‘Don’t be an Emraan Hashmi, one is bad enough!’– Mahesh Bhatt

Mahesh Bhatt : After receiving several awards from Screen for Zakhm in 1998, I hung my boots as a director. From then onwards, with digital technology hitting the world like a meteor, we decided to take a different path. It was also the time when the world was changing at breakneck speed, but the film industry was not quick enough to catch up with it. The content being consumed by the youngsters through the World Wide Web was radically differentfrom what was served to them at cinema halls. As film-makers, we had to make an impact on the conscience of the youth. That’s when this idea of high concept film was born. While everyone spoke about self-reliance, we decided to put it to practise and work for it. It was at that moment that we decided to repose our faith in young India and work with fresh talent. I consciously moved away completely from the Saransh, Arth and the Zakhm zone and aggressively adopted the supernatural-erotic- thriller
concept replete with blood and gore. In the past decade India has changed radically, than it has in the last 3000 years. So, while the purists screamed for my blood and said, ‘Oh my god what a degeneration it is’!. They were unable to comprehend that we were in a flux
of evolving they were unable to see my vision. I had the guts to move away from being stereotyped as a kind of film-maker and had the guts to reconstruct myself. So, along with my brother (Mukesh Bhatt), we made the successful Raaz, Jism and the Murder franchise. With Khamoshiyan we are revisiting what we had introduced at the onset of the 21st century— the Raaz idiom of a triangular drama in the supernatural space, but eroticised with great music that supports the narrative. I’m very pleased the way Khamoshiyan has shaped up, and I am sure that this will turn out be a successful franchise for us.

Screen: Tell us more about your partnership with Fox Star Studios.

MB: I’m happy to have partnered with Fox because it brought to this mom-and-pop shop that we were running a world-view. Our partnership with Fox taught us to navigate with the 21st century, about marketing our product with a new perspective. It is our mutual respect for each other that stems from the fact that they do not want to change us. What I have celebrated with Fox is that I don’t have to
become somebody else. Otherwise, most of the people want to prune you to fit into a mould. One of the reasons actors work with us is because when they come to us, our advice to them is, ‘Don’t be an Emraan Hashmi, one is bad enough’! When you draw out the unique
asset that is hard-wired in a person, that’s when you become distinct. That’s the reason why our partnership with Fox has worked and we
have been able to make such diverse The last film we made was a hit. You guys had given up and said that this man has got a depraved soul, he has sold himself to the devil. But I shocked you all with the most moving film called CityLights. Now I dare you guys to make Khamoshiyan. I refuse to be straightjacketed by the purists. or the hedonists. I will oscillate between these two poles; that was what I was born to and that is how I am going to live, till my dying day!

Screen: That was a wonderful declaration. We are delighted that you are going to give us a variety of cinema in the years to come. But over to the actors, Ali (Fazal), Sapna (Pabbi) and Gurmeet (Choudhary). Please share your experiences of working on this film, and more importantly about being part of an establishment which encourages you to question and be yourself.

Ali Fazal: It’s been quite a challenge. I remember the first time I walked into Vishesh Films’ office. The presence of Mukesh Bhatt, Mahesh Bhatt, Vishesh and Karan in one room— and it’s not a very big room— was intimidating. It’s planned that way, get the actor in and he is done! They push you, will be rude to you at times and also be nice to you. We actors tend to over think sometimes, ‘ye scene
main ye bhi hai, woh bhi hai’. While shooting a particular scene, I remember Vikram Bhatt had cracked a joke to ease the tension so that we gave an effortless performance. However, I realised the implications of it only two days later! I learnt to shed my pride and believe in the work assigned to you.

Sapna Pabbi: I am grateful to Vishesh Films and Fox Star for giving me this opportunity and a platform to showcase my talent. The journey has been great as I have been guided by so many people and learnt so much from everybody, my co-actors, directors and seniors. My character, Meera, has several layers and shades to it, and it was so much fun playing it. I could showcase so many aspects on screen. A
lot of actresses face that challenge about slipping into stereotypes.

