My movies will always have songs and popular stars for the pull: Ashutosh

says Ashutosh Gowariker in a candid chat about his years in the industry and his style of filmmaking

Ashutosh Gowariker has been an industry veteran, who cut his teeth as an actor. He did go on to make his name as a director of magnum-opus movies and has worked with the biggest names in the industry, including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan. Even as he basks in the reception of Mohenjo Daro, we had a quick chat with the filmmaker about his days as an actor, directing mega stars and making lengthy movies.

You worked in the television industry as an actor in the ’80s. What’s the difference in the way the industry functioned then and now My entire batch was struggling as actors. Once at B.R. Chopra’s office, we were standing in a queue for Mahabharat auditions — I think every actor of the generation had been to the Mahabharat auditions. I remember it was 1985; with me was Nitish (Bhardwaj) and behind me in the queue were Govinda and Deepak Tijori. Of course, I didn’t get the role. Nitish was outstanding as Krishna and there cannot be another Krishna. I think because Govinda didn’t bag the role, he probably did Ilzam and Love 86 and became the star he is now. Television was still in its nascent stage and all filmmakers were still exploring it. So there was a lot of seriousness to it. I think today, we’ve gone away from literature; the consumer has become slightly different and the patience to watch TV shows has now changed. The grammar of storytelling on TV has changed and it needs to shock every minute.

Go on It has its pitfalls. The shock-a-minute kind of attitude is where if there’s none after every few minutes, the viewer is going to pick up the remote and change the channel. Entertainment is getting more condensed and is always changing. One must cater to their needs, which regard certain things. For example, any film can be long or short or of any genre; as long as it engages me, I will see it.

But given your filmography, you’ve never followed the path of what the audience needs and have always taken a different route But still! Kadwi goli ke saath shakkar ka tukda bhi zaruri hai (It’s necessary to give a piece of sweet with a bitter pill) I will always have songs, I need a popular star to pull a film.

How have you evolved as a filmmaker since Lagaan Mohenjo Daro was your shortest movie I have lost a lot of revenue with Lagaan and Jodhaa Akbar because, instead of four shows, I could have only three in a single screen and even lesser in multiplexes. I couldn’t do anything about it because those films needed that length. Lagaan ends at two hours and 30 minutes, and add an hour of the cricket match to it. So it becomes three hours 42 minutes long — I can’t sacrifice the climax! With Jodhaa Akbar, I couldn’t remove the life and times of the Mughal courts. A ‘hi’ or ‘hello’ today was three salaams back then!

So, will you continue to make long movies It’s the film’s genre that decides what the length of the movie should be. An animated movie cannot be over 90 minutes; that’s the thumb rule. But that doesn’t mean from now on I’ll make 90-minute movies.

In Mushtaq Sheikh’s book, you mention how Shah Rukh Khan told you in a competitive spirit about how he wants to be ahead of Aamir Khan. How did you juggle these two mega stars and their equations

Let me answer this in a different way: in any city in the world, it’s always the immigrant who rises. This is because the resident is more relaxed and content. He has a house and his business is set. The immigrant has no time — he has to come quickly and make his position. That immigrant is Shah Rukh and the resident is Aamir. So, Aamir, in his position, is content even today. SRK, from day one would say, ‘I don’t have time’. I would always tell him, what are you saying. You can see it in his entire being, even today. If you meet him, you will still feel like he’s in a hurry and needs to be somewhere. Aamir is much calmer; he will always say, ‘let’s think about it’. Both are hugely successful in their own terms, method of selection of movies, their outlooks; only their approach is different.