No getting away from music: Karan

Filmmaker Karan Johar; and (below) images from Kaal

Q: Kaal was originally pla-nned as a songless thriller?

Yes, but now we?ve songs. It?s a very strange songless ?songfull? thriller. All the songs occur in the background. The two main songs, Kaal dhamaal and Tauba tauba, will come at the beginning and end. The music won?t hamper the narrative. Music is an integral part of all our productions. It?s also an important marketing tool and builds up a curiosity for the film. Really, there?s no getting away from music. Earlier, we had acquired the rights to the international hit, Pretty Woman, for Kal Ho Na Ho. Now we acquired the right for another international hit, Eye Of The Tiger, for Kaal.

Q: Aren?t Indian producers notorious for taking what they want without permission?

That?s not the way our company, Dharma Productions, functions. We don?t do anything that?s politically or legally incorrect. Sony Music negotiated for the rights of Eye of the tiger. Then my composers, Salim-Sulaiman, got to work on it, turning it into a Sufi statement.

Q: How did you select these virtual newcomers to do the music for such a prestigious production?

I was very impressed by their contribution to Ab Tak Chhappan and Dhoom. When I met them they gave me the tune for what finally went into Kaal as Tauba tauba. I felt if they had this in them then I want to hear much more. They?ve a great sense of melody and rhythm.

Q: Isn?t there a dearth of music composers in the film industry, with Jatin-Lalit and Anu Malik being out of your orbit?

I don?t think that?s true, really. Jatin-Lalit are very much a part of my orbit. I worked with them in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... and I hope to work with them again some day. As for Anu Malik, he?s one of the most talented music persons in the industry today. He has a volcano of untapped potential. We just haven?t had an opportunity to work together as yet. But now I hope to involve Anu in one of my coming projects. I think Anu?s music in Main Hoon Na rocks. Having said that, I?d like to point a general dearth of talent in every department of cinema.

Q: So why didn?t you sign Anu Malik instead of Shankar-Ehsan-Loy for Kal Ho Na Ho?

For the simple reason that I loved their music in Dil Chahta Hai, specially the track, Tanhai. I follow a simple professional rule. If someone does good work with another director I tap whatever I need from that person. If you notice the music in Kal Ho Na Ho had a blend of Shankar-Ehsan-Loy and my style.

Q: But the music industry seems to be in a slump.

Our cinema can?t do without music. Songs are fastened to our souls. We love to watch, hear, feel, imbibe and express through music.

Indian cinema without music is like food without any spice. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can replace music in our cinema. That?s what makes us stand out in world cinema. I hope we never give up songs. If you ask me to make a film without songs it would be tantamount to slapping me in my face, and I wouldn?t do it.

Q: How did Shah Rukh Khan agree to enact the song for the credit titles?

He?s the co-producer of Kaal. I decided to begin the film with a song and thought of several heroines, in a very Ram Gopal Varma way. After all, I?ve great regard for the man and Kaal is definitely derivative of his school of filmmaking. If Kaal does well, then I say, ?Well done, Ramu. Thank you.? Anyway, after going through a list of item girls I suddenly thought of Shah Rukh Khan as the item boy. I thought, why not? Shah Rukh is the producer and my friend and brother. We?ve an equation where I can take his presence for granted. I asked him and he readily agreed. Shah Rukh is the best producer and item boy one can find. Everyone knows when he cries the world cries with him, when he laughs the whole world laughs with him. The one thing that Shah Rukh hadn?t done was flaunt his muscles. When you see him in the Kaal dhamaal song you?ll see he can be a stud if he wants to be.

Q: You brought Malaika Arora into the song with Shah Rukh to recreate the Chhaiyyan chhaiyyan magic?

Malaika is a dear friend. I love her. She?s one of the sexiest women on the fashion scene. Virtually, Mother 2005. When I brought her in Kaal I didn?t think of Chhaiyyan chhaiyyan. I just thought of her as the sexiest woman to accompany Shah Rukh onscreen.

Q: Is your involvement with Kaal as keen as it was with Kal Ho Na Ho?

Kaal is Soham?s baby through and through. Besides the two songs I haven?t inflicted a single moment of my creative efforts on Kaal. It?s definitely a very original horror film, not borrowed from any Hollywood film. When I read Soham Shah?s narrative I wondered where that came from! I thought he had unlearnt everything from Ram Gopal Varma when he worked with me in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... I think I should put Ramu?s name in the credits. Kaal is a different experience for Hindi moviegoers. Though I?m sure we?ve all been scared in the movies before.

Q: And the ensemble cast?

Every actor has a fair footage?I started casting with Vivek Oberoi and the process ended with Vivek again. He initially said ?no?. Then Saif Ali Khan and Shahid Kapur were considered but they had date problems. Then Vivek returned, and fitted in wonderfully. Initially, he was to do the role that Ajay Devgan did.

Q: Are you sure you haven?t contributed to Kaal beyond the songs? You had said the same about Kal Ho Na Ho, which turned out to be Karan Johar film right through.

It?s over and done with. Kaal is completely Soham?s film. You can check with the cast. I was not on location at the Jim Corbett park, at Bangkok, not even at the photo sessions. No backseat driving. When you see this film you?d refuse to believe I produced it. Kal Ho Na Ho was entirely from my school of filmmaking. I was there for the complete 125 days of shooting. The director Nikhil Advani has moved on. I wish him all the best. And that?s where it ends.

