Your earlier ventures Chanakya and Pinjar delved into history and were serious subjects. What made you choose a humorous contemporary topic this time around?
I've always wanted to make a comedy. But the subjects that came my way were serious. Ram Kumar Singh, the writer of Zed Plus, wanted to publish it as a novel. But I told him that I want to make it into a film. Even in this satire, you'll come across the social history of our times. It shows the relationship of the common man with politics.

You seem passionate about history...
Bharat ke paas sabse bada itihaas hai, but sadly, there aren't many historicals being made. I'm glad that Ashutosh Gowariker and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next films are historicals.

What made you cast Adil Hussain as Aslam Puncturewala - a character completely contrasting to his personality?
Adil is an Englishman.When I met him, he was smoking a pipe. But I knew he'd be perfect for this role. Also, I wanted someone who could shoot for 60 days at a stretch and not be expensive. And we cast Mona Singh because we needed someone tall enough to match Adil's height. The film also has competent actors like Mukesh Tiwari and Sanjay Mishra.

Zed Plus, produced by Mukund Purohit and Mandira Kashyap, releases November 28.