What is Bhool Bhulaiya about?
Bhool Bhulaiya has the tension of Bhoot and the humour of Hera Pheri. Humour and horror come together to form the film’s story. Bhool Bhulaiya explores the depth of human emotions and psychology through a story based in a traditional Indian setup. In fact, it is inspired from a 1993 Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu by director Fazil in which I was a second unit director.
Why were you so irate when people called it a remake of Rajnikanth’s Chandramukhi? Chandramukhi completely mutilated the original film’s concept and story. Manichitrathazhu was a classic but Chandramukhi was absolute cinematic trash. The film was made for Rajnikanth and not for a classic subject that formed the essence of the original film. With Bhool Bhulaiya I have tried to capture that classic message and obviously comparisons with Chandramukhi were not a pleasant experience.
You seem to have high expectations from your film. I have worked very hard to make Bhool Bhulaiya. I wanted North Indian culture to be dominantly visible in the film, which is why we extensively shot in places like Benares that are full of Hindu traditions and culture. Apart from its visual appeal, the film’s content was reworked as well. The original film had certain mistakes, like it focussed on split personality, but since I have been a psychology student, I could understand it better. We decided to use the human condition of Disassociated Identity Syndrome, where a person develops dual identities and starts living in an alternate imaginary world. The expectations are like any of my films on which I have worked hard. Audiences always want to watch something that can hold their interest and Bhool Bhulaiya can turn out to be a blockbuster.
Why are you so inspired to remake Hindi films from Malayalam, Tamil or Telegu films? The point is most of the really good films made by some other director or me in Malayalam or Tamil were made with small budgets. Limited sources of finance left us wanting for more, because as filmmakers we wanted to make those films a lot better. When we made Manichitrathazhu in ‘91 we wanted to make a big film, but a micro budget tied our hands. Making a Hindi film allows me to explore into areas I couldn’t earlier because the budgets are bigger and the films can be better.
Bhagam Bhaag was under the plagiarism scanner and that cost the producers dearly. What if something like this happens to Bhool Bhulaiya? That won’t happen because Bhool Bhulaiya is a film I have worked on originally. In fact Fazil, the original film’s director, is completely aware of the remake and there would no such issues.
How much did Vidya Balan’s recent popularity influence you in casting her for the film? My original choice for the role was Aishwarya Rai. But, when I saw Vidya in traditional Indian attire, I felt she fits the character’s mould perfectly. Also, Vidya justified my decision by giving her heart and soul to the film. She worked really hard to have every scene and dialogue delivered to perfection.
In a recent interview with Screen Vidya said that inevitably she will be compared to Shobhana, who starred in the original, after Bhool Bhulaiya’s release. Was that of any cause for concern to you?
Shobhana was a trained and genuine dancer. Vidya on the other hand is just an actress who is portraying a trained dancer. There are no comparisons between the two. Shobhana was applauded for her performance and so will Vidya. Vidya has worked very hard at learning the dance steps and her efforts will show on the screen.
What was the biggest challenge in the filming of Bhool Bhulaiya? The biggest challenge had to be extracting performances from the cast. We were striving for authentic and genuine performances that would seem absolutely real and to have things perfect I did not allow a single person from the cast to watch the original.
Why do we see you work with the likes of Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Tanushree Dutta so often? Why don’t you explore other actors’ talent as well? Well there is a Malayalam saying that roughly translates as "When there is butter at home, you don’t have to go out searching for ghee". People like Paresh, Rajpal, Akshay or even Manoj Joshi are seasoned and complete actors. And when I have such talented people to work with why I should go searching for someone else? Let’s just say that known devils are better than unknown angels.
When is Dhol - Kiska Bajega scheduled for release? Dhol is scheduled for a September 21 release.
Don’t you think simultaneous releases for your films will eat into their cumulative business and divide the audiences? What can I do? Yash Raj had all the theatres booked until now. Either ways I don’t think back-to-back release dates hurt my films. People want to watch fun and entertaining films all the time. The more they are available on show, the better for the audiences.
Why are you doing so many comedies, when alternately you have been acclaimed so much for your serious films down south? I started making serious dramas like Gardish and Virasat in Hindi. Films like that did not do well, not because they were bad stories or films but because the people wanted to watch something else. They wanted to go to a theatre to enjoy and not sulk or think profoundly. I also thought that at that time there was a dearth of comedies. Quite naturally, I am playing for the gallery and making films that work, films that people of the young multiplex era want to see.
So should your fans not expect serious dramas from you? They should. I am currently working on a Tamil film called Kanjeevaram that stars Prakash Raj. This film is about the workers in the Kanjeevaram mills and it’s going to be a serious arty flick. I am not sure if the film will make it to the commercial screenings but will definitely do the rounds in film festivals. I am always going to enjoy making serious films but comedies and commercial films will be my bread and butter.