Sitting at his desk in his office, Kabir Khan fondly glances at the posters of his films that hang on the wall. There are French windows in the room offering a panoramic view of the Mumbai skyline. There’s a table on which are kept a few vintage cameras — his very treasured collection, he tells us. “Still photography is one of my biggest passions. My idea of chilling out is to take my camera, go to some city, walk around and take pictures,” says the director whose last film Bajrangi Bhaijaan has already crossed Rs 250 crore, making him an entrant in the Rs 200-crore club after the likes of Raju Hirani and Rohit Shetty.
One glance at the posters of his films and you can see how the stories are set in different countries, giving us an insight into the political conflicts therein and how they are narrated from an Indian perspective. Why the political leaning, we ask him. “It is a combination of lot of factors. One is my upbringing. My father was a professor of political science in Jawaharlal Nehru University and later he became Member of Parliament for his work in academics. So for us, Indian politics or international politics was dinner table conversation.”
Addressing political issues through cinema is undoubtedly tricky. But Kabir is clear about his approach. “I hate jingoism, it is not part of patriotism. You should be proud of your country but never abuse another country. I have never enjoyed films where for no reason one abuses a country or a community. Every country has a certain perspective. That’s why there are no villains in my films. Yes, some characters will come out looking grey but they are right from their point of view. Because of this approach, I manage not to hurt sentiments.”
Like many who set foot in the city of dreams, Kabir too knew nobody at first, except Shyam Benegal, who is a family friend. His initial days in the industry were full of rejections. He says that he knocked on every big producer’s door only to hear a ‘no’. He smiles as he recalls, “That journey was very interesting. After spending many years making documentaries around the world with Saeed Naqvi, I shifted to Mumbai from Delhi, because the ultimate goal was the silver screen. Kabul Express is basically a retelling of what I went through in Afghanistan. So I started writing that script incorporating the notes I had taken during my days there. I thought once we get a producer on board, we would hire a proper scriptwriter for the film. I kept meeting people — the so-called patrons of alternative cinema. Everyone said bahut achi film hai but nobody was ready to put their money. Many people gave me gyan, many!”
He gives us an example of the “gyan” that came his way. Kabir had once visited the office of a company that was known to support alternate cinema. “They asked me, ‘What is your proposal’? I said, ‘I propose to make a film’. They said, ‘No no, by proposal we mean, what is your budget, the revenue structure. There are 14 distributor territories, what is your model?’ I said, ‘I don’t know all this, I just have a story. I will narrate it to you, and then you decide’. They said that from Monday to Friday, they only discuss proposals. On Saturday they discuss scripts. I went back on Saturday and narrated the script. The person concerned liked it and said, ‘There are two kinds of films — pre-Friday and post-Friday. Pre-Friday films have stars and we sell the film before the release and make profits.
Post-Friday films run on word-of-mouth. Your film is post-Friday. I said, ‘Okay, that sounds good’. And then he tells me that his company makes only pre-Friday films. This is what I have gone through in my earlier days”
There was one studio though, that Kabir never approached. Yash Raj Films. He says that’s because of the stereotype that they made only romantic films. “And Aditya Chopra. Is he there, not there, is he a ghost? Who knew?” says Kabir, who had no idea that one of his friends had forwarded his script to Adi because the latter at that time was looking for material outside his comfort zone. When he finally got a call from YRF telling him that Aditya Chopra wanted to meet him, Kabir thought someone was making a ‘bakra’ out of him. “Mini (Mathur) was in MTV those days. So I was sure they were making a bakra out of me. I said ‘of course’, but after two minutes, I realised it was a serious call.”
His first meeting with Adi was nothing like he had expected. “I reached YRF, they opened the door and suddenly this mythical man Aditya Chopra is standing in front of me.” Adi told him that he “really liked” his script and that he would like to make the film. When Kabir suggested they hire a scriptwriter, Adi said he wanted make exactly what Kabir had written. “Do not change a word, he said to me. So I became a writer by default. Then we signed a three-film deal.” Both New York and Ek Tha Tiger were made under the YRF banner.
As an outsider who successfully managed to break through the clutter, Kabir feels that the star system in the industry is “unfortunately very strong.” But one does not need to have a cynical world view, he says, “My own experience has taught me that. I feel more people should be getting a break. There is also an excitement for new talent in the industry. If you prove the mettle, you can reach any level.” Kabir continues, “I am a complete outsider and even today I feel that way. But having made five films with the biggest stars, it shows that the gates are not closed for outsiders. Raju (Hirani), Imtiaz (Ali), Anurag (Kashyap) are all outsiders. One needs to hold on to their dream and keep working hard.”
