Rajkumar Hirani’s directorial 3 Idiots turns 16 this Christmas, and the film is once again in news amid reports of a sequel featuring the original cast: Aamir Khan, R Madhavan, Sharman Joshi and Kareena Kapoor Khan.

Ask Sharman whether he has any inkling about the project, and the 46-year-old says, “On more than a couple of occasions earlier, there has been buzz that the 3 Idiots sequel is happening. I hope that this time around, it’s true, but I have not been informed yet.”

But does he think there is scope for continuation of the story of the three friends from the film? “I am in no position to know. Only the master, Raju (Rajkumar) sir, Abhijat (Joshi, writer) sir and Aamir would be working on it if there is potential,” he says.

A smile comes to Sharman’s face as he talks about 3 Idiots. The actor reveals that it was his 2001 breakthrough film Style that ultimately led him to Rajkumar’s film. “Raju sir had seen me in Style and thought that someday he’d cast me in some movie.”

One of the most talked-about scenes from 3 Idiots is the one where Sharman’s character attempts suicide.

Elaborating on the effect the scene had on the audience, Sharman shares, “People would call my parents asking if I was doing alright. Not just parents, but many kids, including my daughter, were moved by that scene as well. She was just four when we were at the premiere and she started crying while watching that scene. She didn’t stop until I held her in my lap.”

Vidhu Vinod Chopra watched the restored version of 1942: A Love Story with veteran screenwriter Kamna Chandra at IFFI, who has also written films like Chandni, and said, “Pehli baar 1942: A Love Story maine aisi dekhi hai jaisa maine socha tha. Uss waqt colour correction hota nahi tha.” 

A day later, during a session titled Unscripted - The Art and Emotion of Filmmaking, Vidhu Vinod Chopra spoke about his films, struggles and with his long time collaborator Abhijat Joshi.

When Abhijat Joshi asked him how his filmmaking style has changed over the last five decades, he said that 1942: A Love Story he can’t make the film now.

He said, “I saw it yesterday for the first time in 8K resolution in the theatre here. But that’s a movie I can’t make anymore. I made it then because I was in love with the woman I married, and that love shows in the movie. For an artist, the right thing is to represent what he’s going through in his work. So my films reflect what I see and feel (at that point) in life. Every film reflects who I am at that point. I was angry when I made Parinda. You can see that violence in the movie. Today I’m calmer.”

He added, “So that film was made at that time because that is who I was. And 12th Fail… when I see the level of corruption in our system, it was a reaction to that. Because, you know, I am personally sick and tired of the level of corruption. I’m sure everybody is trying to make sure that it calms down a bit. But 12th Fail was my attempt at saying, ‘Let’s be honest for a change’. I told Abhijat when I made the film - even if I can convert 1% population, 1% bureaucracy, 1% political system to work honestly instead of dishonestly, I would have succeeded. I react to times. An artist is not independent of the times he lives in. I’m a reflection of society. What I see, my cinema says that, and it says it in that particular style. You cannot impose the Parinda style on 12th Fail or 1942.”

When someone from the audience said she doesn’t understand when people ask her to think commercially about a story, he responded, “How to make the film commercially - even I don’t understand what that means. Meri jo dharmpatni hai, woh jaanti hai cinema ke baare mein. Unhone kaha - ‘Vinod, tu theatre mein mat laga 12th Fail. Teri aur Vikrant ki film dekhne koi nahi jayega.’ Saat mahine tak film theatre mein thi.”

Sharing an incident about how an OTT platform refused to buy 12th Fail, he said, “One of them said - ‘aise log toh ab hain hi nahi.’ Maine kaha - ‘ek toh tumhare saamne hai, main toh hoon.’”

Giving parting advice to the FTII students who were sharing their difficulties, he recited a line from a song in 1942, “Ye safar bahut hai kathin magar… na udaas ho mere humsafar.”

“When Parinda was to be released, all the distributors got together and brought 11 lakhs in cash. They said, ‘We will give you 11 lakhs,’ at a time when I didn’t have money to eat dinner. And they said, ‘Please don’t kill Anil and Madhuri; kill Jackie Shroff. And we will give you 11 lakhs.’ And I said, I can’t do that, because what I’m saying in the film is that violence begets violence. So I cannot change that.”

