Showing posts with label Ritesh Sidhwani interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ritesh Sidhwani interview. Show all posts
We don’t know when Don 3 will happen-Ritesh Sidhwani
9:03 AM
Ritesh Sidhwani on the franchises he wants to spearhead, what binds Farhan Akhtar and him together and that one genre he wants to explore
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 11, 2019)
Was Gully Boy a gamble?
Since our first film, Dil Chahta Hai, I’ve never advertised box-office collections. It’s not about how much a film has earned but about whether the viewer believes it was money well spent, about how many have seen and liked it. Gully Boy brought rap into the mainstream and that makes me feel I’m on the right track.
Buzz is, your MC Sher, Siddhant Chaturvedi, is your talent management agency’s first client?
It’s not a talent management agency, we are nurturing actors with potential and Siddhant is a versatile artiste with great screen presence. We’re helping him focus on his strength. He’s clear he wants to only play protagonist and we’re developing a script with him as lead. He’s getting many offers independently as well.
What’s happening with Don 3?We are still working on it and don’t know when it will happen. It’s a keenly awaited franchise and we can’t disappoint the fans.
Any plans to produce an out-and-out massy entertainer?
We have catered to the masses in the past with films like Don, Raees and KGF. And while everyone is waking up to the power of content now, we have always believed that without a writer, nobody in this industry would have a job. We believe Spiderman exists and that’s primarily because of the writer. We are here to tell stories, collaborate with writers with a similar vision. I want to do one kickass underworld action film. The hunt for a script is on. There was Raees, but what I am looking for belongs to a different world.
And the Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara sequel?Hrithik and I have been talking to Zoya (Akhtar, director) and Reema (Kagti, writer) about this as everyone wants to know what happens to the friends (played by Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar and Abhay Deol) after that life-changing trip. But, I can’t force my team to write it, the germ of an idea has to come organically. We’d, however, love to work with Hrithik again and are looking at scripts to take to him. We may soon have one.
Meanwhile, Farhan teams up with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra for a film on a boxer. What can we expect from Toofan?
It’s too early to talk about the script, but I can promise that Toofan will be at par with, if not better than, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Both Mehra and Farhan know the expectations they have to live up to and are working towards surpassing them. It’s a bigger film in terms of reach. We start shooting in July-August.
There’s Deepa Malik’s biopic…
That’s an incredible story about struggle and triumph. We will soon start on the casting.
Last year, you announced a film on fire-fighters, to be directed by Rahul Dholakia...
We’re working on the dialogue draft. Rahul was in LA for research as there aren’t many films in this space here. It’s a two-hero fictional story and we are in talks with some actors.
Gold underperformed and Rock On 2 was a disaster…
(Cuts in) But no one lost money on Gold nor was it panned by the critics. A certain segment didn’t watch the film in the theatres but it got good ratings on TV. People didn’t connect with the story of Rock On 2. It released around demonetisation when footfalls at cinemas were nil, but again, the TV feedback was good. We will be mindful and approach films better. Rock On!! remains an iconic film and if we come up with something that warrants a sequel we will go ahead.
Over the years, so many partnerships have fallen apart, what has kept Farhan and you together for almost two decades?
We have similar sensibilities and since we see this partnership as a collaboration, we chat about every aspect of filmmaking. We may not agree on certain things but we haven’t blamed each other for any failures. Sail or sink, filmmaking for us is all about ‘we’ and not ‘I’.
The idea was to give 3 Storeys a good theatrical release-Ritesh Sidhwani
7:52 AM
Ritesh Sidhwani promises an edge-of-the- seat experience with his upcoming thriller-drama
MUMBAI MIRROR (March 7, 2018)
How did you come up with the innovative concept of three stories playing out in a community living set-up and coming together in the climax?
I had worked with writer Althea Kaushal earlier and when she narrated the idea of 3 Storeys to me, I found it very interesting. She had already written the screenplay and narrated it to Priya Sreedharan, who had come on board as producer. Director Arjun Mukerjee’s vision excited Farhan (his producer-partner Farhan Akhtar) and we decided to present the film.
