Interview: Shriram Raghavan

To Shriram Raghavan goes the credit of changing the filmography of Saif Ali Khan. The director changed how audiences perceived the Chhote Nawab by turning him into a ruthless baddie in Ek Hasina Thi. No wonder Saif has asked Shriram to direct his first home production. But before that there’s another Shriram Raghavan film. Johnny Gadar has been waiting in the wings for quite some time, and now it’s ready to be unveiled. Pratim D. Gupta spoke to the director about the Septe mber 14 release and more.

Ek Hasina Thi released on February 24, 2004. What have you been doing all this while?
I have been writing, mostly. But the gap was not intended. Johnny Gadar, my second film, got delayed. Jhamu Sugandh was producing the film but he encountered some financial problems. The film was only 60 per cent complete. It was after a few months that Adlabs took over the film. The legal process took ages. Anyway, the negative was transferred, the edit was all done and the film is now ready for release. I promise to make up for the lost time in my filmography (smiles).

Won’t the film look dated since you have been making it for the past three years?
No. Thankfully the leading man in my film is a newcomer named Neil. So people haven’t really seen him. And he has been keeping a low profile anyway. Also, it’s a thriller. So it shouldn’t be a problem.

After working with big stars Saif and Urmila, why make a film with a newcomer and Dharmendra?
That’s one of the few good things I learnt from Ramu (Ram Gopal Varma produced Ek Hasina Thi). You do not choose the actors and then look for a subject. You find a subject and then look for actors who fit those roles. I couldn’t wait for one-and-a-half years for the dates of my stars. My film needed one man past his prime and another man around 20-22. In our industry there is no star in that age group. So we opted for a new face in Neil. As for Dharmendraji, now Apne is doing well. Then there’s Vinay Pathak whom people now know after Bheja Fry. So I am kind of lucky that the film got delayed!

Where did you find Neil (singer Mukesh’s grandson)?
I met him by chance. Then I made him read the script. He was getting the right points. We had a screen test done and then an acting workshop for three months. I believe he is good. Since he is a newcomer, he has no image and that can be a good thing.

So what is Johnny Gadar and why is it called that?
Well, Johnny Gadar is about a bunch of guys who get together for a heist. Then one small mistake by one of the guys makes it all wrong. And then the rest of the guys chase him down. The title is a tribute to Vijay Anand’s Johnny Mera Naam and also it has some connection in the film which I can’t reveal at this stage.

The plot sounds very Kaante, er, Reservoir Dogs...
Not really. Here the audience knows right from the start who’s the wrong guy. It’s just that the other characters in the film have no idea. It’s more Hitchcockian in that way. I am a lover of the thriller genre, especially movies made by the Coen Brothers, films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, The Asphalt Jungle and Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing.

Everyone wants to sign you on...
(Laughs) I am making a film for Rohan Sippy next. It is an adventure thriller with John Abraham. Then I am making a film for Saif. It will be an espionage thriller with Saif in the lead as a secret agent.