Having collaborated on numerous occasions, filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala and director David Dhawan's friendship has stood the test of time. The hit jodi, who made the 1997 blockbuster Judwaa, has joined hands once again to give us a reboot of the film, which will see Varun Dhawan reprising the double role that Salman Khan had essayed in the original. In a candid, fun-filled chat with BT, the duo talks about the future of commercial potboilers, thoughts on 'industry kids' having it easy, Varun being compared to Salman and why there won't be a 'butt-slapping scene' in Judwaa 2, unlike the original. Excerpts...

David, how different was it to direct Varun in Judwaa 2 as opposed to Salman in the original?
David: They are very different actors, Salman is something else. Initially, I thought that he was lazy, but he takes time to settle down and once he does, he knows exactly what needs to be done. He can hold the audience's attention. Also, there's something very endearing about him; his niceness is believable and genuine. He is the most charming actor we have. I always tell Varun that he should be as endearing as Salman.
Sajid: While shooting for Judwaa, Salman said, 'Main Hum Aapke Hain Koun ka hero hoon, I can't do pelvic thrusts.' I was worried that David would hear that and say, 'pack up' (laughs).

Varun was launched by Karan Johar (Student Of The Year). It's not often that rank outsiders get such an opportunities. Since you two have been in the industry for long, what's your take on the ongoing debate on nepotism?
David: It is easier for an industry boy to get opportunities, but in the end, you need talent to survive. Also, all of us are outsiders. I struggled for 10 years before my films started making money. Sajid, too, has seen bad times till Jeet and Judwaa happened. Let me tell you, I haven't helped my sons Rohit or Varun professionally. I got to know from a third person that Rohit is making a film. Same with Varun - he doesn't want to take my help. Karan came to my house to inform me that Varun will be launched in his film. Rohit and I were surprised that he was going to be a hero. Varun didn't have to go through the kind of struggles that I did because yeh uska muqaddar hai. I had a poor father, but Varun has a rich father (laughs). Of course, Karan ki film ho gayi isliye, varna mujhe usse launch karna hi padta. I am his father, after all. But he was destined to make it on his own.
Sajid: What do I do if my son wants to be an actor? Should I tell him that he is not supposed to be one because of nepotism? This word has cropped up recently. You have girls like Jacqueline Fernandez and Katrina Kaif who are not from here; Akshay Kumar is also an outsider. Also, every industry kid has a father who has struggled. Look at David ji, I still remember he had a scooter for the longest time jo kabhi chalu hi nahi hoti thi.

As a father, how do you react to the media attention on Varun's personal life?
David: I don't question him about rumours of his affairs and link-ups. At times, my wife prompts me to ask him about it, but I don't. That's his life; I am not bothered by all that.

Sajid, you have been producing films for almost 32 years. David, you've directed 44 films till date. How has the industry changed over the years?
David: Back in those days, I remember the biggest black ticketer at Gaiety, Galaxy telling me that he had bought a house by selling black tickets for my movies. I miss that time. Also, earlier, the industry was like a family. We would say, 'Chal yaar, picture banate hain'. Now, everything is very professional. Even my son (Varun) was professional with me during the shoot of the film (laughs). So, whenever I had a problem with Varun or anyone else, I would ask Sajid to handle them. I have known Sajid for over 20 years, and we are on a similar wavelength.
Sajid: I only work with those I get along with. It doesn't matter how successful or unsuccessful they are. David and I are friends, but he is way too senior. So, be it any decision, I often convey it to him through his sons. I even discussed the casting of Judwaa 2 with Rohit first.

The original Judwaa released 20 years ago. So, did you alter your sensibility to cater to the changing times? For instance, the butt-slapping scene in the original may not go down too well with the audience now...
David: I have made a few alterations, but I didn't tamper the original. We deleted that scene after Varun censured it. I guess that's why it helps to work with the younger generation; they give you a newer perspective. Also, if you feel the need to change a film completely, that means you are not confident about it at all.