“There’s a shot - when Manisha is running - kyun naye lag rahe hain ye dharti gagan. When you see this shot, you will see that she is running on a mountaintop, and there are birds on top. Those birds are not digital. There were no birds on that mountain. And I wanted birds. I said, I want the sky full of birds. They said birds don’t come that high. Sanjay Leela Bhansali was my assistant on that film. I said, I need birds. Those guys went at night and spread breadcrumbs on that mountaintop. Because of those breadcrumbs, the birds came. When I saw the birds yesterday, I said, ‘My God. Birds.’ That’s the level of pursuit of excellence. And those birds give me so much joy, 35 years later. It moves me how hard we worked. That is the joy of life.”

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"If I say I have 20 crore now, tomorrow I’ll have 200 crore and I will make a film - what joy is there in that? Beyond your basic needs, money is the same. It’s the same cup of tea I’m drinking that I drank 35 years back. The point is - if the pursuit of excellence drives you then there is joy."

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“The joy comes from honesty, in whatever you’re doing - whether you’re a filmmaker, a writer, a politician, a bureaucrat. The joy comes from honestly pursuing whatever you’re pursuing. So I would request all of you- it’s difficult, but it’s a very happy path. Take it.”

For years, after 3 Idiots was released, Rajkumar Hirani would bump into people at various places, and somebody would come up and say, ‘I studied medicine, but I’ve quit and am now learning music.’ Someone else said, ‘I’m becoming a writer.’ That even sometimes would scare him and he would think - ‘I hope they succeed. Otherwise, they’ll come knocking on my door one day saying, 'You taught us the wrong things'.

Rajkumar Hirani, however, admits that the film gave a lot of people the courage to pursue what they wanted to do. He says, "I always tell people there’s a difference between passion and obsession. Sometimes people feel passionate about becoming something - like a music director or an actor - and they think, ‘This is my passion.’ But passion alone isn’t enough. I keep telling them, passion is just a desire to be someone. Obsession is what matters. Are you putting in the effort every single day to hone your skill and craft? If you’re obsessed - if you’re getting up every morning and working towards your goal - then pursue it. That’s when you’ll succeed. Passion without effort won’t take you anywhere."

Rajkumar Hirani says that 3 Idiots is one classic example of a problem that exists in every household. There’s always a rift between parents and children about education. The resonance of this issue is very strong, and every household needs a solution to it. He feels that’s why the film resonated so well with people.

He explains, "Most parents could see, ‘Haan yaar, maybe we’re pushing our kids too much.’A lot of parents used to come to me and admit, ‘Maybe we’re pushing our children too much, and we shouldn’t.’"

3 Idiots origin story is somewhere in Rajkumar Hirani's own life. He says, "When I look back at my own life - when I was in school - I think I was a very, very average student, struggling. Kahan yaar, yeh mujhe trigonometry samjha rahe hain, mujhe samajh nahi aata. Kuch nahi samajh aata tha! I was very average, and then I went to college. I wanted to get into an engineering college, but that never happened. I couldn’t secure admission anywhere. So, I ended up studying commerce. But commerce didn’t interest me. Education, in general, was never interesting for me, you know. Commerce college was just 3-4 hours in the morning, which gave me a lot of time to do theater. I started doing plays - directing, acting, writing - and that gave me immense joy. I realized I was spending hours doing that every day. My dad noticed it too, and he said, 'You know what? This is what you really love. Go do this'. This was a very difficult thing for a parent to say back then, especially in a small town like Nagpur, in a conventional, middle-class family. For him to say, 'Okay, leave my business' - my dad used to sell typewriters - and encourage me to pursue cinema, was unheard of at the time. But he guided me. He said, 'Go to film school. That’s where you can learn. Learn the craft'.”

When he got into the film institute, everything changed for him. He started getting scholarships and excelling at every level because he was enjoying what I was doing. He says, "That’s what we try to convey in the film: don’t push kids to do what they don’t want to do. If you chase something you truly enjoy, you’ll naturally excel at it. And if you excel at it, you’ll succeed. Rather than saying, 'Let’s do an MBA' or 'Let’s do finance because it pays well', but not enjoying it, you won’t excel, and success won’t come. That’s where the idea came from. We ended up coining the phrase - Chase excellence, and success will follow. Don’t chase money, because success doesn’t work like that. The process of writing is a long journey. You spend so much time thinking about the subject, reading about it. These ideas start forming in your head. You think, 'Okay, let’s say this', or 'Let’s put it this way'. It’s a journey where you create all these things."

