"I dont like the word bollywood" - Sriram Raghavan 
By IndiaFM News Bureau, October 6, 2007 - 15:48 IST
He has a mind that runs sharp and wild, discovering the unknown and talking of subjects that are unheard of, that’s Sriram Raghavan for you, while we played the sutradhaar, as promised. And all thanks you, our most wonderful ‘chatizens’ that our Webmaster did not even get a minute's breathing space. For all of you, who missed the 'Direct Conversation with God' we mean, the ace director Sriram Raghavan, here are the excerpts from the chat.
lets : hi der sir how do u feel after johnny gaddaar
Sriram Raghavan : feels good, lot of positive reponses
lets : how is neil as an actor?
Sriram Raghavan : u tell me, i quite like him
lets : your first film ek haseena thi was also a thriller how did the inspiration for that come by
Sriram Raghavan : there was already a first draft script for eht, and once i came in, i made some changes.
hamza : hi sriram, nice movie....neil mukesh was really impressive
Sriram Raghavan : thank u. tell others also about it
lets : the thought to cast dharmendra and neil and to give it a tag from 20 to 60 years they all were part of it how did that thought
come by
Sriram Raghavan : just wanted to see an interaction between an old world criminal and a very present age generation one
| lets : the thought to cast dharmendra and neil and to give it a
tag from 20 to 60 years they all were part of it how did that thought come by
Sriram Raghavan : just wanted to see an interaction between an old world criminal and a very present age generation one
|
rishabh : aish john wala project kub tak floor pe ayega
Sriram Raghavan : nov mein shuru karneki koshish hai
rishabh : how was dharam ji on the sets
Sriram Raghavan : dharamji was an absolute delight, between shots we used to ask him about his old movies. hes a great actor n fine
person
| rishabh : how was dharam ji on the sets
Sriram Raghavan : dharamji was an absolute delight, between shots we used to ask him about his old movies. hes a great actor n fine person
|
ajeet : hats off to u for jonny gaddar and ek hasina thi, u r one of the few directors in india who handle thrillers well.what about ur
next film.plz dont leave ur genre of thrillers
Sriram Raghavan : hi ajeet, thanks but my next film is not a thriller. need to explore other genres so that i dont repeat myself
rishabh : what made you cast neil in the film?
Sriram Raghavan : industry needs a lot of fresh blood
lets : whats your take on the music of the film?
Sriram Raghavan : I thougt we used it well without interupting the flow of the story but to really enjoy the music u shld listen to the
cd
jimpattni : i saw johnny thrice and i must say you have really set a new benchmark in the industy. congo...
Sriram Raghavan : thank u jim
KinG : what were the difficulties while shooting this film any difficult shot?
Sriram Raghavan : the train sequence was difficult bcoz we had to shoot in an actula running train but it was worth it
| KinG : what were the difficulties while shooting this film any
difficult shot?
Sriram Raghavan : the train sequence was difficult bcoz we had to shoot in an actula running train but it was worth it
|
Vijayan : Excellent Movie. Great Job..in ek haseena thi who was better urmila or saif?
Sriram Raghavan : both were terrific in EHT. how can u compare them
KKinG : neil mukesh is looking exackly like Hrithik roshan. don't you think so? did you have any plan to make him look like that or is
it natural?
Sriram Raghavan : hahaha. i dont think so king. jus the skin tone might be similar
parwana : do u feel let down about box office initial?
Sriram Raghavan : a little bit but word of mouth is strong so i am positive
adityabedekar : the background score was amazing. loved the use of brass and other instrument which were used widely during 70's...
Sriram Raghavan : must thank danny and his associate franko. franko has actually worked with rd burman for a long time
singh : choti se zindagi gehri si jeb hai..baaki toh jaaneman baato ke seb hai...gr8 song...congrats sriram!!! what are your upcoming
films?
Sriram Raghavan : upcoming film is for rohan sippy starring john abraham
ajeet : dharamji has never done thrillers or so,how did his name come in ur mind for shesadri"s role
Sriram Raghavan : i needed an actor who played a criminal and yet had a certain level of dignity about him and emotional appeal,
hence dharamji. he has played a negative role in a film called yakeen
| ajeet : dharamji has never done thrillers or so,how did his name
come in ur mind for shesadri"s role
Sriram Raghavan : i needed an actor who played a criminal and yet had a certain level of dignity about him and emotional appeal, hence
dharamji. he has played a negative role in a film called yakeen |
aditya : Did you have any alternate ending to Johnny Gadaar apart from teh one shown in the film?