Q: Even your next directorial venture sounds nothing like a ?Karan Johar Film?.

But only in terms of emotional content! Otherwise there would be glamour, a big starcast, music and a sophistication?hence the Karan Johar touch. However, the human relationships will be dealt with differently this time.

Every father and son would identify: Vipul

Filmmaker Vipul Shah; and (below) images from Waqt

Q: How do you view your second film? I?m very satisfied with the way Waqt has shaped up. It?s exactly the way I wanted to make it. Aankhen was a very stylish film whereas Waqt is very simple. I?ve completely changed the look and treatment. Aankhen was shot mostly indoors whereas Waqt changes locations and moods many times over. The emotional content of Waqt is very high. You know, before I started my second film I went through turmoil. I could?ve shot Waqt as stylishly as Aankhen. But then this was a plot that needed to be filmed from the heart and not from the mind.

Q: Why should technique take away from the heart?

True. But the camera needs to be more stable and non-judgemental in an emotional film. Even in Sanjay Leela Bhansali?s Black the camera movements aren?t fancy and over-emphasised. Sanjay has an exceptional aesthetic sense. He set the film in another era and shot the characters beautifully without losing the emotions. Waqt too looks beautiful. But the camera movements are very simple. I allowed the script and the actors to communicate the whole story to the audience.

Q: Is that why you changed your crew?

No?my writer Aatish Kapadia is the same on Aankhen and Waqt. Yes, I changed my producer. After Aankhen I wanted to produce my second film on my own. I needed to have people who believed in me. Finally, I produced the film, and I?ve partners to fund the project. See, I had to own up to the responsibility of making the film. For this, I needed to plunge into production. If I didn?t demonstrate my belief in the project others wouldn?t come along.

Q: Both your films are based on Gujarati plays?

Yes, Waqt is written by Aatish Kapadia who also wrote the play. My tuning with Aatish right from my theatre days has been exceptional. So why should I change it? Soon he?s turning director, but I hope he?ll continue to write for me. We?re that comfortable with each other. Waqt touched me, and not just because Aatish wrote it.

I had to make a film that was a complete opposite of Aankhen. I didn?t want to make a fake and frivolous film on human relationships. The family conflicts in Waqt are very real. It?s about the kind of upbringing a father should give his child. Unfortunately, we haven?t done a single film on this issue. Every father and son would identify with the proceedings in Waqt.

I lost my father two years before I saw the play. I can?t tell you how much I cried. It was embarrassing. Amitji plays a dream-father.

Q: Were Mr Bachchan and Akshay Kumar pre-conditions for Waqt?

Actually, all three of us were very happy working together in Aankhen. The two of them had told me to find another good script. I saw that as an endorsement of my abilities from two very successful stars, one of them a legend. When I saw the play I asked Amitji to see it. He agreed it was great stuff for a movie adaptation. That?s how Waqt was born. We enjoyed doing the film so much. Since Amitji had worked with Hrishikesh Mukherjee he understood what human values are about. That?s what makes Waqt what it is. Amitji and Akshay were really comfortable working in Waqt. And when the actors are having fun it makes the director?s job so much easier.

Q: You?ve cast your wife Shefali as Mr Bachchan?s wife?

Initially, I was apprehensive. I thought people would say I was trying to promote my wife. I didn?t want to negate what she had done on her own. So I didn?t mention her name as a possible costar to Amitji. I only wanted the pair to be fresh.

If I had cast Hemaji, Waqt would?ve been seen as an extension of Baghban. I had seen them shooting for Baghban, and I knew they?d emerge as a very strong couple. I didn?t want Waqt to be compared with Baghban. Then one day Amitji suggested Shefali. That took a burden off my head. We did a photoshoot with Amitji, Shefali and Akshay. They looked like a family.

Q: The music by Anu Malik is a hit.

Today, every director has to be an active participant in making the music. Every music director is so busy, unless you push him he won?t be able to deliver. The Holi song, Do me favour, has caught on. I strongly believe no music director today could come close to Amitji?s Rang barse in Silsila. For the Holi sequence in Waqt, which comes at a crucial juncture in the plot, I told Anu Malik to take a completely different route.

Q: Your Aankhen had songs forced into it.

I agree. When you?re a newcomer a lot of people influence you wrongly. I think music should be used only as per requirement. But yes, if there?s scope for songs I?m not letting go. This kind of musical experience is unique only to our cinema.

Q: What?s the USP of Waqt?

It?s absolutely familiar to every member of the Indian joint family. When they come out of the film they?ll carry something home with them. Not just some nice songs and dances, Waqt is a totally Indian film. I expect it to run everywhere and not just in the multiplexes.

Q: But your colleagues think universal successes are a thing of the past!

I wouldn?t agree with that. Baghban did well everywhere. It depends on the emotions you choose. A father-son conflict doesn?t have anything to do with any specific section of society. If I can address myself to feelings and sentiments that affect every person out there I can?t go wrong.

Q: You seem to be a misfit in Bollywood.

I won?t call myself a misfit. I can?t dream of anything beyond films. I don?t like partying. You?ll never see Aditya Chopra at a party. But see how successful he is. You won?t find Sunny Deol in a party, either. I can?t keep faking happiness for two hours at a party.

My real happiness is at home with my wife and two sons. I?ve my own circle of friends and I?m absolutely content with life. I?m working on two scripts. I want to make each film of mine different from the earlier one. My next film will be completely different from Aankhen and Waqt.