“We haven’t done this before,” Shah Rukh Khan tells a few of us invited to the sets of Dilwale at Ramoji Film City. We are in a set that would be SRK’s house in the film and he’s about to show us raw footage from the film. “The visual effects and DI (digital intermediate) are yet to be done, so don’t judge the end product by what you see,” he says. SRK is taking the next step in marketing, not wanting to wait till the end of the project to start the promotional campaign.
The footage that follows unveils a song sequence shot in Iceland, where director Rohit Shetty recreates the SRK-Kajol magic, a tad reminiscent of ‘Suraj hua maddham’ from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham ; an action sequence that has SRK bashing up goons in a warehouse, a scene involving SRK and Kajol in Bulgaria, and snatches of songs featuring the younger duo — Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon.
If the 20-odd minute footage is anything to go by, Dilwale is another entertainer with Rohit Shetty’s signature style of using luxury wheels and the vibrant streets of Goa. In fact, the house set is built in Goan style, decked with photographs of SRK, Varun Dhawan and Vinod Khanna. Miniature models of cars are part of the décor. Books on automobiles (none of them are real books) occupy coffee tables and shelves. A courtyard overlooks an idyllic neighbourhood. The Goan set is also a part of the song sequences involving Varun and Kriti. There’s also an automobile garage with several luxury wheels. The team has been shooting in Hyderabad for a month, and will soon move to Goa.
Diverse genres
Kajol and SRK take in adulatory messages for their new song sequence, incidentally, on the day that marked 20 years of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge . “People talk about our romance and chemistry. But between us, we’ve covered different genres, from Baazigar through Karan Arjun, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and K3G , and My Name is Khan . Each time, we push ourselves to do better and have reached a stage where we can criticise each other when we feel we aren’t up to the mark,” says Shah Rukh.
Dilwale is Kajol’s first film with Rohit Shetty, but she’s known him since Pyaar Toh Hona Hi Tha . She agrees she’s picky even with the closest of director friends, “I felt the need to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. I liked the idea Rohit pitched to me.”
With Dilwale , slated to release on December 18, Shah Rukh wants to ensure high footfalls in the cinema halls. “A film has to be technically good to draw people to the cinemas. My friends Adi (Aditya Chopra) and Karan (Johar) ask me why I spend so much making a film. I do it because people spend a lot to watch a film. If a project is for a niche audience, it should mentally stimulate the viewer.”
Teaming up with Varun Dhawan
A recent knee injury came as a dampener. Nevertheless, he commends Rohit Shetty for having a team that designs action sequences to the precision, to rule out mishaps. “In the action footage that you saw, he didn’t bring my legs into the picture at all and it still looks convincing.”
Varun Dhawan chips in, “But there are other scenes where he is jumping and doing complete action scenes.” For Dhawan, who is swiftly rising after BO winners like Humpty Sharma ki Dulhaniya and ABCD2 , and balancing it with the more cerebral Badlapur , the opportunity to work with SRK and Kajol was enough to be a part of Dilwale. “I trained with Barry John just like Shah Rukh and when I came to the sets to enact an emotional scene, prepared with all that learning, he told me to forget everything and take a fresh approach,” says Varun. On the other hand, he remarks jovially about Kajol’s seemingly casual approach: “My previous co-stars called me, keen to know how Kajol performs intense scenes; all I remember is her laughing throughout before the camera was on.”
Before winding up the interaction, Shah Rukh says he likes the transformation brought about by social media. “It is a leveller. On twitter, I get appreciation and abuse directly from people. When I entered the industry, movie stars had to be mysterious, enigmatic. I feel the accessibility we see today will make way for regular guys who think of cinema as a regular job.”
SRK speak
* I will be turning 50 soon. People tell me that 40, 50 and 75 are landmark years. I don’t think so. It’s just another year.
* I’ve stopped posting photographs of my children on social networks since Gauri feels they shouldn’t be in the public space. I see her point of view: my children have to make a name for themselves. Now and then I retweet what someone else posts on my children, but I am trying not to do that as well.
* I was at the right time at the right place. In the 90s, the Indian diaspora was missing home and got attached to the kind of films we made. Indian cinema grew overseas. Once, I was talking to two elderly women in a German television channel and asked them why they telecast my films. One of them told me that they have a button for coffee, for elevators, everything, but they don’t have a button for crying. They said my films are a trigger to induce tears. The West, maybe, has fewer such moments of being overtly emotional, and loves this from Indian cinema.