The character of the professor in 3 Idiots is one of the most memorable characters. But when it was offered to Boman Irani, he didn’t want to take on the role as he had already played the Dean in Munnabhai MBBS.

Hirani recalls, “He said it’ll look like the same. I said, but let’s do it differently. Physicality also will change. I said that you’re bald in that; we’ll give you curly hair in 3 Idiots. You didn’t have a mustache; we’ll give you a mustache. Let’s change your physicality first and do it differently. Boman really worked hard to create the character."

Then Boman thought of some school teacher he used to have who used to dress up in a particular way. So, Boman went and designed his own clothes for the character. He went to a tailor in Dadar and remembered how his professor used to wear his pants up to the chest. He also added a lisp to his character. He had certain people in his mind - his professor, some other people - their mannerisms, the way they walked, and everything.

The three actors who played the 3 Idiots were not Raju Hirani's first choice at all. The first set of people were actually much younger and were all new actors at the time. They had selected three actors and auditioned them separately. But somehow, when they were put together, they were not gelling well. There’s a certain chemistry between people, and somehow that wasn’t happening.

Hirani recalls, "And during that time, I remember Vinod (VVC, the producer of the film) had offered a film to Aamir. And Aamir asked him about the film he was doing. While Vidhu Vinod Chopra told him that the film is not good for Aamir as it was a much younger role, Aamir said, ‘Let me hear the script.’"

Rajkumar Hirani recalls, "So I remember going to Aamir's house, and I read the script to him. His first concern was also, ‘How will I look young? It’s a good script, but how will I look young?’ But somehow, when I met him, I felt Aamir has a very innocent, childlike face. I said, ‘If you can lose all this muscle’ - at that time, he was playing Ghajini and was very broad - ‘then you can look like that.’ We just took a chance. We took a leap of faith. He said, ‘Okay, I'll lose it.’ He lost all the weight and muscle and transformed himself. Then one trick we played was that we decided to cast the other actors a little older. You can’t have Aamir alongside someone who’s nearly 17. So, there’s a kind of suspension of belief that happens. Once you get into the story, you don’t really realize it. With Aamir and all these experienced actors coming in, it became a little easier. It’s always easier to work with experienced people than with newcomers."

Rajkumar Hirani says, "If you look at older films, they often wallow in self-pity. Gaane bhi waise hi hote thay - bahut saare self-pity wale. Usmein hota tha - baap khaas raha hai, maa kitchen mein rehti hai, aur behen ki shaadi nahi ho rahi. It was kind of a spoof on that - ki iska ghar humein black and white filmon ki yaad dilata tha. What we didn’t realize was that it might come across as a little dark, and some people might not like it. I still remember someone walking up to me and saying, 'Aap hamara mazak uda rahe ho'. That’s when it struck me. I said, 'I had never seen it like that', but yes, it could be sensitive to some. The idea was just to add a little dark humour about how Indian cinema was portrayed back then."

"Cinema is a reflection of its time. For example, 1947 ke baad unemployment tha - lead hero unemployed hota tha, gareebi hoti thi, khana nahi hota tha. Then times changed - gold smuggling became a theme. Later, underworld dons entered storylines. Over decades, storylines have evolved."

Talking about the Delhi to Ladakh journey, he says, "It's always the script that drives everything. As I said, I love Delhi in terms of its locations and interesting things, so we wanted to set it in Delhi. From Delhi, we wanted to show a journey where they’ve lost a friend and have to find him. First of all, it felt like, where would a person like Rancho go? He would go to a serene place, cut off from the world, because he went to college just for knowledge, not for degrees. He was there under someone else's name, so he would hide away and do his business quietly - do his research, become a scientist, and run a school. That place seemed like Ladakh. At one point, we had considered a location in Sikkim. We even scouted it. But setting it in Sikkim made the journey from Delhi too long. We would have had to set up the film in Calcutta, and Delhi felt right. So, we took this route: they would start from Delhi, go to Shimla (where he used to work), meet Jaaved Jaaferi’s character in Shimla, and then continue to Ladakh. That seemed like an obvious route to take."

Abhijat used to live in the US, and Rajkumar would go there to write with him. One day, they bumped into a person there who constantly talked about new brands.

