When the poster for Aamir Khan’s new movie, PK, hit the net a few months ago, it caused a stir as the Bollywood star appeared in his birthday suit. In this exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama’s Faridoon Shahryar, director Rajkumar Hirani shares his view on the issue…
After the box office success of 3 Idiots and Dhoom 3, do you feel any pressure for PK to also be a mega hit?
First of all, we are not in the same race. Everybody can excel. Every film is different. Somebody might make a few billion more; some film can make a few billion less. It’s not a reflection of the quality of the film. Quality of a film can be judged only 10 years down the line, that after 10 years whether people remember your film or not. I don’t know how well Pyaasa, Mughal E Azam, Lagaan or Jab We Met did. I would still want to go back and watch these films. How everything is equated with money is very funny. We should break this pattern.
The response to the first poster of PK was unprecedented. Some people who loved it, while others cried foul, alleging nudity. How do you respond to that?
I love the first poster (pictured). When you see the film you’ll realise the importance of the poster. To me it’s not a nude poster at all. For me, it’s a very interesting-looking poster which completely signifies the film. I was amused when people complained about nudity. Are you seeing through the transistor? It’s your dirty mind. There’s nothing. Change your thinking. There’s no vulgar moment either. A woman in sari, fully clad, can look more vulgar if she wants to, than a man who’s completely naked. There’s nothing wrong in nudity.
The idea of the song Love Is A Waste Of Time from PK is very interesting. How did you guys crack it?
Swanand was caught up and we had to record this song. I thought of calling Amitabh Bhattacharya. There was a number for Amitabh (lyricist) in my phone. I called. It wasn’t Amitabh Bhattacharya but Amitabh Varma. I started talking and he got very excited. We fixed up a time to meet the next day. Then I called Amitabh Bhattacharya, he came to the meeting but was caught up with a few other things. The same evening Amitabh Varma came to meet me. I thought, ‘let’s take a chance’. I briefed him. Two days later he came and started with the line …poore pichattar baar mirrorva dekhen... … I liked it! This guy magically delivered.
Aamir Khan is very excited about PK. He has also said that this one role is equivalent to all the roles he has played in his career. He hasn’t repeated a director in a long time either.
Aamir has done a fantastic job. It’s a character who is completely a baby, very innocent, very childlike. All that fits Aamir because of his baby face, height, fresh looks, ears (which are already out), physically he was perfect. He took up the challenge of Bhojpuri. He took lessons in Bhojpuri and he put in a lot of effort to become the way he has become. He doesn’t blink in the film. It was very tough for him to perform.
While editing PK, how was your state of mind when you saw the portions featuring Sanjay Dutt considering he went through turmoil?
Sanjay has been in every film of mine barring 3 Idiots. He is a complete joy to work with. He makes everyone happy. When we were shooting we didn’t know that this wouldhappen to him.
I believe Sanjay writes letters to you from jail and you get emotional?
He keeps writing letters. I’ve seen a change in the pattern of his letters. I’ve seen an acceptance. He has accepted that I have to live here and I might as well live happily. He jokes around. Earlier there was sadness, now he writes wonderful letters. There’s humour coming back. He is a survivor.
You are making a biopic on Sanjay with Ranbir Kapoor in the lead and you’ve apparently met his family over a span of 25 days and also spoke to Sanjay’s close friend Paresh.
It all started when Sanju was out on parole. He opened up. I realised I knew so little about him. There’s a huge part of his life that he doesn’t talk about. At one stage I realised there’s a story in his life. Abhijaat (Joshi) and me met his family for several days, met his sisters, Kumar Gaurav and a close friend, Paresh, who lives in US. I cross-checked all the stories. Paresh gave very interesting insights. I think there’s a great story. I bounced off on Ranbir and he got excited. At this stage we are still writing.
Will the Sanjay biopic be the next film you’ll be working on as a director?
It looks like it will.
Any funny incident you can share during the making of PK?
There’s a fat barber that you must have seen in the promo of PK. You may have seen the making of the scene involving this guy. The scene required that the pyjama is caught in the bum. We needed a fat guy so that the bum is big. When we were shooting, the line was thin; the pyjama was not going in. We used the hanger but nothing was happening. A costume person told me that the actor is very nervous, you are there, Aamir is there, he is very nervous, he’s really tightened up. You need to loosen him up. We took him aside, talked, became friends with him, then he “loosened up”. – bollywoodhungama.com
• PK screens December 19 at Suncoast Cinecentre