David, weren't you apprehensive about casting your son in the remake, as that inadvertently pits him against a superstar like Salman Khan, who was in the original?
David: I never thought about it as a comparison because we are very close to Salman. That relationship is something else.
Sajid: Every actor has his own space. Be it Amitabh Bachchan or Shah Rukh Khan, as was proved in the Don remake. There cannot be any comparison as they are two different personalities. Varun must have been nine years old when Judwaa released.

David, you are known to be a taskmaster on the set. Is that true?
David: Work is priority for me. I might like you, but work comes first. If you are not good (professionally), no matter how much I like you as a person, I will throw you out of my film. I have done it before. The day I get to know that an actor is spoiling my film, I will throw him out.

Were you strict with Varun on the set or did the dad in you overpower the director at times?
David: It was the reverse. I probably treated him worse than the others, I was tougher on him. So much so, he even complained to his mother! But eventually, he came around and told me that what I did was right.
Sajid: At times, I would have to convince David to let Varun do a retake if he wanted to. Once I even told his brother (Rohit) that Varun is a star, so you all should treat him a bit nicely (laughs).

Cinema is the driving force between producer Sajid Nadiadwala and director Imtiaz Ali. Both are currently obsessing over their Ranbir Kapoor-Deepika Padukone starrer Tamasha that releases on November 27. Over steaming hot cups of some really expensive green tea at Sajid's office that is spacious enough for a football team; the producer-director duo known for their plain-speak discuss their latest labour of love.

Imtiaz, how would you sell Tamasha to me?
(Smiles) It has Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone together in full value. I hope I got you with that one. They are awesome together as people already know. As a director, I have the same feeling for them as the audience would have. This is not only because of their relationship in the past, etc. but because I know that things become 2 + 2 = 5 when these two are involved in a movie. There is something that they add on to each other and make things better. I have used that aspect in the filming. There are written scenes and all of that. But things were improvised with them well in advance and that brought some changes in the script. It was possible for me in this one film to go into different crevices of their relationship. There were times when we had free-rolling fun; there were times that were disgustingly passionate; there were moments when there was an embarrassing longing for one another, there was pining and finally the awkwardness that one sometimes feels in a relationship. It is all there in Tamasha. All kinds of scenes are there in the film with just these two, both of who are fabulous actors.

Was all this passion and longing necessitated through the script?
Yes, the script is actually played through their relationship. It is the various aspects of this bond that really tells us the story.
Sajid: Not to forget, Tamasha also has Imtiaz Ali as the director.
Imtiaz: Tamasha is a movie of personal connect. The innermost feelings of someone get amplified on the largest platform or stage in life, which is why the film is called Tamasha. Everyone has a personal happy space, Tamasha is about that space. People today are getting mechanical, the romance is going out of their lives. The spark is missing. But all of us are made unique. This movie is in that personal happy space of someone and the effect it can have on all of us. Tamasha is driven by passion. All of us associated with the film, be it Sajid, Deepika, Ranbir or I never lost sight of that.

Imtiaz, this is your second film with Sajid, Highway being the first. Tell us how his banner, Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment Pvt Ltd value add to a film.
When I'm working with Sajid, I feel I'm playing in the A-League cricket because I have a bigger pitch and more resources. What I also like about working with him is that he is invisible. In my opinion, the best people on earth are the ones who are invisible. As a producer, Sajid is there all the time, yet he is not in-your-face. That is a great quality for a producer. I have taken big budget decisions. I have treated Tamasha like I am the producer. I know that Sajid is there behind me but he will only makes his presence felt if he feels I'm genuinely seeking him. Otherwise he allows his directors enough space and autonomy. That is the kind of support that fosters good films.
Sajid: As far as I am concerned, I love making cinema. My high comes from collaborating with different makers who have a different set of aesthetics. We believe that every film that we produce must come to a natural closure, a natural conclusion. There is no room for complacency. I like Imtiaz's cinema and I'm happy that I'm making it under my banner.

