BAJRANGI JAAN - Most Watched Film. HIGHEST Phase 1. - Page 50

For editor Rameshwar S Bhagat keeping the final edit of Bajrangi Bhaijaan watertight was not easy particularly because several things had to be presented without compromising on the film's duration

ON THE BRIEF

Kabir (Khan) gave a one-line brief-that there is a kid who goes missing in India and Salman Khan's character goes to Pakistan to reunite her with her parents. That's all it took for me to say yes to the script. But more than the brief or the script, it's the relationship I share with Kabir that prompted me to get on board. We are comfortable working with each other as we know each other's tastes. What worked in favour of Bajrangi Bhaijaan was the amazing casting. Every character has worked perfectly. After that, it was the story, which was perfectly sketched, and finally the geography and backdrop of the film.

SHOOTING ON A TIGHT SCHEDULE

Bajrangi Bhaijaan was shot on a tight schedule. We completed the Mandawa and Mumbai schedule in one go,and shot in Kashmir in the second schedule. Initially, we had planned to edit on location but that would have become difficult as I would have had to lug around all the equipment. Instead,they sent me whatever Kabir had shot every week, and he used to check the edited portions whenever he could. Everything happened simultaneously and that's how we managed to complete the film on time. What also helped is that Kabir doesn't over-shoot.

FOLLOWING THE DIRECTOR'S VISION

I may have 20 ideas running through my head but the team has to follow the director's vision and that gets the job done quickly. Of course, that doesn't mean you can't bounce ideas off the rest of the team.

ON KABIR KHAN

Every director has their own style and Kabir makes cinema that is believable. He also has a fair knowledge of world politics. That's why the action in Bajrangi Bhaijaan is very real. Kabir's films have his signature stamp, from Kabul Express to New York to Ek Tha Tiger and Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

ON THE CHILD ARTISTE

Every expression, every nuance displayed by Shahida was closely directed by Kabir. Whereas you only see the final product in the film,what you don't see is how he used to continuously prompt her about where to look, when to look up, when to look down, when to cry and when to smile. He directed the climax scene where Shahida meets her mother with supreme skill. Kabir stood in front of her and kept prompting her in order to get the timing just right. That's how he got this child to act so well. This is one of the finest films of my career.

DELETING SCENES

The most difficult part was deciding which scenes to delete. The scene in the train where the mother realises that Shahida has gone missing has been trimmed to maintain the run time. Timing is a graph, so even the good scenes must tally with the other scenes. We also need to manage the emotions. Then there were the two climaxes, one where Salman is shot and you assume that's the end of the film, but the film doesn't end there. So from the point where Salman is shot to the end, we had to keep it tight as we couldn't play with the audience's emotions. In the climax, Kabir has skillfully captured everyone's emotions while making sure the film was tight in terms of timing.

BEING AN EDITOR

I am grateful to Rajkumar Hirani, who gave me my first break as an assistant editor. Aditya Chopra wanted Raju to edit Dhoom but because he had already directed Munnabhai MBBS, they asked him to refer someone and he referred me. Initially, Sanjay Gadhvi was reluctant to hire me as I hadn't done anything significant till then. So they went back to Raju and he referred me once more. So they asked me to edit a few scenes of Dhoom, which I did, and I assumed they liked it. For a long time,I didn't know whether I was doing the film or not but I eventually did. After the Dhoom trailer released, I got a call from Sajid Nadiadwala's office for Housefull.After that, there was no looking back for me. If there's one thing I have learnt over the years it's this - edit the film as tightly as possible.