Thrillers are unconventional:Sriram

doweshowbellyad=0; BUSY: Sriram Raghavan.
Sriram Raghavan shares about his last flop and his forthcoming projects
What took you so long to direct again?
It wasn’t intentional. Actually, I wanted to direct a start-to-finish film and I had some basic draft on my mind for a long time. So straight after Ek Haseena Thi, for about six to eight months, I got busy scripting for Johnny Gaddaar, which kept getting delayed due to various reasons and that’s why this gap seemed so long.
You don’t come from a filmy background. How did you get your break in the industry?
I was always attracted towards film line. So to keep myself close to Bollywood, I joined a film magazine as a trainee reporter. But I was not delivering as much so I quit and went ahead and joined the Pune film institute. There I had made a short fiction film Raman Raghav – a story of a serial killer, for which I won the national award also. And that was the turning point of my life, which attracted me to filmmaking.
Impressed with Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya, I went to meet him personally (in 1998) and showed him my documentary, which he loved. It was in 2002, we began working on the script of Ek Haseena Thi where Pooja Ladha assisted me in scriptwriting. And though this movie had a woman protagonist, which in normal circumstances wouldn’t have been my choice for my first film, I found the storyline very gripping.
Despite a different storyline and a big starcast, Ek Haseena Thi didn’t work at the box-office. Why?
I don’t perceive it as a failure. It did do average business at the box-office. In fact, many trade guys appreciated it. Ramu felt that the title probably misled the audience for it gave them the impression of a love story. Besides, having big starcast doesn’t ensure the success of a movie. Ek Haseena Thi is an example of it. Strong script is what holds a movie.
Your forthcoming movie – Johnny Gaddaar is also thrillers. Don’t you want to explore other genres?
Why not? I’m working on other themes too. But I feel thrillers are unconventional and so very exciting. It gives you much more scope to exhibit creativity in terms of playing with camera and sound, as against a typical love story.
You have Dharmendra playing the lead in Johnny Gaddaar. How was the experience?
As a filmmaker, I always wanted to work with Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan. And for my movie Johnny Gaddaar, I needed somebody like Dharmendra to essay one of those key roles. But before meeting him I was a li’l wary, but when once I met him it seemed we knew each other since ages. He’s terrific actor to work with.
Your forthcoming projects?
One is, tentatively titled Agent Vinod that will introduce Saif Ali Khan as a desi Bond and is an action thriller. Other is Rohan Sippy’s Happy Birthday that stars John Abraham and Aishwarya and is a love story.
Do you think you will be able to recreate the magic of Hollywood James Bond with your movie?
I should be able to. I am working hard on it. My Bond will be same like the Hollywood as I have ensured that he has the same style, dressing, and everything similar from a watch, gun to even the car the Hollywood bond is shown to use. This will maintain audience’s interest.