Imtiaz, you have also done two films each with Deepika and Ranbir. Are you partial to either?
Whoever is good for my film at whichever point of time, I am on his side (laughs). For instance, while talking about my association with Sajid, I must say that I have been oblivious of the market and how to deal with publicity etc. Sajid is clued into every aspect of the filmmaking process. Deepika is much more confident today than she was during Love Aaj Kal. I have always felt that she has a personal issue with shyness. She has handled that now and it doesn't interfere with her performance. That is why she is suddenly being recognised as a great actor which she is. And she is only going to go places from here on. She is in full bloom in our film and you must see how beautifully this has translated on screen. Also, she is just not bothered about her looks when it comes to facing the camera. She doesn't allow anything to distract from her performance.

What about Ranbir?
The nice thing about Ranbir is whenever you work with him, you feel you are working with him for the first time. I've known him really well personally having worked with him earlier in Rockstar as well. Yet, he manages to surprise me with the freshness that he brings to the screen each time. He is that pure as an actor. Ranbir is made of the material that makes the best actors in the world.

Ranbir and Deepika's previous outing, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (YJHD), was a blockbuster. How ambitious are the two of you for Tamasha?
Sajid: Each film has its own destiny. When we signed them, we never thought we were signing the YJHD pair. It is only now, when we are asked this question that we have become conscious of that fact.
Imtiaz: It was at the trailer launch that the YJHD question popped up for the first time. Till then, it didn't cross our minds.
Sajid: They are terrific together in Tamasha.
Imtiaz: I do hope that they make another film together and then people bring out the comparison with our film. Actually all these comparisons begin only when the marketing starts. When the creative process is on, it doesn't make a difference.

The easier and more predictable thing to do after 28 years of being in the film business is to make safe films that have higher chances of being successful. But the truth is that it's only when you are successful can you hope to push boundaries and make different cinema as you are more likely to be accepted then. That's what this director-producer jodi of Kabir Khan and Sajid Nadiadwala have done with their upcoming thriller Phantom, which they believe has the grittiness of a Zero Dark Thirty with the entertainment of a Blood Diamond. Phantom is what Kabir calls 'faction', a blend of fact and fiction set against the backdrop of India after 26/11. The killing of Osama Bin Laden at Abbottabad provided a sense of closure to Americans post 9/11. Kabir has attempted to bring retribution for 26/11 to Indians through the medium of his film. Since this thriller is based on the book of S Hussain Zaidi titled Mumbai Avengers, it has the credibility and depth of research that is required to make a film on a subject like this. While the book is more James Bondish, Kabir has added the emotional parts to the story, making it finally an emotional edge of-the-seat thriller. Whether Kabir has succeeded to avenge Mumbai through Phantom, we will know only on August 28 when the film releases. Till then, excerpts from the conversation with the star director and his gutsy producer.

Sajid, the last film from your banner Kick did a business of over Rs 200 crores. Kabir Khan's recent blockbuster Bajrangi Bhaijaan has crossed Rs 300 crores. What are your expectations for Phantom from the box office?
Box office has taken a backseat with films like Phantom. I have been producing films for 28 years and was earlier only making safe films like Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Judwaa and the Housefulls. But a year ago, we started making different films like Highway and 2 States and that paid off very well, both monetarily and in terms of respect. You become complacent making safe films. After 28 years, to be not able to sleep properly and being on the edge with Phantom is a great high.

Sajid, what made you take he decision of making a Phantom?
I decided to make Phantom immediately after Kick. I had decided to make a film with Kabir and we had discussed 20 ideas, most of which were i n the safe zone and were easy to say an instant yes to, but after 15 days of thinking whether we should or not, we decided to go ahead with Phantom. Phantom is not an unsafe film, but we are taking baby steps to make different kinds of cinema and telling stories that you want to. Unlike shooting in a London or a New York or a Film City hat your production team is familiar with, here we were shooting in Syria, where we don't know the level of security, we don't know how the plane will land, will the government backtrack after giving permissions. But it was great fun and very exciting. I have already promised myself that for the next 20 years, I will make a film like Phantom every two years, irrespective of the result of the film at the box office. Even if it gets the box office numbers and appreciation of films like Haider and Badlapur, we will be happy.