Screen: The conventional Hindi film heroine is meant to look beautiful on screen. However, horror films also depict the ugly side of the character. So, are such roles/characters a blow to feminine vanity?

SP: That’s the stereotypical image that a heroine has to look beautiful. But today, the modern woman has a mind of her own. It’s just how you choose to use and play it. In terms of this horror stereotype, it’s so much fun, so there is Gurmeet tell us about your role in the film.
Gurmeet Choudhary: I am a big fan of Mr Bhatt, but till date, I am scared of him. I would like to reveal an incident which I haven’t shared with anyone earlier. When I first met Mukeshji, he explained the role and then asked me to meet Maheshji. Meri aadhi hawa vahi pe nikal gayi. Thinking about how I should address Mr Bhatt, I was so flustered that in my nervousness, I greeted him as ‘Hi, Mukeshji’!
While TV provides lot of options to play varied characters, I was initially scared whether I would be able to do justice to my role. It was Maheshji who guided me. Screen: But, you haven’t told us about your role?

GC: My character’s name is Jaydev Dhanrajgir. And, the film’s name is Khamoshiyan , so khamosh rahna padega. You’ll have to watch the film to know more.

Vijay Singh: One way you could define their characters is by relating them with the three attributes of the film— erotica, musical and supernatural. We leave it to your imagination to fit them into their slots.

Screen: Tell us about the promotional strategy that you have adopted for a film like Khamoshiyan, with a relatively new star cast in order to attract the audiences’ attention?

MB : People are fond of sensational stuff, which we, filmmakers express through our films and actors. For instance, there is this song called Bheeg loon, that unleashes the female sexuality. The song celebrates female sexuality. Just like there was a Bheege hoth at the beginning of the 21st century, which made Emraan Hashmi the actor that he is today, now we have Bheeg loon. At the heart of this narrative, there is a woman saying, unleash the female desire. When we made Raaz, at the turn of the century, the protagonist used the four letter word — F**k, which was beeped out by the Censor. But 10 years later, the same word is used by the character in Khamoshiyan without even being conscious about it. And the Censor had no problem with it. So, this is the kind of change that we are talking about. Bheeg loon got over two lakh views on YouTube within two days of its release. Another thing I keep reiterating is that good content is
blood in a shark pool; the audience just wants it, because it caters to their primordial longings. You are not what you think you are, you are what you feel. With movies such as this, we had to see that communication is kept to the bare minimum. If you have the content then go and say it, so that the audience gets a clear idea whether they want to watch the film or not. We have succeeded in positioning our content clearly. Although, it is difficult to grab eyeballs when you have no names; but then that is the challenge, to be on the edge. My only oncern is to get the audience to the theatres. I am certain that once I get people into the hall, once they sample what I have, then the word- of – mouth will do the rest.

Screen: Vijay, you have told us earlier that you share a special relationship with the Bhatts and Vishesh Films. They bring to the table some unusual ideas for the movies they produce. So, how are the kind of movies within the horror space, that you see doing well with the Indian audiences?

VS: Vishesh Films have always come up with unique content and have always been ahead of their time. They have reinvented the horror-erotic-musical genre. It’s been a symbiotic relationship and we’ve worked on five films together. We are involved in brainstorming sessions, whether it is the script, cast, marketing or distribution. There is a genuine respect for the core strengths each one brings and I feel that is what partnership is all about. The multiplexes have played an important role in catering to the changing audience profile; it is segmenting the market and is providing a platform for content which is more diverse. So when there are more screens available, the demand for diverse content too increases. Echoing Mr Bhatt’s view that people have primordial longings, there is a section of the audience who likes to watch horror and supernatural films. It is important to capture the attention of this segment. Music plays a critical role in the marketing of a film. And the core strength of Vishesh Films has always been its music. It is the fourth hero of the film. The Khamoshiyan track is trending the charts at the top position, and I must give credit to Sony Music who is our partner.

MB : Ponds, which is a very respectable brand has partnered with us. Probably, the songs must have appealed to them, otherwise they wouldn’t generally associate with an erotic-supernatural film. So, people are now daring to move out of their stated positions of the past and everybody wants to step out of their crease and dare to walk on unchartered territories.

