"Shahid and Vidya look really nice together": Aziz Mirza
Times
have
changed.
How
much
has
your
cinema
changed?
Change
is
inevitable.
'Woh
khansama
ka
zamana
chala
gaya'.
Nowadays
it's
the
era
of
fast
food.
No
one
is
bothered
about
the
delicacies
of
the
eating
ritual.
Accepting
change
is
important.
I've
to
make
my
cinema
within
the
given
parameters
of
change.
If
you
notice,
Kismat
Konnection
even
has
a
different
kind
of
music.
I've
to
incorporate
today's
sensibilities
into
my
own
vision.
The
story
remains
practically
unchanged.
But
the
mode
of
narration
has
to
change.
I'm
not
here
to
make
great
cinema.
But
I
do
have
a
certain
literary
background
and
a
cultural
grounding.
That
will
show
up,
no
matter
when
I
make
a
film.
One
change
I've
made
is
to
make
my
new
film
shorter.
It's
just
2
hours
20
minutes
long.
My
earlier
films
are
longer.
Today's
audiences
don't
have
patience
to
sit
for
leisurely
narrations.
I
can't
prolong
moments
in
the
narration
any
longer.
And
maybe
the
silences
are
not
that
pronounced.
Kismat
Konnection
is
also
the
first
film
I've
shot
abroad
in
Canada.
But
it
doesn't
matter
where
the
story
is
situated.
It
could've
been
located
in
any
vibrant
metropolitan
city.
Would
you
call
it
a
compromise?
No.
I'd
call
it
an
acceptance
of
reality.
One
needs
to
work
around
the
limitations.
'Jitna
chaadar
hai
ussi
mein
banana
hai'.
My
son
Haroun,
Masha
Allah,
has
contributed
tremendously
to
Kismat
Konnection
and
my
previous
film,
Chalte
Chalte.
Very
soon
he'll
be
directing
a
film
and
I'll
be
helping
him
out.
Theek
hai
bhai.
The
young
generation
has
to
be
pleased.
So
be
it.
I
had
thought
I'd
make
another
subject.
But
I
guess
it
was
destined
that
I
make
Kismat
Konnection.
This
kept
coming
back
to
me.
I
genuinely
feel
this
film
had
to
be
made.
Before
I
realized
it,
the
film
was
complete.
Did
you
get
the
full
co-operation
of
your
team?
It
becomes
so
much
easier
when
you're
working
in
an
atmosphere
conducive
to
productivity.
I
do
believe
when
I
work
on
a
happy
set,
the
happiness
shows
in
the
film.
The
positive
vibes
show
up.
I
must
thank
my
film's
producer
Ramesh
Taurani
for
signing
Shahid
Kapoor
at
a
time
when
Vivah
and
Jab
We
Met
hadn't
been
released.
The
film's
commercial
viability
wasn't
that
high
when
we
started
making
Kismat
Konnection.
But
I
had
decided
on
Shahid.
'Mujhe
woh
achcha
lagta
hai'.
To
give
the
film
a
new
look
we
shot
it
in
Toronto.
I
haven't
traveled
much.
We
chose
Toronto
because
it
seemed
less
expensive
than
US
or
London.
Besides,
I
wanted
the
bustle
of
Mumbai.
People
in
the
industry
look
on
Shahid
Kapoor
and
Vidya
Balan
as
replacement
for
Shahrukh
Khan
and
Juhi
Chawla
in
your
cinema?
We
shall
leave
that
to
the
audience.
Every
actor
has
his
or
her
own
identity.
Anyway,
to
be
compared
to
Shahrukh
and
Juhi
isn't
a
bad
thing.
Shahid
and
Vidya
look
really
nice
together.
I
was
very
comfortable
working
with
them.
They've
brought
in
their
own
dimension
to
their
characters.
I
had
made
a
film
about
kismet.
When
I
was
14-15,
I
remember
my
father
telling
me
that
at
that
age
it
was
foolish
to
believe
in
destiny.
But
as
you
grow
older
you
are
a
bloody
fool
if
you
don't
believe
in
destiny.
Whatever
I've
achieved
today
is
because
of
many
forces
that
I
had
no
control
over.
But
in
Kismat
Konnection,
I've
shown
my
characters
believe
that
they
can
make
their
own
destiny.
That's
what
being
young
is
all
about.
I've
a
fortune-teller
in
the
film.
But
I've
made
sure
she
remains
an
ambivalent
character.
You
never
know
whether
she's
a
fraud
or
not.
Do
you
watch
Hindi
films?
Occasionally,
I
do
try
to
catch
the
important
ones.
If
someone
recommends
a
film,
I
see
it.
Among
the
recent
ones,
I
like
Madhur
Bhandarkar's
Page
3,
Tigmanshu
Dhulia's
Haasil
and
Anurag
Basu's
Metro.
Ashutosh
Gowariker's
Jodhaa
Akbar
was
a
very
sincere
film.
That's
why
it
worked.
I've
made
a
film
after
five
years.
After
Phir
Bhi
Dil
Hai
Hindustani,
I
didn't
want
to
over-intellectualize
my
cinema.
My
name
is
attached
to
Kismat
Konnection.
Whatever
I've
done
for
television
till
today,
I've
nothing
to
be
ashamed
of.
It
may
not
be
exceptional
work.
But
it's
decent
work.
Where
are
the
exceptional
films
today
like
V
Shantaram's
Do
Aankhen
Barah
Haath,
which
have
withstood
the
test
of
time?
I'm
just
happy
making
logical
cinema.
I'm
not
aspiring
to
greatness.