"Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena was way ahead of its times" - Suparna Verma 
By Joginder Tuteja, December 16, 2005 - 22:21 IST
It has been a month since 'Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena' released. The movie has come and gone with moderate collections but that hasn't dampened the spirits of the film's director Suparn Verma. The hot blooded director made his debut with this flick belonging to noir genre and aimed at doing something different. IndiaFM catches up with him to know about the film's outcome straight from the horse's mouth.
First things first. What has been the Box Office outcome of Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena?
The movie didn't work in interiors but was quite reasonable in big cities. The budget of the movie was around 3.5 crores. Though the distributors did lose money in smaller circuits, they recovered it in cities.
But the entire media has already gone ahead and labeled the movie as a flop.
This entire hit or flop status baffles me entirely. I am confused because if I make something for Re. 1 and it fetches me Rs. 4 then how could it be called as a losing proposition? I don't know what's the reason behind the media painting this picture or is it a result of vested interests? While the TV and website reviews were mostly favorable about the movie, the print media somehow went against it. Also one thing that everyone should understand is that I didn't go on to make a 10 crore movie. It was a small movie that kept its producers happy, its distributors happy and made me happy as well. What more could one ask for?
What has been the response to the movie from within the industry?
Lot of big film makers have loved the film. They contacted me and complimented me for my work, which is quite sweet of them. Yes, some people did think that it lacked emotions. But then we had actually done a new experiment! We wanted to make a film that was always one step ahead of the audience.
How do you think has been audience response to the film?
I have seen the film 48 times in theatres that have ranged from Novelty to Gaiety to Fame. My observation has been that the audience simply loved the movie. Also I take pride in the fact that the movie showed houseful boards even in a theatre like Novelty where such a scenario occurs only when a movie is something as big as a Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.
What was the thought process when you chose a subject like EKEH?
Couple of things. I wanted the producers to make money. A producer should make profits after the movie is released only then he/she would repeat me. One has to take into consideration the entire business model. I could either choose to make a film in 125 days and spend 12 crores for that, or I could finish the film in 45 days on a budget of just 3 crores. I chose to do the latter! You may be surprised to know that after the promos were out, there were bets between film makers that EKEH was a 8 crore movie while the others believed that it is around 3 crores!
Secondly, a movie like EKEH was not meant to work in a place like Rampur. It was a city film and not something that 'aam junta' would catch fancy for. It was set out to be an intelligent film and the results showed with decent collections in places like Delhi, Mumbai and overseas. We created a new style that was appreciated.
If you get a chance to re-shoot EKEH all over again, what would you do?
I won't change a single scene in the film. And why would I? Instead I will make a new movie, a different movie. I would want to make what I want to make. EKEH is like a child to me for which I am quite proud of. And does anyone ever want a thing to be changed about one's child?
There have been bouquets as well as brickbats after EKEH hit the screens. How do you cope up with that?
I am like a fertile mother who delivers movies every Friday and then gets ready to expect bouquets, brickbats or a mix of both. In the end, you could be hurt by negative reviews but then finally you have to sit down, analyze, understand what audience wants and deliver accordingly. Also not many people tell you on your face what went wrong hence you have to do a lot of analysis yourself.
So what does your analysis tell you?
The movie was way ahead of its times. This indicates that one should have masses in mind instead of trying to be too intelligent in narrating a tale. I am not saying that people are dumb but when they go to a theater, they want entertainment rather than going back home after the movie and then realizing what it was all about by trying to fit all the blocks in a puzzle. Somehow as a film maker you need to spoon feed for better results! Hence now I am more conscious while writing a script by going a bit slow.
If one looks at the movies scripted by you in the past, they have been pretty much on your face rather than trying to be ahead. Zameen and Qayamat are two such examples, isn't it?
Not just Zameen and Qayamat but even Chhal, Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai and also Karam, though it turned it to be depressing, but never mind. They were all pretty much on-your-face. Anyways, now I am looking forward to my next project as a director.
And what is that about?
It's going to be an action film. In fact I have completed first drafts for three subjects - action, psychology and comedy, but I am first going ahead with the action film. And again, I am looking towards redefining a lot of things, do new stuff, create trends.
Some time back you had mentioned that Fardeen would be in your next film too. Do you still maintain that?
Oh absolutely! I would be offering all my films to Fardeen and would want him to be there in all of them, though there could other stars as well.
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Sister Act in Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena
