SRK is unlike my kind of hero: Ramu

Known for churning out products at regular intervals, he had been on an unintended sabbatical with no releases for a while but has five of scheduled in the next three months - Darna Zaroori Hai, Shiva, Go, Shabari and Darwaza Bandh Rakho. Here he talks about remaking James as Shiva.

Why did you remake your own film James as Shiva?

With James my intention was to recreate the magic of the intense action films of the 70s and the 80s in which Amitabh Bachchan peaked to various degrees and to a lesser extent Mithun Chakraborthy and Vinod Khanna.

In the last 15 years we stopped making that kind of cinema. Eventually James wasn't made the way I had in mind, as my concentration was also on Sarkar. When I look back at my first film Shiva, there was something about cinema that attracted me so vastly. So I decided to capture all those moments from my original Shiva by going back to that state of mind with today's setting.

Your earlier Shiva was raw...

Even this one is. It is almost a retro film. It has no high speed shots. When there is a punch you feel it; the expressions are real; the setting is very realistic.

This time Shiva is a cop...

The original Shiva dealt with a student going into the campus. There is goondaism and the management is unable to do anything. The hero comes along and he rebels. Take the same plot and place it in the context of the Mumbai police. An idealistic man joins the police force at a time when the Mumbai police are at their worst phase - scandals, scams, underworld connections, and a constable accused of rape.

The film asks, if a man sticks to his ideals, how can he counter the practicality of the police force of a big city. People who remember Shiva can see a lot of parallels.

Your protg JD Chakravarthy made Durga soon after you made Shiva. A few references were of scenes from your Shiva. Comment.

I am not aware. I did not see Durga.

You have announced several projects. What's happening to all of them?

Immediately after this I am doing a film with Shah Rukh Khan and after that, towards the end of the year, I will be starting Sholay.

What's the film with Shah Rukh Khan about?
It is too early to give details about the film. The kind of stardom Shah Rukh has, it is foolish to take that away. I want to attempt to take the elements of what people like in him and I'd like to pitch it to a level that has not been seen before. That is going to be my attempt. How much I succeed... let's see.

I am very excited because Shah Rukh is very unlike my kind of hero. I believe in macho hunks and action heroes who pack intensity. While something of me will rub off on to him, some of his charisma will rub off on to my film. So I think it will be an interesting mix.