What sets the film apart?
It’s the way the narrative unfolds. Every character has a mysterious side to him and her and the viewer will sense that there’s more than what meets the eye. Also, each character is very lovable and intertwined with the end result, when the three different stories flow into one. What binds them and the way they all come together in the end is interesting and that’s what drew me in completely. We have an amazing ensemble cast — Renuka Shahane, Sharman Joshi, Richa Chadha, Pulkit Samrat, Ankit Rathi, Aisha Ahmed and Masumeh Makhija — who have brought these well-defined characters to life.
Did you always plan for a theatrical release for this one-of-its-kind film?
When we went on the floors, our promise was that we would give it a good theatrical release and we’ve kept our word. The edge-of-the-seat film may be niche and so it would be a smaller release. But it’s a compelling story about community-living and full of twists. A cinematic experience doesn’t necessarily mean action or adventure. You can watch our film with family and friends and every person will view it differently.
You promoted 3 Storeys across India with innovative storytelling interactions…
Content is the soul of any film. This is something we at Excel Entertainment always strive for. For an audience to relate to a story there has to be a humane and emotional connect. We make sure that the audience feels the pains and joys of our characters while commissioning films. As producers, we have to identify with the story first. ‘Story’ is the key word and 3 Storeys has three stories woven into one film. No matter which story you identify with, it’ll be a great experience for every viewer.
We are definitely going to make Don 3-Ritesh Sidhwani
7:59 AM
Excel Entertainment head Ritesh Sidhwani on the successful year that was 2017 and plans for 2018
MUMBAI MIRROR (December 26, 2017)
You began 2017 with the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Raees, followed by Inside Edge and now Fukrey Returns. How has the year been for you?
It’s gratifying to see that you had a film like Raees where you take a big superstar like Shah Rukh Khan and make him do something that is so different from what he has done before. It makes you feel good about the fact that you tried to do something different and it paid off. Then we stepped into a different medium with Inside Edge, which has done extremely well too. I have been told that it’s in the top 2 or 3 most downloaded shows and in the completion rate, where people began watching the show and saw the entire season. Amazon was impressed, which is why for the first time we are commissioning season 2 and 3 simultaneously. We are shooting both the seasons in 2018, though it will be released at a gap of 6 to 8 months.
Fukrey Returns also did well at the box office…
Fukrey was a sleeper hit in 2013 and people had lapped it up on TV as well, because of which its reach had amplified many folds. I think it’s amazing to see so much love for a small film, which has gone on to make such big numbers.
There is a lot of pressure on sequels to live up to the original. What challenges did you face while making Fukrey Returns?
Interestingly, after its theatrical run, when Fukrey had released on TV, I got a lot of messages on my social media platforms wanting to know what happened with Bholi and the other parts. I spoke with Mrig (Mrighdeep Lamba, director-writer) and Vipul (Vipul Vig, writer) to think about a sequel. When they came back with the story, we were very impressed.
Is a third part on the cards too?
You will be amazed to know how many people on Twitter and Instagram have sent me story ideas for the third part. Though I haven’t had the time to sit with the writers, we would definitely like to take the franchise forward.
The Fukrey merchandise including comic books, phone covers and t-shirts too have created immense buzz…
Yes, in fact, I recently got a message from the Shoppers Stop team for placing an additional order.
What should we expect from the upcoming seasons of Inside Edge?
In season 1, there is an interesting character called Bhai Saab, what we do with him will be revealed in the next season. Karan Anshuman won’t be directing the upcoming seasons as he is busy with another web series called Mirzapur that features Ali Fazal and Vikrant Massey and is also running our writers room.
So on the digital front, what’s next for 2018?
We have a few shows planned already. Besides Mirzapur, we also have Made In Heaven, which is created by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti and will be helmed by interesting directors including Zoya, Alankrita Shrivastava, Nitya Mehra and Prashant Nair.
And what are the films slated for the next year?
