Vikramaditya
Motwane,
whose
maiden
venture
as
a
director
Udaan,
produced
by
Anurag
Kashyap,
is
all
set
for
release
next
week,
tells
this
correspondent
that
his
economics
worked
better
without
stars
in
his
film
Udaan
and
he
has
been
a
purist
as
far
as
he
could
and
hence
there
was
less
insecurity
in
him
as
a
filmmaker
to
sell
his
film.
You
had
written
the
script
of
Udaan
seven
years
back,
why
did
the
film
take
so
many
years
to
see
the
light
of
the
day?
I
wrote
the
first
draft
of
my
film
Udaan
way
back
in
2003
and
since
then
was
nurturing
it.
The
reason
I
could
not
go
ahead
and
make
it
earlier
is
that
it
is
an
off-
beat
track
and
till
the
advent
of
the
multiplexes
in
2006,
it
was
very
difficult
for
a
film
like
Udaan
to
get
an
outlet
for
its
release.
I
had
to
face
several
issues
like
the
film
had
no
stars
in
it
and
where
and
how
will
be
able
to
show
my
film.
I
have
always
maintained
that
the
story
of
any
film
is
the
king.
Nowadays
economics-wise,
it
is
easier
to
screen
such
films
because
the
perception
of
the
audiences
over
the
years
has
changed.
I
have
faith
in
my
film
and
it
should
not
be
difficult
to
recover
its
cost
of
Rs
3.5
crores.
I
and
cinematographer
Mahendra
Shetty
followed
the
story
in
Udaan
by
using
the
realistic
technique.
How
did
you
come
in
contact
with
Anurag
Kashyap
in
the
first
place?
Anurag
Kashyap,
whom
I
met
for
the
first
time
on
the
sets
of
Deepa
Mehta"s
Water
in
Benaras,
is
my
friend
since
1999.
At
that
point
of
time
he
could
not
come
forward
to
produce
my
film
because
he
was
himself
in
a
mess
as
a
director
since
his
films
like
Black
Friday,
Paanch
etc
were
rotting
in
the
cans
for
want
of
a
buyer.
Earlier,
I
had
written
Dhan
Dhana
Dhan
Goal
as
well
as
Dev
D
with
Anurag
Kashyap.
I
was
the
cinematographer
for
short
films
like
Shanu
Taxi
and
Midnight
Lost
&
Found.
I
was
also
the
sound
designer
for
Anurag
Kashyap"s
Paanch.
How
would
you
describe
your
film
Udaan?
Udaan
is
a
simple
straight
forward
film
which
deals
with
the
journey
of
a
seventeen
year
old
boy.
It
is
about
a
boy
who
wants
to
break
free
from
his
clutches.
It
was
quite
tough
to
zero
in
on
an
actor
who
could
play
the
role
of
the
protagonist
in
Udaan.
Jogi
was
the
casting
director.
Though
the
personality
of
the
boy
was
nice,
his
screen
test
went
awfully
wrong
and
I
sent
him
to
Vikas
Kumar
for
training,
especially
since
he
was
very
raw.
What
I
liked
about
Vikas
is
that
he
taught
him
not
just
acting
but
also
how
to
react
on
his
own
to
his
co-actors.
After
the
training
with
Vikas
Kumar,
Rajat
learnt
to
react
spontaneously
on
the
seventh
day
of
rehearsals
itself
before
we
went
on
the
floors
and
my
battle
was
won.
How
tough
was
it
to
shoot
Udaan
without
any
big
star
and
a
minimal
budget
at
your
disposal?
I
shot
Udaan
in
a
span
of
42
days
on
Super
16
in
sync
sound.
On
the
sets,
I
had
to
deal
with
actors
who
were
of
different
ages.
I
directed
a
six
year
old
as
well
as
84
year
old
actor.
I
wanted
to
show
the
life
of
a
seventeen
year
old
boy.
How
could
I
have
possibly
cast
a
star
in
that
role?
Most
of
the
filmmakers
today
just
cannot
make
a
film
with
newcomers,
because
they
are
used
to
making
films
with
a
budget
of
Rs.50
crores
and
feel
that
it
is
not
economically
viable
to
make
films
with
newcomers
in
that
case.
Some
people
even
suggested
that
I
cast
Darsheel
Safary
since
he
had
become
a
big
child
star
after
working
in
Aamir
Khan"s
Taare
Zameen
Par
but
I
put
my
foot
down.