Sriram Raghavan : no other ending
Neo : your style with substance are simple as well as extraordinary Big fan of ur cinema. Plz sir dont take so long a gap again. what is
your dream project?
Sriram Raghavan : every project is a dream project and shall take ur advice very seriously.
shahrukh : do you plan to make a romantic film ever?
Sriram Raghavan : my next one is a romantic film
singh : is it true that you were assistant to mr.rajkumar santoshi
Sriram Raghavan : no, but my brother sridhar wrote khakhee
Rumman_khan : had heard that you wanted to take ash for your film with john wat is the news on that sire
Sriram Raghavan : we are trying our best to make that happen
DIEHARD FAN : WHat are the key ingrediants that are necessary in a good thriller film?
Sriram Raghavan : give the audience maximum information, get a superb cameraman and editor
DIEHARD FAN : Please name your top five best suspense / thriller films? hollywood or bollywood
Sriram Raghavan : jewel thief, teersi manzil, all films of hitchcock and brian de palma, blood simple, the killing
ran : this is neil's debut film, how did u mange to trust him with such a role? no doubt he has proved himself but...
Sriram Raghavan : we really made him slog and work hard
| ran : this is neil's debut film, how did u mange to trust him with
such a role? no doubt he has proved himself but...
Sriram Raghavan : we really made him slog and work hard |
Rumman_khan : ek hasina thi n JG rocked....wanna act in ur film...is it
possible?how???any contact address?
Sriram Raghavan : y not, when im doing auditions u can drop by
shahrukh_khan : what research did you do before making this film?
Sriram Raghavan : i watched a lot of movies since childhood
acees : were there any interesting thing that happened on the sets? we would really like to know?
Sriram Raghavan : set is full of surprises n adventure everyday
| acees : were there any interesting thing that happened on the
sets? we would really like to know?
Sriram Raghavan : set is full of surprises n adventure everyday |
sajupt : Hi sriram... :) Am a great fan of urs and I think u did an awesome job with johny gaddar. Am looking forward to ur next movie.
Is it Agent Vinod?
Sriram Raghavan : agent vinod will be the next yr. rt now working on the script
KKinG : what acc to u is imp in an actor?
Sriram Raghavan : i think humility and discipline are imp traits for an actor
acees : who, by the way, was ur first choice for johnny's role?
Sriram Raghavan : neil actually was my first choice
tejas : hello dr. Sriram raghvan, how did you fall in bollywood? is that you wanted from beginning?
Sriram Raghavan : i dont like the word bollywood. but im a graduate from FTII, and bombay was the next choice. why calling me dr?
| tejas : hello dr. Sriram raghvan, how did you fall in bollywood?
is that you wanted from beginning?
Sriram Raghavan : i dont like the word bollywood. but im a graduate from FTII, and bombay was the next choice. why calling me dr?
|
karan : who is the most talented actor in the industry?
Sriram Raghavan : quite a few. depending on the movies they do
aditya : anyone in particular you would like to work with from the industry
Sriram Raghavan : again quite a few. abhishek, sunny and many more
karan : I'd love to see you work w/ Amitabh Bachchan, do you think you can come up w/ something to properly feature him in?
Sriram Raghavan : thas my dream too
DIEHARD FAN : 3 best hindi films in the past year that you really like
Sriram Raghavan : i liked munnabhai the most
karan : who do you want to star in your forthcoming "Happy Birthday?"
Sriram Raghavan : happy birthday is not happening anymore
karan : Was Dharmendra rusty since he rarely acts anymore?
Sriram Raghavan : not at all karan. hes more enthu than any newcomer
DIEHARD FAN : did u see the film bhai thakur starring dharmendra
Sriram Raghavan : no i hv not seen that yet
k16 : Sir, why didn't u cast Saif for Jonny Gaddar
Sriram Raghavan : i needed a very young character
k16 : whats your take on comedy films?
Sriram Raghavan : i love watching them but i cant make them
| k16 : whats your take on comedy films?
Sriram Raghavan : i love watching them but i cant make them |
Rumman_khan : i m from bangladesh..here i m popular in tv media...howzz possible for me to know about audition time? may i send u
pix by e-mail?