The first one is 3 Storeys, which releases in February, then there is Gold on August 15 with Akshay Kumar. We also have Gully Boy with Zoya who will start filming from January 14 with Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt. Ranveer is amazing to work with and has terrific energy, while this is our first collaboration with Alia. We’ll be announcing the rest of the cast by next week.
Is Don 3 in the making too?
We are definitely going to make Don 3. Earlier if you had asked me, I would have said no, but now we do have an idea and we are working towards it. Shah Rukh will obviously be a part of the film, but we’ll zero down on the rest of the cast after the script is locked.
Fukrey Returns speaks the language of real people and their problems-Mrighdeep Singh Lamba
8:14 AM
Lasyapriya Sundaram (BOMBAY TIMES; December 7, 2017)
After delivering the sleeper hit Fukrey (2013), the makers are back with its sequel, Fukrey Returns. Ask director Mrighdeep Singh Lamba what prompted the sequel and he says that the success of the first film in the franchise was the main factor. He adds, After Fukrey, characters like Hunny (Pulkit Samrat), Choocha (Varun Sharma), Bholi Punjaban (Richa Chadha) and Lali (Manjot Singh) became popular.Clearly, people wanted to see more of them. In fact, we toyed with the idea of making a prequel as well. That’s how Fukrey Returns materialised. Producer Ritesh Sidhwani explains, “It’s a sequel in the true sense of the word because this film starts exactly one year after the first one comes to a close. The world of the film is still the same. The situations and conflicts in the narrative have become bigger. It’s a comedy that one can enjoy with the entire family. It’s not crude and neither will it make one cringe. The dialogues are spontaneous, clean, fun and replete with one-liners. The characters in Fukrey Returns don’t take themselves seriously and that’s what's unique about the film.”
Over the years, filmmakers have created their own space in comedy within the genre. While the 1980s saw Hrishikesh Mukherjee eliciting a chuckle with the world he created, with characters close to reality, filmmaker David Dhawan opted for the slapstick variety and wanted the audience to guffaw or laugh out loud in the 1990s. Ask Mrighdeep how he would define the Fukrey kind of comedy and pat comes the reply, “Ram Gopal Varma infused his own style into the genre of crime dramas, changed the grammar and made it real. Similarly, in the genre of comedies, Fukrey Returns is set in a real world. The film speaks the language of real people and the kind of problems that they would perhaps face.” Talking of the comedies being made in Bollywood, Ritesh elaborates, “I think comedies are being made on a regular basis. Earlier, there were actors who specialised in this genre. Now, all the actors in a film have to be able to pull off a comic role. Honestly, it also depends on the audience's threshold for humour.”
Apart from the characters, what worked in favour of the first film in the franchise was the distinct North Indian milieu, which struck the right chord with the audience. Mrighdeep says, “The writer (Vipul Vig) and I belong to Delhi. So, we are familiar with the flavour that we infuse the film with. It is easy to convey to the cast members as well because most of them are from the North.” Ask him how he managed to retain the North Indian nuances and yet ensure that it was palatable for one and all and he adds, “We have revised some of the dialogues, which were too ‘theth’. It’s not intentional, it comes naturally.” Ritesh explains, “The flavour is distinct and yet universal. If the guy sitting next to me is laughing at the dialogues and I am left wondering why it’s connecting with him and not with me because I don’t understand the meaning of the words, then that becomes a deterrent. When you are making a pan-India film, the emotions have to be conveyed in a lingo that everyone can understand, but at the same time, we don’t compromise on the flavour.”
Making a sequel, which entirely relies on the popularity of its characters and the success of the first film in the franchise means that the budget has to be reasonable to set the cash registers ringing. Ritesh admits that he never insists on having conversations with his directors regarding the budget of the film and says, “I have never discussed the budget with Mrighdeep. He discussed it with the executive producer. As producers, we ensure that even in the worst-case scenario, the film achieves a certain number at the box office. We work out the budget backwards. Also, one needs to make sure that even if nobody ends up making money, no one should lose money either. You cannot be a part of films only to make money; you have to be driven by passion. With Fukrey Returns, we have upped the scale.”