Sajid, talk about your experience working with Kabir Khan?
I feel that from the time we started making the film, there is no corruption. Despite having made such a big film with Salman Khan, he remained authentic to Phantom from the beginning to the end. We shot this film in so many places ranging from Kashmir and Syria, across so many different countries. We have seen many big production houses shut down due to high losses on account of high costs, but for us shooting on the borders of Syria also seemed as easy as shooting in Film City. Today, every Friday is a new Friday for everybody, as the audience does not give you credit for your last work. Phantom is a very well-made film and I am proud that despite shooting the film in so many countries, the costs are well within Rs 50 crores.

Kabir, does the expectation of box office numbers bother you as a director?
Unfortunately, the more successful people get, the safer they play. Honestly, it should be the reverse. When you are successful, you can actually take the risk as you can push boundaries as people would be more likely to go with you. And that's what we have done. If we don't push the boundary, who will? And I am so happy that as a producer, Sajid has the guts to take on something so different. I can tell you that Phantom is new and exciting and I feel that the audience is ready for it.

Kabir, how was your experience working with Sajid as a producer?
One, when he backs something, he backs it fully. There are no mid-course corrections being made. So there is the strength of commitment and he is standing there to make sure that your vision gets executed on screen. The other is the grandness of vision. A big film is not a function of money. A big film is a function of the vision and your producer needs to have that. I have seen a lot of producers who make money and say they want to make a big film, but when you see what they have made, it looks like a teddy bear picnic. It's not about spending the money, it's about knowing where to spend money and knowing what makes a film look good. So, the scale of the film really comes with the vision of the director and the producer. And that's why all of Sajid's films look big even if it is a comedy.

Kabir, how did you manage to keep the costs under control?
Actually a lot of times, money is wasted on things you don't see, for instance, going to the same location twice. Even normal romcoms are made in 80 days. We have made a Phantom in just 90 days. Also, be it the actors or technicians, they all charge less for such a project as you believe in this kind of cinema, so the costs come down substantially.

Sajid Nadiadwala has completed over 25 years as an independent producer. It was in 1955, when his grandfather Abdul Karim Nadiadwala first came to Mumbai and started producing films including films like Taj Mahal. His father Suleman too continued the tradition of making films. Sajid became an independent producer and not surprisingly, named his production company Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment Pvt Ltd. 25 years later, he turned director with his friend Salman Khan's Kick. Over an hour-long conversation, he talks to Bombay Times about having a kickass 2014, the value he places on oral commitment and how he financially gains by being a generous producer. Excerpts:

Your family has been in the business for 60 years, you have been a producer for over 25 years and this year you debuted as a director. Which has professionally been your best year?
2014 was phenomenal with Highway, Heropanti, 2 States and Kick. My grandfather started in 1955 with producing Inspector. I don't think from that time till now, more than 2 or 3 production houses have survived, the rest have shut down. Just thinking about that, I get gooseflesh. We have been making films for 60 years
now. There have been some good years and some bad years, but to survive for 60 years is not a joke.

What was special about 2014?
First, I made films with risk. They were brave films like Highway in different genres. So far I had been otherwise making films of a certain kind that I wanted to make. For the first time, I took the liberty of joining hands with someone like Karan Johar for 2 States that I had never done before. Earlier, I had always been an independent producer. I have always launched newcomer heroines, but had never launched a new boy that I did this year with Tiger Shroff. And fourth was to launch myself as a director after 25 years of struggling as a producer. And that film became my biggest hit and the biggest film made by a debut director in Bollywood. Over 60 years, no one had been a director in my family. And while my nani and mother were skeptical and worried whether I would be able to pull it off, my wife Wardha had always been confident that I could do it.

