"Jhootha Hi Sahi is about true love" - Abbas
His first film as a director Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na was a surprise hit and launched Imran Khan in a big way. Now, Abbas Tyrewala is back with his next directorial venture Jhootha Hi Sahi that features John Abraham and Pakhi in the lead roles. In this exclusive interview, Abbas talks about his experience during the making of the film which has been an integral part of his life for the last two years.
Abbas,
your
second
directorial
venture
Jhootha
Hi
Sahi
is
finally
seeing
the
light
of
the
day
after
facing
many
hiccups
along
the
way.
How
are
you
feeling
now-
Anxious,
Excited
or
Relieved?
I
don't
know
how
to
react
to
your
statement
that
Jhootha
Hi
Sahi
is
finally
seeing
the
light
of
the
day.
Yes...it
has
been
a
challenging
journey
but
I
won't
say
we've
been
in
the
making
for
a
long
time.
We
started
shooting
during
summer
of
2009
in
London,
we
then
had
some
shooting
and
patchwork
left
in
India,
and
this
summer
(2010)
we
again
had
to
go
to
London
to
shoot
a
song
and
some
other
portions.
We
then
began
work
on
our
post-production,
special
effects,
music
etc
and
though
initially
I
felt
I
could
keep
it
ready
for
release
in
July
this
year
(since
Jaane
Tu...Ya
Jaane
Na
[JTYJN]
was
released
in
July)
that
didn't
work
out.
Post
that
we
had
always
set
Oct
15
as
the
release
date,
but
unfortunately
we
still
have
work
left
on
our
background
music
and
hence
are
now
releasing
the
film
a
week
later
on
Oct
22.
The
film
has
been
part
of
our
lives
for
the
last
2
years
so
of
course
now
that
it's
nearing
release,
there
is
immense
excitement,
stress,
nervousness,
anxiety
all
rolled
into
one.
You
said
somewhere
that
Jhootha
Hi
Sahi
is
the
second
part
in
the
trilogy
that
you
are
planning
to
make
revolving
around
love,
friendship
at
different
stages
of
life.
Could
you
elaborate
a
bit
more
on
that?
It's
more
like
a
soul
trilogy
than
anything
connected
dramatically.
Basically
there
are
3
phases
of
romance
that
I
can
think
of.
The
first
film
I
made
JTYJN
was
about
first
love,
while
making
Jhootha
Hi
Sahi,
I
realised
somewhere
that
this
is
about
true
love
and
finding
that
one
soul
mate
with
whom
you
want
to
spend
the
rest
of
your
life.
Post
that
there
is
just
one
instalment
left
which
obviously
deals
with
love
after
marriage
and
the
conflicts
therein.
Once
I
make
that
film,
then
I
would
have
finished
telling
three
stories
of
love
at
different
stages.
How
did
the
concept
of
love
happening
over
a
phone
call
via
a
hotline
number
actually
germinate?
If
I
recollect
correctly,
Pakhi
and
I
were
having
a
party
at
out
place
when
we
suddenly
got
a
call
from
a
wrong
number
which
was
not
your
usual
wrong
number
but
a
bit
weird.
While
we
initially
just
shrugged
that
thought,
much
later
we
thought
of
what
are
the
different
kinds
of
wrong
numbers
that
you
could
receive
a
call
from.
It
was
from
here
that
the
whole
idea
of
getting
your
number
mixed
up
with
a
suicide
helpline
number
came
to
Pakhi
and
she
started
developing
it
further.
John
Abraham's
track
record
when
it
comes
to
solo
hero
films
(barring
a
Jism)
has
not
been
very
good.
Weren't
you
apprehensive
of
this
fact
while
considering
him
for
the
main
lead?
John
was
always
the
first
choice
for
the
main
lead
in
Jhootha
Hi
Sahi.
I
don't
really
worry
too
much
about
these
other
factors
when
somebody
is
perfect
for
the
part.
As
an
actor,
this
role
has
been
a
challenge
for
him,
to
shy
away
from
his
more
popular
image
of
a
stud
on
a
bike
and
to
play
what
I
would
call
the
endearing
boy-next-door.
