00:00I spent 11 years as an assistant, with Mukul Anand,
00:02with Shakir Kapoor, with Mahesh Bhatt.
00:05And then I got my first break in Mahesh Bhatt's company.
00:08It was like a training school.
00:10Everything that could go wrong with a new director,
00:13happened with me.
00:14No distributor wanted to buy my film.
00:17No actor wanted to work with me.
00:20Because I didn't have a hit film.
00:25All my friends in the film industry
00:27left me alone at that time.
00:30So when we were shooting, the train came at a speed of 45 kmph.
00:34And no one knew.
00:35And Aamir's judgement was 30 kmph.
00:37So he jumped and the train left.
00:39So he missed the train by one second.
00:43Sir, where did you start your direction?
00:47Look, I spent 11 years as an assistant in this industry.
00:51With Mukul Anand, with Shakir Kapoor, with Mahesh Bhatt.
00:56And then I got my first break in Mahesh Bhatt's company.
00:59It was a film called Jaanam.
01:02Because I had been an assistant in this company.
01:05And I had worked a lot for Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt.
01:09So they saw my work.
01:12And they felt that maybe I could become a director.
01:17So they gave me a break.
01:18The name of the film was Jaanam.
01:20Rahul Roy and Pooja Bhatt were in it.
01:24My first film was for a special film.
01:26It was released in 1993, I think.
01:30What would you say about Jaanam?
01:32Being your first film.
01:34Jaanam...
01:38...is not close to my heart.
01:41Because in Jaanam, as a director, I made a lot of mistakes.
01:47If I watch Jaanam today, I feel that...
01:51...from the choice of subject to the choice of location,
01:56...choice of actor, everything was wrong in the film.
02:02So Jaanam is actually, for me,
02:07...a reminder of what I should never do.
02:12So it's difficult.
02:14It's hard to say.
02:17But you have to live with the fact that
02:19...the first film was not a good experience. It was a mistake.
02:22Your first films didn't do well.
02:25Is there a reason behind that?
02:27Look, my first four films,
02:30...I can't say anything special about them.
02:34Because Jaanam was Madhosh, Gunegar and Bambai Ka Babu.
02:38All four films didn't do well for me.
02:41All four films had their own reasons for not doing well.
02:45In Jaanam, it was my fault.
02:50Madhosh, the film was good,
02:53...but the story was very routine.
02:56It was nothing new.
02:59Gunegar, the film was very good,
03:02...but the release didn't go well.
03:05Bambai Ka Babu was also good, but the censor cut it in half.
03:11So it's like fate,
03:14...like a training school,
03:17...that everything that could go wrong with a new director, happened with me.
03:22The story went wrong, the actor went wrong,
03:25...the censor gave me trouble,
03:28...the release didn't go well,
03:31...the producer made a mistake,
03:35...I didn't understand.
03:37I consider myself very lucky today.
03:42Because everything that could go wrong with a new director, happened with me.
03:49And I learnt from these things.
03:51I learnt that a regular subject won't do.
03:54I learnt that there's no point in making a very bold subject,
03:59...because it won't pass the censor.
04:01I learnt about the problems of a producer,
04:04...and how a director should be cautious at the time of release.
04:07I learnt all this from my flops.
04:12And the industry doesn't think whether you're a hit or a flop.
04:20The industry doesn't look for your hit or flop,
04:23...it says whether you're a hit or a flop.
04:27I was a flop director after four films.
04:30I didn't have a job.
04:34So I met Mukesh ji again.
04:38It's a strange story, I met Mukesh ji at a party.
04:47He was also drinking.
04:51He said to me,
04:53...Janam is not your fault,
04:55...you're new, we should make a film together.
04:59I thought he's meeting me after so many years,
05:02...so maybe he's treating me well.
05:07So I never went to meet him.
05:10After a month, I met him again.
05:13We met again at a restaurant.
05:15And again, we had something to drink.
05:19He again said, you didn't come to meet me.
05:22I said, no, I'll come.
05:24Still I didn't go, I thought he's just saying that.
05:28I didn't have a job.
05:31Then he called me in the afternoon.
05:34He said, I'm calling you in the afternoon,
05:36...I'm not meeting you at a party or a restaurant,
05:39...do you want to make a film or not?
05:41I said, yes.
05:42He said, come right now.
05:44Then I went to meet Mukesh ji.
05:50Mukesh ji said he wanted to make a film.