Your plans for next year?
To start with, we have Kabir Khan's Phantom, Imtiaz Ali's Tamasha, Rohit Dhawan's film with Varun Dhawan and John Abraham, Sabir Khan's film with Tiger Shroff and then Farhad Sajid's Housefull 3 with Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan and Riteish Deshmukh.

Talk about your childhood memories related to films?
My grandfather used to love filmmaking, but he died when I was in Class X. I remember, going on his set and sitting on his lap. People would come and touch his feet and call him sethji. In those days, the first shot would not be taken till the mahurat ladoos came. I remember eating those ladoos and having ice creams at film trials. There was no medium of publicity then, no trailers and that was the era of pure trial. If we were going to see Taj Mahal, nobody knew anything about it, so people who saw the trial were the lucky lot. We had our own theatres and my grandfather had a lot of property, not just buildings, but he owned roads in Malad. He worked with the best directors and stars and would sign Manmohan Desai, Prakash Mehra, Mr Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna for three films each. I am happy that I have carried his baton forward and have also worked with top stars Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar in multiple films. It has been a great journey, not just making films, but also doing well for 60 years.

Talk about the values you stand for while making films?
We have always stood by our commitment as producers. Paper work has started in the industry some 10-15 years back, but earlier, it was only oral commitment. Till date, my actors have always been on oral commitment. Earlier, this quality of standing by your commitment was not available in the 50s and 60s when there would be many defaulters, sirf zubaan ki keemat hoti thi. At that time also, my father's USP was that if Mr Nadiadwala gives his word, that commitment will be fulfilled. Now, it is no longer a USP , as everything is anyways documented through contracts.

You are perceived to be a generous producer who brings great production values to your films.
Yes, as I feel whenever I have paid well, I have earned also well. Whenever I have tried to negotiate, my profit has also reduced. As a producer, my success rate is 90%. That means somewhere, I greenlight my films very well. They may not be out of the box and I don't take risks except in 2014 when I did and also gained from it. Actors are also insecure just as we producers are. So, for them to sit in a boat that is 90% safe is easier. The actor feels that we know our job well. We are totally committed to the film till not just its release, but even after. When a director comes to us, he knows that he will be taken care of, money being the last aspect. The colour of money is the same everywhere, but my office is committed to looking after his needs.

Money used to be important for me earlier, but over the past few years, it keeps coming and does not matter now. Today, we greenlight films creatively, not just keeping money in mind. I want that any director who comes and works with us should do 5-7 films with us.

Some of the best directors like Imtiaz Ali and Kabir Khan like working with you. How do you manage that?
Besides being a producer, I am also an associate director. I take care of the creative needs of a director. During my learning stages, a lot of credit goes to my uncles, Farruk and Habib who made Ghulami. They treated me as one normal 7th assistant and not as their relative on the set. So, I grew up learning the protocol of knowing a director's requirement. So today, when I handle top directors, I know how to handle them. I don't interfere creatively, but know how to provide for him. I am servicing the director. Anyways, I feel what's the point of taking a top director if I want to tell him what to do. For me, it's a learning process working with Imtiaz or Kabir. Despite having produced 200 films, I still feel like an assistant. Filmmaking is easy if you have the right people at the right place, otherwise it can take ages to make a film. I don't make a budget ever, as you then start cutting budgets even before the film is made, but I have my own way of looking after that. And it has worked very well for me. I studied Law and CA and therefore, my creativity and commerce run parallely. They don't intercept each other.

Are your sons going to carry on your family legacy?
My younger son is too small, but my older son, who is 12, has decided that he wants to be an actor. So it seems that 60 years in cinema is looking like it will be 100 years for our family .

Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; July 29, 2014)

Salman Khan meets us the evening after release of Kick. Like any other day, he has slept well through the morning, had his lunch with his family, been for his heavy workout and then sits down hungry to talk to us. With his favourite food kept in front of him, the first thing he tells me is, “I am more interested in eating right now than doing this interview." He tried his best to also distract me into eating with him, but we somehow managed. Excerpts of our conversation with him and his friend and director of Kick, Sajid Nadiadwala.