Sriram Raghavan : u can contact indiafm for this rumman
shaitu : your film ek haseena thi was a lil dark by the end i mean concept wise y like that
Sriram Raghavan : it was the best ending we cld think of shaitu. we didnt want it to be very typical
karan : sir whats your take on RGV ki AAG
Sriram Raghavan : not yet seen it bcoz i was busy with my release
DIEHARD FAN : What advice would you give to aspiring directors who want to make thriller films?
Sriram Raghavan : read hitchcock by francois truffaut. and watch those movies, diehard
an excellent technical team and very supportive actors
DIEHARD FAN : What are teh pros and cons of working with first time actors like Niel in JG
Sriram Raghavan : u get a lot of time for rehearsals and prep work, and the con is that ur budget has to be little less
smit : sir manorama was a thriller sort of film but was not a well made film whats your take on the film and on abhay deol since he is
from the same family
Sriram Raghavan : not yet seen manorama, but i think abhayis a very interesting actor for his choice of roles. will definitely work with
him some day
mayra : aamir khan or sharukh khan the better actor?
Sriram Raghavan : depends on the movie, mayra.
DIEHARD FAN : have you read the directors comment on JG what do u have to tell them
Sriram Raghavan : a huge thank u to the directors who appreciated JG
DIEHARD FAN : have you read the directors comment on JG what do u have to tell them
Sriram Raghavan : a huge thank u to the directors who appreciated JG
Rumman_khan : aishwarya/rani/preity/kareena rank ur preference
Sriram Raghavan : i dont believe in ranking like this, n u forgot to mention konkana
karan : if you had to choose someone to play you in the "Sriram Raghvan Story" which actor would you pick?
Sriram Raghavan : woody allan, what say ;)
sajupt : Hey, I think ur script for bluffmaster was wonderful!!!
Sriram Raghavan : thats my brother sridhar
acees : there must be at least one original thing that inspired u start 'johnny gaddaar'. wt was it?
Sriram Raghavan : jus wanted to make a kickass and uncompromising thriller
aditya : why take john for a romantic actor
Sriram Raghavan : why not john, aditya?
R. Kishor : Hi Mr. Raghavan. Have you written the strory of Ek Hasina Thi? Because the story was great.
Sriram Raghavan : story was written by pooja surti
mick : hi.. are u planning a sequel to JG?
Sriram Raghavan : not rt now
Chillout : this year has lotz of new comers...for instance..ranbir kapoorr, sonam kapoor, imaad shah, neil mukesh and lots more....du u
think they wil stay in indian cinema??
Sriram Raghavan : of course, i think they will stay and we need lots of new actors in the industry
acees : EHT or JG, which one's closer to ur heart? now don say all of one's children r equally close to one's heart!
Sriram Raghavan : i think EHT bcoz it was my first film and JG was little tough so i loved that too. ask me this question after i make 10
films
| acees : EHT or JG, which one's closer to ur heart? now don say
all of one's children r equally close to one's heart!
Sriram Raghavan : i think EHT bcoz it was my first film and JG was little tough so i loved that too. ask me this question after i make 10 films
|
Chillout : wats ur take on selecting eklavya 4 india's oscar nomination?
Sriram Raghavan : yes, in a certain kind of movie which is different from what he does
DIEHARD FAN : how u you make a choice ,when u have to cast stars you have never worked with before eg john for your next film?
what is it that u keep in mind before approaching them?
Sriram Raghavan : its something that johnhas not done before, so there is a challenge and excitement about it
Rumman_khan : om shanti om/ saawariya??
Sriram Raghavan : shall see both on the same day
acees : in his open letter to vvc , sajid khan boasted of havin good knowledge of bollywood since his first attempt was a
money-spinner. d'ya agree?
Sriram Raghavan : sajid definitely has a terrific knowledge of cinema
| acees : in his open letter to vvc , sajid khan boasted of havin
good knowledge of bollywood since his first attempt was a money-spinner. d'ya agree?
Sriram Raghavan : sajid definitely has a terrific knowledge of cinema |
Chillout : wat du u think is the importance of the song 'move ur body' in JG?
Sriram Raghavan : not much but i love the song and wanted it so we used it more for promotion. i think sel and hardkaur have done a
terrific song
Scorpion : how imp is a song for a film?
