Why the three-year gap between Wanted and Rowdy Rathore?

Well, I wanted my second Bollywood film as director to be as special as Wanted (a 2009 box-office blockbuster starring Salman Khan) was. I kept looking through a lot of scripts…. I had a lot of ideas and finally I came to the conclusion that Vikramarkudu (a Telugu thriller starring Ravi Teja) was the perfect film to be made in Hindi as Rowdy Rathore. Everyone is waiting for the film. Wherever I go, I have people… my fans… Akshay’s (Kumar) fans coming up to me to say how eager they are to watch the film. The interest level is also very high because this is my first film as a director after Wanted.

But it’s not that I have been sitting idle these three years. I have directed films like Engeyum Kadhal and Vedi in Tamil and that took up a lot of my time. And, of course, there is my dance… that is something that always keeps me busy.

 

How much is Rowdy Rathore true to Vikramarkud?

We have retained the basic storyline and the emotional quotient of the film. The love story between my two leads (Akshay and Sonakshi Sinha) is the life and soul of the film. Also, as far as the comedy scenes and the action sequences are concerned, we have taken a completely different route from Vikramarkudu. There has been a conscious effort to make the film in a way that it appeals to the Bollywood audience. Unlike Wanted, which was a remake of my own film Pokkiri, Vikramarkudu hasn’t been directed by me. So the challenge to do as good as the original, if not better, has always been there.

 

From Kalicharan to Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan, the plot of a cop and a conman sharing the same face has been a Bolly favourite. How differently have you dealt with it in Rowdy Rathore?

I believe that this is a story that is timeless and has great potential to be remade and presented in a different manner over and over again. Akshay does have a dual role, but the way he has enacted both has left me speechless. The treatment of the theme is also completely different where we have attempted to be as real as possible. The way we have shot the film… the characters… the music… it’s all done in a way that takes the best from the original, but adds our own touch to it.

 

Rowdy Rathore is also gaining attention for the fact that it is an out-and-out Akshay Kumar action film after a long time…

Yes, the action in this film is of a very high level. Technology as well as audience expectations have evolved over a period of time and we had to scale up the level of action in Rowdy Rathore. Also, Akshay may have done a lot of comedy over the years but his USP has always been action and I wanted him to get back to doing the raw and gritty action sequences that he had done in his earlier successful films.

 

Why did you zero in on Sonakshi as the leading lady?

Once Akshay came on board, we needed a new face who hadn’t been paired with him before. For the role of Priya, we needed a confident and carefree girl with Indian looks and Sonakshi completely fit the bill. The role was tailormade for her and I think she did a fantastic job in Dabangg.

 

Prosenjit’s Bikram Singha is also a remake of Vikramarkudu and that releases a week before Rowdy Rathore!

Oh, their release is earlier than ours, is it? I wasn’t aware of that. In fact, it was only a month ago that I came to know that Vikramarkudu was also being remade in Bengali. But as I said, it’s a story that has great potential and is open to different interpretations and I wish the makers of Bikram Singha all the best.

 

Like Jalwa in Wanted, you have also danced to a song in Rowdy Rathore. Isn’t there the temptation to cast yourself in your own films?

Yes, it (Chinta ta ta) was a lot of fun and Akshay is a fabulous dancer himself, so the chemistry between us was very good. But that’s the maximum I want to do in my own films because I want to concentrate on one job at a time. I am really not a multi-tasker.

 

Does the fact that Wanted was such a huge blockbuster put a lot more pressure on you?

Oh, huge pressure! Everyone is expecting me to deliver another Wanted! (Laughs) But that’s the normal process for any director who has given a huge hit and his next film is about to release. While shooting, I really didn’t feel the pressure but now as the release date is coming closer, there are too many people telling me that they think it will be ‘Wanted Part II’! All I want to tell the audience is that ‘Please go and watch Rowdy Rathore and appreciate it for the film it is. Please don’t compare it to Wanted’.

 

Having worked with both Salman and Akshay, what is the difference that you have seen in their working styles?

They are both big Bollywood stars… huge! Both of them have their own USPs… their criteria for choosing scripts are also very different. Salman is a lot more casual… he will walk on to the set late (laughs), but he will give a perfect shot. Akshay is very disciplined… very punctual. The common factor is that they are both extremely dedicated to their craft.

Acting, directing, choreography or writing — which role do you enjoy the most?

Currently, I am quite enjoying the job of a director. But dance is and will always remain my first love.

 

PRABHU’S TOP BOLLY PICKS

Mukkala mukkabla (Kadhalan)

We attempted this cowboy Western kind of feel in this song and also took a lot of elements from Michael Jackson’s videos. The result was fantastic.

Main aisa kyun hoon? (Lakshya)

Hrithik Roshan is unbelievable. I hardly had to choreograph him, he was a natural.

Que sera sera (Pukar)

It was always a dream to choreograph Madhuri Dixit. And here, I got to dance with her too!

Jalwa (Wanted)

Salman, Anil Kapoor and Govinda were a riot together.