CONVERSATION WITH SALMAN KHAN:

What do you do on Eid?
I do on Eid what I do on any other festive day, spend time with family and pray for longevity of life for them. It's a day I can go off that non-carb diet and pray from the bottom of my heart in my way. That's it. In our house, we celebrate everything. We celebrate even a festival called disaster. We also celebrate the success of other people. We celebrate our own failure. We, as a family, find something each day to celebrate. Every son has something about their mother they love. I have my mother's eyes though I grew up on my mother's nerves. My mother can actually handle anything. Her tolerance for pain is substantial. Like her, I think I have that quality of standing up laughing and then standing up after a broken leg. She once fell down many stairs and we all got hassled that mummy had fallen. But can you imagine, we ran down and saw her laughing.
I asked her, 'Theek ho?' She said, 'Haan, theek hoon.' Then dad came. He said, 'What happened?' She said, 'I fell and have broken my foot.' When we saw her leg, it had been broken into 8-10 pieces. Dad says, 'You have put on so much weight. You will get saved but to lift you, your husband and son may get a heart attack.' She was in bed for about six months. She cooks and right now she is getting ready all the ingredients for sevaiyyan and sheer khurma for Eid for everybody.

Your childhood memory of Eid?
We were always told, 'If you don't behave yourself, we will not take you out.' It's not that I do my namaaz everyday, but I try to pray in my mind all the time. I work and whenever I get the time, I think of Him and I try and do the right things all the time. I believe in Him and a power that is there above all of us. Now, I will pray the Eid ki namaaz where you get up in the morning and pray with the whole jamaat. I do it differently. I keep on repeating the words in my mind and the translation for everything in my mind in Hindi or English, as Arabic is a language which you are reading but not understanding it. My pronunciation of Arabic may not be perfect, so I say the meaning too after that. As kids, it used to be an outing. Invariably, someone or the other would get up late and we would miss the namaaz at one place, then go to the other and sometimes miss it at all places and come back home and then read it together, blaming each other for it. But it was so much fun.
Most of the times, the defaulter was Sohail, I think, as he was always chilled out. As kids we used to get 25 paise or 50 paise as Eidi. As we are growing older, we get such a big phatka. I just don't like this Eid and Rakhi as between these two sisters and two rakhi sisters, it's more than enough. I have decided to have no more sisters. Aisa tagda phatka padta hai, and then they will tell you, you are Salman Khan so you have to give more. They don't agree below a lakh at at least. They will put rakhis on your whole hand. Every year, they want you to give more and then if you have had a hit, the amount will be even higher, so it's not fun any more.

How do you deal with the expectations from Kick?
I feel good about the film. My experience throughout the film is not going to change basis the box office numbers. So, however the film goes, I have had a great journey making this film. There are two ways of looking at it. Ek dua maango, ki bahut badi hit hoye. Jab flop ho jaye toh dua maango ki kum se kum flop ho. Thoda sa aur dede. Thoda sa aur dede. Please thoda sa aur dede Allah. We get greedy ki Allah hume maaf kar de, hum greedy ho gaye they. Itna nahi maangna chahiye tha. You start making deals with Allah. You say, 'I will leave this,' then you say, 'Nahi yeh nahi, woh nahi karoonga,' and then finally you say, 'Koshish karoonga for 4 days' I have never done a bargain with God. I very rarely ask itself because he knows everything toh maangna kya. I always ask for others ki kum se kum taqleef de unko. A film's success is a combination of hard work, prayers and people wanting to work with you, which means that you are good people who don't have enemies. Also God has given you a brain, so don't make a bad film, as don't expect a film to do well if it is shitty.

