Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

After Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag and Darling you disappeared into thin air... Where have you been?

I went off to the Central African jungles in Congo to escape the media and the critics and the fans of Sholay! Sounds good? This will break the heart of a lot of people but I didn’t go into any kind of depression or into any hiding. I was making my next film called Contract.

Did you always plan a sequel to Sarkar or did the idea surfaced after the success of Sarkar?

It was not a conscious decision or something but it was something we were discussing during the making of Sarkar. One of the obvious reasons of having the sequel would be that Sarkar was originally inspired from The Godfather and The Godfather had a sequel. You would like to see what happens to the characters of the film.

But you have had several memorable characters in your films. How come you never had sequels for Rangeela or Company to carry forward the stories of Munna or Chandu?

Correct! This is my first sequel. See, the first film was a copy from The Godfather. So when you copy the basic premise why not copy the idea of having a sequel?

Abhishek Bachchan told t2 that Sarkar Raj has nothing to do with The Godfather Part Two...

That is the truth. I have just copied the idea. See Sarkar, like The Godfather, was not about the underworld. It was about power politics. I have read the book by Mario Puzo and I have never come across the word ‘mafia’. So it is about power and its many manifestations. When you have a guy like Subhash Nagre, you are bound to have many situations and challenges in his life and not just the one we tackled in Sarkar. So Sarkar Raj is just dealing with a new set of issues.

Do the new set of issues have anything to do with what happened in Nandigram?

My knowledge of current issues is zero. I have no idea what happened in Nandigram. Some people have also been connecting the film with Enron. See, Sarkar Raj has nothing to do with any real event that happened anywhere. It is a completely imaginary story.

Not long ago you had told t2 that “Men must be powerful and women must be sexy”. Then what is Aishwarya Rai doing in Sarkar Raj? She is your first heroine who is not being projected as “sexy”...

My new mantra is “Powerful women are more sexy!” I have changed my stance now. I have moved on from sexy bodies to strong minds. The whole issue of Sarkar

Raj crops up because of what Aishwarya wants to do in Sarkar’s territory. I wanted to use her as a counterpoint for all the rawness that Sarkar stands for. The Nagres can kill people and take law in their hands to set things right and Aishwarya’s character is someone who is more civilised in her way of thinking. Now, how would someone like her react to this kind of a set-up.

How come you are working with Aishwarya Rai after all these years? Is it true that you thought she was a non-actor?

See, when I cast Aishwarya Rai, I wanted someone who is elegant, dignified and larger than life. That she is, out of her stardom, out of her personality. I never thought of her consciously as an actress. That doesn’t mean that I thought she couldn’t act. Her beauty is so much in the forefront that you never care to look beyond it. It’s a great deal to pass that and look at other things. But after working with her I am quite taken aback.

Did the response to Aag affect you in any way while making Sarkar Raj?

No, because Sarkar Raj was made before Aag released and even if it would have been made after Aag’s release, it would have been the same. What people don’t realise is that any film comes from an idea that excites and you remain true to the idea whatever good, bad or ugly comes out of it. Beyond that even if you want to do better or worse you can’t do it. There’s no such thing that if you work very hard you will make a good film and if you are careless you will make a bad film. I was very careful in Aag and I was very careless in Satya. It doesn’t prove anything. Amitji and me decided on the look of Sarkar in one minute but we took one month to decide on the look of Aag.

Will the audiences go to watch the Nagre family or the Bachchan family?

That’s what everyone keeps saying. I wouldn’t like to believe that but that’s maybe because I am anti-family, anti-marriage, anti-functions... I don’t know whether I am the right guy to answer that question. On their own they are three accomplished actors in their individual capacities. Now whether they are married or they come from the same house... how should that affect the film is beyond me. But most people tend to think about them as a family.

You joke about the critics a lot. Do you think they will tear you apart again after Sarkar Raj?

I think they are all living in a world where they love to bitch. With Aag I gave them a chance to ridicule me to the highest possible extent. Having said that I don’t think anybody has a personal agenda against anybody. If somebody else made Aag, I would have probably bitched the most. Fair enough! If you have done a bad job, you deserve to get that kind of response.

Have you tried to analyse what went wrong with Aag?

I want to look back at Aag but not now, after a few months. Because I think it is a little too early to review now. Maybe after six months I would watch it again and see what went so wrong. It’s very difficult to look at something, you are so closely involved with, with a fresh perspective unless you give it some time.

But hasn’t all the criticism changed you in any way?

Every film has a fundamental reason behind it. Why would I want to make an Aag? Because of oneupmanship! Why would I want to remake Sholay? Because of arrogance. It came out of arrogance. It’s didn’t come out of a feeling for a story or a character. You don’t have a reference point anymore and you start shooting like the way you are feeling that particular day and everyone around says that it’s fantastic, you get carried away...

Have you at least gone slow?

No, no, it will increase now. Because I have had people advising me to take a holiday. Some want me to work out and do yoga. Meditate and go to temples. I have had every advice that is possible in the world. I didn’t follow anything. Because nobody knew the truth behind what went wrong with Aag more than myself. So all the advices went out of the window!