“Waqt will be remembered for its level of performances” - Vipul Shah 
By IndiaFM News Bureau, April 14, 2005 - 05:31 IST
Vipul Shah's time has come…his 'third baby' Waqt is all set to release in a week's time. Debuting in production, Vipul has left no stone unturned to make his vision come true. In between the mad last minute rush, he spares some time for an exclusive chat with IndiaFM. Here he shares with us the special moments of Waqt, its story and its actors.
Now that the film is all set to release, how confident are you about it?
That's a difficult thing to say as we make the film we loose our objectivity because of seeing it everyday. One thing is that I am happy with the way the film has shaped up; this is exactly how I wanted to make the film, whether that has shaped up well or not, that's for the audience to decide.
After watching the film, what is it that the audience will take home?
It is the most identifiable story for any father and son, so the audiences will feel that some part of their life is being shown there on the screen. They will be able to relate to the movie and they will be able to identify with the film, I think that is the strongest point of the film.
This is the second time you are working with AB, how is your equation with him?
It's very good, not only me but anybody who has worked with him will tell you that working with him is a treat. He is a thorough professional and he is so good that you wont even feel that you are working, it's a pleasure.
After Black, the expectations from Amitabh Bachchan have sky rocketed… comment.
In this film he is the entertainer that everybody has seen him for the past 30 years. He dances, he does humour, he has romantic sequences, he's got aggressive sequences, he has done everything because the role has such vast gamut of emotions. I feel whatever the character be Amitji has always given his best to it. People who have liked his work in Black wont be disappointed in this movie either.
What is the conflict between father and son in Waqt?
Generally in Indian cinema father - son conflict is based on three situations, boy wants to marry a poor girl and family is against it, another situation is that they have a different working style, there is a huge generation gap in how they want to do their business. And the third situation is when the son suddenly realizes that he has been adopted. Waqt is about none; When a child is born, parents have the dilemma about the kind of upbringing they should give to him, so that 20 -25 years later in the futuristic society he is able to deal with that society and emerge as a good man. Basically the film is about upbringing and giving sanskar to the kid, and that's the conflict of my film.
The star cast is huge, any hassles?
I think I have done justice to everybody, they wouldn't have accepted the role if they did not have enough material to perform and all of them have done a superb job. I feel this film will be remembered for the level of performances, which has been achieved by these fantastic actors.
This is the second film where you have adapted the story from a Gujrati play, any special reason?
Because they are great stories, even if they would have been done in South Indian languages or Greek, I would have still wanted to make films on them. Its not like Gujrati theatre has special emotions to choose the scripts, even though I am from Gujrati theatre, it's all about selecting great stories. These are the stories that we have done in early years of our careers and they are close to my heart.
Pick your favourite songs from the album.
My favourite is the sad song Toot Gaya; another song that I love is the Holi song. I also like Chup Ja Chup Ja.
The Holi song has become quite a rage, how was it conceptualized?
We had a situation where we needed a holi song, but when in a film you want to make a holi song your biggest competition is Rang Barse, which nobody has been able to surpass as yet. So we decided to change the pattern completely. We thought of making the song according to the way holi is celebrated in today's time. So we begin the song in a traditional folkway and end it in a hip-hop manner. So in a way it shows the journey from where holi has started and where it has reached today. And to bring in a different feel we decided to start it with an English line.
This is the first film starring AB, which has a holi song without featuring Amitabh Bachchan…
Yes, it was a tough decision but then the script didn't allow. We infact tried doing that but then it was damaging the script so we let it go. It was better to be loyal to the script and go ahead with it the way it was originally written.
Amitabh - Akshay have played father - son before, how differently are you presenting this relationship?
We know what they have done in Ek Rishta, but our film is totally different, the relationship shown is totally different. They are like friends, which, is evident from any sequence. They are a fun loving father - son duo and it's a totally fresh relationship.
Priyanka and Akshay are a hit pair today…how differently are they portrayed in the movie?
That is a coincidence that their pair is a hit now, I had signed Priyanka only after I saw her in Hero. It's a great thing for me that their pair is very popular today. Luckily, they have not played a married couple in any of their films so far, and in the later half of my film they play a married couple, which in itself is a big change from what they have done so far. Apart from that, Priyanka is playing a very simple Indian girl so that itself takes away from whatever you have seen of her lately.
Any memorable incidents on the sets?
Lots of them actually, everyday of filming was memorable. We have really enjoyed working on this film. Since it is my first production I was very conscious that nobody should feel that after turning a producer my focus has shifted from direction or I am only focusing on direction and not doing a good job of production. But my team never made me feel awkward about anything, they stood by me in everything I did.
After Waqt, what are your plans?
I do have some plans but I am waiting to see how people react to Waqt, whether I am capable of directing family films or no. There are a couple of scripts, which I have finalized. But I am waiting for the fate of Waqt.
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“Waqt is not Ek Rishta and Ek Rishta is not Waqt”- Amitabh Bachchan