Your relationship with God...
We are respectful when it comes to our parents and bosses. We expect fans to behave themselves when they meet us. Even to meet a small-time politician, we are willing to stand in a line and go through security. Par upar waale se toh baat karte hain jaisa kuch bhi nahi. Har aadmi se baat karne mein phat jaati hai, but upar waale se baat karne mein we go Allahhhhh. Yaar Allah, tere se baat karte hain, yeh kya chakkar hai yaar?
That the power that has made the world we talk to so easily with so much right and authority, we sulk with him, get angry, just imagine if you were to do that with a person with much lesser power. I don't understand that funda. The politeness and respect should be so much more with Allah. When someone talks to us even a little badly, we will say badtameez hain and get irritated. If a fan out of excitement calls at 2 at night, we feel angry. But imagine Allah, we say whatever we want to him at any time. Kya baat hai. He must also be feeling like we do and must also be wanting to hit us, but he doesn't. I feel blessed because if I make a mistake I get instant result for it.

It seems that it has become important for you to play a good person in a film. Is that true?
Yes it's an important criteria. I think, this has to look cooler than the negative guy. There was a time when being a good man was a cool thing, then there came an era where looking negative became cool. I never went into that zone. You make negative stuff look cool and that is what is followed. I may do grey characters, but try and do the right thing on screen. Today in our society even if there is a genuinely good guy, people will think he can't be like that. He must be a gamer, a planner. That is not nice just because he is not like you and is genuinely good.

What next?
I go back to playing Prem in Soorajji's film. When I was refreshing the script in my mind I was thinking that I have been in a banyan more in his film than in any other film. I got a call yesterday from his office saying, 'We need to shoot the pool sequence after you return.' I was eating my chocolate at that time, but listening to that I kept my chocolate down.

Why don't you have a bare body shot in Kick?
We had Nawazuddin in our film. Nawazuddin koh marne ke liye shirt utarne ki zaroorat hi nahi hai. The optional weapons we were looking out for to hit him were like a needle, a nail cutter, a bobpin even a toothpick. We knew even seeing a toothpick he will run away:

CONVERSATION WITH THE DIRECTOR OF KICK, SAJID NADIADWALA:

What does Eid signify in your life?
It was different earlier when dad was there. We looked up to him and sometimes needed to be dragged for namaaz as Eid is a holiday. But today, I am the dad of my house and my kids look upto me now as I am the eldest in the family. So I have to go for namaaz now. Eid is also a time when I miss my dad a lot and remember him.

Has your family seen the film?
During Ramzan time, all the women observe strictness in our house. All three generations in my house (my grandmother, mother and wife) are praying for the film's success, but have not seen the film yet but they are dying to see it and will see it on Eid. Right now, they are holding back and giving their qurbani to Allah. But, of course, since they hear me talking on the phone, in between reading the namaaz, they will come and ask me the box office numbers and then go back to their namaaz I feel my life is like a duck where you only see me from above floating, but actually, the feet below the water doing all the work is their prayers.

Any memory associated with Eid?
Earlier, the nice things were buying clothes one week in advance and getting your Eidi from your elders. In our religion, as per Quran, it is defined that we need to give 2% of our earnings (Zakat) of whatever we make to the needy during the holy month of Ramzan. A few years back, my Rs 30-40 lakhs cash got stolen. Everyone told me that with filmi people, the money never comes back. But I had faith. I said, 'I have paid my zakat and every penny will come back to me.' It is there in my Quran. Everyone laughed at me, but can you imagine the thief not only returned back my money, but did not even take out Rs 100 from it for his food. So I feel zakat is there to protect your interest in life. It's been a great year for you first with success in Highway, 2 States and Heropanti as a producer and now with Kick as a producer-director.

Salim uncle said, 'Takhdeer paise laati hai, dimaag gawati hai.' It's so true. For so many years I have been working so hard working 18-19 hours a day, nothing happened. This year I have been so involved with just Kick, but did not work hard on my other films and yet they have done so well. With Kick I turned director only due to Salman and so he was the first person I wanted to please. But what is nice is that not just him, but the audience is liking the film. I am not directing a film for the next few years and will be standing in queue waiting for only Salman to do my next film.