Imtiaz on Tamasha: If you didn't like it, I'll try harder next time

Imtiaz Ali's Tamasha has become the classic case of you either love it or you hate it. While some found the film inspiring, others have found it a stage of self-indulgent crap.

Of course, detractors have raised a lot of questions about the Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone starrer. In a freewheeling chat with 9xe, Imtiaz takes the criticism head-on and reasons why he wouldn't change a thing about his latest offering. Excerpts:



Tamasha has opened to a polarised response. Were you prepared for such divided opinions?
I was prepared for it ever since Rockstar. That film received much more polarisation and was perhaps more hated. As for Tamasha, it has got largely positive feedback. I don't think there is anyone who is standing outside the gates of a theatre and saying, "Nahi main nahi jaane doonga tumhe is picture ko dekhne."
Ranbir and Deepika have been liked and have also become the reason for many to at least check the film out.

But a certain section of the audience has rejected the film outright.
To them, I'd perhaps say that I failed as a filmmaker and as a storyteller. No point getting defensive. Having said that, if there is genuine anger towards what I made, I am willing to try harder in my next film to win that audience over. However, if it is criticism for the heck of it, then I'm sorry, this is the film I wanted to make and I am very happy with the way it shaped up.



A lot of questions are being raised about the script. To start with, many people felt that Ranbir's character had a mental condition. Was he bipolar?
No. When you talk about serious conditions like bipolar disorders and clinical depression, you need to be very careful and responsible. Ranbir's character is neither. And there are so many times we casually throw in these words - oh, he is a complete schizo... oh, he is a psycho. But that doesn't mean they actually suffer from such disorders. We always meet people who are somewhere in-between. Like in the scene where he breaks into a song standing in front of a mirror - don't we have moments where we majorly goof up and are worried? But at the same time, we go a little funny in that zone.

Another complaint is that Tamasha centres on RK's character so much that Deepika's character is almost forgotten in the second half...
Not quite. In fact, she was supposed to be there only till the interval. But when I started developing her character, she came alive in a way that I wanted more of her. But yes, there's no denying that it is ultimately Ved's (Ranbir's character) story. I've made many such changes...



Go on...
For another, I remember shooting the scene where Deepika tells Ranbir that he is not the same man she fell in love with. The sequence then leads to the song, Agar Tum Saath Ho. Initially, the song wasn't a part of that scene at all. I remember when we were shooting it, there was this heaviness in the air - as if something massive, life-altering was underway. There is a very public breakdown that takes place and I felt it is so honest. As people living in modern cities, our most private moments take place spontaneously in a coffee shop. What I mean is that if I am feeling a certain emotion at a particular point, I don't want to hold it back till I go to a private place; the outburst will happen wherever I am.

Where did the idea of Tamasha germinate from?
The idea was simple. Here's the visual. There's a man, alone. Travelling in a train. Imagining that he's not this polite person sitting quietly in the train but someone far away, someone who is wildly different from this guy in the train. That is the real him. I took off from there. This is why the film was originally called Window Seat.



Did you succeed in translating that thought on screen?
Like I said, I am very happy with the way the film shaped up.

Why Corsica? Had you chosen something like the Andamans, maybe you'd have saved a few crores!
Yes, it could have been the Andamans. But I wanted a place that was simply outlandish. Ved wanted to go to a place where nobody has been and where nobody would recognise him.



Don't you think Ranbir needed a more commercial film to bounce back, considering he was coming from debacles like Besharam, Roy and Bombay Velvet?
Ranbir is a phenomenal actor and I couldn't think of anyone who'd be more apt for the part. Let me give you an example. There's a scene in the film between his boss and him, where he shifts from being polite and courteous to crazy and whacked out. I always felt only Ranbir has the fluidity as a performer to pull this off.

Buzz is, your next stars Shah Rukh Khan...
There is an idea. Talks are on. Nothing's concrete yet.