Both me & Farhan Akhtar are too urban to get into a police uniform-Shah Rukh Khan
8:14 AM
Purvaja Sawant (BOMBAY TIMES; January 24, 2017)
Working with friends in the
mercurial movie industry can be tricky. Amidst sorting out creative
differences, there are also personal equations to safeguard. In
Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani have
managed to strike that balance. After working on the successful Don
franchise, the trio is coming together once again in Rahul Dholakia's
directorial Raees, co-produced by Farhan and Ritesh's Excel
Entertainment. In a conversation
with BT, SRK, Farhan and Ritesh share what made the journey of Raees so
exciting. Excerpts...
After Don, this is the second film the three of you have collaborated on. How was the experience this time around?
FARHAN: It was more or less the same, except, this time, some guy named Rahul Dholakia came in the way (laughs). On a serious note, he was very clear that he wanted to make a mainstream film that would appeal to the masses. It's interesting how we all came together. Dimple Kapadia had called me up as Rahul had narrated the script to her. She suggested that we should meet. When I heard the story, the first thing I did was approach SRK. Since I had seen Parzania, I had a very different impression of Rahul and his kind of cinema. I was surprised to learn that he was making a commercial film.
SRK: Rahul is known for extremely realistic movies. But when Farhan and Ritesh came on board, they decided to make the film in the real zone, yet give it a popular swing. We would all sit with the script and give our inputs, while it was developing. Though we took the film into a commercial zone, we made sure to retain Rahul's realism. Also, in Don, we knew exactly what we wanted. This time, it was a challenge as we had to bring together two very different worlds. Rahul could have made Raees a niche film, but we've made it larger than life. We decided to go for huge sets and action sequences...
RITESH: Even though Raees is a gangster movie like Don, both are very diverse in their look; the former is earthy, while Don was more stylish and high flying.
It is easier to work with friends, but is there a fear of personal equations getting in the way?
SRK: Farhan would read the script whenever he had time and share his ideas. But he is very righteous - just because it's his idea, he doesn't expect it to be executed. When you work with friends, you realise that no one is giving their inputs for any other reason than to make the film better. We had disagreements too, but we'd always figure it out. We did it before with Don, so we have the confidence in each other.
FARHAN: I think it's always easier to work with friends and people you get along well with. Luckily, I didn't have to convince SRK, the script did the convincing. Of course, you want to work with people who are doing well or have great ideas but if he didn't like the script, he wouldn't have agreed to do the film.
Rahul's brand of cinema is very different from the kind of movies you all are associated with. Was it difficult to find common ground?
RITESH: It was never my way or the highway. Rahul was always open to suggestions. If he felt his vision was right, he would try to convince us and vice versa.
SRK: I am not trying to take credit away from niche films, whether it's a Parzania or a Chennai Express, but with Raees, we have tried to make a film with substance and turn it into a commercial one. Most filmmakers try to achieve that. It's the Holy Grail. When we were shooting Laila Main Laila with Sunny Leone, Rahul was all smiles because it was quite unlike what he had done in his previous films. I told him, 'Rahul, this is from our world (laughs)'. The discussion was always about whether we got the right balance between Rahul's substance and our commerce.
Farhan, you shared inputs on how Laila Main Laila should be shot...
SRK: Farhan came on the set and told me, 'Shah, it's not going to be like an item song.' So, we were all very clear that we didn't want the song to come across as an item number. I am not saying the word 'item' is derogatory, but it's weird. I had a song like that - Lovely in Happy New Year - but there was still some logic behind it, because the character was a bar dancer. We didn't have any wrong intentions. In Raees, we didn't want to put in an item song for no rhyme or reason. Laila Main Laila actually takes the story ahead. It is the turning point of the film.
FARHAN: In the 80s, when they wanted to add an item song to the film, they would have dialogues like, 'Sardar, banjaron ki toli aayi hai' and get away with it! We haven't even gone that far to create such a situation for the song.
