An imaginary interview with Rohit Shetty

Reasons why I ended up watching this: (a) I had already watched Bajirao Mastani (b) AND Good Dinosaur (c) Shah Rukh Khan (d) Um Kajol I guess (e) romantic film? (f) my family loved it (g) I am not sure. 

In the beginning, the bright colored cars, the gaudily composed setting and the ex-gangster flashback (and later some car chases) made me think maybe it will be like a Fast 7 in India. A few scenes later my uncle turned to me and said "Hey, this scene was in MI3". Many such scenes and mental flashbacks happened during the movie. Then there was also a period of the movie- the first half before the intermission- when I was debating whether to get Nachos or Popcorn. So basically I tried many mental games to unwatch this movies. Somewhere amidst this attempt to escape reality, I decided to mentally make a list of questions I would ask Rohit Shetty, the director of this film, if I ever met him. Here they are, along with what I imagine would be his responses, based on the few scenes that interrupted my day-dreaming. 

Q. So what inspired you to make this film?

RS: Well, I think it was sometime while watching Fast and Furious 6 when they decided to stop stealing cars and become good, no wait, MI3 when she falls off that cliff. Wait, I think it was when I was driving through Goa with my wife and the churches. Or no was it when I was watching the ad for Nerolac and that yellow house just stood out and I really wanted to make a story which would feature that house! Yes, oh and I wanted to kind of increase the possibility of sponsored adverts with my generic television commercial settings. 

Q. Mmmhmm, I noticed ALL of those elements in your film. So was there a plot before you started shooting? 

RS: I, well *laughs*. I started off with that song in Iceland and I thought if they did romantic things on top of a crashed and burnt plane, it would really connect with my audience you know, given the past year of tragic plane accidents. I just wanted to sort of recycle and give back to the world. The colors, well all the costume designers and set designers had so many ideas, I just couldn't pick a theme so I decided to put them all in, a kind of mixed bag film. So all of these elements came together and we had a deadline, so we just took it all to the edit table and before we knew it the movie had to be released. 

Q. How did you go about the casting for this film, you have a very retro couple on one side and a very new, never done before couple on the other. How did that work out? 

RS: Well Kajol and Shah Rukh are a tried and tested formula you see. Meanwhile Varun and Kriti, they both are new, need to make breaks in the industry and this film seemed like a great opportunity. Moreover it also helped me spread out my losses in case the new couple lacked chemistry, I could always bank on the tried and tested one! 

Q. That is a great strategy, I think directors can definitely learn from your mistakes and not repeat them. I noticed you really like to be flamboyant with your stunts...

RS: Oh yes, definitely, those were planned from the start. I wanted Shah Rukh Khan to beat up people, it didn't matter where or how. I even wanted Kajol to show some woman power, because feminism sells you know? Since Kriti is new, I went easy with her and just sort of felt like anger would be a good trait for her character. Varun Dhawan was kind of tired after Badlapur so I gave him a break, be himself, practice some acting. But the stunts were planned even before the plot, in fact its the only reason I make movies, to film people get beat up with sound effects, car chases, flying cars, big cars, small cars, yellow cars, cars, cars, cars.... 

Fortunately by this time the movie looked like it was about to end. So I was pulled out of my reverie,before I was forced to sit through the last song of the film as the credits rolled, in order to make an as-fast-as-my-legs-would-carry-me exit!

My advice- donate that ticket money to flood or earthquake victims, orphans- any good cause you have been meaning to contribute to but just couldn't find the money to shell out. Here is your chance! 

-x-

Photo credits: Wikipedia