On
the
eve
of
the
release
of
his
debut
film
Badmaash
Company
as
a
director,
Parmeet
Sethi
tells
this
correspondent
that
though
he
had
to
struggle
to
get
a
break
as
an
actor
from
director
Aditya
Chopra,
he
did
not
have
to
struggle
to
get
a
break
from
producer
Aditya
Chopra.
What
is
Badmaash
Company
about?
My
film,
Badmaash
Company,
is
an
ensemble
of
characters.
It
is
a
very
bold
script
which
has
been
set
in
the
90s.
As
far
as
the
title
of
the
film
is
concerned,
I
have
been
true
to
the
film,
because
the
film
that
I
have
made
asked
for
the
title.
In
a
film,
you
need
both
style
as
well
as
soul.
At
times,
only
soul
may
work
but
style
alone
will
not.
Is
it
for
the
first
time
that
you
have
written
a
script
in
your
life?
Badmaash
Company
is
not
the
first
subject
that
I
have
written.
I
had
actually
worked
on
another
script
for
six
months
before
I
had
conceived
Badmaash
Company.
Unfortunately
due
to
various
reasons
I
could
not
make
it
a
film
for
Yash
Raj
Films,
though
I
waited
for
almost
a
year
and
a
hall
for
the
film
to
materialize.
Why
did
you
not
cast
either
yourself
or
your
wife
Archana
Puran
Singh
in
Badmaash
Company?
I
did
not
cast
either
myself
or
my
wife
because
we
do
not
suit
any
character
in
the
film.
Though
I
am
not
at
all
very
vocal,
I
make
it
a
point
to
observe
a
lot
from
life
around
me,
whereas
my
wife
speaks
a
lot.
In
fact,
the
biggest
compliment
that
I
received
for
my
subject
was
when
Pam
Chopra
told
my
wife
that
she
felt
I
had
a
devious
brain
to
think
of
such
kind
of
scams
as
part
of
my
story!
What
made
you
decide
to
turn
a
writer-director
after
having
been
an
actor
for
nearly
fifteen
years?
As
an
actor,
ever
since
I
had
made
my
debut
with
Yash
Raj
Films"
Dilwale
Dulhaniya
Le
Jayenge
almost
fifteen
years
ago,
I
have
done
some
good
roles.
Not
all
the
roles
that
I
had
done
were
good.
Some
were
not
good
but
I
had
done
them
for
the
sake
of
money,
because
I
had
to
provide
for
my
family.
Once
I
was
settled
and
had
a
roof
above
my
head,
I
felt
that
I"d
regret
if
I
do
not
write
or
direct
now.
How
would
you
describe
yourself
as
a
director?
I
am
a
very
focused
and
stubborn
director.
I
am
telling
this
at
the
risk
of
being
quoted.
I
know
what
I
want
as
a
director
and
I
will
get
it,
though
I
am
quite
open
to
suggestions.
I
do
not
know
where
life
will
take
me
but
my
focus
will
always
be
on
direction.
I
am
of
the
opinion
that
writing
a
story
is
as
painstaking
as
giving
birth
to
a
baby.
I
can
understand
what
a
woman
feels,
because
Badmaash
Company
had
taken
nine
months
for
me
to
make
though
it
took
only
six
days
to
write
the
subject.
When
did
you
realize
that
you
had
the
making
of
a
director
in
you?
I
have
seen
movies
over
the
years.
I
have
observed
how
they
are
plotted,
and
learned
how
to
make
the
plot
very
intriguing.
Even
while
I
was
acting
in
films,
I
was
interested
in
what
was
happening
behind
the
camera.
It
was
while
I
was
acting
in
the
TV
serial
'Kurukshetra'
that
director
Lekh
Tandon
told
me
that
I
had
in
me
the
making
of
a
good
director,
because
one
particular
day
when
he
was
directing
a
scene
with
other
actors,
I
told
another
actor
how
to
approach
his
scene
from
the
director"s
point
of
view.
It
was
gracious
on
his
part
to
have
asked
me
to
direct
a
scene
for
the
serial.
How
tough
was
it
for
you
to
get
a
break
as
a
director?