The film was delayed for many months due to SRK's injury. Was it a major setback?
SRK: Ritesh was like 'Koi baat nahin... Shah just take it easy' but andar hi andar, he was fuming (laughs). But what could he do?
RITESH: The gap was almost seven months and Rahul was very worried. He kept saying that we should start shooting as soon as we can. We had to shoot intense action sequences and had also constructed a huge set, so maintaining it was an issue. But we were surprised when SRK returned after all those months on the set, because he didn't forget any part of the continuity. He remembered exactly how the scene was.
SRK: When I do a film, I completely get into the zone and start living the character. I don't do any strange preps or have character sketches. It's automatic. Somehow, I adapt to the body language. If today, Farhan asks me to shoot a promo for Don, it will take me an hour at the most to get into the character.
There are many films based on the chor-police theme. How did you make sure Raees was different?
SRK: Yes, chor-police films have been attempted a thousand times. So, we decided to have one good and one bad character, and both of them can't exist without each other. They have a love-hate relationship. A famous filmmaker had once told me that he wanted to make a chor-police film with me. After several years, I gave him a chance to narrate the script. He told me, 'There are two roles - ek police hain aur ek chor . Kahani mein phir jo hota hain, wahi hoga. Toh aap police ka role karna chahoge, ki chor ka? Chor ke liye ek extra gaana hain, toh woh role aap kar do.' The narration was over!
Farhan, you were supposed to play Nawaz's role. Why did you opt out?
FARHAN: Actually, it was just a discussion that we had in office. It wasn't decided that I would play the role.
SRK: Initially, I wanted him to play the character because he's a wonderful actor and though we've worked together before, it was in the capacity of an actor and director. But there was just one problem - the police uniform. Both of us are too urban to get into it (laughs). It would have been a lot of fun. We even discussed it at length as it's a really nice role.
After Don, this is the second film the three of you have collaborated on. How was the experience this time around?
FARHAN: It was more or less the same, except, this time, some guy named Rahul Dholakia came in the way (laughs). On a serious note, he was very clear that he wanted to make a mainstream film that would appeal to the masses. It's interesting how we all came together. Dimple Kapadia had called me up as Rahul had narrated the script to her. She suggested that we should meet. When I heard the story, the first thing I did was approach SRK. Since I had seen Parzania, I had a very different impression of Rahul and his kind of cinema. I was surprised to learn that he was making a commercial film.
SRK: Rahul is known for extremely realistic movies. But when Farhan and Ritesh came on board, they decided to make the film in the real zone, yet give it a popular swing. We would all sit with the script and give our inputs, while it was developing. Though we took the film into a commercial zone, we made sure to retain Rahul's realism. Also, in Don, we knew exactly what we wanted. This time, it was a challenge as we had to bring together two very different worlds. Rahul could have made Raees a niche film, but we've made it larger than life. We decided to go for huge sets and action sequences...
RITESH: Even though Raees is a gangster movie like Don, both are very diverse in their look; the former is earthy, while Don was more stylish and high flying.
It is easier to work with friends, but is there a fear of personal equations getting in the way?
SRK: Farhan would read the script whenever he had time and share his ideas. But he is very righteous - just because it's his idea, he doesn't expect it to be executed. When you work with friends, you realise that no one is giving their inputs for any other reason than to make the film better. We had disagreements too, but we'd always figure it out. We did it before with Don, so we have the confidence in each other.
FARHAN: I think it's always easier to work with friends and people you get along well with. Luckily, I didn't have to convince SRK, the script did the convincing. Of course, you want to work with people who are doing well or have great ideas but if he didn't like the script, he wouldn't have agreed to do the film.
Rahul's brand of cinema is very different from the kind of movies you all are associated with. Was it difficult to find common ground?
RITESH: It was never my way or the highway. Rahul was always open to suggestions. If he felt his vision was right, he would try to convince us and vice versa.
