The title of the film is pretty intriguing?
The title is nothing but a gimmick, a prop, a nonsensical phrase like Ina mina dika. It is just a chant used by the characters in the film to pep up their morale.
Nevertheless, the title does give the impression that the film is based on some antique folk-tale?
Well, the story of the film is partially inspired by the legend of Bakasura which occurred in the Mahabharata.
But the promos paint the picture that the film is inspired by Gulliver’s Travels?
We have borrowed the basic premise of Gulliver’s tale. Javed Jaffri plays a man set adrift in the sea, who gets shipwrecked on an island populated by dwarfs. How he becomes their saviour by defeating an evil sorcerer, forms the crux of the story.
What is the USP of J2M2?
The USP of the film is the never-before-seen special effects. Incidentally, the world record for SFX in a feature film is 68 minutes and by putting in 63 minutes of the same, we run a close second.
Wouldn’t placing the film in the past suited better to its subject?
I had originally thought of placing the film in some obscure period, but upon reflection, decided against it. It occurred to me that it would be a novel thing to create an urban scenario where a magic place like the island to which fate brought our hero, still exists. Today, we have lost fate in miracles, in myths, in legends. Even the children have become too grown-up. Through my film I have tried to appeal to the child hidden inside every person. And if reactions of the test-audiences are any indication, it seems that I have succeeded.
What made you cast Javed Jaffri in the lead role?
Javed has a great sense of timing. He has a colourful, comic personality. I wanted my lead actor to be lively and he just fitted the bill. Earlier, with a period scenario in mind, I wanted a swarthy, muscular hero, someone like Suniel Shetty, but with the change in the story, the requirement also changed.
What is your target audience?
I have made the film basically for India though we plan to market it heavily overseas as there is more scope for fantasy there.
Aren’t you taking a risk by launching your career with a fantasy film?
I’m glad that I got this opportunity. Thanks to J2M2, I’m getting the kind of international exposure that would have been undreamt-of if I had made a conventional film.
What’s next in the pipeline?
I have got one or two interesting scripts lined-up. Let’s see what happens.