Sriram Raghavan : this needs a whole long session
onairkashish : sir wanted to know priyadarshan is making a film bhoolbhulaiya do you believe in ghosts and spirits? do you think it
will work? when ur faced with a supernatural situation what do u call it mystic or scientific? plz answer
Sriram Raghavan : i love ghost stories, though i wouldnt like to meet one
karan : so you believe in their existence (spirits)
Sriram Raghavan : oh yes
Tantu : what are the pros and cons of shooting with multi-cam set up??????
Sriram Raghavan : again this needs a long session tantu
Scorpion : Why the marketing promotions Johney Gaddar......are soo low
Sriram Raghavan : promotion was not bad, but obviously we cant match it with a big starcast film
Raghav : would you ever remake a film?
Sriram Raghavan : maybe at gunpoint
Raghav : I enjoyed ur ek haseena Thi alot wats yur take on a thriller with a comic angle
Sriram Raghavan : i like comdey thriller like silver streak, foul play etc
Raghav : when is ur birthday
Sriram Raghavan : june 23
harish rasta : hows your brother sridhar is he planning to write the story for ur next film?
Sriram Raghavan : we are trying to, but he is too busy.
hello : wht took u so long to make JG, umm itz like been 3 yrs...
Sriram Raghavan : the gap was not intended. some unforeseens beyond my control
piyush : sir r u doing any movie with rgv productions.... im asking because you n rgv are the only one who making creative movies ...
by the way johnny gaddar was superb...
Sriram Raghavan : thanks piyush. will definitely hope to work with ramu on something
Chillout : emmm....y ddint u make neil dance in 'move your body'?? tat wud hve been an excellent promotion 4 da film!!
Sriram Raghavan : he does dance a little bit in his house
Rumman_khan : whats your take on vinay pathak?
Sriram Raghavan : love him
| Rumman_khan : whats your take on vinay pathak?
Sriram Raghavan : love him |
fasi : rimii sen is not an excellent ctress then what made you cast her in your film ?
Sriram Raghavan : she is very good in my film and given the rt role she will shine
shreya : who do u rate more as a director? karan johar/ sanjay leela bhansali?
Sriram Raghavan : shall answer that if i ever get on koffee with karan
Raghav : from where do u get such lovely Ideas? as ur ideas are so fresh and unique
Sriram Raghavan : i keep my windows open ;)
harish rasta : what was the budget of this film?
Sriram Raghavan : almost 4 crores till first copy
rimee : how many days did it take for you to make this film?
Sriram Raghavan : we shot for about 50 days
zeeshan : hi der loved your film...wil try my best to take all my frds for it. if given 20 crores where would you like to shoot
Sriram Raghavan : that depends on the script
shreya : bhool bhulaiyya/laaga chunari mein daag?
Sriram Raghavan : again will see both.i am a film buff
Geetha harish : wat wer the locations decided for this film?
Sriram Raghavan : it was meant to be set in bombay and little bit in pune n goa
karan : you are poised to become one of the biggest directors in india, how does that make you feel?
Sriram Raghavan : i have a long way to go and every film is like a first film
| karan : you are poised to become one of the biggest directors in
india, how does that make you feel?
Sriram Raghavan : i have a long way to go and every film is like a first film |
Sunny : Will u work with Neil again
Sriram Raghavan : after he does 5 films and he becomes a star, so that he can bullie me like i did to him
MIG : Hi Sir.... Johnny Gaddar rocks... loved the retro feel... freaked out on zakir's performance
Sriram Raghavan : thank u MIG
DIEHARD FAN : Intelligent and sensible cinema often fails in the box office! do you think so?
Sriram Raghavan : if i believe that im jacked ;)
DIEHARD FAN : Please identify few scenes in JG that were critical in story telling? that have been your personal fav
Sriram Raghavan : no particular formula diehard fan my personal fav scene is the train, the hotel fight and the pre interval
scene
Rumman_khan : did u watch any bangladeshi movies ever?
Sriram Raghavan : unfortunately not
Geethaharish : what made you to concentrate only on thrillers
Sriram Raghavan : im a little partial with thrillers but like other genres too
karan : whats your fac bachchan movie?
Sriram Raghavan : i think deewar by yash chopra
banu : is the retro theme in terms of music and photography delibarately chosen? especially the music reminded me of ocean series.
Sriram Raghavan : yes banu, it was delibarately done. i love oceans 11 so there mustve been an influence
jai : do you likewriting your scripts yourself?
