Mumbai: Kabir Khan has in the past courted controversy and condemnation when he made politically driven films such as Kabul Express and New York. The filmmaker admits that Bajrangi Bhaijaan is more in the commercial space. “Salman has a staunch core audience. His films have to adhere to the commercial language. So yeah, this one is my masala film, and I make no bones about that. It has got lip-sync songs and dancing. When I was writing the film I saw the characters singing. This hasn’t happened in my other films.”
There are no lip-sync songs in Kabir’s other film Phantom. “That is a more real, raw and authentic film. Saif and Katrina do not play characters I saw singing on screen.” Kabir is all praise for Saif. “Though he is known for his strong presence in rom-coms, he has been brilliant in other films, like Omkara. I think Saif is an optimum blend of star and actor. He tends to submerge his own personality in whatever character he plays.”
The two films will be released in 2015 within three months of one another. Kabir says, “This is two-and-a-half years of my life. I’ve never done two over-lapping projects. But there was no choice. The release date for Bajrangi Bhaijaan was locked in when the project came to me. It was planned as Salman’s 2015 Eid release. Phantom would’ve come much earlier. But the shooting got extended because Katrina’s previous film (Bang Bang) took longer than expected.”
Luckily for Kabir the two films are poles apart in theme, content and intent. Protests Kabir, “I won’t say Phantom and Bajrangi Bhaijaan are apart in intent they’re both big-budget films. But yes, the content of the two is very different. Also the treatment. Phantom is a politically-driven thriller, whereas Bajrangi... has a masala mood to it, though I must admit this one too has a strong statement to make.”
Kabir hates using the word “message” for his film. “It’s very pompous of any filmmaker to think he can tell audiences how to lead their lives. But yes, my films would always have a strong political and social context even when it is a masala product like Bajrangi Bhaijaan.”
The title seems to suggest a secular thought process. Kabir isn’t giving away the plot. “The title ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ is not random. It most certainly has relevance. The film is very pertinent to what is happening in the country today. At the same time it is my most massy film to date.” He’s appalled by the suggestion that the film is about ‘love jihad.’
An angry Kabir says, “Everyone on the Internet has an opinion these days. And a lot of opinions were expressed against my doing this film because it was supposedly about love jihad. First of all, I don’t understand what ‘love jihad’ is. So why and how would I be making a film on the theme? Secondly, even if I was I wouldn’t stop just because some people don’t like what I am doing.”