I
feel
that
not
having
a
star
is
the
plus
point
of
the
film.
I
had
Ajay
Devgn
in
my
mind
for
the
role
of
Ronit
Roy
but
then
I
felt
that
the
feel
of
the
film
would
have
gone
if
I
had
cast
Ajay
in
my
film.
In
what
way
did
Anurag
help
you
in
making
Udaan?
Anurag
gave
me
a
lot
of
freedom
and
didn"t
interfere
at
all
though
he
was
the
producer
of
the
film.
It
was,
in
fact,
Anurag
who
got
me
actors
like
Ram
Kapoor
and
Ronit
Roy.
I
do
not
watch
TV.
The
only
time
that
I
switch
on
my
TV
is
when
I
have
to
watch
the
football
matches.
Though
I
resisted
the
idea
of
casting
Ronit
and
Ram
initially
because
they
are
TV
actors
and
thought
that
having
known
character
actors
from
films
would
help
the
film.
But
I
went
ahead
and
cast
them
and
I
am
glad
I
did
because
they
have
done
proper
justice
to
their
roles
in
the
film.
In
what
way
are
you
and
Anurag
different
as
filmmakers?
Both
Anurag
and
I
are
passionate
about
films
but
yet
are
different.
While
Anurag
is
very
spontaneous,
I
am
not.
As
a
filmmaker,
I
tend
to
come
prepared
on
the
sets
because
of
the
training
that
I
had
received
from
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali.
From
Anurag,
I
have
learnt
the
fearless
approach
as
a
filmmaker.
I
had
earlier
assisted
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali
and
Deepa
Mehta.
From
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali,
I
learnt
everything
in
terms
of
making
music,
costume
sitting
etc.
Sanjay
is
a
very
meticulous
filmmaker
who
has
his
paperwork
ready
several
months
in
advance.
What
did
you
learn
while
making
Udaan?
Most
importantly,
Udaan
has
taught
me
how
to
keep
quiet
as
a
writer
when
I
set
out
to
direct
a
film.
I
am
now
learning
to
differentiate
between
the
writer
and
the
director.
It
is
necessary
that
you
should
respect
your
writer
as
a
director.
It
has
also
taught
me
how
to
deal
with
my
actors
too.
If
you
want
the
best
performance
out
of
every
actor,
you
have
got
to
approach
every
actor
differently.
You
learn
the
technique
only
on
the
job.
What
did
you
learn
from
both
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali
and
Deepa
Mehta
while
assisting
them?
From
Deepa
Mehta,
I
learnt
how
to
deal
with
actors.
While
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali
is
a
hands-on
director,
Deepa
is
a
hands-off
director.
Deepa
withdraws
after
sometime
and
lets
the
actor
do
what
he
or
she
wants.
Do
you
feel
that
it
was
a
boon
that
you
could
make
your
film
without
stars?
I
should
confess
that
my
economics
worked
better
without
stars
in
my
film.
I
have
been
a
purist
as
far
as
I
can.
There
is
less
insecurity
in
me
as
a
filmmaker
to
sell
my
film,
for
the
simple
reason
that
the
economics
is
okay.
I
have
nothing
against
the
stars
but
I
will
consider
casting
a
star
only
if
he
or
she
fits
the
role.
Let"s
face
facts,
as
a
viewer;
I
make
it
a
point
to
go
to
see
a
film
which
stars
Salman
Khan,
not
for
the
sake
of
the
director
but
for
the
sake
of
the
star.
At
the
same
time,
I"d
not
hesitate
to
state
that
actors
are
an
integral
part
of
any
film
and
also
have
the
right
to
say
what
they
want
but
as
a
filmmaker
you
should
know
how
to
strike
the
right
balance.
For
that
you
need
to
come
to
an
agreement
beforehand
by
sharing
your
vision
with
your
actor
before
you
go
on
the
floors.
Are
you
very
fastidious
about
making
films
only
with
your
subject
or
are
you
open
for
scripts
from
other
writers
too?
As
a
filmmaker
I
like
good
stories.
Filmmaking
is
basically
about
story
telling.
I
am
also
open
to
others" stories
though
I
am
a
writer.
For
a
filmmaker,
the
most
important
thing
is
the
time
you
spend
on
your
script
and
see
how
it
grows
step
by
step
before
you
translate
it
on
celluloid.