Shekhar Kapur on Mr. India 2 and more..

"I won't direct Mr. India 2" - Shekhar Kapoor

By Subhash K. Jha, October 27, 2008 - 16:39 IST

Shekhar Kapoor won't be directing the sequel to Mr. India for producer Boney Kapoor. "They want to make it. I'm involved in the creative advisory capacity. I don't want to direct it. I've already done it before. I don't want to do it again. But it'll have to be a completely different take on the theme."

The 'invisibility' theme will of course remain. "The theme was ahead of its times. But it wasn't the invisibility that made the film work. It worked because the invisibility was shown in a very an interesting way. If you look back at Mr. India you remember the characters the most. It was the emotions and the fun quotient that worked. Those qualities will have to be preserved. But there's no Mogambo anyway."

Coming to his next directorial venture, Shekhar Kapoor won't be casting established stars in his next film Paani. "If you cast Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan or Tom Cruise, you're tailoring the project according to the stars. That's not what I do. I've never done that. When I worked with Cate Blanchett and Heath Ledger they were completely unknown."

Even as he prepares to start his first Hindi film in Mumbai since Mr India, Shekhar Kapoor is bowled over by the new crop of films. "It's a very good time for Hindi cinema. Look at people like Madhur Bhandarkar and Abbas Tyrewala. Abbas' Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na is amazing. He has always been one of the best writers we have. His writing in Jaane Tu... looks so simple. It takes a lot of talent, thought and energy to make something that simple. I also liked Imran Khan immensely. He wasn't introduced on the screen with a fight or song. He creeps in from behind and takes over. Nishikant Kamat's Mumbai Meri Jaan and is very interesting. I see a new crop of very talented actors and directors in Mumbai. What's really interesting is that they are getting producers to back them. Full marks to UTV for backing films like Mumbai Meri Jaan, Aamir and Wednesday. These are directors who don't make films from foreign videos. As for mainstream filmmakers, someone's gotta do films like Singh Is Kinng. I think the big blockbusters are also very important."