SRK: I am not trying to take credit away from niche films, whether it's a Parzania or a Chennai Express, but with Raees, we have tried to make a film with substance and turn it into a commercial one. Most filmmakers try to achieve that. It's the Holy Grail. When we were shooting Laila Main Laila with Sunny Leone, Rahul was all smiles because it was quite unlike what he had done in his previous films. I told him, 'Rahul, this is from our world (laughs)'. The discussion was always about whether we got the right balance between Rahul's substance and our commerce.
Farhan, you shared inputs on how Laila Main Laila should be shot...
SRK: Farhan came on the set and told me, 'Shah, it's not going to be like an item song.' So, we were all very clear that we didn't want the song to come across as an item number. I am not saying the word 'item' is derogatory, but it's weird. I had a song like that - Lovely in Happy New Year - but there was still some logic behind it, because the character was a bar dancer. We didn't have any wrong intentions. In Raees, we didn't want to put in an item song for no rhyme or reason. Laila Main Laila actually takes the story ahead. It is the turning point of the film.
FARHAN: In the 80s, when they wanted to add an item song to the film, they would have dialogues like, 'Sardar, banjaron ki toli aayi hai' and get away with it! We haven't even gone that far to create such a situation for the song.
The film was delayed for many months due to SRK's injury. Was it a major setback?
SRK: Ritesh was like 'Koi baat nahin... Shah just take it easy' but andar hi andar, he was fuming (laughs). But what could he do?
RITESH: The gap was almost seven months and Rahul was very worried. He kept saying that we should start shooting as soon as we can. We had to shoot intense action sequences and had also constructed a huge set, so maintaining it was an issue. But we were surprised when SRK returned after all those months on the set, because he didn't forget any part of the continuity. He remembered exactly how the scene was.
SRK: When I do a film, I completely get into the zone and start living the character. I don't do any strange preps or have character sketches. It's automatic. Somehow, I adapt to the body language. If today, Farhan asks me to shoot a promo for Don, it will take me an hour at the most to get into the character.
There are many films based on the chor-police theme. How did you make sure Raees was different?
SRK: Yes, chor-police films have been attempted a thousand times. So, we decided to have one good and one bad character, and both of them can't exist without each other. They have a love-hate relationship. A famous filmmaker had once told me that he wanted to make a chor-police film with me. After several years, I gave him a chance to narrate the script. He told me, 'There are two roles - ek police hain aur ek chor . Kahani mein phir jo hota hain, wahi hoga. Toh aap police ka role karna chahoge, ki chor ka? Chor ke liye ek extra gaana hain, toh woh role aap kar do.' The narration was over!
Farhan, you were supposed to play Nawaz's role. Why did you opt out?
FARHAN: Actually, it was just a discussion that we had in office. It wasn't decided that I would play the role.
SRK: Initially, I wanted him to play the character because he's a wonderful actor and though we've worked together before, it was in the capacity of an actor and director. But there was just one problem - the police uniform. Both of us are too urban to get into it (laughs). It would have been a lot of fun. We even discussed it at length as it's a really nice role.
As long as Zoya makes money for our company, we will back her - Ritesh-Farhan
8:13 AM
Meena Iyer (BOMBAY TIMES; May 29, 2015)
Sixteen years ago, buddies
Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar formed Excel Entertainment.
From Dil and Chahta Hai (2001) till
their latest venture Dil Dhadakne Do that releases on June 5, these two
suave guys have nurtured a goal to make noteworthy films. And though
their common faith is good cinema, they have no desire to be seen as two
peas in a pod. Both have independent minds with definite
viewpoints.Yet, they are able to bring their individual strengths to the
table. Excerpts from a conversation with them.
Zoya Akhtar made money for your company with Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (ZNMD). Is that why you backed her Dil Dhadakne Do?
(Both chorus and laugh) You are so right! That is exactly why we have chosen to back DDD. As long as Zoya continues to make money for our company, we will continue to back her (they laugh some more and then on a more serious note, add) Zoya made a good film in ZNMD. And we are fully confident about Dil Dhadakne Do because we have seen it. So long as she makes good films, we are happy to produce.
