"During
Lage
Raho
Munna
Bhai
distributors
came
and
said,
'Item
to
apne
daala
hoga?
Item
kaafi
hit
tha
MBBS
mein.'
I
told
them,
item
to
hai
-
Mahatma
Gandhi.
That's
filmmaker
Vidhu
Vinod
Chopra
for
you,
reminiscing
after
the
announcement
of
four
National
Awards
for
his
production
Lage
Raho...
which
bagged
the
honours
for
wholesome
entertainment,
best
screenplay,
best
lyrics
and
best
supporting
actor.
We
meet
at
his
charming
office
complete
with
a
waterfall,
where
he
is
taking
stock
before-airdashing
to
"Amrika" for
his
next
directorial
venture
Broken
Horses,
a
complete
Hollywood
film.
Broken
Horses,
with
a
screenplay
based
on
an
original
story
by
Chopra
has
several
impressive
names
attached
to
it--writers
Abhijat
Joshi
(Lage
Raho
Munna
Bhai,
Eklavya
and
64
Squares)
and
Jason
Richman
(Bangkok
Dangerous,
Swing
Vote)
and
BAFTA
winner
and
Academy
Award-nominated
screenwriter
and
executive
producer
Nick
Pileggi
as
script
consultant
(Goodfellas,
Casino
and
American
Gangster).
The
film
is
being
co-produced
by
Big
Entertainment
with
rumours
of
Brad
Pitt
and
Bachchan
co-starring
in
the
film
though
Chopra
clarifies
that
it
is
an
out
and
out
Hollywood
film
that
will
have
Hollywood
actors.
Though
anxious
about
his
Hollywood
foray,
he
is
not
daunted
by
the
challenge
that
he's
taken
on--of
proving
himself
all
over
again.
"Why
do
I
want
to
get
up
and
make
Broken
Horses?
For
the
simple
reason
that
I
find
it
far
more
challenging.
Here
who
will
you
compare
my
work
with?
There
my
work
will
be
compared
with
that
of
Martin
Scorsese
and
Francis
Ford
Coppola.
That's
a
scary
thing.
But
that's
also
challenging.
They
will
judge
me
not
by
who
I
am,
but
by
my
work."
He's
got
off
to
a
good
start
for
Nicholas
Pilegi,
his
script
consultant,
has
been
complimentary
even
to
the
work
in
progress.
"It
was
a
big
surprise
because
for
me
it
was
unfinished.
I
am
going
back
now
and
am
going
to
work
on
the
script
for
six
weeks,
polish
it
further
and
then
it
will
go
for
casting
three
months
from
now.
If
all
goes
well,
then
in
mid-
next
year,
we
should
start
rolling."
Chopra's
excitement
is
understandable-after
making
a
name
for
himself
with
movies
like
Parinda,
1942
A
Love
Story
and
Mission
Kashmir
which
he
directed
and
Parineeta,
besides
the
two
Munna
Bhai
movies
that
he's
produced,
he's
stepping
out
to
prove
himself
all
over
again.
His
last
outing
Eklavya,
India's
entry
for
the
Academy
Awards,
did
not
impress
the
audiences
back
home
but
earned
critical
acclaim
"A
Shakespearen
Tragedy"
is
how
Variety
International
described
it.
The
difference
is
not
lost
on
the
filmmaker
who
tries
to
put
the
myriad
views
in
perspective.
"In
literature
they
would
say
Shakespeare
is
tough
(to
understand).
Hamlet
samajh
nahin
aa
raha
hain.
But
for
movies
that
people
don't
understand
they
say
it
was
rubbish.
So
for
me
the
critical
thing
is
who
are
the
people
seeing
my
work.
You've
to
choose
the
audience."
Considering
it's
a
cliche
that
directors
often
use
in
their
defence-Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali
who
trained
under
Chopra
being
a
recent
example
-
I
prod
some
more
about
the
argument.
Did
he
then
like
Bhansali's
Saawariya?
"I
liked
Saawariya
upto
a
point-the
first
15
minutes
were
outstanding
and
then
I
think
the
film
lost
it.
I
must
say
that
it
was
a
brave
attempt
and
it
was
very
sad
to
see
how
mediocrity
pounced
on
it…
because
mediocrity
really
thrives
by
stifling
excellence,"
he
says.
The
director,
however,
does
agree
that
creativity
could
sometimes
turn
into
an
excuse.
"It's
a
scary
defence,
and
how
do
you
distinguish
a
real
work
of
art
that's
not
understood
and
a
work
of
art
that
has
failed?
Frankly,
I
don't
know.
When
you
are
making
a
film
for
the
Indian
audience,
then
it
is
your
job
to
understand
the
level
of
your
audience.
It's
like
when
we
did
Lage
Raho
Munna
Bhai,
we
were
very
careful
with
Mahatma
Gandhi
because
he
was
Bapu,
the
Father
of
our
Nation.
I
don't
say
that
for
Eklavya.
If
I
have
made
it
for
India,
I
should
have
made
the
concept
of
Dharmah
Matibhya
Udghrutah
even
simpler."
That's
quite
candid
acknowledgement
in
the
film
industry
where
criticism
of
any
kind
is
a
cardinal
sin.
As
a
thinking
filmmaker,
how
does
he
react
to
criticism?
"I
don't,"
he
replies
without
even
a
second's
pause
adding,
"Unless
there
is
a
writer
or
critic
that
I
respect
and
I
want
to
see
or
read
his
opinion
of
my
work,"
avers
Chopra.
He
continues,
"Saif
Ali
Khan
sent
me
a
message,
"We're
doing
a
Ken
Knightly
sort
of
comedy
show
for
this
award
function,
so
could
we
please
make
fun?"
I
said,
"Just
tell
them
that
you're
grateful
to
me
for
Parineeta
and
Eklavya
and
take
more
money
and
just
do
it.
My
sister
saw
the
show
and
got
very
upset
and
so
did
my
wife.
And
finally
both
Saif
and
Shahrukh
Khan
came
home
and
apologised.
Frankly,
I
don't
give
a
damn.
If
I'm
going
to
judge
myself
by
what
two
people
trying
to
make
some
money
from
a
stage-show
say,
it
will
be
the
end
of
me."
Chopra,
however,
is
uncompromising
of
his
art
giving
opportunities
to
those
he
thinks
talented.
He
has
given
to
Bollywood
directors
such
as
Rajkumar
Hirani
(who
Chopra
says
is
a
more
successful
director
than
he
is)
and
Bhansali.
People
such
as
music
director
Shantanu
Moitra,
lyricist
Swanand
Kirkire
and
Abhijat
Joshi
are
his
core-team
and
he's
soon
launching
yet
another--
Rajesh
Mapuskar
with
a
film
titled
Ferrari
Ki
Sawari.
There's
also
Ram
Madhvani
(of
Let's
Talk
fame)
directing
Taalismaan,
a
love
story.
But
it's
not
just
that
he's
managed
to
create
a
talent
hub
around
him
as
that
they
are
willing
to
stay
beyond
pack-up
time.
It's
this
abiding
loyalty
that's
remarkable
in
an
industry
notorious
for
its
professional
adultery.
Abhijat
Joshi
when
he
got
a
lucrative
offer
from
outside
turned
it
down
with
a
quote
from
Godfather.
"I
have
only
one
client,"
he
said.
Chopra
puts
it
down
to
his
efforts
at
making
outstanding
cinema
and
enabling
others
to
do
so.
"It's
not
the
money
that
keeps
them
here
it's
the
strife
for
excellence,"
he
says
In
the
world
of
commercial
cinema,
that's
indeed
good
news.