ON CHANGE:
It’s been a long way since I stepped into the hallowed Bollywood terrain. Since then and now, has Bollywood changed? Of course it has. For good reasons too. I firmly believe, from here it can only be get better. Apart form professionalism that has seeped in every field today, there have been three distinct changes since I started my career in the industry. The first has been the influx of younger directors who are a l r e a d y exposed to global cinema and have grown up in the times of television. Their thinking, their direction, it all involves a different language so to speak and they are creating waves with the kind of films they are making. And even while we are talking about these young directors, there is another even younger crowd coming in. Another certainty is everybody’s acceptance of technology. I remember the time when I was amongst the first to use the Jimmy Jib (a remote controlled crane camera) and the Avid (a nonlinear desktop editing machine) simply because it was being used abroad. Today, everybody is aware of technology even if they are not actually using it. Again the last few years has seen money coming into the industry easily with corporate houses backing film-makers. As these entities spread their risks, it ensures more films can be backed. The film-maker too is at ease as he is not the only one to shoulder the profitability risks.

ON FUTURE PERFECT:
I think most of these changes will become a part of the big Bollywood machinery. It’s the corporatisation of Bollywood, which I am not sure about. In this case, I do not think we would follow the American method exactly. I think we as Indian’s are very emotional about the films we make. So I guess, we would have a scenario where the money won’t just come in from the corporates interested in making films. It would be more of a mix of corporate and individual money flowing in the movies.

THE OVERSEAS STORY:
There is no denying the overseas market has given a real boost to our cinema. I believe the trend of Indian films being appreciated elsewhere will continue because India as an economy is growing. I think whenever an economy is growing by leaps and bound, the first signs of its prosperity are seen in its cinema and the way the world views its cinema. A few years back, Chinese films were in the news just as much as its economy was in the news. Every filmmaker knows there is no greater truth than the fact that the audience, overseas or here, wants a good film. Probably because of the lifestyle they lead in the US or England and the kind of movies that are made there, the overseas audience is always welcoming the change offered by love stories like ours. This is probably why our films starring Raj Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan were already favourites abroad much before 1992 when Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (DDLJ) was released. I have been saying this time and again that DDLJ and I have been wrongly credited with being responsible for the non-resident Indian (NRI) interest in Hindi cinema. I would rather call it as a revival. My reasoning being for what really made Hindi cinema lose out on the NRI audience was the decade when video piracy was at its peak. This made the film distribution of Hindi cinema suffer during those years. Yes I have been fortunate because the cinema that I was part of then, provided NRIs a means to remain connected to the India they were attached to and sentimental about (at least the older generation of NRI’s are). Besides the best way to educate the younger generation of NRIs about India is through entertainment. At the same time for the Indian audience, these films introduced the concept of the west that we like despite having stories that are Indian at heart. What made these films refreshing was that they were made by young directors who used their own language to convey their views and their own style to present the story. They managed to create the perfect synergy to make a good film. It’s not only our mushy love stories that are wowing audiences abroad. I do not think a filmmaker needs to be specific about having a story that would work for the NRI crowd. Look at Krissh. It was a superhero film which is very much a foreign concept, just the kind of films the overseas audience is used to and yet it did well. Take Rang de Basanti and Swades both of which were not NRI-centric films but they were appreciated overseas. Even Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (KANK) despite its story line (the film dealt with extra marital love), did good business both overseas and here. Where we probably went wrong with the film was in not understanding how to portray the subject properly. Personally, I feel the audience can never be blamed as immature for any subject. For me, as a film-maker myself, (am not saying this for the others) if my film does not do well then it’s I who have gone wrong somewhere.

FILM MAKING TRAVAILS:
On the personal front too there is much to look forward to. I have been lucky as a producer. I have a good team which has been working for over seven years to make films. I have made seven films some of which have not done too well and yet I have been allowed to make another film. Maybe it’s my status in the industry or something else but I get a lot of goodwill from technicians and actors who work in my films.At the same time, I am aware of my capabilities as a producer and believe I am still learning the process. I am still not in the league of producers like Yash Chopra or Karan Johar and consider myself too small a producer to be able to comment on the industry. I make films because I love making them. As a producer, I would look forward to having a transparent distribution process like the one existing abroad. The computerised Nielsen EDI rating system they use there gives real time box office performance of a film thus letting a producer know exactly how much business he has done. If implemented in India, it would be a nice change instead of relying on rumours and journalists who may not always have the right information.

HOLLYWOOD DREAMS:
Nobody believes me when I say I have not been offered a Hollywood film till date (am hoping I will some day).Actually, what I would rather make is an Indian film which the world watches and not just be part of a foreign film where the world watches me. Yet, I am happy for all applause that our films have already got in the global arena. I believe everyone has their own reasons to make films. While some enjoy making it for themselves, if someone makes a film just for the award, it still seems a perfectly good reason to be in the business. Oscars are the biggest award for films so why not compete for it. I feel any little noise that lets the world know about our films is good. Be it any festival abroad. I think even if we get three extra eyeballs watching our films, it is good news. Personally, I would go only if I have a film of mine to showcase. As long as people talk about my film along with the tuxedo I wore on the red carpet, I have reason to be happy.