Sriram Raghavan is a quiet, unassuming man. Sitting in the plush office of Saif Ali Khan’s Illuminati Films in Mumbai, Sriram is almost oblivious to the publicity whirlwind around him. “I find it tough to hardsell my films. But this is the age of publicity. So, here I am,” he says with a shrug.

After Johnny Gaddaar, you had said you hope to be more prolific as a filmmaker. That obviously hasn’t happened.

(Laughs loudly) Oh, I did say that, didn’t I and the joke is on me! Well, Agent Vinod did take a fair amount of time to be completed. Hopefully, after this one I’ll start working faster.

There has been a lot of talk about why Agent Vinod was delayed...

The problem is that the movie has been in the news for very long. So, the delay is just perception. We started shooting in June 2011 when we shot two schedules. We completed the film in 2011. Agent Vinod is a very ambitious script.... There are 110 scenes and as many locations. We’ve shot about 130 days for Agent Vinod while movies like Johnny Gaddaar or Ek Hasina Thi took about 70-80 days. This is also because action scenes take longer to shoot. We just didn’t anticipate it would take two years to finish this.

But why was the December release plan pushed back?

We could have come out in December but Mission: Impossible 4 was slated to release then. I am a huge fan of the M:I franchise and we didn’t want people to compare. Now that the film is releasing, I just hope it’s been worth the wait.

There was talk about a fallout with Saif on the sets...

Well, Saif and I have a lot of arguments... even during Ek Hasina Thi. When he has questions about a scene, I have to be prepared with the answers. I don’t take offence to the questions. He used to sit on the edits and he did have suggestions. There were some that I took.... At the end of the day, all that matters is the movie.

Saif Ali Khan in and as Agent Vinod

At two hours and 30 minutes, Agent Vinod is longer than most recent releases.

It’s actually two hours 28 minutes. Most filmmakers prefer to make films under two hours these days but this film’s story and scale demanded the extra time. If I had made it any shorter, the film would look rushed and confuse the viewer.

What happened to your film Happy Birthday that Ramesh Sippy was supposed to produce?

I was committed to do it before I started shooting Agent Vinod but there were some date problems. When I had the dates from Aishwarya (Rai Bachchan) and John (Abraham), I wasn’t happy with the climax that was written. Once it was sorted, I couldn’t get the actors’ dates. So, I have that script ready but I don’t know when I will make it.... I am going to spend the next two months recharging.... I want to start watching movies and reading books. I haven’t seen so many movies that released in the last six months like The Artist or Rockstar.

All your films till date have been dark and edgy. Do you think you’d ever make a frothy rom-com?

I love films like Love Actually, When Harry Met Sally and Bridges of Madison County. I remember I was travelling when I was reading the book Bridges of Madison County and I had tears in my eyes (laughs). I am sure no one will believe that but I did! I didn’t think that the movie could be as good but it was brilliant. I don’t know if I could make a romance or comedy but I would like to attempt a film like The King’s Speech if something like that ever comes my way.