DAVID DHAWAN

Everyone likes the chime of the cash registers

It’s a lazy evening at Otters Club, David Dhawan’s favourite haunt on a Sunday. Film firmament’s fastest and most successful director sits with his family, surrounded by umbrellas, watching people pass. Wife Laali reprimands him for not controlling his diet but David is past caring. He orders another grilled sandwich and a chilled Pepsi. As the prolific director distractedly munches chips from his plate, I shoot my first question

Do you believe that directors should be appearance conscious?
Today they are. Karan Johar is back in shape and dresses better than his designer, Manish Malhotra. But these are subjective matters. I’ve been overweight from as long as I can remember. Before I came into films, during my struggling days and now. My wife tries her best to control my calories and push me into a health club, but I don’t listen. Not because I don’t want to be slim, but there is no time.

How many hours in a day do you work?
I wish work were so systematic that I could keep account of time. Creative work cannot be compartmentalized. Ideas spring up any time, anywhere. My writers have the liberty to call me up whenever they desire. I phone them up whenever I want, late at night from India or abroad.

So what’s a day in your life like?
I wake up around 7.30 a.m., depending on my programme the previous day. In the summer, I wake up even earlier. By the time I relish my two cups of tea and read the newspapers, it’s around 9.30 a.m.. That’s the time the kids surface ready for school. Breakfast is usually with the family, precious time for me to participate in my children’s routine. Once they’re out, I’m on the phone. If I’m irritated, I don’t take any calls.

On days I’m shooting, I leave home early and revise my scenes in the car. I like being prepared so that I can give quality time to my actors. It’s important that my actors feel relaxed when shooting with me because I make fun films and if they are tense it shows on screen.

How difficult is it dividing attention when there is more than one star on the sets?
It’s not difficult for me because I don’t play favourites. A director is like the father figure in a family. He works towards collective welfare, not individual gains. It’s another matter that artistes tend to feel insecure and at times work themselves into a frenzy. But filmmakers as a rule, unless they have their own reasons, would never work one actor against another.

But you have had to face allegations of that sort during Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.
Yeah, everyone insinuated that because I had done a number of films with Govinda, I was going to be partial to him. I didn’t have to. The script was more than fair to both the actors. Besides, such petty thoughts only come from the media. From Amitabh Bachchan I sensed no feelings of persecution. I guess he is above all this.

What’s the experience like working with him a second time?
It is an honour for a filmmaker to have Bachchan in his film. As an actor he is 100 percent committed to his talent and to the project. His sincerity inspires a filmmaker to give his best.

Do you sense any difference in his behaviour from Bade Miyan Chote Miyan to now?
The difference is not in him, it’s in the people. During Bade Miyan ... because he was going through a rough patch, people viewed him differently. Today, in the wake of Kaun Banega Crorepati, the equations have altered, but the man has remained the same, both on and off screen. He is quite remarkable and there’s lots to learn from him.

What about you, how much have you changed over the years?
I’ve changed and this is reflected in my films. I started as an editor, turned filmmaker and today make films that I enjoy. I believe life is beautiful and should be enjoyed to the fullest. I love my work and therefore make films that give me joy. If critics don’t agree with the kind of films I make, it’s their problem not mine.

Critics have always been a sore point with you.
It’s not that simple. A filmmaker has to eventually communicate with his audience. The so-called critics are a small percentage of that audience and they cannot determine what is good or bad. My kind of films are big budget ones, and we’ve seen how everyone connected with big projects makes compromises. So if everyone is out to please the box-office, don’t single me out for lambasting. At least I’m not being pretentious. What irritates me is when journalists refer to my films as comedies. My films are wholesome entertainers. Basu Chatterjee’s small budget films were comedies.

You have three projects on the floors and one ready for release. It must be quite difficult?
It is very difficult and not a very happy situation to be in. The pressures are too many. It’s something I’ve been trying to resolve for quite some time but have not been able to. Every time I say “no more,” somebody dear to me coaxes me and I relent, but now I’m determined to take stock of the situation.

My children are growing up and need more time from me. I want to spend quality time with the family which I can only do if I do fewer films. Jodi No 1 is ready and Jeetendra’s film will take a few more months. I have long outdoor stints coming up for Ketan Desai’s film and the Sanjay Dutt-Amitabh starrer in a few months. By next year, I’m sure I’ll be ready for a new image.

What does that mean?
I have decided that next year onwards I’m going to do only two films a year. One will be the kind of film I would like to do which is breaking away from the star system. The second will be my regular brand of entertainment. That would keep both, my producers and me, happy.

And what are you doing to make this dream a reality?
I’ve stopped accepting new projects. I’m consciously working at re-inventing myself. I’m watching experimental plays, reading books and meeting new writers. Today, we have a dearth of original writers. I don’t know why, but nobody wants to look into their hearts while they write.

Everywhere, everybody is lifting ideas, copying from foreign films. On the sets and outside, everyone wants to discuss everything but work. If everyone concentrated on their job, the quality of films would improve.

You sound angry.
I’m impatient and I’m merely expressing what I feel. It’s time we get out of our little wells and look beyond. It’s time we stopped being so judgemental about each other. It’s easy to dismiss David Dhawan films as commercial grossers, but the fact is, everyone likes the chime of the cash registers ringing.

Bhawana Somaaya
bhawanasomaaya@express2.indexp.co.in