'I
Give
My
Suggestions
To
A
Film
Not
Because
I
Am
A
Director'
Q.
'Qaidi
Band' which
released
a
few
weeks
ago
had
a
similar
theme
to
Lucknow
Central.
What's
your
take
on
it?
A.
I
have
not
seen
that
film,
so
I
am
not
aware
of
the
plot
of
that
film.
We
have
complete
faith
on
the
content
of
this
film.
Q.
How
confident
are
you
about
the
Lucknow
Central?
A.
I
am
confident
that
it
is
a
good
film.
I
am
very
happy
and
proud
of
the
film
that
Ranjit
has
made
as
a
first
time
director.
When
you
watch
the
film,
it
doesn't
even
for
a
second
feel
as
if
it
is
a
new
director.
I
am
happy
about
the
way
film
has
shaped
up.
I
am
happy
about
the
way
people
have
responded
to
the
trailer
Q.
Did
you
give
any
suggestions
to
the
director
while
shooting
for
the
film?
A.
That's
a
part
of
acting.
When
I
direct
films,
actors
give
me
suggestions.
Film-making
is
a
collaboration
and
everyone
gives
their
suggestions.
That's
a
part
of
film
making
and
I
give
suggestions
not
because
I
am
a
director
myself,
but
because
I
am
a
part
of
the
film
Q.
What
made
you
take
up
Lucknow
Central?
A.
I
can't
remember
last
time
there
was
a
film
like
this.
It
was
exciting
for
me
to
play
a
guy
from
small
town
in
Lucknow
because
my
family
has
a
connection
with
Uttar
Pradesh.
Although
not
with
the
jail,
but
with
the
city
(laughs).
I
felt
very
nice
that
I
could
go
to
a
film
which
is
set
in
Lucknow.
Ranjit
had
done
a
lot
of
research
about
the
social
demographics,
attitude,
and
all
those
stuff,
which
was
very
helpful.
To
get
the
local
flavour,
I
had
a
diction
coach.
It
was
a
lot
of
fun
to
be
a
part
of
this
film.
As
far
as
jail
is
concerned,
I
didn't
want
to
know
about
the
lives
in
jail
as
I
wanted
to
keep
an
element
of
discovery
intact.
'There
Is
A
Demand
From
The
Audience
For
Good
Stories'
Q.
What
do
you
think
is
going
wrong
with
the
Hindi
film
industry
off
late?
A.
I
think
what
is
important
is
the
content.
There
is
a
demand
from
the
audience
of
telling
them
good
stories.
Film-making
is
actually
story
telling
in
an
audio
visual
format.
In
the
mist
of
all
the
window
dressing
and
all
the
hungama
that
can
be
created
on
screen,
we
should
not
forget
the
fact
that
we
are
telling
a
story.
People
have
tried
to
create
something
spectacle
wherein
they
didn't
pay
a
lot
of
attention
to
the
writing.
The
audience
is
telling
us,
we
are
spending
a
lot
of
money
to
watch
a
film,
please
give
us
something
which
is
worth
it.
The
story
can
be
set
in
India
or
outside
India,
it
should
be
human
and
understandable.
'Rock
On
Was
The
Tipping
Point
For
Me'
Q.
You
are
an
actor,
director,
music
composer
and
singer.
What
is
your
favorite
past
time?
A.
I
have
always
enjoyed
music
and
singing.
I
think
Rock
On
was
the
tipping
point
for
me
as
it
gave
me
the
opportunity
to
sing
professionally
for
me.
With
singing,
or
rather
if
you
want
to
get
good
with
anything
in
life,
you
need
discipline.
You
have
to
keep
practicing.
The
schedule
does
not
permit
me
to
keep
practicing
as
schedule
does
not
allow
me.
It
is
not
the
easiest
thing
in
world,
but
I
feel
really
sad
about
it
that
I
can't
practice
it
everyday.
Q.
Are
you
open
to
act
in
another
biopic
after
Bhaag
Milkha
Bhaag?
A.
If
there
is
an
amazing
story
that
I
come
across,
I
am
all
game
for
that.
'I
Will
Direct
Don
3
When
I
Feel
Like
Directing'
Q.
What
can
we
see
you
direct
next?
Will
your
next
directorial
be
Don
3?
A.
When
I
am
ready.
I
will
direct
when
I
feel
like
directing.
