Truth behind Iqbal the Victim Sharma (Maddy pg 1)

Vinod won't play it Saif!

Two decades in the business, does the release of a film even now make you anxious?

Well, this one does because Agent Vinod is the film that I have always wanted to make. If someone asked me: 'After being in the industry for 20 years, which is that one film that you would like to make?' my answer would be 'Agent Vinod'. Whatever little reputation I have built over the years, I am staking it on Agent Vinod. Agent Vinod is, definitely, my passion project. This film's been in the news right from the beginning because everything about it ' whether it was the title or the cast or the genre ' threw up some kind of interest. That, in itself, has indicated to me that this has been the right film to make.

How did the idea of the film develop?

India has always had a market for these kind of movies ' cheesy rip-offs of Bond films, like some of the ones we saw in the '70s. So, when the idea of making Agent Vinod came to me, I thought that why not make a non-cheesy film in the same genre. We retained the title because it somehow sums up everything that was cheesy about that genre. There is something a little retro about the title' it also cuts across all audiences, whether it is the frontbenchers or the multiplex audience. Agent Vinod is something that you can see written at the back of an autorickshaw and maybe even on the T-shirt of a college kid. The idea is to revamp a genre that, in retrospect, is a little cheesy' a little low-brow.

Is the film also a little kitsch?

The title is but the film isn't because I don't think kitsch is commercial. Kitsch doesn't really resonate with the large audiences. You can do it with your fashion sense at the racecourse, but not in a mainstream Bollywood film (laughs). I am aware of the fact that the sophisticated filmgoer thinks it's a little bit of a silly title at the moment, but then even Mission: Impossible is quite a funny title and it came from a very bad TV show.

How would you then describe Agent Vinod the film and the character?

The biggest challenge for me and for the director, Sriram Raghavan, was to create a character that was Bond-like in many ways, but wasn't really Bond. It had to have its own identity. It's not a dark film but the character has got a bit of an edge. If you ask me what the film is about I would say it's like a comic book in parts' maybe like a Tintin' but it's also like a Bond film and a Jason Bourne movie too. There is the flamboyance of Bond, there are colourful villains like you would find in Tintin, but there is enough originality in it. It's nice to have a Bollywood hero and put him in situations that you have seen only international characters face.

The Indian audience today knows its James Bond and Jason Bourne. Does that put more pressure on you?

See, our audiences are completely aware of the kind of films that are being made world-wide. But then again, anyone who makes an action film anywhere in the world will have to include some stock elements. There will be a car chase' there will be a motorcycle chase'. There has to be good action and crackling dialogues. But you will not want the treatment and the presentation to be a rehash of something that you have already seen in Hollywood. Sriram knows that with Agent Vinod, people are expecting him to come up with a Hindi copy of a Bond film. But he is an intelligent director who knows how to turn that to his advantage. Hopefully, he will pleasantly surprise you.

Was Sriram Raghavan ' who directed you in Ek Hasina Thi ' always the first choice as director?

For this, I thought he would be the perfect choice. He and I like the same kind of films, the same kind of books. If someone mentions Ice Station Zebra (by Alistair MacLean), he and I will be the only two people on set who will know what it means! He understands how music and performance and dialogues and action should come together to make a moment in a film. Agent Vinod is a very creative kind of a project. It's not a film where you go to a location, you set up the camera, you wear nice clothes and you do a scene. Agent Vinod required a lot more.

In Bollywood, the danger of a film of this genre seems to be that storytelling plays second fiddle to glitz and glam'

Even glitz and glam can be presented properly' with a great story backing it. In today's Bollywood, you really can't get away with what Sanjay Gupta was doing in the '90s' showing people smoking and looking coolly into the camera. There has to be more and Agent Vinod gives that to you.

Are you thinking of developing Agent Vinod into a franchise?

That's not the first thought on my mind. I get very worried when people start talking about Step 3 when we are sitting at Step 1. I love the character' it's someone who is made for a franchise. You can keep putting him into different situations. But the audience has to love Agent Vinod as much as I do. If the audience wants more, we will give more.

You and Kareena Kapoor are a couple off-screen. Does that help or hinder your on-screen chemistry?

I don't think it helps particularly. I mean it may be nice (makes a face), but it doesn't really help. At least with us, I find it challenging sometimes to make it look like fresh chemistry. It will be difficult for Kareena and I to do something like a romantic comedy that relies on fresh chemistry because we share too comfortable an equation off-screen. But in this film, that really hasn't been too much of a problem because we are both pretending to be people we are not. But Kareena has done a phenomenal job in this film. I have obviously seen her work before, but in this film Kareena dominates the screen. She makes the film come alive.

All kinds of films. I now want to make a film on a quirky guy living in Varanasi! But yeah, now we are also making India's first zombie film about two idiots who land up in Goa. It's not a rom com, but a zom com! I hope there is a market for that also.

Coming to the brawl at a Mumbai restaurant, could you clarify to our readers what happened?

I have never been the kind of person who communicates much or goes the extra mile to present my side of things. I am not on any of these social networking sites. The downside of that is people don't know you and they think that you may be capable of something like that. All I can say is that whatever happened was avoidable and I should have perhaps reacted differently. I have realised that, as a celebrity, even if I am pushed, I will have to handle things a lot more diplomatically. But all this talk about me hitting a senior citizen is all rubbish. I wouldn't hit anyone elderly simply because of the fact that I will also be old one day... All this fame and stardom is very transient and so all these people who are accusing me of using my position to get away, need to do a reality check. I really don't care too much about being a star. I won't really be bothered if it isn't there tomorrow.

So you are saying that it wouldn't affect you if people fail to recognise you on the roads tomorrow?

It wouldn't really. I live in a normal world where I like to sit with my friends and have a drink or catch a film. I can do that in England without being bothered but obviously not in India. But yes, it would definitely affect me if tomorrow I walk on the road with another star and he is recognised and I am not! (Laughs.)

Finally, are you getting married this year?

See, it could happen soon' maybe this year' but the moment we talk about it, people will forget about Agent Vinod and only talk about the marriage. So anyone who asks us about marriage, we tell them that we will talk about it after the film! (Laughs.)