Though
I
had
to
struggle
to
get
my
break
as
an
actor
from
director
Adi,
I
did
not
have
to
struggle
to
get
a
break
from
producer
Adi.
When
Adi
read
my
script,
he
told
me
that
he
instantly
knew
the
fact
that
I
know
how
to
write
a
script,
because
I
had
studied
how
to
write
a
script
the
way
it
had
to
be
seen
on
the
screen.
Adi
is
a
very
giving
producer,
who
goes
out
of
his
way
to
spoil
and
pamper
his
directors.
He
did
not
say
no
to
even
one
single
demand
of
mine.
Did
you
cast
Shahid
Kapoor
in
your
film,
because
Yash
Raj
Films
has
signed
him
for
a
two
film
contract?
I
decided
to
cast
Shahid
Kapoor
in
my
film
not
just
because
Adi
has
signed
him
for
a
two
film
contract
for
Yash
Raj
Films
beginning
with
Dil
Bole
Hadippa
but
because
I
needed
an
actor
who
could
portray
two
contrasting
shades,
with
a
great
emotional
graph
to
match
his
performance.
I
needed
an
actor
like
Shahid
who
would
be
able
to
look
downtrodden
and
middle
class
and
also
intelligent
with
a
razor
sharp
brain.
Is
it
true
that
Shahid
Kapoor
interfered
with
you
on
the
sets?
Though
I
feel
that
Shahid
is
definitely
going
on
the
same
path
as
Aamir
Khan
when
it
comes
to
intelligence
as
an
actor
who
knows
what
direction
is,
I
was
quite
lucky
that
Shahid
and
I
were
on
the
same
page
as
far
as
Badmaash
Company
was
concerned.
Shahid
knew
that
I
knew
my
job
as
a
director
well.
I
remember
on
the
first
day
of
the
shoot,
when
I
told
him
that
he
could
pack
up
for
the
day
because
I
could
not
take
a
scene
with
him
since
it
had
started
raining
heavily
and
started
shooting
a
scene
indoors
with
Anushka
Sharma,
Shahid
stayed
back
just
to
observe
how
I
was
directing
her.
Later
Shahid
told
me
that
he
wanted
to
observe
me
directing
and
was
happy
that
I
knew
my
job.
Since
then,
he
was
like
a
baby
on
the
sets.
If
the
media
reported
that
he
was
interfering
with
me
on
the
sets,
the
reason
is
that
an
actor"s
'discussion" with
his
director
is
often
misconstrued
as
'interference"
on
the
sets
by
the
media.
How
did
you
zero
in
on
Anushka
Sharma
as
Shahid"s
leading
lady
in
the
film?
Anushka
Sharma
fit
the
bill
as
far
as
the
role
of
Bulbul
in
Badmaash
Company
is
concerned.
It
is
very
creditable
on
her
part
to
have
broken
the
conventional
mould
in
which
she
was
seen
in
Rab
Ne
Bana
Di
Jodi
and
taken
on
a
very
modern
and
unconventional
role
in
Badmaash
Company.
How
I
zeroed
in
on
her
is
interesting.
When
Adi
told
me
to
meet
Anushka
to
know
whether
she
suited
my
script,
I
asked
her
to
come
and
meet
me
at
my
office.
For
the
first
ten
minutes,
she
kept
on
talking
on
and
on
and
I
could
see
that
she
had
a
lot
of
energy.
Anushka
suited
the
character
of
Bulbul
because
I
wanted
a
girl
who
was
talkative.
Anushka
is
extremely
good
and
fresh.
Who
are
your
favourite
directors?
If
Yashji,
who
is
the
King
of
romance,
Aditya
Chopra,
Ramesh
Sippy,
Anurag
Kashyap,
Dibakar
Banerjee,
Shimit
Ameen
etc.
are
my
favourite
directors,
it
is
Steven
Spielberg,
who
has
inspired
me
as
a
director.
All
of
them
have
a
good
sense
of
telling
stories
since
they
know
what
should
come
after
what.
In
fact,
I
should
also
confess
that
I
have
never
seen
an
astute
story
teller
like
Yashji
in
all
my
life.