By:
Joginder
Tuteja,
IndiaFM
Tuesday,
August
28,
2007
What's
common
between
Shimit
Amin
and
Sriram
Raghavan?
Well,
both
debuted
in
a
film
coming
from
the
house
of
Ram
Gopal
Varma,
(Shimit
with
Ab
Tak
Chappan
and
Sriram
with
Ek
Haseena
Thi)
and
have
their
second
film
releasing
this
year.
While
Shimit
has
made
everyone
stand
up
and
take
notice
of
his
craft
with
an
all-around
appreciated
Chak
De
India;
followers
of
Ek
Haseena
Thi,
a
film
that
has
achieved
cult
status
over
the
years,
are
also
waiting
for
this
yet
another
rocking
thriller
Johnny
Gaddaar
from
Sriram
Raghavan.
After
all
the
acclaim
you
got
for
Ek
Haseena
Thi,
you
must
be
raring
to
start
with
your
next
film?
Didn't
the
wait
tire
you?
The
bright
side
is
that
I
had
time
to
work
on
some
scripts,
watch
lots
of
movies,
read
etc....Right
now
I
am
so
busy
that
I've
missed
movies
on
the
big
screen.
Each
film
comes
with
its
own
challenges.
What
were
the
challenges
posed
by
Johnny
Gaddaar?
The
biggest
challenge
was
when
the
film
got
stuck.
I
had
to
decide
whether
to
wait
it
out
and
complete
it,
or
just
shelve
it
and
move
on.
Thankfully
my
team
stood
by
me.
Otherwise
it
was
great
fun
all
the
way.
There
were
tough
sequences
like
an
action
sequence
on
a
moving
train
at
night.
We
had
no
idea
how
to
crack
it
but
my
cameraman,
Murali
came
up
with
some
innovative
ideas.
It's
one
of
the
highlights
of
the
movie,
even
if
I
say
so
myself.
What
exactly
does
Johnny
Gaddaar
stand
for?
If
you
don't
mind,
I'll
quote
the
synopsis....
The
story
revolves
around
a
gang
of
five
men,
the
eldest
(Dharmendra)
over
60,
the
youngest
(Neil)
in
his
twenties,
who
face
the
bright
prospect
of
making
a
fortune
through
what
seems
to
be
a
simple
exchange
of
contraband
for
money
on
a
train.
However,
this
caper
goes
wrong
badly.
Then
follows
a
ruthless
search
for
the
traitor
amongst
them,
for
who
else
could
have
known
about
the
heist?
Greed,
betrayal,
corruption,
love,
murder...
they're
all
part
of
the
tingling
tale;
that
is
Johnny
Gaddaar.
Cliched
as
it
may
sound
but
how
'different'
is
it
from
other
heist
thrillers?
Sergio
Leone
(or
Godard,
I
forgot)
once
said
that
it's
not
the
story
but
how
you
say
it.
I
think
the
difference
would
come
from
the
treatment.
Given
the
same
story,
five
directors
would
do
it
differently.
Someone
would
treat
it
darkly;
someone
would
give
it
an
extra
glossy
look.
Someone
else
would
put
in
songs
and
comedy
tracks.
Someone
would
make
it
boringly
realistic.
And
so
on.
I've
tried
to
make
it
like
the
70s
Hindi
movies
that
I
enjoyed
as
a
kid.
Technically,
do
you
feel
that
you
have
super
ceded
your
own
effort
when
compared
to
your
last
film?
You
just
try
to
make
every
film
as
good
as
you
can.
One
actually
hears
that
JG
is
a
reverse
thriller
in
the
making.
Can
you
shed
some
light
on
that?
Reverse
Thriller
sounds
profound!!
I
must
use
this
phrase
in
other
interviews!!
Actually,
in
India
the
bulk
of
audiences
and
even
producers,
usually
confuse
Suspense
for
whodunit.
'Arre
suspense
maloom
pad
gaya...isne
kiya
hai...etc'.
SUSPENSE
is
not
about
who
is
the
culprit.
Suspense
actually
means
anticipation,
tension....
'what
happens
next'.
So
in
Johnny
Gaddaar,
the
audiences
will
know
the
identity
of
the
culprit
from
the
very
beginning.
But
the
other
characters
don't
know....and
the
tension
and
excitement
stems
from
....when
and
how
they
will
find
out
and
what
happens
next.
So
I
guess
it
is
reverse
suspense.
What
else
are
you
working
on?
Another
thriller
or
some
shift
in
genre?
Must
shift
genres
or
else
will
find
myself
repeating
shots
and
ideas.
My
next
film
is
not
a
thriller
and
that
scares
me
more
than
The
Exorcist
did.