The star-producer on his soonto- release zom-com, why one shouldn't rush into marriage, and Happy Endings.
So you're a Zombie fan?
No, actually I'm not. I've always been a big vampire fan. Count Dracula is definitely more romantic, and even vampire films have a bigger budget. Zombies, even in the West, have predominantly been associated with the B-grade genre.
Then why produce a Zombie movie, Go Goa Gone?
It was Krishna DK and Raj Nidimoru's script that made me think that this could make for a really funny film that people would enjoy watching. And the reactions to the trailers, especially on the internet, have been really encouraging.
But Luke Kenny's Rise Of The Zombies (2013), promoted as India's first zombie movie, that opened in April, disappeared in a flash. Doesn't that make you apprehensive given that you've invested so much on prosthetics, special effects and foreign technicians?
I haven't seen the film you just mentioned, but from what I've heard, I gather it was a hardcore horror film, while ours is an entertaining comedy. Go Goa Gone is a zom-com, and the idea of taking a genre and turning it upside down was what interested me. I read up on zombies only after I liked the script and learnt that they originate from a virus that can infect even a healthy human being. No one knows where it came from, but it can destroy you. Only a small part of the brain remains alive, but otherwise you are pretty much dead. And what's even scarier is that the virus can reproduce and multiply through a bite.
That's how it works with vampires too, one nip in the neck and its goodbye to the world of mortal humans.
True, but zombies, unlike vampires and others, have no supernatural powers. They are the rarest of the rare, but they can't fly or do anything out-of-the-ordinary. They just don't feel any pain because they are already dead.
We're told you're doing another film with the director duo of Go Goa Gone?
Yeah, it's titled Happy Endings.
Ah, a fairy-tale romance?
(Laughs) No, actually it is more of a spoof on romance. I've never been too kicked about doing the tried and the tested. It's more fun to break the mould and when you have a production company of your own, make the kind of movies you believe in. Having a huge commercial success like Race 2 is important to me as a star. But equally important is how you can tap this commercial success to bring in a different kind of cinema that refl ects your sensibilities. While box-office numbers are rewarding, it is also extremely satisfying when you do something creatively different that has some thought behind it.
Your real life romance seems to have had a happy ending after all?
(Smiles) Yes, I feel calmer now and more settled. Kareena (Kapoor) is a wonderful girl and I look forward to our time together. The love is there, it's never going to go away, what you have to ensure is that you continue to respect each other. That's important for any relationship.
Kareena had once said that marriage is just a public certificate and means more to society than the two of you. But last year, you admitted that marriage is important because, ultimately, we are social creatures and especially in India, there's a huge difference between introducing the woman you love as your girlfriend and introducing her as your wife.
That's right, marriage is a kind of commitment that makes both you and your partner more secure.
So as an elder brother what advice would you give 34-year-old sister Soha who has publicly announced hat she and her partner, Kunal Khemu are going to ive in together without getting married?
(Laughs) Yeah, the tables have turned. Kunal and Soha love each other and they are likely to marry, but they are in no real rush. That is wise. You should not get married till you are ready for it and you should ensure that you don't marry the wrong person. A relationship is like a partnership, you need to work on it constantly to make it work. You also need to be more accepting of each other. When you are younger you tend to expect more and fight more. Thank God, I'm done with all that now. At 42, I have found the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, and today, balance my time between my wife, my mother (Sharmila Tagore) and my children, Sara and Ebrahim. At work it's about striking the right balance between films that are mainstream yet not formulaic. Films like Go Goa Gone, Bullet Raja and Happy Endings.
There's also a comedy with Sajid Khan that's supposed to be a remake of Gulzar's comedy of errors, Angoor?
No, it's not Angoor, the only similarity is that it also revolves around a pair of twins. That's why we've named it Humshakal. I'm really looking forward to working with Sajid. In fact, both the Sajids, there is a thriller with Sajid Nadiadwala too being directed by Kabir Khan. And a film with Prabhudeva that promises plenty of action and dance. There's lot to keep me creatively challenged.
Anupamaa
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