Two days before the year’s biggest film released, t2 met Maneesh Fan Sharma in a nondescript conference room at Mumbai’s Yash Raj Films Studios. 

The director, who debuted big with the Ranveer Singh-Anushka Sharma starrer Band Baaja Baaraat is dressed in rumpled clothes with his short-cropped bed hair. His eyes are bloodshot. “I’ve barely been sleeping… I haven’t done more than two-three hours for about a fortnight,” he explains as he eyes my black coffee. Before rushing back into post-production, Maneesh spoke about his most daring film yet. 

Are you feeling the pressure of releasing your biggest film yet?

Well… I guess I had the same amount of pressure with my earlier films. There was pressure, nervousness, excitement and many other emotions. There was a huge adrenaline rush. I understand it is a big film in terms of its budget and star presence….

It’s also a big film in terms of the story that you are trying to tell...

Hmmm, I agree with that. Every filmmaker is trying to tell a story and you want to tell the story right. So that pressure is always there. Yes, the cost of this film is more than my previous films… actually it’s more than all of them put together! (Laughs) But filmmaking, in general, is always a risk. We make 700-800 films a year and only a handful are commercially successful. 

You’ve mentioned the commercial aspect of filmmaking a couple of times. How clued into the box office are you?

Not much (laughs). Now that I have produced a film (Dum Laga Ke Haisha) I am aware. Considering the amount of time I have spent here (at Yash Raj Films), I have an understanding of the economics of filmmaking. My brother and sister 
are MBAs, so I am surrounded by a lot of marketing talk, so I understand that aspect as well. But it doesn’t determine how I approach my film. I am aware that my producer shouldn’t lose money and I would want my films to have humungous numbers, but numbers haven’t made me second guess my cinematic instincts. So, I am not going to tweak my film or add something because I think it will bring in more money. 
In fact, Fan is a great example of this. I have made a film with the biggest superstar (Shah Rukh Khan) and it doesn’t have a song, a heroine or a romance. 

Shah Rukh told us that there was a point when the film was almost shelved because you couldn’t get Gaurav’s look right...

When I had conceptualised this film, I knew that I wanted the same actor to play the two roles without being lookalikes. Gaurav is kind of like Aryan and kind of not. Creatively, we were all very excited, but then when the time came to actually shoot the film, we didn’t know how to make it possible. We were talking to possibly the biggest make-up and visual effects technicians in the world. And most of them told me: ‘We’ve tried doing this, but it’s not possible’. Apparently they had shelved projects because it’s not easy to make someone look younger. 

The guys at Red Chillies VFX were ready to give this a shot and Shah Rukh was ready to do look-tests, but the problem was that we couldn’t find a make-up artist who was ready to take up the challenge. I was quite demoralised by that point. 
Greg Cannom, who had done films like Benjamin Button and Mrs. Doubtfire, finally came on board. This was the big turning point. Greg didn’t know Shah Rukh, so I sent him his current pictures and pictures from his Fauji days. 
After Greg met Shah Rukh in Mumbai and made a cast of his face, we had to wait for about two months before we had Gaurav. We then did a look-test in different light settings, but it still wasn’t working. After a few tweaks, we did another test. 

From the time that I started talking to Greg to getting the Gaurav who you see in the film, was a 10-month process. It was a very expensive process and I am sure that Adi (Aditya Chopra, the producer) wasn’t happy with how much we spent. But in hindsight, it’s all cool. I think we have managed to achieve something important technologically. 

Till now, you’ve worked with actors who are closer to your age and have probably had similar life experiences. How different was it to direct someone who has seen so much more of life?

It didn’t feel very different. He might have a lot more experiences but he behaved almost exactly like the newcomers I have worked with. He has the same energy and enthusiasm, but with that much more experience. Beside his stardom, he has led a very intense life. When I was directing Gaurav, I really thought I was working with a 25-year-old. 

This film also takes you away from the real people and real emotions that your previous films showed. Did that affect how you told the story?

Not at all. Fan is the first film I wanted to make. I wanted to debut with Fan, but it’s turned out to be my fourth film (after Band Baaja Baaraat, Ladies vs Ricky Bahl and Shuddh Desi Romance). The other films I made helped me hone my craft. Ya, the milieu is a little different in this film, but this is a completely different genre from my previous films. I don’t want to become a middle-class director (laughs). After every film I made, I wanted to make Fan and either Adi would say that I am not ready or Shah Rukh wasn’t available. 

Now that you have made the film you’ve wanted to make all your life, what next?

(Laughs) Ya, I will have to come up with a new dream. I think the idea of Fan kept getting bigger and bigger only because I had to wait for so long to make it. I have not had my closure with Fan.