Does Zoya get paid her fee? Or is she treated like ghar ki murgi?
(Both chorus) She always takes her fee.
What is the kind of cinema your hearts beat for (Aap ka dil kis tarah ke cinema ke liye dhadakta hai)?
Farhan: The attempt is to put out fresh stories that on some level have their own unique quality; cinema that stands out in content. The idea is to always back content that you can emotionally connect with.
Ritesh: We want to be able to say that this is the kind of story that we should tell. Irrespective of the genre, it should be a story that you can emotionally connect with and that you, as producers, should want to see being made into a film.
Have you guys always had the same beliefs as far as cinema goes?
Ritesh: Farhan and my sensibilities are similar as far as cinema is concerned. That is the reason why ours is a good partnership. We are making the kind of films we believe in. Any film we make comes out of a solid discussion. When scripts come to us, we read and discuss them. Ideas are constantly bounced off one another; we also have in-house discussions with our team of writer-directors and between our selves.
Ritesh, will you direct a film someday?
When we were promoting DDD in the cricket season, I was asked when I would make my acting debut. Now, I'm being asked whether I wish to direct. The answer to both the above suggestions is a 'No'. You see, currently most of the directors we are working with are new. And I need to be around them, nurture them. That itself is so exciting. I get to share a lot of experiences with them. We were earlier making one film at a time. Now, we are making multiple projects. Earlier, Farhan was the only one directing movies for us. Then, we got Zoya and Reema Kagti on board. Now, we have several young people making movies for us. Farhan is also acting. One of us constantly needs to be around. It is not as if you just fund films and then sit back. There is a lot of work that goes into putting a project together. I enjoy that process and I intend to concentrate on that aspect only.
How would you two define your areas? Is one of you creative and the other, the money matters guy?
Farhan: It is true that in every partnership or for that matter, in every relationship, there has to be a certain balance. There are certain strengths that each one brings to the table. If at all there are any weaknesses in one partner, then it is compensated by the strength of the other partner. I have always maintained the business organisation in our company is done by Ritesh. He is truly the guy who takes charge. When it comes to financing or organising things with the line producer, it is Ritesh all the way. My involvement is more on the creative side. I try to get the screenplay right, the dialogue and the music is what I focus on.
Was it tough to convince Anil Kapoor to play a father to PC and Ranveer?
(Both chorus) Yes, it was tough to convince Anil to play dad. It is a big step for him. While we were watching the film, all the memories of our earlier meetings came flooding back. But we are really glad that he came on board. He is the most perfect Mr Mehra we could have asked for.
You guys have seen Dil Dhadakne Do. In hindsight, do you at all feel having Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra as siblings turned out to be better than having Ranbir Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan, who were the first choice for the same roles?
Farhan: Every film has a destiny of its own. Turn around and look at the various posters in this room. With the exception of Don, where the starcast is the repeat of the first part, almost every film has gone through a casting process where a certain actor has been approached for a certain part and then someone else has come on board. This happens not only with us, it happens with every filmmaker. The people they wrote for didn't end up doing their film and someone else did. In retrospect, to think what could have been, is not really important. We are happy that we ended up with a really good cast. We have seen the film and the performances and it is a really perfect cast.
Ritesh, besides Farhan, Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar are said to be your close friends...
Yes, they are my friends. Besides Adi and Karan, there are others too with whom I interact a lot socially. We talk. We meet socially. Work wise, we speak to one another. We are happy to show our films to each other. But it isn't as if I talk to them every single day.
This is the first time you are associating with another producer. Tell us about your association with Junglee Pictures?
Ritesh: We agreed to associate with Junglee Pictures because in our conversations with them, we found out about their keenness to back good content. They came on board without asking us about the starcast of our films. They were keen on good storytelling, a good narrative. They let us function in a completely autonomous way.
Zoya Akhtar made money for your company with Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (ZNMD). Is that why you backed her Dil Dhadakne Do?
