When he's not making movies, he's either a sous chef in a restaurant or jumping off airplanes and relishing his sky-diving lessons. So far, he has recorded 123 solo jumps which he is happy to flaunt. He likes the slow pace of work - an average of one film in three years. Apoorva Lakhia, who admittedly has a long-running affair with crime-action films, particularly those dealing with gangsters, is back after a four-year gap with another one in a space he's familiar with: Mumbai's underbelly. The only difference this time is that Haseena Parkar is not about a Bhai, it's about Aapa. We take you through the filmmaker's journey with 'Haseena' in his own words. Excerpts...

THE HASEENA I KNOW...
Haseena Parkar was one of the 12 children born to Ibrahim Kaskar, a constable in the police force. Her formative years were spent in a tiny quarter with 11 siblings. She was extremely close to Sabir and Dawood, and the only member of the Kaskar family who stayed back in Mumbai after her marriage and the bombings. There was no evidence of her involvement in the case. It's a tragic character - she lost her husband young, she lost her son and watched her brother Sabir perish in a gang war. She became a godmother to many and remained a gangster for some. With 88 cases against her, she has been to court just once. She was supposed to go to the court for anticipatory bail. To avoid being arrested, she came with four other women in burkhas and no one could figure which one of them was her. She played it really smart. When her husband was shot 17 times, she carried him on her shoulders and put him in a taxi, which proves that she was a strong-willed woman.

THE WAITING GAME...
Although I was offered to do Dawood's biopic, in the course of my research, I felt Haseena Parkar's story was far more interesting and hadn't been tapped. When I was shooting Zanjeer at Film City, I was expected to meet Haseena and her family at someone's place in Malad at 7 pm. I reached the venue at 9 pm. Kadir, who was always with her, told me, 'Aapko maalum hai aapne kisko intezar karwaya hai?' I went into the house. Haseena was in the next room but she also made us wait for two hours. Meantime, I dozed off on the couch in my shorts because I was drained after the shoot. In the meeting, she didn't talk much, people around her did. My writer Chintan Gandhi, she and I were the only people seated in the room while everyone else remained standing. She was hesitant when I told her that I wanted to make a movie about her life. But eventually, she agreed and also opened up with us in our subsequent meetings.

NOT HASEENA'S SHOWREEL
We had a clear understanding that we were not venturing out to make a resume or a show reel for her. Like every other film of mine, I knew even this one will be scrutinized. I had told her that after talking to her, I will be talking to several others and on the basis of what I lay my hands on, I will draft the narrative. We will put in everything that can be corroborated which her family and she agreed to. I met several cops, including Meera Borwankar, who was in charge of her interrogation. I realised the police department loves India and left to their devices, they would eradicate everything anti-national. They are not happy to hear Dawood's name and feel that he is India's no 1 enemy. It's such a dichotomy: she was Nagpada's godmother and a gangster in the eyes of the law. The judge, during her hearing had noted that it's difficult for anyone to say if she's a victim of circumstances or the smartest woman on earth. And whether her problems are because of her brother or was he shielding her. Nothing could be proven; she got an anticipatory bail.

ANGRY TO BE CALLED DAWOOD'S FRIEND
In the last four years, I was offered several gangster and action films. Maybe I attract them or I get attracted to this kind of films pretty easily. But it's amusing how people speak about it. I was shooting with Shraddha Kapoor and Ankur Bhatia in Pune where a cinema hall owner told his kid, 'Yeh Dawood ka best friend hai. Yeh ussi pe picture banata hai.' That line angered me, but I didn't lose my cool on it because I didn't want to lose focus of my shoot.

TOUGH START FOR HASEENA
The industry weighs you on your last Friday's outcome. Suddenly, after two flops, people look at you as the dark horse which they can't place their bets on. They conveniently forget that you have worked before this. Even relatively newer people question your ability to pull it off. This is a director's medium. A director may not be as big as the star but he will take the fall for the film. Although I was advised to change my path and explore other genres, I stuck to what I knew best. In these four years, my film was nearly written off a few times. I am not saying this is a great subject and I am making path-breaking cinema. This film was up my alley. The only thing I was unsure about was how I would work with an actress who had to play my hero.

NO REAL LOCATIONS
It's impossible to shoot at real locations in Mumbai. I couldn't even get an exterior shot of Nagpada because there are hoardings and tall buildings in the neighbourhood which didn't exist during those days. We shot exteriors in Pune because it has the old world charm of Nagpada.

NO FINANCE DESPITE BEING A WOMAN-CENTRIC FILM
No one backed my film financially for a very long time. It was very difficult to get a studio on board, because I was not making a Mary Kom. It wasn't a patriotic film where everyone could stand up and clap at the end of the film with our flag flying high. I was making a film about a woman in a grey area. I am criticized for making such films, but look at the subject matter I had. Here's a woman with 88 cases with not one proven by a massive judiciary. I just saw the material for what it is and presented both sides of the coin.

THE PARKARS HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILM
At the onset, I categorically told Haseena Parkar that I won't give her a narration. I had told her that she's known as a gangster and I won't mess with facts. Like her father was arrested for corruption charges which she didn't agree with, but there is an FIR to prove that. I told her I would include such facts in the film which can be substantiated. After the first draft, we went over to ask for the NOC, but she and her folks wanted a narration. I refused and left. Four days later, I met her alone. She again asked for the script. I showed her what I had in my hand and she signed the deal, maybe because she was morally bound by her word. To this day, I haven't shown the film to her family and neither were they allowed on my set every day.