A moment from My Name is Khan; (below) Deepa Bhatia

You may not have seen Deepa Bhatia at work but you have seen the films she has cut to size — My Name Is Khan to Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara, Taare Zameen Par to Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa, Rock On! to Dev. A t2 chat.

With Hindi films releasing abroad, has the work of editors doubled?

Yes. We had a second cut for MNIK. Shah Rukh has tremendous fan following abroad. Hindi films are released there as crossover films, with subtitles. So the syntax had to be global. You need to know both forms of cinema to achieve that.

Did you receive a feedback from the audience abroad?

As editor you already know the problem areas. For MNIK, it was the handling of the African- American issues before the US release. Slumdog Millionaire also had such problems. For instance, find me a child who’d jump into shit for Amitabh Bachchan’s autograph!

Isn’t it tough to edit a film you’ve already edited?

That’s an editor’s test. The international cut was 40 minutes shorter than the one released here. The film was shot extensively, from SRK as a child to him losing a child.

How different are sensibilities of audiences at home and abroad?

The script of Taare Zameen Par had an internationally styled ending. But Indian audiences are too concerned about details — did he (Ishaan Awasthi) get marks, did he become ok? In Decalogue, one of the films ends with a child falling as snow melts around him. Kieslowski doesn’t show what happens next. But here, we need to explain. Slowly, though, our audiences are maturing.

After hard-hitting art films like Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara and Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa, did you require a different sensibility to work on mainstream films?

For me, what is important is to know what kind of films you are trying to make and whether you succeeded in that. I may not like David Dhawan, but he succeeds in making the kind of films he wants to. I come from a world of documentaries and I believe cinema’s job is to change the world. If you make me do an Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, I might succeed but I won’t be convinced.

What if a hero interferes in editing?

Shah Rukh is an editor’s dream. He came to the screening of the rushes, made notes like a school boy, but never did he come back to check on whether his suggestions were followed or not.

How different was it with Aamir Khan and TZP?

Well, it was a bound script that we started work with and I knew what I was getting into. What matters is Amol (Gupte, her husband, from whose hands Aamir took over direction following differences) and I still get letters from parents. We are involved with the dyslexia movement. No, I have not had a hero sitting in my editing room and I believe if I speak sense, there will be no conflict.

What film have you chosen for 50 Movies to See Before you Die on UTV World Movies today (9am)?

It’s a French whodunit called 8 Women in which the man of the house is murdered and the eight women in the house are suspects. It uses music in an interesting way. Each woman is explained by a song, almost lip syncing to the camera.

What are your next projects?

Siddharth Malhotra’s adaptation of Stepmom (with Kareena Kapoor and Kajol) and Amol’s film Stanley ka Dabba. It has only children in it.

Sudeshna Banerjee