happen if you have difference in opinion. We never really had any difference. I told him very clearly what I wanted to do with the film and the script was already in place. He liked it and followed it too. And all his suggestions were around the vision that I had suggested. So in this case I had no such fear. I never thought ‘oh god, tomorrow morning I’ll wake up and the script will be out of my hands.’
But at times there are creative inputs from the actors too which sometimes creates differences, did that happen on the sets of Talaash?
Not at all! Look, I’ll tell you, not just as a director but also I have worked as an assistant director for 6-7 years now. The role of directing is giving your cast and crew a fair hearing. And an even better part of directing is adopting the good part of your actor’s side. Why wouldn’t you listen to people you have been hired to come and work with you. I don’t think taking inputs ever diminishes a director’s control, in fact that’s how film making works.
How did you rope in the leading ladies? Did you have them in mind too?
I took the script to them and they liked it. Yes, I already had them in mind. I always wanted Rani to play Roshni, who is a middle class house wife to the cop Aamir Khan and Kareena to play a street girl like a hooker, so I knew what I wanted.
Having a superstar on board, are you sure it will be huge at the box office?
I don’t believe in the 100cr- 200cr club, box office tells you how many people went and saw the movie; it certainly doesn’t tell you how many liked the movie. And for me it’s important that people like it. It’s not just a business for me, it’s a business linked to some kind of creativity, and for me it’s an art form.