Screen: Why don’t we have the young upcoming stars tell us about their perception of this genre. Where do you think such films are headed?

AF : Khamoshiyan doesn’t belong to any single genre. That was one of the hard things to come to terms with, because it’s a love story, a psychological thriller and it’s in the super-natural space. We don’t have the smoke machine to show you the ghost. But at the same time, it titillates and by this, I don’t mean sex or erotic fare.

MB : What’s wrong in sex?

AF : Nothing wrong in it, but that’s the perception. The moment you use words such as these, people will think that ismain toh sex hi sex hai.

Screen: The audience as you rightly said is clever and they are getting used to newer kinds of films, so how are you raising the bar in order to attract them?

AF: For instance, not having any reservations about saying the word f**k.

MB: What’s wrong with that, it’s a part of your regular vocabulary now. Even kids use it.

VS : We have to take a real perspective, when we talk about raising the bar. It’s ironical that in this country where entertainment is
so big, the theatre going audience is a mere 30-40 million people. But when the film is telecast on TV it is viewed by 100-200 million depending upon what the film is about. I think as an industry we have to expand the frontier as we cannot have just 40 million people
going to the theaters.There is a huge opportunity that will be unlocked only when you start appealing to distinct segments.

MB : They must be able to see a part of themselves in the protagonists. That’s why a young director like Karan Darra comes in and casts Sapna and Ali from his hospital room, while recovering from dengue. So, within your so -called forward looking and out-of-the box thinking people, there are traditional people as well who tend to fall back upon what has worked in the past. You require a young person
to come up with a conviction that this is what we are going to do and one of the unique aspect of Khamoshiyan is that all the three look so fresh, they are like the morning dew in your garden. It’s like when a child walks into a room with exuberance, he brings a new kind of vitality, and I believe that’s what youngsters do. This is the reason why we have been able to survive for 40 years, otherwise as you know,
we can hardly survive one weekend in these times. If you are able to deconstruct yourself, move away from uncertainties and realise that if you want to make different content films, then you have to rope in new people, only then can you succeed. These youngsters will bring their own language and you will have to interpret and understand them.

Screen: Gurmeet you are the poster boy of TV, so what are your expectations from the film?

GC : I am nervous because it’s my first film. On TV, I received a lot of love and support from not only the audience but also the media. But, now I make a new beginning with this film. It feels similar to the time when I was new in Mumbai, and trying to make a career. Once again, I am trying to start afresh, so that excitement and energy stays with me. I am surrounded by good people and everyone has
worked hard. When you give your 200 per cent, then the end result is always good.

Screen: Every TV actor is being compared to Sushant Singh Rajput as he has raised the bar. So do you feel the pressure?

GC : No, not at all. Three to four years back the view was that if you sign a TV actor for a film then he will bring the same fare to the table. In the changing scenario, we find that film-makers are producing serials, while Bollywood stars are venturing into TV and vice versa. Sushant has done great work and people have loved him. It is because of him that many TV actors are gaining recognition. There
is pressure no doubt, and I have to do good work to pave the way for others to follow.

VS : The crossover between television and films is only going to increase.

Screen: We’ve heard that Khamoshiyan is going to be turned into a franchise. What was the thought process behind that?

MB: Sometimes, it so happens that when a writer pens a story, he feels that he has been unable to exhaust the energies in that particular narrative. Taking into consideration the technology and the magic of special effects that we have indigeniously produced, I feel we can create far more brave and magical films. If we didn’t have these skills and technology at our disposal, then we wouldn’t have been
able to create those few scenes for dramatic impact. So, I feel that the triangular drama is inexhaustible. As long as there is human life, the heart will always face the same problems. The wonder of something which is beyond, whether it is god or the devil, will always haunt
mankind. As long as that wonder remains, we will have space for various kind of stories that we can now indigenously create
within our own budgets. To be brutally honest, the box-office success of Khamoshiyan will decide the journey of the franchise. Whether it dies or it soars to unimaginable heights, those are the truths we have to confront on judgement day.