"In our industry there are permanent friends and temporary enemies"
BOI: Right now, you're working with corporate companies but there was a time when you used to announce a movie and then simply call up distributors from all over India. Do you miss doing that?
SN: Nahi... because they are still there, the same Vijay Kher, BH Basha and Hyderabad wale (Dilip) Tandonji hain. It's just that business has increased. What has increased are the actors' remuneration, promotion and marketing. Becharo ki kamar toot jaati thi. Earlier, they used to carry money in a packet. A distributor from Nepal used to acquire films for
Rs 1 lakh and he would come with the Rs 25,000 signing amount. Jisne bhi diya paisa, picture uski ho gayi. Vijay and my other distributor friends called me up to ask if they could buy it and I was, like, You want to buy it?'
The ratio is very huge today and that means you are telling me to tell you that I am going to make the biggest film in Indian history. Toh main aapko bolta hoon aap bindas le lo, le lo. Which means I am giving you a film that is even bigger than Dhoom 3. But as a debutant, it is not fair on my part.
Through Box Office India, I want to say one thing... When I decided to make this film as a director and as a producer, I thought my aim should be Rs 180-190 crore. If I can cross that figure, it will be a first for Salman and a first for me. Jacqueline Fernandes has not been a part of the Rs 200-crore club; Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Randeep Hooda have not been part of such a club. We should aim for this figure. But when people talk about Rs 250-260 crore, then log meri waat laga rahe hain because even if the film touches Rs 249 crore, they will say mazaa nahi aaya. Woh sochke film nahi banayi. But we didn't write this film keeping a figure like that in mind. So my only agenda is to make it clear through this interview that I would be very happy with a business of Rs 199-200 crore. No debutant director has achieved that mark. None of the big films lined up for the second half of this year has a debutant director. Even next year, the line-up has established directors. So I would hold this record for at least two years.
This is not vacation period; it's not Christmas vacation. So I will have a very bad first day and I will have a very bad Monday. I mean, the film would have crossed Rs 40 crore if released on a holiday. Trade toh watt lagane wali hai. They will say mazaa nahi aaya, Monday gir gaya film. They will shout again on Tuesday. I will be holding my breath from Friday to Tuesday. Jab tak Tuesday aayega, they will say ab mazaa aayega. It is not easy to hit the Rs 200-crore mark. Earning Rs 23-25 crore on the first day is a very good figure, keeping in mind that it's a Friday. As a Muslim, I don't go out on Friday and my television set is switched off at home. My family will not watch the film till Eid, including my wife. My kids will watch it quietly. Muslims will not watch the film on a Friday. Non-Muslims will come but since Friday is a working day, even they will prefer watching it on Sunday or Tuesday, which is a holiday.
So Monday is a very scary day for me. Earlier, we were wondering whether we should release on a Tuesday or a Sunday. If I say best Friday' or best Tuesday', those are like T-20 matches; it's not a Test match. If I had released the film on a weekday, the economics would have got very complicated. If I would have released it on a Sunday or a Tuesday, I would have got Rs 45 crore on day one. We eventually decided to release it organically and let it grow.
BOI: Do you think we are giving too much importance to these record numbers... day one, highest weekend etc?
SN: No, there is transparency. Earlier, people used to make very tall claims. Now this is not possible because the numbers are in the public domain thanks to a magazine and website like yours and a few others. So, when there is so much transparency, why shouldn't we have these numbers? Everything has a target, whether Jhalak... Dikhla Jaa, the Olympics or the World Cup.
Why do we say top five films', why don't we say top seven films'? Because a mark has been set. Creativity is very difficult to measure. And you can't argue with numbers. Log bolte hai feeding kiya, abhi bunglow bik jayenge feeding karne jao toh. So I believe there has to be a benchmark for everything. Rs 1,700 crore was Titanic's benchmark, which James Cameron broke with his next Avatar. Now it's Rs 2,700 crore. How can we evaluate without a mark?
So many film advertisements have these stars on them... four stars and five stars. Then, there is a magazine like yours which is a pioneer along with two or three other websites that are not corrupted. People like you are setting a finishing line to the race.
A producer never says I will get four and a half stars for my film'. He wants to get the maximum number of cinema halls, screens and shows and for everyone to know that his film is releasing on a specific date. That's his target.
A director perceives his film through people's reactions. He watches everybody and every reviewer. I feel that every critic should like my film because they are part of the numbers. They have been my friends and they have always given me two and a half or three stars because of the kind of films I make, which cannot go beyond three stars. But now that I am directing a film, I am becoming a little hungry and selfish for them to like it. If they don't, it's going to upset me.
