Urmila with Anuj Sawhney in Naina

You have a completely business background?

Yes, I did my MBA from New York University and assisted the executive president of the New York Stock Exchange. In 1981, I came back to India and took over our broking firm Kantilal Ishwarlal, which is now known as SSKI. Our retail brand is called sharekhan.com. Ours is a full-fledged broking house with 1,100 employees.

Why did SSKI float a film company named iDream Production?

I wanted to set up a film company which would not only produce or finance Indian films but also include the wider Indian diaspora. That?s why, apart from producing our own films, we also backed films like Monsoon Wedding, Bend It Like Beckham and Bollywood Hollywood. We have also had a creative say in our productions like 16 December and Jajantaram Mamantaram, apart from financing them.

What prompted you turn to direction?

I wanted to make a children?s film way back in 1996 but my business engagements didn?t allow me to get into film-making in a full-fledged manner. When our last two films, Samay and King of Bollywood, flopped, I decided to take the challenge head-on, get into directing and resurrect the iDream banner.

When and how did the Naina idea originate?

The Naina dream was born one-and-a-half years back. Horror is one genre which does well everywhere. The Ramsay brothers used to make these really low-budget horror films. I want to take the horror genre in India a step ahead by giving the audiences a cinematic experience they have never seen before. I want to drag the mainstream Indian audiences into the genre. I am targeting the 18 to 40 age range and those who spend Rs 200 to Rs 300 in a single outing at a multiplex. I have also tried to extend the age limit to 50-55 by adding emotions. The scale, sound design and special effects add up to make Naina a composite product that people would find hard to ignore.

That?s on paper. Will it actually happen?

We will all come to know on May 20 when the film releases. What we are trying to achieve is to somehow make the viewers come to the theatres. These days, they don?t mind watching a film on a pirated DVD for Rs 50. We do not want to repeat the mistakes we made with Samay and King of Bollywood. We have packed in enough masala so that Naina is only enjoyed on 6.1 Dolby digital. All this is theory but we have tried our best to put the theory into practice.

What about allegations that Naina is an out-and-out copy of the Japanese supernatural blockbuster The Eye?

The modern-day Hollywood horror genre has been born in the Far East. Had Naina been just a copy, I don?t think we would have showcased it at Cannes. The film is not a rip-off of any film but there is a lot of inspiration in substance, style and execution. It also has a lot of Indianness.

Why did you pick Urmila, who looks straight out of Bhoot?

Naina is a far more complex character for Urmila than Bhoot. Her character hasn?t seen light for so many years and then once she gets her eyesight back, she starts seeing things. Is it hallucination or something else? Although I don?t want to put down Bhoot, Naina is a far more emotional story. And it is one of her best performances till date. Urmila is the only star-actor in the Indian diaspora.

You have spent so much money on the film which boasts of only one star...

We wanted Naina to be the K3G of horror. In horror, the packaging is more important than the stars. Naina is do-or-die for us. The last two years haven?t been good. Naina has to revive the iDream banner.