05:54And that's when Faraib started.
05:58And Faraib was my last chance.
06:04Because with Faraib, no one was ready to work with me.
06:09No distributor wanted to buy my film.
06:12No actor wanted to work with me.
06:15Because I didn't have a hit film.
06:20All my friends in the industry,
06:22...they also left me.
06:26So I felt very lonely.
06:29And maybe because of that loneliness,
06:32...I was able to make a successful film.
06:35Because I didn't have any other way,
06:39...except for myself.
06:41I just had to trust myself.
06:43And I had to prove that I could do it or not.
06:46I didn't have a star,
06:49...I didn't have a big budget,
06:52...so I worked very hard on Faraib.
06:55And I think by God's grace, the film went well.
07:00That gave me a new lease of life.
07:02How did you get Aamir Khan's Ghulam?
07:06Faraib was released.
07:08And it went well.
07:12And Bhatt sahib was doing Ghulam.
07:15And Bhatt sahib had a lot of films.
07:19And Aamir wanted Bhatt sahib to do only Ghulam.
07:25And Bhatt sahib didn't have any other way to do just one film.
07:30Because he had a lot of commitments, he was very busy.
07:33So he decided amicably,
07:35...that I can't do just one film,
07:37...because there are other commitments,
07:39...so I won't do this.
07:41So when this came up, who would do it?
07:43Bhatt sahib said, there are two directors in my company.
07:46One is Vikram Bhatt and the other is Tanuja Chandra.
07:49So because Aamir had worked with me before,
07:51...I had worked with Madhosh for his company,
07:54...and I was an assistant in Dil Hai Ke Maantani,
07:56...and I was an assistant in Humairaai Pyaar Ke.
07:58So Aamir said, I know Vicky, we'll work with Vicky.
08:02And Faraib was also doing well.
08:06So that's how I became the director of Ghulam.
08:10I remember the shooting of Dastak that day.
08:13And the production people found out before me,
08:17...that I had become the director of Ghulam.
08:19I didn't know.
08:21So I got a call early in the morning.
08:23Ghulam's shooting was in Andheri Sports Complex,
08:25...and Dastak's shooting was in Natraj.
08:28So I got a call from the production people,
08:30...and they said, you're coming to Andheri Sports Complex, right?
08:34I was shocked.
08:36I said, Andheri Sports Complex? How?
08:38I'm going to Natraj.
08:41So that poor guy was also worried.
08:43He didn't understand what I was saying.
08:45So he also hung up.
08:48Then Mukesh ji called.
08:49Mukesh ji said, you want to direct Ghulam?
08:53So I thought, perhaps Bhat Saab is busy today.
08:56So Mukesh ji said, is there any shooting today?
08:58Can you do it?
08:59I said, yes, yes, I'll do it. What's the scene?
09:02He said, no, no, I'm not saying it like that.
09:04Do you want to direct Ghulam, the movie, the film, the director?
09:08It's Aamir Khan's film, who's going to say no?
09:10I said, yes, of course.
09:12Then I went to meet Bhat Saab.
09:14Bhat Saab told me that last night there was a meeting,
09:16...and such and such things happened.
09:20Actually, it's a very strange thing, Ghulam.
09:22Because when I was making Jaanam,
09:26...then Aamir and I were going to make a film for a special film.
09:31And Jaanam didn't work.
09:33And I lost some confidence in the market.
09:37So Bhat Saab came to the project.
09:40And then Bhat Saab and Aamir worked on a lot of scripts.
09:44And ultimately worked on Ghulam's script.
09:47And Ghulam's script was made.
09:50And I don't know if I should call it a coincidence or fate,
09:53...it came back to me.
09:56It's a strange thing,
09:58...that the script that I had started with the project,
10:01...it came back to me, many years later.
10:05Maybe it was written in my fate.
10:08And you know the story of Ghulam.
10:13Aamir and Rani,
10:15...we all made a film together.
10:18And after that,
10:20...there was no looking back.
10:22Ghulam, the train scene,
10:25...how did you plan its shooting?
10:29Actually, that scene was already in the script.
10:33And since the script was made,
10:36...there was a lot of discussion,
10:39...about when and how to shoot that scene.
10:42But it was a very difficult scene,
10:44...so we pushed that scene somehow.
10:48Then we couldn't find a location,
10:50...to shoot that scene.