He recalls, "Abhijat and I are quite uninterested in the way we dress. Abhijat even had a really old car. This man looked at us and said, 'Aap log aise rehte ho? Kuch brands pehna karo'. He even talked about starter brands. We still laugh about it. He said, "I’ll introduce you to some starter brands'. I asked, 'Yeh starter brands kya hote hain?' Abhijat and I believe that we have one life, so we should make great films, travel, and do what we love. He gave an amazing line - 'You have one life; live it up - try all brands'. That night, we laughed so much, and I decided Kareena’s boyfriend’s character should be the total opposite of Aamir’s Rancho. Rancho doesn’t believe in materialism, so we created a contrasting character whose entire life revolves around brands and prices."

Hirani recalls that hum science se hai scene had 32 takes. He says, "I remember a funny incident, and while we were shooting that scene, Aamir would always laugh during the narrations. Every time we reached the line, 'Hum science ki taraf se hain', he would crack up. On the shoot day, it took 35 takes because after every take, Aamir would laugh, then Madhavan would laugh, and then Sharman would laugh."

--Ranchhoddas Shamaldas Chanchad - Rancho, whose real name was Phunsukh Wangdu - is quite an unusual name. How did they come up with this? He says, "We always wanted to create quirky names so the characters would be remembered, rather than giving them very standard names. It was Abhijat Joshi who came up with this name."

Rajkumar Hirani and writer Abhijat Joshi came together for the first time when they made Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006). Over the past 18 years, they have collaborated to deliver movies like PK, 3 Idiots, Sanju and Dunki. During a recent discussion in the city, the filmmaker and the writer gave a sneakpeek to the audience into their creative world.

Hirani said that as a director, he never does a film to preach but to tell an entertaining story. He said, “For 3 Idiots, we never started with the idea that we will talk about education. I used to love the college hostel vibe and I thought that this has not been shown well in cinema. So it started from there. And once you start writing, various nuances and your beliefs start pouring into the story.”

Hirani’s films have a mix of emotions – they are not just funny, but are also sentimental. On going through the gamut of emotions,

Hirani said, “It invariably happens that when you’re writing a scene, and at that moment you cry, you might do that in Mumbai, somebody watching that scene in Jabalpur must be crying while watching it. That emotion translates.”

Abhijat Joshi added, “Raju narrates his own scene and he cries a lot while narrating his scenes... But when Raju cries, I feel elated, I am jubilant. I know (while writing that scene) that the whole nation is going to cry.”

Hirani shared, “Every time I make a film, the first thing written on my board is to find a unique idea. Whether it’s PK, where an alien is in search of godman, or Mahatma Gandhi meeting a gangster, the attempt is always to find unique stories, something that has not been told before. Every business has to tell stories, and there has to be some honesty and truth in it, but then people will sniff it.”

From where does Rajkumar Hirani get his ideas? For instance, how did he think of Munna Bhai MBBS (2003)? Hirani said, “I grew up in Nagpur, and many of my friends from class 12th went to join a medical college, so I saw that world. I always wanted to tell a story about a medical college. My initial idea was about three students in a medical college, and I kept on writing it for many years, but it was not going anywhere until I got this idea – what if a 40-year-old man – a gangster, goes to a medical college? The genesis was coming from something that was already within me.”

Abhijat Joshi said that when they were writing PK, Hirani told him that they are not setting out here to hurt anyone. He shared, “There was a certain humility and respect that let’s have a dialogue. We are not here to impress that hum ye soch rahe hain aur yahi sahi hai, tum bewakoof ho. Ye hona nahi chahiye. With a lot of respect, you have to engage in a dialogue. Raju has been consistent that he wants to discuss an idea. He does not want to thrust an idea on the audience.”

Joshi added, “As citizens, what do we feel outraged about – that’s what our cinema is about. It is not satire; it is a very gentle form of humour.”

Hirani said, “As a director, you have to do two things: communicate your vision to your entire team and, second, draw inspiration from others. I make sure that once the script is written, I communicate it to the camera team and actors as many times as possible. I keep narrating, seeking reactions, and every time I narrate, they come up with some problems with it. Then we find solutions. However, in collaboration, a lot of tussles can also arise. I have been lucky to work with some extremely wise people. Collaboration with a writer is the toughest. When I tell Abhijat that a scene is not working he immediately starts reworking it.”

