When director Kookie Gulati wrapped up The Big Bull with actor-friend Abhishek Bachchan, he had little idea that he would be collaborating with his father Amitabh Bachchan within a few months. The director, who has helmed over 300 music videos so far, says giving shape to the title track of Chehre was special for obvious reasons.

“Anand Pandit [producer] and Rumy Jafry [director] were looking for a director to helm the title track. Abhishek suggested my name. It was an emotional moment for me when I shot with Bachchan sir. After we filmed the video, I folded my hands and bowed to him,” says Gulati.

Having worked  closely with the father-son duo, the filmmaker says they are more alike than different. “While Abhishek is far more jovial on the set, Bachchan sir is professional and humble. He would call me Kookie sir. But the moment the camera rolls, their involvement is 200 per cent. They transform into their characters.”

Working with the veteran actor has been a lesson in dedication for Gulati. “We were to shoot for four to five hours, but Bachchan sir got so involved that he shot for far longer. He shared his inputs. For a shot, I wanted the camera to move while he remained stationary, but Bachchan sir said he would walk, thus conveying more through his body language. His suggestion [enhanced] the sequence.”

When Kookie Gulati was working at Dalal Street in the early ’90s, young recruits would run to catch a glimpse of Harshad Mehta, their version of a superstar. With The Big Bull a fortnight away from release, the director says that the Abhishek Bachchan-starrer is a heavily fictionalised tale of the stockbroker who took the Bombay Stock Exchange by storm. “I leave it to the audience to [form their opinions] on the character. I have highlighted that he had grey areas, but he had good intentions that were corrupted by the situation,” he begins.

Gulati credits producer Ajay Devgn for casting Bachchan in the titular role, which he believes is a masterstroke. “The character journeys from the grass-root level to become [a billionaire] with swag. The actor would have to lend intensity to the performance. Ajay sir suggested Abhishek’s name for the role, and I jumped at it.”

Why didn’t Devgn lead the cast, considering he was producing the movie? “The character was younger. Plus, he would’ve taken three years to start shooting [given his date diary]. But for Ajay sir, it was about getting the right actor for the part. He believes that an actor shouldn’t be cast just because of his stardom; he has to justify the role. Here, I had a star producer who encouraged me to be honest to the story.”

Some may view the film as India’s version of The Wolf Of Wall Street (2014), but Gulati says the stories couldn’t be farther away from one another. “The world, lifestyle and aspirations are so different. My character will never want to buy a yacht. For him, dining at Taj’s most expensive restaurant is a high point.”

Closer home, viewers have been drawing comparisons with Hansal Mehta’s Scam 1992 that dropped online last year. Mehta recently dismissed these comparisons, tweeting that multiple tales can be told on the same subject. Gulati shares the filmmaker’s sentiment as he says, “People will see the difference between their series and our movie. The gaze is completely different. It was gracious of Hansal Mehta to tweet that, and shower us with love. We are all here to tell personal stories, and encouraging one another is important.”