Director Nikhil speaks on <i>Salaam-E-Ishq</i>
Did
you
always
wanted
to
become
a
director?
Also
tell
us
about
the
period
of
struggle
that
you
went
through
while
pursuing
filmmaking.
I
always
said
that
I
happen
to
be
the
divine
child
and
I
happened
to
be
at
the
right
place
at
the
right
time.
I
am
actually
a
drop
out
of
Masters
in
Chemistry
from
Xavier's
college.
I
really
did
not
know
anything
about
film
making
and
things
related
to
it,
but
I
thought
that
I
would
like
to
try
my
hand
in
this.
So,
I
just
took
a
train
to
Bandra
to
Sayeed
Mirza's
office;
Aziz
Mirza
and
Govind
Nihlani
with
Sayeed
had
started
a
company
called
"Friendship
Channel
Dosti" where
they
were
about
seven
to
eight
directors
who
formed
a
company
and
they
were
actually
getting
slots
from
Doordarshan.
|
Salaam-E-Ishq
is
again
a
romantic
film
after
Kal
Ho
Naa
Ho.
Besides,
it
has
six
tracks
running
together.
Was
it
challenging
for
you
considering
that
this
just
your
second
film?
First
of
all,
I
did
not
want
to
do
Salaam-E-Ishq
because
I
have
a
very
childish
notion
that
I
want
to
make
a
thriller.
I
want
to
see
cars
blowing
up,
I
want
to
see
chase
sequences
down
the
Linking
Road,
the
way
Shahrukh
Khan
was
chased
by
Sunny
Deol
in
Darr.
For
me
the
death
scene
of
Amitabh
Bachchan
in
Sholay
is
probably
the
most
romantic
scene
I
have
ever
seen.
So,
I
did
not
want
to
actually
do
Salaam-E-Ishq
but
I
was
getting
money
to
do
Salaam-E-Ishq.
That
is
the
reason
I
thought
okay
let
us
try
it.
I
had
done
Kal
Ho
Naa
Ho,
so
I
had
this
label
that
I
can
do
this
whole
kind
of
genre
very
well.
I
definitely
did
not
want
to
write
it.
But
while
discussing
with
Saurabh
Shukla,
I
think
he
understood
that
it
was
very
important
in
that
sense
that
everything
was
so
clear
in
my
head
that
he
needed
to
collaborate
with
me.
I
hate
the
process
of
writing.
I
don't
mind
being
a
director,
I
don't
mind
being
a
producer
but
I
do
not
ever
want
to
be
a
writer
because
it
really
takes
everything
out
of
you.
I
love
the
process
of
editing
because
I
can
sit
over
there
and
I
can
change
scenes
around
and
I
can
do
those
kinds
of
things.
So
I
did
not
want
to
make
Salaam-E-Ishq.
When I wrote the film, there was one scene in film I had written, which is the Anil Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra pre-climax scene. When I wrote that scene, I understood that this is the film that should be made, it is a very special film, why, because I think that it is a very simple story, it is a story of love, it has the ups and downs of love, the two faces of love, sadness and happiness.
Do
you
think
John
and
Vidya
story
is
somewhere
very
close
to
your
personal
life?
I
think
this
track
is
completely
removed
from
my
life
story
because
I
would
like
be
John.
I
mean
once
you
see
the
film
and
you
understand
what
the
character
of
Ashutosh
Raina
is
actually
going
through,
I
feel
that
you
need
to
be
very
strong
and
special
person
to
do
that.
Most
people
in
such
a
situation
would
actually
take
the
easy
road
out
but
he
refuses
to
do
so.
I
do
not
know
whether
I
would
be
able
to
do
what
he
does
but
in
the
truest
sense
of
the
word,
he
is
the
most
unlikely
hero
of
that
track.
You
expect
Vidya
to
be
the
hero
but
John
ends
up
becoming
the
hero
in
that
track.
Are
all
the
six
stories
somewhere
connected
to
each
other?
Yes,
all
the
stories
are
connected
to
each
other
in
very
subtle
ways.
It
is
not
that
at
the
end
of
the
day,
the
guys
are
all
brothers
and
the
ladies
are
sisters.
It
is
very
subtle
in
the
sense
in
the
manner
that
Akshay
Khanna
is
engaged
to
Ayesha
Takia,
Ayesha
Takia's
sister
is
Juhi
Chawla
who
lives
in
London
with
her
family
whose
husband
is
Anil
Kapoor
who
is
an
event
organizer
and
is
bored
of
the
daily
routine
of
his
life.
One
of
the
events
he
organizes
has
Priyanka
Chopra
who
is
the
item
queen
in
India;
she
actually
is
a
small
town
girl
who
has
come
to
realize
her
big
Bollywood
dream
but
has
only
been
given
item
songs
to
do.
Hence,
she
is
called
for
an
event
to
London
by
Anil
Kapoor's
company.
Priyanka
goes
there
and
tries
to
manipulate
the
media
because
she
wants
Karan
Johar's
phone
call.
Eventually,
she
becomes
victim
of
the
media
because
a
man
comes
in
to
her
life
who
teaches
her
that
ambition
is
not
important
than
love.
That
man
is
Salman
Khan.
Now
also
when
Priyanka
Chopra
is
introduced,
she
is
actually
singing
in
Akshay
Khanna's
bachelor
party.
He
is
late
for
that
bachelor
party
and
reaches
the
party
in
Govinda's
taxi.
Govinda
is
a
taxi
driver
who
for
the
last
20
years
has
only
been
dreaming
of
one
foreign
girl
who
will
come
out
of
the
international
airport
in
Delhi
and
sit
in
his
cab.