Hirani added, “When everybody wants the film to work, the film becomes bigger than an individual.”

Medha Shankar knows that having a Vidhu Vinod Chopra film on one’s résumé is a matter of pride. To the actor, who features in the Vikrant Massey-led 12th Fail, the movie represents the director’s belief in her potential. What adds to her joy is that the filmmaker’s long-time collaborator and friend Rajkumar Hirani also appreciated her talent, consolidating her position as the film’s leading lady.

Shankar recounts that things started rolling when she got a call from VC Films, telling her that Chopra wanted her to do a screen test.

“In February [2022], I did a screen test with Vidhu sir, Vikrant and the team at sir’s office. Since Raju sir is his close friend, Vidhu sir sent my [audition tape] to him and Abhijat Joshi sir. He wanted their opinion. I was told Raju sir was very happy with the screen test. Later, when someone introduced us at Vidhu sir’s birthday party, Raju sir said, ‘Of course, I know her. Her audition was so good,’” she recalls.

The actor is equally grateful to Chopra for having unwavering faith in her. She says he made her believe in her skills, even making her go behind the mic for the song, Bolo Na.

“Initially, there was no scene where I was supposed to sing in the film. One day, after a script-reading session, Vidhu sir came up with the scene. The next day I was given 30 minutes to prepare for Bolo Na before I sang it in front of Shantanu Moitra [composer], Swanand Kirkire [lyricist] and Abhijat sir. Then weeks later, we did the recording. Vidhu sir has outstanding knowledge of music and guided me.”

While fans have been eagerly awaiting news on the third instalment of Munna Bhai, producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra may be doling out another successful franchise. The filmmaker, who had collaborated with Aamir Khan to deliver the blockbuster, PK, says he will take the story forward in good time. “We will make the sequel. We had shown Ranbir [Kapoor’s character landing on the planet] towards the end of the film, so there is a story to tell. But Abhijat [Joshi, writer] has not written it yet. The day he writes it, we will make it,” he says.

The 2014 runaway hit, also featuring Anushka Sharma and the late Sushant Singh Rajput, saw Khan as an alien who lands on Earth and loses the device that helps him communicate with his spaceship. Told through the curious eyes of the protagonist, the satire questioned religious divide and archaic beliefs, and had won wide acclaim upon its release.

Knowing well that film franchises can be a money-spinner, the producer asserts that he is driven by powerful stories over financial gains. “We are not in the business of making money, we are in the business of making cinema. If making money [was our goal], by now, we would have made six to seven [instalments of] Munna Bhai, and two to three [editions of] PK. We seek joy, happiness and peace over a few crores.”

We have all been witness to Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 44-year career as he gave Hindi film industry gems in Parinda (1989), 1942: A Love Story (1994) and 3 Idiots (2009), among others. For those who wondered about the behind-the-scenes magic that led to the creation of these movies, the filmmaker has released Unscripted, a book that features anecdotes from his life and career.

“We never intended to write it [so soon],” begins Chopra about the book that has been designed as conversations between long-time collaborator Abhijat Joshi and him. “These are chats that Abhijat and I had over five years back. We had thought of turning it into a book some day. When Nasreen Munni Kabir [TV producer] came for the subtitles of Shikara [2020], she was fascinated with it and helped us put the book together.”

In the book, Chopra has reflected on how he steered clear of commercial film tropes to develop stories that he believed in and emerged one of the most successful producers in Bollywood. “The idea behind [the endeavour] is to inspire young filmmakers. I want them to understand that they don’t have to sell their souls to be successful here.”

On the work front, reports suggest that the third instalment of his hit franchise, Munna Bhai, is off the table. Quiz him on it, and he asserts that the comedy is in the works. “We have not made the third Munna Bhai because I am not happy with the script yet. Abhijat and Raju [Rajkumar Hirani] are working on the script. Hopefully, we’ll have a script by the year-end. I never said I won’t make the film. I said I won’t ever make a substandard Munna Bhai.”

He's the original Rocky of Bollywood. He had it all swag, super style, sexiness and stardom. Deadly, alright. More than three decades after his launch, and several tragedies and trials later, nothing seems jaded about Dutt - not his spirit, nor his stardom. Life's been tough, but he's gotten tougher. But now, that's a heart-breaking story of the past. The actor has seen many comebacks, but this time, with his next, Bhoomi, coming up for release, Dutt displays the enthusiasm of a newbie, the super confidence of a star, and the readiness of an actor who wants to rock and reign, once again.

