Abhinay Deo with Aamir Khan

DK Bose has a lot to do with Delhi Belly’s cult status. So, it’s not surprising that its director Abhinay Deo has the much-loved (and hated) song as his caller tune. “I still get some very khatarnaak reactions from the older generation about the language in the film. I tell them to go to a college or coffee shop and eavesdrop on youngsters’ conversations. They will hear the Delhi Belly language,” says Abhinay. Seated in his spacious office in Juhu, the ad maker-turned-filmmaker told t2 about refusing ‘projects’ worth crores, 24 and Aamir Khan

What has the last year been like?

It has been a very exciting year. It was also very tiring. I had two releases, Game and Delhi Belly, and both films are very dear to me. With one I saw an extreme flop and the other was a huge hit. So, 2011 was also a very educational year for me.

After a runaway success like Delhi Belly, the most logical thing for you to do was sign lots of films but you haven’t. Why?

I can’t sign what the industry calls a ‘project’. Big producers or studios tell you to sign a contract for a couple of films. They have no idea of what will be made or with who. They say, ‘We’ll figure out the script later’. That is not how I want to work. I want to make a film on the basis of a script. When you make a movie, you have to live with it for at least a year. If you are not in love with it, it’s impossible to remain enthusiastic about it. And, if you don’t feel passionately about a story, how can you tell it well? Also, I want to co-produce my films, so until I have a script that excites me, there is no reason to go to another producer.

Did the fact that Game didn’t work, both at the box office and with the critics, prompt you to think this way?

Not really. Game failed because of a lot of reasons and not just the script. I am still trying to understand what went wrong with the film. I know it sounds clichéd but you can never predict how a film does. As a filmmaker, you can only put your heart and soul into it. My decision to hold the script as the most important reason for making a film is inspired by Aamir Khan. I am inspired when I look at his films and his career. It’s not like he never had flops; he had eight in one go. But, he kept doing films that he believed in. He has always told me you have to go with your gut on a film and by that he means that a film should kick you in the gut and make you want to do it.

So, have you found a script that has kicked you in the gut?

Actually, I am working on something that I am very excited about. It’s something that has been in the pipeline for almost seven years now and I think its time has come.

Since Delhi Belly, you have refused quite a few ‘projects’ from important producers and studios. Did any of them want you to make ‘another’ Delhi Belly?

Well, not exactly. I have to say that everyone who has gotten in touch has been very nice and there has been no mention of a Delhi Belly kind of film. Also, I really believe that a film like that can’t be planned, it just gets made. While my intention is to do films in every genre, I would love to visit a comedy some day again.

How tough is it to refuse the crores that come with these ‘projects’?

Since I quit advertising and got into feature films I knew that I wasn’t doing this for the money. I don’t want to make hay while the sun shines. I want to tell stories. I also believe that if you do the right thing money will follow.

There have been reports that you are working on the Indian version of 24, the TV series that Anil Kapoor has bought the rights for. Why did you decide to work in television?

It’s still too early to talk about 24. I don’t believe in the lines that people tend to draw between different formats. Storytelling is storytelling. I would be interested in doing anything that is a game changer. Like Delhi Belly was a game changer in many ways, I am open to making a documentary or directing a play. I don’t want to restrict myself to any one format. Also, almost 160 million households watch TV every day. Multiply that by four, which is the size of an average household, and that’s the kind of audience you reach with television. It’s mindboggling.

OFF THE CUFF

A book you would like to adapt

I haven’t read too much recently but I was in love with The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini) and I would have wanted to make that film. One of my ‘favouritest’ books of all time is The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand) but I don’t know if anyone can do justice to the book in a two-hour film. Also, Kane and Abel is an interesting story that many filmmakers have managed to make well in the past.

The last film you wish you had made

I can’t think of anything recently but a film that I saw a long time ago made me wish I had made it. It was Life is Beautiful. It’s such a simple, complex film.

An actor you would give anything to work with

Aamir Khan. He is a friend and I think of him as a mentor but I know that unless he is a thousand per cent convinced about a script he will not do the film. Not many know that Aamir had wanted to audition for Nitin’s (played by Kunaal Roy Kapoor) role in Delhi Belly! A superstar wanted to play the hero’s friend and wanted to audition for a first-time filmmaker. I kept explaining to him that I have a certain look in mind for Nitin and that if he became a part of the trio, the balance of the film would go for a toss. Finally, he did understand. I hope I get to direct him someday.

An old film you would like to remake

I am not big on remakes but if I had to pick it would be Chupke Chupke, Anand and Golmaal — my absolute favourites.