Bollywood exclusive: ‘Talaash’ director Reema goes beyond Aamir, Kareena, Rani…

Her labour of work has finally seen the light of day, and, Reema Kagti is sad that her five-year-long journey with ‘Talaash’ has finally come to an end.

“Though I’m excited that the movie has released, I have so enjoyed the process of making the film that I’m a little sad that it has come to an end,” she says.

She isn’t in a way worried about the business her movie will make. “Regardless of what happens at the box-office, I will stand by my film. This is the film that I wanted to make.”

In fact, she’s equally averse to the gender stereotypes that the Indian media has sprung upon her. Reema vehemently shuns those theories as “reverse prejudice”, before elaborating how the challenges of filmmaking can’t be determined by one’s gender.

Talking exclusively to Emirates 24|7, writer-director Reema talks about her suspense drama ‘Talaash’, working equations with Aamir Khan, the changing face of Indian cinema, and the famous Rs100 crore club.

Excerpts:

Any movie with Aamir Khan comes with a certain amount of baggage. There’s huge expectation, considering he’s known to be the actor with the Midas touch. Was it daunting to direct him?

I was aware of how big a star Aamir is. Initially, everybody is in a little bit of awe of him. Having said that, the working relationship was fantastic.

You know, he is a great collaborator. He really was a driving force in the making of the film.

Like how we really weren’t able to cast it for two years because Aamir wasn't listening to scripts. So the minute he came on, that was like a green light.
So I think he is instrumental in making this film happen. Yes, he brings a lot to the table in terms of inputs, but I appreciate that.

Not only from him, from the rest of the cast and crew also. That is why I have chosen to work with the people I have because they bring something to the table. As a director, I don’t want to work in a vacuum. Ultimately filmmaking is a very collaborative art form.

Filming in live locations is a challenge in itself, did it compound when you throw in not one but three big stars, and choose a vibrant city like Mumbai?

We’ve shot in live locations in Mumbai. Live locations are anyway not easy and especially in the middle of Mumbai with all the traffic and population.

It is extremely challenging. And with Aamir, Kareena and Rani...

In a blink of an eyelid there would be thousands crowding to see them. We knew it would be difficult but I think live locations just look better.

I just didn’t want to show you a gritty world, I wanted to involve the audience and I felt that the best place to set ‘Talaash’ was on live streets of Mumbai.

The interesting thing about these three stars is that they were able to transcend their superstardoms and become these ordinary people that Zoya and I had created. And, for me to be able to work such talented actors is just fantastic.”

How strenuous was the shoot?

There was tremendous effort put in, not just by me, but the entire staff. I think on a daily basis over a period of nine months, it involved 250-300 other people. It was a very difficult shoot. Even the post production was very intense. I think my entire cast and crew were very supportive. Everybody worked really, really hard.”

Your directorial debut ‘Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd’ was in 2007, and it took a while before ‘Talaash’ came about. What kept you going during the time in between these two films? Did you start work on anything else?

In the two years that I wasn’t able to cast ‘Talaash’ I had started developing something else but I had just started on it. Again, I think its part and parcel of being a writer-director.

All I can say for myself is that I have been working really hard. I’ve been writing scripts and trying to get them off the ground and sometimes they just don’t and sometimes they do. That’s how it is. And, I’d just put it to bad luck. And I hope I have lived out my share. And, my next films come a little faster.”

Now that ‘Talaash’ has finally wrapped up. Are you taking a much-needed break before you take the next plunge?

Currently I am going to take a very short break and plunge into two other projects I am developing for myself and Zoya (Akhtar). Both of us are developing these two scripts. I’m going to take a long break after I tackle those two projects.

‘Talaash’ promotions were designed to be understated, and it didn’t begin until the last week before the movie hit the theatres, but considering that every Indian movie indulges in heavy publicity before its release, is it determined that promotional routines do contribute to the economics of the film industry?

There’s very little research and knowledge about whether film promotions do that.

I mean, people do spend money but there’s no proper information as to how much money comes in.

Coming back, I think that fact that the promotion of 'Talaash' has been a bit different is an attempt by my producers (Aamir, Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidwani) to kind of gauge for themselves and not do the conventional thing. But at least I wanted to go with their conviction.

And, with the Rs100crore club that’s deemed as the new yardstick for success. Is success now determined by those numbers?

I don’t know about other people, but it’s not something that I have aimed for consciously. My focus has always been on delivery a good story. A good film. In the process of doing that if I my movie goes above a certain number in profits then I am happy.

I do want to be rich, I don’t want you to think that I don't. Having said that I don’t think you can judge the success of a film purely by the box-office. That just tells you how many people saw the film. It doesn’t really tell you how many people liked the film.

And, when you are judging the success of a film you have to take that into account. Ultimately it is not just a business. It is a medium. It is an art form.

Clearly, there needs to be a balance between business and creativity, right?

There has to be. It is a very, very expensive medium. So, you can’t be doing it for charity. But you have to find a healthy balance between commerce and creativity. At the end of the day, there have been some not-so-great movies that made it to the Rs100 crore club.

Also, there are several other factors that you have to take into account. For me to feel that I have made a successful film, it needs to be a lot more that simply hitting a number of crores. It’s not that simple.

You have spoken about how this is a great time for Indian cinema. But do you think there’s still a long way to go before there’s an equal platform for full-blown masala movies and off-beat films? Or are we still a long way from creating that space?

I think we have come a long way. The Hindi film industry even from when I did my first film as assistant director way back when I was something like 24 years old. Today I’m 40 and what I see around me… things have opened up.

It’s possible for filmmakers to explore wide range of topics. Producers and actors will give them support. So it is a good time. But, is everything as it supposed to be… no! A lot more can happen. I feel that for a healthy industry, the focus should be on good film, bad film.

Even if it’s a ‘masala’ formula film, it should be a memorable watch. If the intent is right, even in your failure there’s success. I think as an industry we should just focus on taking the bar up.

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