During those years in jail, did you spend a lot of time mulling over your comeback film? Everyone was anxiously waiting to know which filmmaker will clinch it. After all, it is a fresh beginning of sorts...
I don't know if I thought more about it because it is my comeback film. As an actor, I believe that I give every film more than 100%. The premise of Bhoomi is socially relevant. I believe in women empowerment, and the idea of beti bachao, beti padhao. I have been surrounded by amazing women all my life like my mom, cousins and my sisters, and I have always believed in them. When I was in jail someone told me, 'Baba, ek taraf se hum Durga Ma, Kaali Ma, Lakshmi ki puja karte hai, aur doosri taraf hum stree ke saath aisa karte hai'. This is such a shocking contrast. Today, we wear modern, fashionable clothes, yet, our sanskaar within our families is still the same. The film has a strong message, at the same time, Omung Kumar (director) didn't want to make it a docu-drama.

Talking about God, we believe that while in jail, you had immersed yourself in religious books and texts. Has the whole experience made you more spiritual?
I have always been spiritual, ab jail mein jaake I knew that I had to stay in there for those many years. Toh rona-dhona, aur sochna ki mere saath yeh kya ho gaya... is pointless. Instead, I thought that I should use the time to do something positive for myself. I am a big Shiv bhakt and I wanted to read what I believed in. So, I went ahead and read our Hindu scriptures, the Bhagavad Gita, Ramayan, Mahabharat, Shiv Puran and Ganesh Puran. I read about our Vedas, and about Rahu and Ketu. I have become a pandit of sorts (laughs!). In fact, ab jab bhi panditji puja karne aate hai, I tell him... 'Panditji aap iske liye yeh shlok bolo'.

A lot of people, especially celebrities, would be wary of talking about the dark experiences in their lives as openly as you have. You had no fear doing that?
I don't know about others, but I feel that if I have gone through something and come out a winner, then I should talk about my story. There are few people who come out of drug addiction, but I have. Hence, I have no qualms in saying that yes, I have done it, so that I can help other addicts. Our future generation and our kids are being affected by drugs. I want to start rehab centres, talk to groups and tell the youth that if I could come out of drug addiction, anyone can. Well, I know that the way I have lived my life is crazy, and I wouldn't want anyone to live that way. Instead, they should learn from my mistakes.

While Bhoomi is your first film after your release, the moment you stepped out of those walls, your first shot in front of the camera was for Rajkumar Hirani's biopic on you? Tell us about that moment...
I don't know what happened to me that day. I couldn't sleep the previous night thinking about the fact that I will walk out a free man the next day. The sipahis (they are not policemen, they are rakhwalas) in prison were so amazing that I survived my jail time only because of them. Even they stayed up with me all night before my release. At 6 am, they told me to pack my bags and get ready. I did that and I walked out of my cell. I wanted to meet some of the other people with whom I had formed a radio station in prison. It was such an emotional moment. I couldn't believe that when I was leaving the jail, I was crying. It was such a confusing emotion. When I stepped out, I was in a daze. I touched mother earth, kissed it and saluted the Indian flag (which was the shot Hirani captured). In jail, we would do that during Independence Day. We weren't allowed to leave our barracks, but we would stand up in our cells and salute.

In the past, you have spoken about some of your jail experiences. Like you mentioned how you had daal with a makkhi floating in it. Has all of that changed your perspective? Do you value the little pleasures of life now more than before?
Well, all that didn't make a difference to me - what I ate, and the floor that I slept on. That is the way my parents have raised me. I was in boarding school for 11 years and in the dorms, there was no air conditioning. My parents had trained me such that if life got tough, I could deal with it. I was raised like a regular child, not as Sunil Dutt aur Nargis Dutt ka beta. My dad bought me a second class train pass, and I would walk from home to Bandra Station to board a train to go to Elphinstone College. I would get off at Churchgate and walk to my college. So, being driven around was not even an option. Yes, while in jail, there was makkhi in the food...toh kya karen? Makkhi hai wahan. Bhookha rahne se better hai khana kha lo.

