’I am not Aamir’s creative director’

Telly heartthrob Rajeev Khandelwal is making his film debut with the forthcoming thriller Aamir. We talk to first time director Rajkumar Gupta to find out more about the film and his influences. A former assistant to Anurag Kashyap, Gupta feels Aamir has all the ingredients to hold its own at the ticket windows.

How did you zero on to Rajeev Khandelwal for Aamir?

My protagonist is a middle class boy from Mumbai. Rajeev looks the part I had in mind and he is also a very good actor. Anyone with a larger than life image would not have done justice to the plot.

Were you aware of his work on television before you signed Rajeev?

No. I had not seen any of his TV shows. Nor was I aware of his stardom. We met through a common friend and that's how we got talking about the project.

The promos of Aamir give the feel of a dark thriller. Do you think audiences are in the mood for such themes?

Please tell me which so called entertaining comedy has worked in the last six months. The industry follows a herd mentality, which makes it even tougher for a first timer to try something different. The sooner people realise that there is no formula for success, the better it is for the industry. The biggest of banners with the biggest of stars have failed miserably in recent times.

In the promo the cell phone plays an important part. Is the film inspired by Phonebooth?

Why Phonebooth? I have heard it is copied from Nick of Time and Ek Din Achanak as well. But please watch the film and you will find out it is an entirely original script.

You have shot the film on real locations across Mumbai. Since it is your first film was it tough to execute the shots outside the comforts of a studio?

Real locations are always a challenge to shoot on. But somewhere along the line Mumbai city becomes a character in the plot. So I needed real people and natural surroundings to give the film an authentic look.

And why the name Aamir? Are you an Aamir Khan fan?

Nothing of that sort. The world has several Aamir's but one of them is a superstar. My lead character is called Aamir. The film about a common man who is pushed to the edge and forced to act against all his beliefs. Whether he gives in or not is the conflict. Aamir is a cutting edge thriller.

But to answer your earlier question, it is not a dark film. It is a complete commercial entertainer. But again there is no place for item numbers. We do however have five songs that fit beautifully in the background. We don't even have a female lead in the true sense of the word. There are lots of cameos as Aamir bumps into different characters in his journey.