Where did the idea for the film originate?

I dreamt it! (Laughs) Won’t that be cool? But jokes aside, I had this idea when I made Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (starring Imran Khan, Katrina Kaif and Ali Zafar). I have always been a history buff. My dad used to work with Border Roads Organisation during the 1971 (India-Pakistan) war. He was posted on the India-Bangladesh border. During the war, he saw people migrating from Bangladesh to India. While we were growing up, he would tell us stories about the war and the inhuman living conditions of the migrants. He would tell us about little kids stealing in refugee camps because they didn’t have food. When I decided to make a film about two friends, I decided to set it against this backdrop. Their experiences of having lived through the war are what make Bikram (Ranveer Singh) and Bala (Arjun Kapoor) who they are. And, how they react when they experience love for the first time when Priyanka Chopra’s character (Nandita) enters their life.

 

Did you have Ranveer, Arjun and Priyanka in mind when you wrote the script?

When I write a script, I don’t have any actors in mind because if you don’t get those actors, you have to go back to the drawing board. Also, characters should be allowed to take their own shape. It is very restrictive to write them for specific actors. This is a two-hero film, so I just had to be careful that both characters had equal weightage. Once I nailed that, I took the script to Adi (Aditya Chopra) and he suggested Ranveer and Arjun for the role. He thought the bonding they had off screen would add to their performance. Also, while the film is set in the ’70s, I wanted to cast younger actors so the film doesn’t look old. When we started shooting, they were just friends... I think they became best friends while filming. And I am not surprised. We spent almost 100 days in the coal mines in Raniganj, outside of Calcutta. There was barely any Internet or phone access there, so they had no choice but to spend time with each other (laughs).

 

The promos seem to be a throwback to the Amitabh Bachchan-Vinod Khanna films of the ’70s…

(Laughs) It’s interesting you mention the Amitabh-Vinod jodi. Ranveer, Arjun and I are all in the same age bracket and our heroes are the same. Both of them are die-hard fans of Amitabh-Vinod and Anil Kapoor-Jackie Shroff. They like that low angle shot of two actors walking in slow-motion with a swagger. They feel like they are born to act, with or without the camera. These two enjoy the process of acting. They love their work so much, they give it their all. I have made them run on top of coal mines in 40 degrees-plus temperature and they’ve given me 40 takes! They never complained.

 

Priyanka Chopra was going through a tough time personally when she shot your film…

Ya, and she is such a strong girl. She never let us know how much pain she was in. We shot the Asalaam-e- Ishqum song just days after the death of her father. I really admire the courage and determination that she had to come back to work so soon. She took all her pain and channelled it into the energy you see in the song.

 

You shot in live locations in Calcutta. What was the experience like?

It was phenomenal. In the last couple of years, everyone has been going to Calcutta and shooting and now I know why! (Laughs) What energy that city has! There is Durga Puja in the film, we also shot at Howrah Station and the docks. What I loved about the city is how it has preserved its culture and architecture. There are pockets that we found in the city that still look like they did in the ’70s and ’80s. Of course, quite a bit of our budget was spent in making sure that we maintain the period look in real locations. So, when we shot in Howrah, it was full of vehicles from the ’70s... we shot in Mullick Ghat where the hoarding for a mobile phone had to be covered up. For the Puja scene, we got the kind of idols that were popular in the ’70s.

 

Do you know what you are doing next?

I have some ideas. Let’s see what works out. I just know that it will have an ensemble cast like my previous films.