Sriram Raghavan : i dont have the discipline. wld love to get good scripts
dhruv11 : hey sriram, adore your style of filmaking, loved johnny gaddar, found the second half a little slow paced, but still a fab film,
Sriram Raghavan : thanks dhruv and i sometimes tha pace needs to be slowed down for better impact
jai : what is your advise to budding screen writers
Sriram Raghavan : watch lot of films and read lot of scripts on net n keep writing
transporter Are u a malayalee sir because u really know how to direct a movie without any faults. It was seen in Ek Hassina Thi and
now in Johnny Gaddar
Sriram Raghavan : im a tamilian. closeby
DIEHARD FAN : Apart from films what else dou love to do
Sriram Raghavan : i like cooking. coppola said "cooking is the only alternative to filmmaking"
| DIEHARD FAN : Apart from films what else dou love to do
Sriram Raghavan : i like cooking. coppola said "cooking is the only alternative to filmmaking" |
jimpattni : i think zakir hussain is superb. what say.
Sriram Raghavan : totally agree jim. hes a great improviser
DIEHARD FAN : How imp is it for a director to write his own scripts and why?
Sriram Raghavan : its not essential. hitchcock had a range of writers to himself
jai : when you get an idea generally how long do you take to develop it
Sriram Raghavan : sometimes it happens very quickly. sometimes it takes long
jimpattni : all the best and keep making good cinema sir...
Sriram Raghavan : thank u jim
lets : your personal fav song in this film and in ek haseena thi
Sriram Raghavan : the title track of JG 'chotisi zindagi'
Naresh : how many times did you c the film?
Sriram Raghavan : i have seen it about 500 times in post production and twice on the big screen
jimpattni : directors like you will make our film industry worth watching one day globally
Sriram Raghavan : thats a compliment. i hope i live upto it jim
jimpattni : directors like you will make our film industry worth watching one day globally
Sriram Raghavan : thats a compliment. i hope i live upto it jim
Naresh : I hope u had though come with a better soundtrack are there more songs that i missed while watching the film?
Sriram Raghavan : the soundtrack is used very briefly in the film. the cd has the complete version of the songs
jai : how do you motivate the actors to get the best out of them. Saif as brilliant and so was Zakir
Sriram Raghavan : give them a lot of freedom
karen : what is your personal opnion on ek hasina thi
Sriram Raghavan : good first half, flawed second half, good climax
johnny g. : awesome movie mr. raghavan. i really liked the screenplay of the movie. and niel mukesh is a briliant actor.
Sriram Raghavan : thank u johnny g. i love ur name
jai : i particularly like the humour...its very coen bros
Sriram Raghavan : yea, i love black humor
karan : what's your favorite hitchcock movie? Mine is "Rear Window" or "Vertigo."
Sriram Raghavan : mine is notorious and strangers on a train and frenzy n......
johny : good evening sir..first of all i would like to congratulate you on making such a clever movie..i enjoyed it a lot..sir my question
is that dont u think johny gaddar has more elements of a black comedy then a thriller??
Sriram Raghavan : yes. it depends on how u see it
jai : whats your next film titled?
Sriram Raghavan : not yet titled
acees : have not seen jg, yet can't help singin 'chhotisi zindagi' till bed-time! impressive promos !
Sriram Raghavan : pls watch the film acees
acees : any thriller from bollywood u think better than jg?
Sriram Raghavan : many of vijay anands films
jai : loved the background track....was it composed before the movie so that you knew how to shoot/edit or after
Sriram Raghavan : no. composed it after the movie was made
jai : which is the hindi movie you had wished you had made
Sriram Raghavan : the lady killers (old version)
jai : since you mentioned black humour which are your favourite black comedies
Sriram Raghavan : quite a few actually
karan : an indianized "strangers on a train" could really work, you should make it!
Sriram Raghavan : its been tried twice and failed
sarah : hw was working with Shankar Ehsaan Loy?
Sriram Raghavan : great fun, theyre mad and enthu
| sarah : hw was working with Shankar Ehsaan Loy?
Sriram Raghavan : great fun, theyre mad and enthu |
jai : in the press it was written that you had the script for the last 5-6 years....what took so long
Sriram Raghavan : i jus had the storyline.
karen : whta about writing a book have you ever think of it ?
Sriram Raghavan : too early to write a book. wld rather write a script
me... : r u happy with the reviews ur movie is getting?
Sriram Raghavan : definitely happy, me thank u everybody and pls dont reveal the end of the movie
|
Madhur, Vishal, Rohan, Onir raise a toast to 'Johnny Gaddaar'