He
has
done
a
fabulous
job
and
moreover
this
is
his
first
solo
romantic
film
which
is
quite
odd
considering
his
huge
popularity
among
the
fairer
sex.
So
I
think
this
will
be
a
good
opportunity
for
all
his
fans
to
see
him
in
an
out
and
out
romantic
film.
You've
also
portrayed
John
in
a
completely
new
geeky
look.
Whose
idea
was
it
to
give
him
this
kind
of
a
makeover?
We
didn't
consciously
set
out
to
give
him
a
makeover
or
anything
like
that.
We
were
just
staying
true
to
the
character
and
his
character
is
one
of
a
bookseller
who
as
a
child
used
to
be
this
plump,
nervous
kid
who
was
always
shy
around
girls.
Even
after
he
grows
up,
he
doesn't
realise
that
he
is
actually
a
pretty
decent
looking
guy
and
still
continues
to
be
a
bit
awkward
in
the
company
of
females.
Based
on
the
character
sketch,
we
decided
to
give
his
character
the
look
of
a
geeky
boy
next
door.
John
has
really
worked
hard
to
look
the
part
and
the
results
are
there
for
all
to
see.
Your
wife
Pakhi
was
the
casting
director
on
JTYJN,
here
she
has
not
only
written
the
story
but
is
also
the
lead
actress.
How
did
she
come
on
board
as
an
actress?
Pakhi
wrote
the
script
of
Jhootha
Hi
Sahi
and
when
the
script
was
ready,
she
gave
a
narration
to
me,
John
and
Madhu
Mantena
(my
producer).
While
narrating
the
script,
she
actually
enacted
every
single
character
for
us
the
way
she
saw
it.
That
is
what
got
Madhu
and
John
thinking
about
casting
her
for
the
female
lead.
I
knew
that
Pakhi
can
act
considering
she
has
done
some
films
in
the
past
but
I
never
brought
it
up
because
I
didn't
want
people
to
point
fingers
and
say
that
I
chose
her
just
because
she
is
my
wife.
However,
both
John
and
Madhu
strongly
felt
that
she
is
really
perfect
for
the
part
and
the
rest
as
they
say
is
history.
The
film's
title
has
gone
through
a
lot
of
changes.
First
it
was
called
1-800
Love,
then
Call
Me
Dil
and
now
finally
Jhootha
Hi
Sahi.
What's
the
reason
for
this?
1-800
Love
was
always
a
working
title
and
we
were
sure
that
we
couldn't
retain
it
as
the
final
title
because
it
would
alienate
too
many
people.
We
kept
throwing
various
options
and
the
closest
we
came
to
liking
something
was
Call
Me
Dil.
But
even
that
didn't
get
a
unanimous
approval
from
the
entire
team
and
we
finally
locked
on
Jhootha
Hi
Sahi-
a
title
which
everyone
agreed
upon.
After
working
with
A.R.Rahman
in
JTYJN,
you
are
back
together
for
the
music
of
Jhootha
Hi
Sahi.
However,
this
time
around
it
looks
like
you've
had
to
do
a
lot
of
running
around
considering
Rahman's
busy
schedule.
The
delay
in
the
background
score
has
even
resulted
in
the
release
date
being
pushed.
Your
comments...
I
had
already
worked
with
A.R.Rahman
and
everyone
knows
that
Rahman
has
a
completely
different
working
style.
He
is
someone
who
is
really
driven
by
his
heart
and
his
inspiration.
He
really
has
to
feel
it
at
the
time
to
get
the
right
music.
When
you
work
with
Rahman
you
do
know
that
it
may
involve
some
degree
of
waiting
but
you
also
know
that
it'll
be
worth
it.
As
far
as
the
delay
in
background
score
is
concerned,
it's
something
unfortunate
as
there
was
a
technical
snag
in
Rahman's
world
tour
concert
because
of
which
some
of
his
concerts
had
to
be
pushed
ahead
and
the
dates
ended
up
clashing.
However,
by
the
grace
of
God,
thankfully
the
delay
has
not
been
much
and
an
extra
week
only
gives
us
that
much
more
time
to
promote
our
film
in
the
best
possible
way.