They are friends like you (Vajir Singh) ab agar tu bolega ke film second half mein thodi boring thi, I will never call you about it but when I will read your review, I will feel I should have pleased you and made the film better. So as a director, I have nothing to do with commerce. Like Imtiaz used to tell me, you discuss business and I will discuss creativity.
BOI: When you are making a film like Kick, how do you know when to be the director and when to be the producer? For instance, when taking a shot, do you worry about the next day's shoot permissions?
SN: No, I have a good team, and I have also been an assistant director and have survived many a yelling. I think like a director and always know what a director goes through on an early morning shoot if his requirements are not met.
I have never ever made a budget to date, not even for my upcoming films, whether Phantom or Tamasha. Directors ask me that kitne ki picture banegi and I say, pata nahi. I figure out a rough amount as I have studied chartered accountancy. For example, I knew Heropanti would cost Rs 20 crore and could not go beyond that, give or take a little. There was no budget for Sylvester Stallone, we never thought, hamare budget mein nahin aayega toh Arnold Schwarzenegger ko le lenge. Aisa kuch tha nahi.
I wanted to shoot at the Kodak theatre, where they have the Oscar ceremony every year. So we went to LA and we shot there. It was 10 times more expensive but we shot there. This child like attitude in me has helped us survive. Woh bachpana hai abhi hamaari company mein. From me, to my production house to my directors, if we don't like something we redo it without thinking about the budget. And I think ye bachpana jab tak hai, we will survive.
BOI: This year's films - from Highway, to 2 States to Heropanti and now Kick - are all very different from each other. What makes you green-light a project?
SN: I didn't green-light Highway, Imtiaz did. He was like, tu producer ban ja. Other than that, I wanted to make these films. Like with 2 States, I am less of a reader and more a movie watcher. So I read the book and tried my luck with getting the rights and I got them. So I went to Shah Rukh (Khan), he really liked it but we had a meeting and I felt tense. Then I met Ranbir (Kapoor)... we hugged and the film was green-lit. Everyone kept green-lighting the film and one day, I realised that the film was stalling. Nobody was doing it to me organically but maybe that was the nature of the film,kisi ki jholi mein girna tha. Toh Arjun (Kapoor) ki jholi mein gir gaya.
Shah Rukh had said yes, Ranbir had said yes, tweeting ho rahi thi. Then Karan (Johar) said one of his directors had written this script and he was planning to buy the rights but I had them. I said, You take it.' I was very close to Yash (Johar) uncle. He said, No, I don't want to take it like this so I said let's make it together.' I said Ranbir would take time so who could do it? And he said Arjun'. Imagine Shah Rukh se Arjun tak. I said Arjun?' and almost fell off my chair. But Karan was very confident. Director Abhishek Varman is the son of one of my art directors R Varman. Varman dada has worked with us and Arjun has grown up in front of me. He is a sweet child. So I said, Okay, let's go ahead.'
And look at the result. Now I have more feathers in my cap because of Arjun. It was interesting when the film crossed Rs 100 crore. Even when Heropanti was happening, Sabbir (Khan) felt the baggage from Kambakkht Ishq. Actors were scared to be a part of Heropanti and then Tiger (Shroff) walked in.
This film was more for Sabbir and you have to back talent as failure is a part of everyone's life. If I back people based only on success, then nobody will work with me. That applies to everyone I have worked with, including Akshay Kumar, and Salman Khan with Judwaa and Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! had not released it at the time. It was the same with Preity (Zinta), Rani (Mukerji) and Priyanka (Chopra).
BOI: But do you think it is reciprocated?
SN: Some people don't but that cannot be a benchmark. I say in our industry there are permanent friends and temporary enemies. Waapas dosti ho jaati hai bus Eid chahiye hoti hai gale milne ke liye. There are permanent friends bus naraaz ho jaate hai because it is a competitive line. Agar unki film garam hui hai toh dusre ki bhi ayegi and those are not upset jinki film nahi aarahi hai. About 96 per cent yehi problem hai. So I would think that there are no permanent enemies, sab milte hai bus timing alag hoti hai. Koi 4 saal baad milta hai toh koi 9. Nobody dies as an enemy.
BOI: So where does Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment go from here? What are your plans?
SN: No plans. But we are working and I feel the only weakness in my company is that I need to see more people who are like me. I need to clone myself. I feel that as long as we have talent, we will survive. I think the future depends on talent, not money. People who have talent will survive as will those who have ideas and innovation.
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