This one will easily go down as one of my most interesting phone interviews ever. I am driving down the road amidst heavy traffic and it isn’t too comfortable for Abhay either. He too is on the road and searching for the nearest ATM. So while I brave the traffic, Abhay finally finds an ATM and withdraws the much needed cash. And between the transactions, we talk about Dev D!
Your stint with quirky movies continues with ‘Dev D’. Yet another conscious decision?
It’s not like I am consciously searching for quirky movies. Sometimes they come to me while number of times I pick up films that either have a unique story or unique storytelling. We know what was ‘Devdas’ like. So why not tell the story in a unique manner? This is where ‘Dev D’ comes into picture.
Looking at the kind of niche audience you are finding for yourself, there must have been quite a few tempting proposals?
Yes, there are instances when the films that come to me are nothing but only proposals. They say, we have so and so actors and we want you also in, so let’s have a combination of A, B and C. Script seems to be secondary. Sometimes offers are also around old Hollywood films but eventually they are just proposals at the end of the day. Not that everyone has wrong intentions though.
And what are these people like?
These are some people who have their heart in the right place but then I have also come across people who have very typical scripts. Some of these turn out to be really immature piece of work. There are also times when I can’t do a film for reason other than liking or not liking a script. When about 2-3 projects come together, it is just physically not possible to devote time. There are lot of good people out there who want to make movies but now thankfully I have come to the point when I can outright say no.
Isn’t it difficult?
It is, it does break my heart, but I still can’t do them all, can I? If I have to be in a project, I have to be completely in rather than just get into it. In any case, I have never wanted to be committed on films for more than a year at a time. I would rather wait to see my 1-2 films release, observe the market and then make my next move. I don’t want to be so busy throughout.
By Joginder Tuteja
