The countdown of Sriram's Johnny Gaddar begins

By: Joginder Tuteja, IndiaFM
Wednesday, September 26, 2007

There are just four days to go for the release of Johnny Gaddaar and latest promos of this Sriram Raghavan's film have managed to create great curiosity. In between supervising the last minute detailing for the film's release, Sriram takes out time to get into a light hearted mood and talk about his fascination for cinema.

One hears that when it comes to Bollywood encyclopedia, Sriram is the man to call. How far is that true?

Laughs Sriram, "There is my brother Sridhar, Rajat Aroraa (writer of 'Taxi No. 9211') and Vinay Pathak too. We can spend hours chatting about old Hindi movies, including the not so great ones. In fact, I have even heard that Sajid Khan is an encyclopedia."

Looking at his knowledge about cinema, does that mean that the film bug bit him at quite an early age? "Oh yes. As a kid, I used to beg, borrow and steal to watch movies. Among my guilty pleasures are Dharma starring Pran, all films by Brij, Aur Kaun by Keshu and so many others. Have you seen films like Ek Nari Do Roop, Kashmakash and Aakhri Dao (based on James Hadley Chase novels)? I can just go on", he surprises you.

Well, this certainly sounds like an innovative list of movies; something which has never been rattled down by any filmmaker from past and present. In fact, talk to any filmmaker or actor and what you get in a list is either massy films with Amitabh Bachchan in the lead, classics with Raj Kapoor or Dilip Kumar as torch bearers or offbeat cinema which was made famous by Naseruddin Shah or Om Puri. On the other extreme, one hears films from Europe or Far East which may at maximum find reference in up market video libraries!

With the release of Johnny Gaddar round the corner, is there anything that scares him w.r.t. audience's reaction to the film? "At this moment, I just want them to land up and watch the film. After that I am cool with their reactions. We enjoyed making it. I hope they have fun watching it", he says as a matter of fact.

There must be some kind of expectations that an audience should have while venturing into JD. What does the director of Ek Haseena Thi recommend?

"Expect an edgy thriller with some surprising twists and turns. There is lots of fun too. Add to it some kick-ass soundtrack and solid camerawork and I am sure audiences would not have a reason to complain."