Shootout at Lokhandwala: Inside story... Contd

Have you used any real footage of the shootout in your film?
Yes, I have. But I have not been too successful with that. Once I had even though of incorporating the entire track that I had received from Mithi Tejpal and Madhu Trehas, but when I had a look at the footage, it was not of a good quality that could be used in the film. We have filmed some sequences exactly the way we saw them in the track. These sequences look pretty real and then we have used small portions from the track too.

We have heard that A. A. Khan has also acted in the movie?
Yes, he has also acted in the movie. He has played the character of his senior Ram Moorthy. In this film we have changed the name to Krishna Moorthy.

Who is the main character in your multi-starrer film?
In this film, my hero is Sanjat Dutt and then there is Vivek Oberoi followed by the other characters. Here I am depicting the tussle between the police and the underworld. So, I had to use two very strong characters for both sides so that the equation is balanced.

Why Sanjay and Vivek? Did you have Vivek's character in 'Company' in mind?
Who does not want to work with Sanjay Dutt? As far as Vivek is concerned, I did have 'Company's image in mind so I wanted him to play Maya Dolas. Tusshar has a different image in the people's mind, so it was a challenge to fit him in the character of Dilip Buva. But I'm happy that he did a god job.

So is it that you have put Amitabh Bachchan in a sub-hero category?
No, not at all. He is playing a lawyer in my film. If you want to know more about his character then you will either have to wait for my movie or do the research yourself. I will not tell you anything on my own.

Diya Mirza is unhappy with her role being cut short...
Sometimes, after shooting the film, one realizes that it has become too long. So the sequences that are not too important for the story are normally cut down. It also happens that we have to re-shoot certain parts because the film becomes too short. There is a lot that happens on the editing table and Diya is aware of this.

You were also to make a film on Salman Rushdie's novel 'Midnight Children'?
Yes, I was to make the film along with Rushdie's wife Padma Lakshmi, but unfortunately, thing did not work out and the film has been shelved. I will think of it sometimes in the future.

Your favorite subject is action. Will the next film also be based on it?
Of course, I'm a lazy kind of a person and make one film every two years. By the way, I'm making the next film with Sunil Shetty's Popcorn Production.