:::Ethereal DEEPIKA Padukone::: P-140 SC - Page 83

You were shooting with Saif and Deepika in the UK and the US and suddenly you are here. Was Calcutta always on the cards?

Calcutta was always part of the story. I knew that I would come here. Even before going for our first schedule to London, I came to Calcutta for a recce. I tried to keep it as silent as possible… I didn't want too much attention before I myself knew what I wanted to do with Calcutta. After that we went to the UK and shot there and then went to the US and shot there and now all the overseas shooting is over. The India shooting we are starting with Calcutta. It's not a long schedule… it's a small arm of the story which comes to this city.

What are you calling the film? What is it about?

We don't have a title. We are calling it Production No. 1 because it is the first production of Illuminati Films, Saif's company. The world of the story is that in a love relationship of the past, there was a procedure. There was an A to Z of romance. In the present day it has become a Z to A. Things that used to happen in the early section of romance now happen in the last section. And things which used to be the culmination point earlier, now happen first. Now, sex happens first. Four days later you realise, wow, I spoke to her… we bonded! In the good ol' days, all the bonding used to get over before you touched each other. But the basic journey… the paths that are taken… remain the same actually. You do bond, you do connect, you do miss…

Are you showing both the types of romance?

Haan… It's essentially a contemporary love story of the present times but there is a counterpoint of the past that keeps appearing in flakes. Calcutta is part of that past. We are showing Calcutta of the 1960s. Loosely, without any subtitle giving the year. There is a visual connection in terms of the Howrah bridge and the Golden Gate of San Francisco.

The Namesake has already tried to visually connect the Howrah bridge with the George Washington Bridge across the Hudson River…

I haven't seen The Namesake. I am glad that you pointed it out. I will now see the film and make sure I don't do the same sequence. But that's not the critical point. What is important is the journey. There comes a time in your life when you make that 1,000 mile journey. There is no option… you have to take that journey. It becomes a compulsion. Maybe you will just see somebody's face and return but you do take that journey. That journey brings the character to Calcutta.

Why Calcutta of all places? Is it because you are from Jamshedpur and you used to visit the city often?

Usually the audience believes that there is too much technique in writing. But for most parts, writing always remains an instinctive and impulsive thing to do. It tends to work with the information that the storywriter has. And I know Calcutta… I am aware of it. So it features in the stories that I write. I know the smell of the land, I know the streets, I know how it works. Also, Calcutta geographically worked as a distant place from Delhi, which is an important location in the film. Besides there is enough material in today's Calcutta which can be shown as '60s Calcutta. It has retained its old-world charm.

Any particular essence of the city you are trying to highlight?

For starters, it's not about Bengalis. It's about a Sikh family, which has moved from Delhi and settled down here in Calcutta and opened a spare-parts shop. Apart from the Howrah bridge, there will be the ghat… I used to get off from the train and cross the Hooghly on the jetty to Babughat, not taking the Howrah bridge. There will be the tram… Then, the Calcutta streets with their distinct look. I feel the city is more grounded and earthy than a Delhi or Mumbai and there is an artfulness to everything. A touch of class and aesthetics will always be there. I want to capture that. Logistically it has been difficult because the city has changed also. But we have to emphasise the aesthetics. If there are five benches on the streets, they should be at certain angles. We have to apply ourselves a little more.

Socha Na Tha, Jab We Met and now Production No. 1… Why is it always about a journey in your film?

God knows man (laughs)! I can't even say it's a sub-conscious call of the soul. Because I have always loved journeys. Even though I haven't been able to do it as much as I want to, but I have always loved travelling. Not only reaching, just travelling. When I am writing, I don't think it will be about journeys. Jab We Met started with the image of two strangers meeting on a train, which is a very boring idea. All I knew is that he is receding… going away, while she is going to her life. And when they meet again, they have interchanged their roles.

How did this project with Saif materialise? Did he ask you to make something for him and with him after watching Jab We Met?

Saif and I had met a long, long time back. He just wanted to meet me. I love such meetings. Because unless I meet someone, no matter how many films of his I watch, I don't know what to do with him. We very loosely kept in touch with each other. This story has started forming in my head while we were making Jab We Met. And I had thought the actor best suited to play this is Saif. Then we met again. He said can we do something together… And I said I have something with you in mind. He heard it, he loved it. He, of course, saw Jab We Met also.

Saif the producer, does he play a role?

No, the producer really is Dinesh Vijan. He does all the production-related activities. I had told Saif that as far as this film is concerned you would have enough to do as an actor. Don't take on any hardcore production activity. And he was very happy to hear that.

Everyone felt that Saif would definitely have Kareena in his home production but it is clearly the director who casts…

It is the director who casts (laughs)! Saif is a very cool guy, a very non-interfering person. He knows he has to play his part and he does that well. He is not the kind of guy who would come and tell me something as ridiculous as: "Please cast my girlfriend!"

All of you must have had a laugh about this…

All the time. In fact, even between Kareena and Deepika, there is always this joke. And with Saif, all the time. It's not like a pitched battle as it was projected to be. Saif, I guess, would have been happy if Kareena was working in the movie. But that was not to be. He never challenged my decision. He never turned around and said that 'Kareena the bigger star should be in the movie and I want to be with my girlfriend'.

Why did Deepika suit the role and not Kareena?

I had met her before Om Shanti Om. I was planning a film with her which did not take off. And after I finished writing this movie and I was thinking of Saif, I was thinking of who the girl could be. I thought it should be Deepika because her silence is very interesting. Just like Kareena's chatter is interesting, Deepika's silence is interesting. She is a perceptive person, who can look at you and keep thinking and she would look interesting doing so.

Not at all! Kareena is a sweetheart and I am very happy to have her on the sets. And even when she is on the sets, she tries not to look at the monitor but I insist that she does. As a viewpoint… Also we have worked together, so we understand each other. I always look forward to have her on the sets.