Now,
that
girl
comes
and
sits
in
his
taxi
and
he
thinks
that
his
dream
is
going
to
be
fulfilled.
But
the
truth
is
that
she
is
in
love
with
the
boy
who
has
come
to
India
in
search
of
a
suitable
bride
and
one
of
the
girls
he
is
looking
for
is
Ayesha
Takiya.
The
story
has
two
faces
of
love
it
has
lot
of
happy
moments
and
a
lot
of
sad
moments.
What
according
to
you
is
the
USP
of
the
film?
I
think
there
are
two
USPs
of
this
film
one
which
is
not
different
in
anyway
is
that
this
is
a
Bollywood
film
in
true
senses
of
word.
I
think
that
today,
this
whole
notion
is
that
'hatke
picture
banana
chahiye'.
It
is
'hatke'
in
the
sense
that
it
is
not
hatke.
Salaam-E-Ishq
is
one
beautiful
standard
Bollywood
rollercoaster,
which
goes
up
down
up
down
with
great
songs
and
everything
and
you
end
up
coming
out
happy
and
satisfied
that
you
have
seen
a
good
Bollywood
film.
But
it
has
doses
of
realism
so
you
actually
feel
I
know
this
man
like
Anil
Kapoor
or
my
boyfriend
is
like
Akshaye
Khanna
or
why
am
I
like
Ayesha
Takia,
why
I
do
not
have
the
ability
to
stand
up
to
my
boyfriend
or
I
wish
I
was
like
John
Abraham
or
Salman
Khan
or
you
will
identify
with
Priyanka's
character,
which
at
the
end
of
the
day
is
a
small
town
girl
with
big
dreams.
So,
you
will
identify
with
most
of
the
characters
in
this
film.
Govinda
is
back
after
a
long
gap.
How
did
you
decide
to
cast
him
knowing
that
he
was
going
through
a
lean
phase
in
his
career?
I
did
not
cast
Govinda,
he
was
suggested
to
me
by
Salman.
I
think
he
had
spoken
to
Salman
that
he
wanted
to
come
back
into
films.
I
used
the
word
'come
back'
with
lot
of
repetitions
because
if
you
saw
how
we
shot
the
film
with
Govinda,
all
over
the
North
of
India,
we
actually
had
to
hold
back
villages,
people
would
travel
kilometers
because
they
heard
that
Govinda
is
shooting
at
this
place.
So,
I
think
he
never
went
anywhere;
he
has
always
been
in
our
hearts.
Salman
asked
me
to
narrate
this
whole
script
to
Govinda
and
I
went
to
him.
I
actually
felt
honoured
when
Govinda
said
Yes,
I
want
to
do
this
film.
Isn't
the
music
of
your
films
also
one
of
the
biggest
USPs?
I
think
the
strength
that
I
bring
to
any
film
whether
I
am
directing
the
film
or
I
am
producing
the
film
with
different
directors
is
that
I
will
always
encourage
them
to
have
a
rapport
with
the
music
directors,
the
cameramen
and
the
artists
involved.
Because
at
the
end
of
the
day,
the
mindsets
have
been
set.
Shankar,
Ehsaan
and
Loy
are
college
buddies
of
mine
and
we
used
to
exchange
CDs.
Today
when
we
think
about
the
situations
and
we
listen
to
the
music
and
when
they
point
out
saying
'Sultan
Khans
music',
I
know
what
they
are
talking
about;
our
music
tastes
are
very
similar.
I gave them freedom in every area of the film not only on the music, if you see us interacting, they will actually cursing me on some shot I took or some costume I okayed but not on the music because we know that the music is going to be okay.
Tell
us
something
about
Anil's
track
because
it
is
about
extramarital
affair?
It
is
not
about
an
extramarital
affair,
I
think
it
is
more
of
an
infidelity.
The
word
affair
is
usually
associated
with
intercourse,
I
feel
that
when
you
think
of
another
woman
in
a
particular
way,
you
are
already
committing
adultery
and
that
is
what
Anil
Kapoor
and
Juhi
Chawla's
track
is
about.
Because
at
the
end
of
the
day,
nothing
really
happens
but
because
he
has
only
been
obsessed
and
infatuated
about
this
girl,
he
has
only
been
thinking
about
this
girl
that
is
where
Juhi
Chawla
says
that
the
biggest
betrayal
was
the
fact
that
you
do
not
think
about
me,
you
thought
about
her.
You
will
work
with
Karan
again?
Karan
knows
that
I
am
available
for
whatever
he
wants
me
to
be
a
part
of.
But,
whether
I
will
produce
or
direct
for
Dharma
Productions,
I
am
not
sure
because
I
have
recently
started
my
own
production
company
with
this
film
and
I
would
like
to
produce
my
own
films.
So,
I
don't
think
that
it
is
going
to
happen
in
the
future.
Do
you
call
Karan
your
mentor?
I
would
call
Sudhir
Mishra
my
mentor,
I
would
call
Sayeed
Mirza
my
mentor
and
I
think
it
would
be
very
unfair
to
call
only
Karan
as
my
mentor.
You
are
also
producing
films
now.
Can
you
tell
us
about
the
films
made
under
your
banner?
It
is
a
very
small
film;
it
is
a
very
personal
story.
My
wife
who
works
in
an
NGO
heard
a
story
of
one
boy,
she
narrated
the
story
to
me
and
I
thought
it
is
a
fascinating
story.
It
is
a
story
of
a
boy
and
a
man,
and
how
they
influence
each
others
lives
and
change
each
others
lives
and
I
think
it
is
an
interesting
story
to
make
a
film
on.
I
would
like
to
film
it
in
Bombay
in
the
monsoon
season,
because
I
feel
that
this
city
is
really
at
its
best
in
the
monsoons.