In Bhoomi, you are playing father to Aditi Rao Hydari. In our movies, we often see that male protagonists don't play their age. So, I guess you are not someone who is in denial about his age. Or the characters that you can suitably play onscreen?
I am not in denial about my age. I want to play roles that suit my age, like they do in the West. I love the roles that actors like Denzel Washington (The Equalizer), Mel Gibson (Blood Father) and Liam Neeson (Taken) play in their movies. These are such superb parts and that is the genre that I want to get into. I want to tap some genres that are not there in our film industry. On one side, we have the younger actors like Ranbir Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Ranveer Singh and Sidharth Malhotra, and on the other side there is Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan). Then there is Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan who are in a different zone. But today, there is no one in the mature, 50+, tough guy zone - and that's the space I want to get into.

Bhoomi is about a father-daughter relationship, and your real-life daughter, Trishala has been through a rough ride along with you. She stood up for you during those tough times. How is your relationship with her today?
Ab woh badi ho gayi hai, so she has become like my mother. She checks on me all the time, and asks me, 'How are you doing, Pops?' She has seen me go through ups and downs and has been like a rock in my life. I don't think I could have raised Trishala the way her grandparents and aunt did. I will always be thankful to them for raising her so beautifully in America, with all our Indian values.

In contrast, given that your twins, Shahraan and Iqra, are so young, they have been oblivious to all this...
I am so happy that I went to prison when Shahraan and Iqra were only two years old. I never want them to see me that way. It broke my heart, but I had to tell Manyata (wife) to never bring them to see me in jail. I would never want my kids to stand on the other side and see me in those jail clothes, topi and beard. I didn't want that image to stay with them ever. They always knew that papa is on a hill shooting somewhere. Luckily, now the jail authorities allow a phone system. So for 5 minutes (I think once in 15 days) you can talk to your family. Whenever I talked to the kids, I would tell them that I've come down the hill to talk to them because my phone doesn't work on top of the hill. I missed out on some years of their childhood, so now I am making up for lost time. Manyata has also been like a rock in my life, I couldn't have asked for a better wife. The way she raised our kids without me during those years, it was tough. Our mulaqats were once a month. During one of her visits, while talking to me she collapsed on the other side. Fortunately, she was accompanied by my lawyer, and he told me that she was running high fever, but she didn't want to miss the slot given to us for our meeting. I know how that feels because for a person living in prison, we long for that one day of the month.

It is very rare to see a biopic being made on an actor, while he's still being sought after for roles. How does that make you feel?
I don't know if it has happened before, and I feel humbled by it. Only Rajkumar Hirani could do this. When he asked me about the film for the first time, I was surprised and I said, 'Huh, what's so interesting about my life?' Those few days, when I was out on parole, were one of the best days of my life. Raju, Abhijat Joshi (writer) and I would sit for hours and talk about my life and record it. That period was amazing because while letting them into my life, I was able to reflect on all those years that have gone by.

You have been in the film industry for over 35 years; do you feel that the dynamics of the industry - whether it is business or personal - have changed drastically over the years?
The relationships within the industry are becoming more professional. People don't have time for each other. Earlier, we would interact a lot more, there was togetherness and a personal connect. All that has changed now. A few days ago, I was talking to some industry people about how a movie's success has now become a matter of three-four days. It wasn't like that before. In our days, we would celebrate silver and golden jubilees of our films. We had lavish premieres and celebration parties. How is it that the Tamil and Telugu film industries are flourishing so much? They are making movies that we can't even think of making. I recently saw Ajith sir's (Tamil superstar) movie trailer, and I couldn't believe the way they have shot the film. Even a film like Baahubali was unbelievable. Why can't Bollywood do something like that? We call ourselves the biggest movie industry and all that, but there is something which is going wrong. I don't know what it is. I think as a film industry, we should support each other more and be like a family, so that we can make good cinema. Only then can we survive and flourish.

A movie release after three years, are you very anxious?
Well, every release makes me anxious. I think that having a hit on hand is great, but if you have a flop, you have to be a man and face it. But don't try to change numbers and do all that. The best policy is to not look back and move on to the next film quickly.

Today, after having survived those terribly trying times, what do you fear the most?
What I fear the most is going back to jail and losing my freedom. Sometimes, freedom is taken for granted, and only when you lose it will you know what it truly means. You can get everything in life, money can buy a lot of things, but it can't buy you a piece of freedom.