10:53So ultimately, Sanpada railway shed,
10:56...we got permission there.
10:59It was very difficult to shoot that scene.
11:02Because,
11:04...we were shooting in a yard area,
11:07...so we couldn't drive the train fast.
11:11The demand for the sequence was,
11:13...to drive the train fast.
11:15Otherwise, what's the point?
11:17So we had to use some special effects,
11:19...to make the train faster.
11:21When we were shooting,
11:23...one side was a clear railway track,
11:26...but on the other side,
11:28...there was a big shed,
11:30...so we used a trick kind of shooting.
11:33The direction Aamir was running,
11:35...and the direction the train was coming,
11:37...were on the same side.
11:39We didn't shoot on the other side.
11:41We shot on the same side,
11:43...and till today, no one knows,
11:45...that it's actually only one side,
11:47...that we are shooting.
11:49It's one side of the railway track,
11:51...the camera is a little behind,
11:53...the train is a little ahead,
11:55...Aamir is coming,
11:57...so we shot on the same side.
11:59We shot Aamir,
12:01...missing the train,
12:03...by one second.
12:05I kept telling Aamir,
12:07...actually what happened was,
12:09...at that time,
12:11...people didn't trust the special effects.
12:13And Aamir was saying,
12:15...that he would jump,
12:17...at the last minute.
12:19I was very scared.
12:21I told him,
12:23...that he shouldn't do it.
12:25The action master was also advising,
12:27...Aamir said, let's do one thing.
12:29First you bring the train at 10km per hour.
12:31Aamir brought it at 10km,
12:33...jumped it.
12:35He asked for 20km speed.
12:37He came at 20km,
12:39...Aamir jumped it.
12:41He said, bring it at 30km.
12:43He brought it at 30km,
12:45...he jumped it.
12:47He said, it's okay, I can do it at 30km.
12:49Now, the thing is,
12:51...that train,
12:53...doesn't have an exact speedometer.
12:55It's not an exact speedometer, it's in our car, it can be 30-35 or even 25.
13:02So, when we were taking the shot, the train came at a speed of 45 kmph.
13:07No one knew, and Aamir's judgement was at a speed of 30 kmph.
13:11So, he jumped and the train left.
13:14So, he missed the train by 1 second.
13:17And we got to know this 1 second while we were editing.
13:20So, Aamir runs and there's a lamp post there.
13:25The light from here has Aamir's shadow on it.
13:28Aamir's shadow comes out and the train's shadow comes there.
13:32And there's an exact difference of 24 frames between the two shadows.
13:36And when we...
13:38I gave Aamir the clipping, he's got it at home.
13:42He's kept it for... He said, I want to keep it for all my life.
13:45That shot in which you can see the shadows.
13:49So, by 1 second, he missed the train.
13:50After that, we said, it's not possible, my heart is broken.
13:55We said, this is not the way to shoot.
13:59Then we called the special effects team.
14:02And took the remaining 2 shots from the special effects team.
14:06How much did you benefit after Ghulam's release?
14:09No, it's not like that, but...
14:11I feel that...
14:14After Ghulam, whatever films started coming to me...
14:17Whatever work I started doing...
14:20I felt that...
14:22As a director, my growth was getting curtailed.
14:26Because whenever I talk about a different script, people say, it's going to be an experiment.
14:30What is it? No one will do it in a budget.
14:32What is it? No star will do this role.
14:35So, I started feeling very suffocated.
14:39That I don't want to make all these subjects.
14:44I killed a normal father, my sister was raped.
14:48I don't want to make a film like that.
14:51I want to make films like Kasur and Raaz.
14:55I am not saying that I don't want to make films like that, but I want to make films like that.
14:58So, I didn't have any other option.
15:01Because when you want to make a different film, you have to reduce the risk factor.
15:06Reducing the risk factor means reducing the budget.
15:09Reducing the budget means hiring new people.
15:12Otherwise, if you hire a star, then it will be the same.
15:14If you hire a star, then the budget will increase.
15:16If the budget increases, then the risk will increase.
15:17If the risk increases, then you will say, take the same story.
15:19It's very risky.
15:20It's a catch-22 situation.
15:25But I am seeing that the times are changing.
15:30It wasn't like this during Kasur, but nowadays, stars want to hear new scripts.
15:34Nowadays, they want to hear stories from different films.
15:41They are not hesitating to take a negative role.
15:43They used to hesitate.
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