Rajkumar Hirani keeps it real

Rajkumar Hirani is busy promoting his latest flick Saala Khadoos which will hit the screens on Friday. “After the release of Saala Khadoos, I will sit and work on Sanjay Dutt’s biopic which will go on floors in July.”

He believes that his growing up in a small town help him portray his thought process onto the celluloid in a modified manner. “In fact, I fancy the small town living experience; there we do not need to make a phone call before visiting people. We could go anywhere at any time. The simple life in a small town definitely makes one feel at ease. I do dig my experiences and put it in my films; I do not believe in shallow film making. My content has to have loads of belief in the script. I do not make a conscious decision to make films which would pass some message, but having grown in a small town whatever things I learnt growing up will be there,” he says.

That must have prompted him to make a movie like Pk. He agrees, “Pk was a film based on religion that I really wanted to make. All over the world, people are divided on the basis of religion; they want to protect their Gods I feel it is the duty of God to protect them and they need not unnecessarily fight over such petty issues.”

About his family, Rajkumar says, “My wife works as a pilot for Air India; she flies almost every day. Ours was an arranged marriage, and since she belonged to the army background, her parents had to come to terms to get their daughter married to a man who merely earned his bread and butter by editing and making a few commercials.”

She supports him a lot, he adds. “My wife is quite stern and disciplined, but I must confess that she supported me a lot while we were residing in a one-room kitchen apartment at Goregaon. She would at times ponder as to how this man will be able to make it onto Bollywood, but when I finally did, she was very happy.”

Raju has high opinion of his son Vir. “It would not be too much if I say Vir has inherited my creative qualities. He understands cinema; I can sit and discuss things with him and he responds very well. He had recently worked on a film project with some of his school friends that he had titled Life and Death, which he shared with me. Vir has yet not told us what his professional ambition. However, we will readily support him, whatever it is.

Raju also says he is very much open to criticism for the betterment of films. “In my office, even a peon has the right to discuss while we are writing the script. No one is small or big; everyone has a voice,” he says, adding “Ever since we began working together, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Abhijat Joshi and I have become closer. Abhijat has also become an integral part of our film making; though he is in Gujarat, we talk for hours on a daily basis.”

On his upcoming Sanjay Dutt biopic, Rajkumar says, “I decided to do this because there is a lot of drama and thrill in his life and Sanjay did not want me to make any changes. I am very determined that it has to be made without any interference. I always like to tell a story with honesty.”

He adds, “We will be casting the right pair for his parents; Ranbir Kapoor plays the main lead. The film goes on floors in July.”

What is your success mantra “Think of a unique idea; satisfy yourself; never try to satisfy everyone; if you laugh, cry and get the thrill with your story, people will also like it; be open to worthy criticism,” he sums up.