Your second film up for release, what is your pre-release mood like?
The mood is upbeat and very positive. This is time of meeting up with old friends associates as several trials of Jab We Met are happening. What’s most elating is that everybody’s lovin’ it.
Your debut venture Socha Na Tha wasn’t a B O hit, so how did you manage to rope in Shahid and Kareena and the producers - Ashtvinayak?
There is no magic wand that has done the trick. There is only one thing that works - the script. Everybody is interested in working with a good script and a good project. Moreover, I don’t settle for a mere yes from my actors - I want them totally motivated - Shahid and Kareena came into the film completely excited.
From where have you drawn the inspiration for your great script?
I am a small town chap from Jamshedpur and I have travelled by trains all along. I have encountered many beautiful girls, people, ticket checker, station master, hawkers and the coolies. I found the millieu and the prospect of meeting someone on the train interesting.
Jab We Met is an advertisement for the great Indian Railways.
Hope you have informed Railway Minister Laalu Prasad Yadav about it?
I want to tell him that. I am from Jharkhand so he’s also my neighbour you know. I want him and all the Railway officials to watch it and enjoy it.
You managed to wrap the film in three months and your unit was practically a travelling caravan, wasn’t it?
It was a magical roller coaster ride - the dates, locations, creatives and advertising - everything fell right in place. We shot in Punjab, Kullu Manali, Shimla, Lonavala and Khandala. There were no sets, JWM has been shot entirely on location. It was like a circus carnival travelling, performing and moving out. It brought us all very close.
But not the same can be said of your lead pair. Your film could well be called Jab They Split!
(Sighs) When we shot the film, they were the most well-adjusted couple. They still like each other. But then this is life - some relationships end and new ones begin. I wasn’t there when it happened. Shahid was shooting in Canada. But I was surprised.
And no, it is not a publicity stunt, neither of them would stoop so low. And even if they did, why would the third actor involved agree to it all?
What’s been your working experience with the brat queen and the chocolate boy?
Kareena is a totally unpremediated actor, even she doesn’t know what she’s going to bring into the frame next. She’s simply dazzling. She’s agreed to go with minimal or no make-up through out the film. Shahid is the reverse of Kareena, he’s a complete thinking actor. His desire for knowledge is endless and the more he knows, the better he performs. Both Shahid and Kareena are very humble, far more humble that people know.
Mauja hi mauja and Nagada, nagada the rustic robustness of Pritam’s scores is working well. What has been your contribution to the music?
Pritam, lyricist Irshad Kamil and I have worked in close association for the music. Pritam asked us for a Punjabi hook for the song of celebration, mauja hi mauja we said and that was that. That one is a jhootha Punjabi song in its techno avtaar while Nagada, nagada is a sachcha Punjabi, authentically ethnic number.
How has your seven years in television come handy in cinema?
I was a total misfit in the television industry. I couldn’t rely on loud music, jerky camera angles and painted faces to tell a story. I needed a dark silent room. I really wasn’t good enough for TV. I am glad I shifted to cinema when I did. I would have been kicked out otherwise.
More romances for you?
I have no agenda that I will only make romantic capers. Even in my next script too there is a hint of a man-woman relationship.