Sajid Khan on Screen Awards

After he lost the Best Directorial Debut award to Aamir Khan

After making his debut as a director with Heyy Babyy, Sajid Khan proved he could do more than just play funny. He hosted the Star Screen awards, but lost out on the Best Directorial Debut award to Aamir Khan. Here's what he had to say about it and so much more...

You were one of the highlights at the Star Screen awards.

My unique selling point is that most of the time I improvise. I am not reading a teleprompter. I did have major creative discussions with the Moranis who were the directors of Screen Awards and writer Milap Jhaveri who has also written my film Heyy Babby with me.

Do actors get offended by your comments?

I don't think they get offended; if they did, I wouldn't have been doing these award shows for the past seven years. People in the industry know that I am one of them and I am not against them. I joke about everybody. I even made fun of myself when I said that if I can become a director, anyone and everyone can become one.

What acts were your brainchild?

My entry and that towel act on Saawariya was mine. Visually, it would've been funny to watch Sajid Khan in a towel, dancing. I think it looked a little cute too, and somewhere people were a little shocked and surprised to see that I had lost so much weight and actually become muscular.

Do you think people take awards seriously?

People don't take awards seriously anymore. They are basically home entertainment shows and have lesser credibility. When everyone knows that Aamir Khan is not going to attend the show, then why give him an award for that TV space and have unknown people come up on stage and take his trophy. He is such a brilliant actor and now such a terrific director, but if a man has said that he is never going to accept awards then why do people still insist on giving them to him?

Your thoughts on TZP?

It's an excellent film. No matter what Aamir does, he does it to perfection.

You feel if Aamir's film had come a week later, you would've been the Best Debut Director?

Yeah. That's true. How many directors who made their debuts and their films are in the top 10 grossing films of all time? Heyy Babyy has done that.

You've said you deserved the award more than Aamir as you made a younger baby act.

I never said that. but my only issue is that a nine-year-old is mature enough to understand and react appropriately. It's far more difficult to make a nine-month-old baby perform. It is a much more credible thing for a debutant director. If you compare it, it is far more difficult to make a baby act. I did it without special effects, without CGI or without cheating the audiences. That's what I feel, but that doesn't take anything away from Aamir.

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