There
is
no
script
in
mind
as
of
now.
Q.
How
would
you
define
commercial
cinema?
A.
I
think
the
definition
of
what
is
considered
mainstream
keeps
changing.
That's
what
has
been
happening
since
ages.
The
definition
of
what
is
considered
commercial
will
keep
changing
and
it
will
never
be
constant.
These
things
are
influenced
by
so
many
sources
like
the
social
environment,
mood
of
the
nation,
mood
of
people
etc.
It
will
constantly
keep
changing
and
it
is
difficult
to
have
one
kind
of
definition
for
it.
We
should
think
for
it
as
good
films
and
bad
films.
'You
Need
To
Use
Your
Heart
And
Mind
To
Do
A
Film'
Q.
Do
you
think
it
becomes
easy
for
you
to
gauge
the
taste
of
audience
given
the
fact
that
you
are
a
director
and
producer?
A.
Whatever
I
say
in
this
interview
is
my
perception
of
what
is
going
wrong.
No
film-maker
will
ever
know
what
the
audience
want
as
it
is
not
possible.
If
a
film-maker
knew
what
audience
wants,
no
film
would
ever
flop.
The
audience
demand
is
nothing
but
a
guesswork
on
part
of
film-makers
and
it
is
based
on
brief
history
of
what
is
working
and
what
is
not
working
in
the
past
few
years.
If
you
start
designing
something
just
because
it
is
working,
it
would
fail.
You
need
to
use
your
heart
and
mind
to
do
a
film.
Q.
Dil
Dhadakne
Do
just
about
managed
to
break-even
despite
getting
a
lot
of
acclaim.
Was
it
a
case
of
budget
gone
wrong?
A.
We
(Excel)
as
a
company
are
not
wanting
to
compromise
on
the
directors
vision.
Among
everyone
associated
it
is
us
who
lose
money
on
films,
but
you
have
only
your
belief
to
move
on.
Today
we
might
not
make
money,
but
in
the
future
there
might
be
a
film
where
we
make
a
lot
of
money
and
life
comes
to
a
circle.
Nobody
in
this
industry
sets
out
to
make
a
bad
film
or
a
film
that
would
not
work
at
the
box
Office.
Somewhere
along
the
way,
something
goes
wrong
in
translation
and
the
film
doesn't
shape
you
as
you
expected.
But
you
need
to
do
your
best
and
hope
for
the
best.
Q.
What
are
the
factors
you
take
into
account
while
allotting
budget
to
a
film?
A.
There
is
a
certain
understanding
in
terms
of
how
universal
the
topic
may
be.
If
you
feel
that
it
is
talking
about
not
so
universal
issue
or
topic,
you
have
to
take
certain
educative
guesses.
At
no
point,
should
you
compromise
the
vision
of
director.
Q.
What's
your
take
on
the
trend
of
actors
refunding
money
to
the
distributors?
A.
I
definitely
feel
that
if
there
is
a
loss
of
substantial
amount,
it
is
a
good
gesture
for
someone
to
do
that.
You
are
not
here
for
just
one
film
and
you
do
have
to
maintain
a
long
standing
relation.
When
distributor
make
money,
it
is
beneficial
for
you
as
well.
If
you
can
some
how
make
it
up
to
them,
it
is
a
great
gesture
as
you
don't
want
someone
else
to
be
miserable
because
of
your
mistake.
'Just
After
A
Film's
Release,
You
Are
Too
Close
To
The
Film
To
Be
Objective'
Q.
How
do
you
deal
with
box
office
failures?
Do
revisit
the
films
to
find
out
what
went
wrong
or
you
just
move
on?
A.
You
do
take
some
learning
from
every
film
that
you
do.
Maybe
the
audience
couldn't
connect
with
it.
But,
it
takes
time
for
that
too
happen.
Usually,
when
a
film
releases
and
if
it
doesn't
do
well,
you
are
too
close
at
that
point
to
that
film
to
have
any
kind
of
objective.
So,
it
takes
a
while.
You
don't
necessarily
need
to
watch
the
film
again.
But,
you
can
understand
from
conversations
that
happen
about
the
film
and
people
whose
opinion
you
would
get
to
listen
to.
Then,
you
can
arrive
at
some
place
as
to
why
it
didn't
work.
But,
I
don't
think
it
affects
your
next
film.
Because,
you
are
excited
with
whatever
you
are
planning
next.