Milap Zaveri on his muses, mentors, massy action entertainers and why he is done with sex comedies
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 23, 2019)

After the 2018-action thriller, Satyameva Jayate, with John Abraham and Manoj Bajpayee, the trio of Milap Zaveri, Nikkhil Advani and Bhushan Kumar are teaming up for Marjaavaan, featuring Sidharth Malhotra, Riteish Deshmukh, Rakul Preet Singh and Tara Sutaria. Director Milap Zaveri insists that his next is a commercial entertainer, and unlike his previous ventures, a love story with hummable music. Excerpts from an interview:

How different is Marjaavaan from Satyameva Jayate?
Well, it is a massy action film - angry, powerful and emotion - alalong the lines of those made by Mukul Anand, Subhash Ghai and Rajkumar Santoshi. While Satyameva Jayate was a bromance between John and Manoj, Marjaavaan is a love story with lots of action, dialoguebaazi and some beautiful tender moments. It also has a midget villain in Riteish’s character, who has a dark sense of humour.

What was the idea behind cutting the antagonist down to size, literally?
Years ago, Subhash Ghai started a film called Devaa with Amit ji (Amitabh Bachchan) as the hero, and Mr Lilliput as the villain. The project didn’t materialise but that detail stayed with me. The greatest antithesis is making a larger-than-life guy short in stature.

And what made you cast Riteish?
I made my debut as a director with Riteish in Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hain and I was the one who recommended his name to Mohit (Suri) as the bad guy in Ek Villain. He was known for his comic timing back then and I felt that this would make it a surprise casting. While writing Marjaavaan, I was clear I’d approach Riteish only if the character had something more to offer than what he’d already done in Ek Villain. Something he couldn’t refuse.

With Riteish and Sidharth on board, did the thought of spinning a sequel to Ek Villain which you had written, cross your mind?
That’s a Balaji franchise and I believe Mohit (Suri, director) is already developing a script for Ek Villain 2. Marjaavaan’s world is very different.

We haven’t seen Sidharth in a commercial space like this before…
Sid’s character is modelled on the lines of Amitabh Bachchan in Deewar, Sunny Deol in Jeet and Jackie Shroff in Hero. Raghu is a rugged, intense guy who walks around with a match-stick in his mouth and spouts some smart one-liners.

Very Vijay from Deewaar?
Raghu is like a homage to Amit ji’s Vijay in Deewar. Vijay played around with a rope, Raghu with a maachis, which is an indication of how volatile he is.

Sidharth’s last few films haven’t worked at the boxoffice. Does that add to the pressure?
Shahid’s (Kapoor) last few films hadn’t opened well and then Kabir Singh brought in record numbers. Likewise, for Sushant. Sonchiriya didn’t work, but Chhichhore is doing wonders. Everyone goes through a low phase and needs someone to believe in them. Sid has a strong voice and is a dramatic performer. The audience loved him in Ek Villain and I hope they will like him in my film, too.

Marjaavaan plays out against the backdrop of Ram and Raavan. Were you disappointed you couldn’t release it in the Dussehra week, as planned?
Not really, because we would have never been ready on time, given the special effects needed for Riteish’s character. Also, there’s no shame in admitting that Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff’s War is humongous. And since we are targeting the same audience, business would have been badly divided. Any good story is timeless. We have a solo release now on November 8 with a couple of partial holidays in the week. What else could be better?

Tell us something about your partnership with John Abraham and Nikkhil Advani?
John is my Hulk, my superhero. He picked me up from oblivion and gave me a chance to stage a comeback while Nikkhil is my mentor. My kind of cinema is very different from his, but he has the vision to support me. It was Nikkhil’s sister Monisha who bought the script of Marjaavaan from me even before I had written Satyameva Jayate. She was the backbone of Satyameva Jayate too. I’m equally grateful to Bhushan sir (producer Bhushan Kumar) and Madhu (producer Madhu Bhojwani).

You team up with John again for the Satyameva Jayate sequel. With so many cop films and action entertainers up for release next year, what sets your film apart?
John wasn’t a cop but a vigilante in Satyameva Jayate and the anger against corruption in the police force connected with people. Part 2 is not a continuation of the original, but a new story with a larger issue and more action. We start shooting by the year-end or early next year.

And Divya Khosla Kumar returns as the female lead…
When I was writing the script, I heard that Divya ma’am was interested in acting again and since I felt the role suited her perfectly, we approached Bhushan sir and her.

You have directed and written several sex comedies. Is the genre dead?
An adult comedy, Veere Di Wedding, did well, so there’s hope yet. I admit we overkilled the genre with Mastizaade, Kya Kool Hai Hum 3 and Great Grand Masti, all coming in the same year. But I’m sure, if Indu ji (Director, Indra Kumar) makes Masti 4, there will be takers for it. Success depends on the trailer and marketing. How exciting the film looks…

Would you revisit the genre?
No, never, I’ve reached saturation point. And while the genre may get you box-office numbers, it doesn’t earn you any respect.