(Both chorus and laugh) You are so right! That is exactly why we have chosen to back DDD. As long as Zoya continues to make money for our company, we will continue to back her (they laugh some more and then on a more serious note, add) Zoya made a good film in ZNMD. And we are fully confident about Dil Dhadakne Do because we have seen it. So long as she makes good films, we are happy to produce.
Does Zoya get paid her fee? Or is she treated like ghar ki murgi?
(Both chorus) She always takes her fee.
What is the kind of cinema your hearts beat for (Aap ka dil kis tarah ke cinema ke liye dhadakta hai)?
Farhan: The attempt is to put out fresh stories that on some level have their own unique quality; cinema that stands out in content. The idea is to always back content that you can emotionally connect with.
Ritesh: We want to be able to say that this is the kind of story that we should tell. Irrespective of the genre, it should be a story that you can emotionally connect with and that you, as producers, should want to see being made into a film.
Have you guys always had the same beliefs as far as cinema goes?
Ritesh: Farhan and my sensibilities are similar as far as cinema is concerned. That is the reason why ours is a good partnership. We are making the kind of films we believe in. Any film we make comes out of a solid discussion. When scripts come to us, we read and discuss them. Ideas are constantly bounced off one another; we also have in-house discussions with our team of writer-directors and between our selves.
Ritesh, will you direct a film someday?
When we were promoting DDD in the cricket season, I was asked when I would make my acting debut. Now, I'm being asked whether I wish to direct. The answer to both the above suggestions is a 'No'. You see, currently most of the directors we are working with are new. And I need to be around them, nurture them. That itself is so exciting. I get to share a lot of experiences with them. We were earlier making one film at a time. Now, we are making multiple projects. Earlier, Farhan was the only one directing movies for us. Then, we got Zoya and Reema Kagti on board. Now, we have several young people making movies for us. Farhan is also acting. One of us constantly needs to be around. It is not as if you just fund films and then sit back. There is a lot of work that goes into putting a project together. I enjoy that process and I intend to concentrate on that aspect only.
How would you two define your areas? Is one of you creative and the other, the money matters guy?
Farhan: It is true that in every partnership or for that matter, in every relationship, there has to be a certain balance. There are certain strengths that each one brings to the table. If at all there are any weaknesses in one partner, then it is compensated by the strength of the other partner. I have always maintained the business organisation in our company is done by Ritesh. He is truly the guy who takes charge. When it comes to financing or organising things with the line producer, it is Ritesh all the way. My involvement is more on the creative side. I try to get the screenplay right, the dialogue and the music is what I focus on.
Was it tough to convince Anil Kapoor to play a father to PC and Ranveer?
(Both chorus) Yes, it was tough to convince Anil to play dad. It is a big step for him. While we were watching the film, all the memories of our earlier meetings came flooding back. But we are really glad that he came on board. He is the most perfect Mr Mehra we could have asked for.
You guys have seen Dil Dhadakne Do. In hindsight, do you at all feel having Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra as siblings turned out to be better than having Ranbir Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan, who were the first choice for the same roles?
Farhan: Every film has a destiny of its own. Turn around and look at the various posters in this room. With the exception of Don, where the starcast is the repeat of the first part, almost every film has gone through a casting process where a certain actor has been approached for a certain part and then someone else has come on board. This happens not only with us, it happens with every filmmaker. The people they wrote for didn't end up doing their film and someone else did. In retrospect, to think what could have been, is not really important. We are happy that we ended up with a really good cast. We have seen the film and the performances and it is a really perfect cast.
Ritesh, besides Farhan, Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar are said to be your close friends...
Yes, they are my friends. Besides Adi and Karan, there are others too with whom I interact a lot socially. We talk. We meet socially. Work wise, we speak to one another. We are happy to show our films to each other. But it isn't as if I talk to them every single day.
This is the first time you are associating with another producer. Tell us about your association with Junglee Pictures?
Ritesh: We agreed to associate with Junglee Pictures because in our conversations with them, we found out about their keenness to back good content. They came on board without asking us about the starcast of our films. They were keen on good storytelling, a good narrative. They let us function in a completely autonomous way.
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