Actor Gauahar Khan is spending her birthday wishing for peace all across the world. She hopes that the exploitation of people in the name of religion will end. “I spend every birthday, in fact every day, wanting peace. I want the suffering to end. I want people to just stop (doing) everything in the name of power, religion. They need to stop exploiting people’s minds to take them away from the real issues. I really want people to find peace and happiness,” shares Khan, who turns 38 today.

Throughout the years, the actor has been vocal about significant issues, from patriarchy and global conflicts to Islamophobia, and the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan. She uses social media to voice her opinions. Asked about the same, she says, “Right now, everybody is talking about the Taliban entering Kabul, which is absolutely crazy. I want to know how many people actually spoke up about the issues that were happening in Afghanistan in the last 20 years when America was there. It was not at all happy and hunky-dory.”

She continues, “It was a war zone, people were still dying. The Taliban was still attacking people. It was not a peaceful land, Syria is not peaceful, Palestine is not peaceful, but nobody really speaks about it. I feel it is a media operated propaganda that people want to be selective about the causes they support”. According to her, humanity is “across religions, sex, faiths and countries”.

“If you are humane, you should have the same kind of values for everybody. It has got nothing to do with, ‘humko matter karta hai toh hi hum baat karenge warna nahi karenge’. Your voice is yours. You need to use it wisely and use it for the correct topics,” says the actor, who has been having an eventful birthday month with back to back releases. Meanwhile, her birthday also marks one year since actor Zaid Darbar proposed to her for marriage, making it more special.

Kabir Khan, director of Phantom, starring Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif, says each of the film's action sequence was an adventure by itself. Kabir says, “The attempt was to keep it all very real. We shot in real locations, even if it meant travelling from Kashmir and Punjab to London, Canada, Syria and Beirut.“

Sajid Nadiadwala, who's producing the film in association with Siddharth Roy Kapur, says, “Phantom has some raw action. For me, the most amazing part is that the backdrop for the action is like that of an international film. We haven't seen an Indian film with such amazing locations.“

BEIRUT SHOOT LOOKED LIKE A REBELLIOUS MOVEMENT
Shooting in the strife-torn locations was a sensitive issue. Saif was surprised to learn that many of the people who were playing smaller roles in the film and some members of the local crew were from the Hezbolla group. A huge refugee camp was built on the Syria-Lebanon border, barely a half-hour drive from a Shia Muslim area in Lebanon. About 400 locals dressed as rebel soldiers and 25 trucks and jeeps were part of the huge set-up and naturally, attracted plenty of attention.


HIGH-OCTANE CHASE SEQUENCES IN CANADA
Preferring real locations instead of relying on CGI (computer-generated imagery), because the actual backdrop adds more depth to this story, the entire crew flew down to Canada for some major thrill sequences. The film has several high-end car chase sequences. But the highlight of the schedule was a cutting-edge sequence under the expertise of foreign action director Garry.

PAKISTAN CREATED IN PUNJAB FOR CRASHES AND CHASES
The filmmakers created Pakistan in Malerkotla, Punjab. An entire marketplace was dressed up to look authentic, complete with Urdu hoarding, posters and flags. The extensive action sequence, which was shot in the middle of the narrow busy and crowded lanes, also had a lot of intensive car chases and crashes that demand perfection and utmost precaution in their execution.


BLAST SCENES IN SNOW-CAPPED KASHMIR
Important action sequences were picturised in Pahalgam and in a ski resort in Gulmarg. The most difficult part of this schedule was planning the blast sequences in the peak of winter, when the entire valley was covered in a 10-foot blanket of snow. Adding to the difficulties was hauling the equipment to and from the location every morning and evening respectively. The enthusiasm and hard work of the locals was not only heart-warming, but also gave a major boost to the film's team.

Talking about shooting action in real locations, action director Sham Kaushal says, “In Beruit, when we shot in the area where Hezbollah fighters stay, we even used their guns. It was difficult as we had so much shoot-out and blasting happening in the sequence with principle actors involved in it. I have a great understanding with Kabir, with whom I've collaborated on all his films except Ek Tha Tiger.“

Phantom, presented by Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment Pvt Ltd and UTV Motion Pictures, releases August 28.

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.