The actor on his debut production, fallouts and plagiarism charges
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 21, 2017)

Your first production, Captain Nawab, is reportedly based on a real army captain. When biopics are upsetting families and fringe groups, aren’t you worried about the journey ahead?
It’s not really a biopic but inspired by a true event with excerpts taken from this person’s experience in Pakistan. It’s the story of a new army recruit who crossed the border. He was in Pakistan for a considerable time and it’s about how he’s stuck between both countries with them questioning him. We aren’t saying it’s a particular person’s life, there’s a book which is a source of inspiration. But a lot from it has been edited and some bits added to the script.

We have Kamaal R Khan on tape saying he’s a consultant on the project and advisor on the script...
That’s not true. He’s in no way associated with the film, either creatively or financially. The best source of advice would be the army as we’re trying to be as true to the book as possible with respect to the captain’s life and how the army functions. Once the script is done, preliminary training will begin.

Given that you refer to KRK as Kamaal bhai on Twitter and he refers to your co-producer and director Tony D’souza as a friend, what is the equation with him?
I don’t know the dynamics of Tony’s equation with him, they must be friends, but I’m the producer and I know the inner workings of the film. No advice has been taken from him, he is not part of Captain Nawab.

We were told Tony and you are the producers but KRK claimed Zee is also onboard. Any other producers?
(Testily) I can message you or Tony can give you details about who all are involved and in what capacity.

The film’s first poster was strikingly similar to the Call On Duty: Black Ops video game’s; you came in for some criticism. How did you get caught in a plagiarism charge?
I reacted on Twitter after the poster was out. I don’t think there is a copyright on a picture of someone sitting with two guns in their hand. We didn’t take the trolling seriously but did say that the similarity starts and ends there. They failed to notice the concept of India on one side and Pakistan on the other and criticised us for only one aspect. We moved on. That wasn’t the main poster anyway, it was just an announcement. The new artwork will be different.


Your leading ladies of late have mostly been newcomers. Will Captain Nawab have an A-lister?
The script will be ready in the next couple of weeks after which we’ll get into casting. Whether it’s a newcomer or an established actress depends on the script, what the director and the writer feel.

You’d said you wouldn’t go beyond part three of a franchise, then went on to do Raaz Reboot (right). Will we see you in the next instalment of Raaz too?
I don’t see myself doing another Raaz.

There were rumours of a fallout with Vikram Bhatt just before the release of Raaz Reboot.
There is no fallout with Vikram.

So will Vikram and you collaborate on Murder 4 as you’d announced to Mirror earlier?
No more Raaz and Murders. For me Murder concluded with Part 2 long ago. I was not part of Murder 3. Even with Raaz it concluded with Raaz Reboot.

Buzz is, there’s been a fallout with Mukesh and Mahesh Bhatt too over remuneration.
This question always pops up when they announce a film we’re not doing together. There’s no fallout. A story idea could bring us together but there is nothing at the moment.

Your international debut, Tigers, didn’t get you the desired exposure in the West and is finally releasing in Japan. When will it come to India?
The film is a gem, relevant to our times and Danis Tanovic is a fab director. I’m happy it’s releasing in a couple of international territories. Only the producer can tell you why the release has taken so long and when it’ll come to India. We’ve gone to four festivals, I’m happy it’s being noticed.

Your book, The Kiss Of Life—How A Superhero & My Son Defeated Cancer, is a bestseller. Will their be a next one?
That was a personal journey which impacted me four years ago which is why I wrote it. I’m not ruling out the option of another. Maybe in a couple of years if there’s something I want to pen down...