The
music
of
JTYJN
was
a
huge
hit
and
the
first
song
to
be
aired;
'Kabhi
Kabhi
Aditi' became
a
rage.
However,
coming
to
the
music
of
Jhootha
Hi
Sahi,
a
lot
of
people
feel
that
the
music
is
not
up
to
Rahman's
standards.
Moreover
some
people
feel
that
the
true
gems
like
'Call
Me
Dil',
'Do
Nishaaniyaan'
and
'Hello
Hello'
should
have
been
promoted
first
instead
of
'Cry
Cry'
or
'Maiyya
Yashoda'.
One
tries
to
first
release
the
promo
of
the
song
that
best
describes
the
flavour
of
the
film.
'Cry
Cry'
has
been
done
in
such
an
unusual
way
without
a
choreographer
featuring
two
people
dressed
very
casually
and
just
interacting
with
each
other.
We
thought
it
best
described
the
flavour
of
the
film
and
the
world
the
two
characters
come
from.
'Maiyya
Yashoda'
we
felt
is
a
punchy
energetic
song
that
would
be
loved
by
the
people.
However,
as
you
rightly
mentioned,
people
have
taken
more
to
the
soulful
songs
like
'Call
Me
Dil',
'Do
Nishaniyaan',
and
'Hello
Hello'
etc.
Even
though
life
repeatedly
teaches
us
that
there
is
no
such
thing
as
safe,
we
do
try
to
play
it
safe
and
that's
how
we
went
about
too.
However,
now
the
promos
of
'Call
Me
Dil'
are
already
on
air
and
have
been
getting
a
very
good
response.
I
am
pretty
confident
that
people
will
remember
the
music
of
Jhootha
Hi
Sahi
long
after
the
film
has
come
and
gone.
Recently,
there
was
also
a
story
about
Warner
Bros.
planning
to
take
legal
action
against
the
makers
of
Jhootha
Hi
Sahi
as
they
felt
that
the
film
bears
a
lot
of
similarity
to
their
popular
sitcom
FRIENDS.
What
do
you
have
to
say
about
that?
I
don't
have
anything
to
say
about
that.
There
was
no
legal
notice
issued
by
them
at
all.
They
did
bring
up
the
topic
but
I
guess
realised
that
it's
rather
silly
on
their
part
to
make
such
allegations
without
even
having
seen
the
film.
But
didn't
they
request
for
a
screening
of
the
film?
Yes
they
did
and
we
laughed
the
request
out.
We
haven't
heard
from
them
since
(smiles).
For
your
debut
film
JTYJN,
you
had
the
backing
of
a
solid
name
and
marketing
genius
like
Aamir
Khan.
This
time
around
is
the
burden
of
expectations
more
on
your
shoulder?
There
is
no
denying
the
fact
that
Aamir
was
fantastic
as
a
producer.
What
he
did
to
market
JTYJN
was
a
dream
come
true
and
even
with
Peepli
Live
he
has
once
again
proved
that
he
is
a
marketing
genius.
So
obviously
I
do
miss
his
presence.
But
the
fact
of
the
matter
is
that
you
can't
always
have
an
Aamir
Khan
backing
your
film.
At
the
end
of
the
day,
the
film
should
be
good
enough
to
draw
in
the
crowds
and
I
hope
that
people
feel
good
about
Jhootha
Hi
Sahi
when
they
watch
it.
Finally
the
buzz
is
that
you
have
already
started
work
on
your
next
film
titled
Jaane
Kya
Tune
Kahi
starring
Imran
Khan,
Genelia
and
John
Abraham.
Is
it
true?
No...
that
is
not
true
at
all.
Jaane
Kya
Tune
Kahi
is
a
film
that
I
want
to
make
at
some
point
but
definitely
not
something
that
I
am
actively
planning
as
of
now.
Right
now,
all
I
am
thinking
about
is
the
release
of
Jhootha
Hi
Sahi.
As
for
the
cast
which
you
mentioned,
I
am
so
happy
that
the
media
has
saved
me
the
trouble
of
casting.
If
they
could
also
get
me
contracts
and
commitments
from
the
said
actors,
I'd
be
more
than
delighted.