In an unique chat with ETimes, Nikhil spoke about his struggles within the trade, his affiliation together with his trade buddies – Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan and what he’s learnt from them. Listed below are excerpts from the chat.
The Naagin franchise has already been explored in Bollywood and on TV, how completely different will your movie be from what we’ve got already seen?
The primary and the foremost factor which is completely different for ‘Naagin’ and the best way I’m attempting to current the story is it’s a flight of fantasy within the sense it’s a superhero idea. Here’s a girl who has supernatural powers that are mainly form shifting. She will purchase any type that she needs to and that’s probably the most indigenous tremendous energy {that a} girl has borrowed from our folklore or mythology. And I need to use it right into a superhero movie for a superhero franchise. Shraddha Kapoor goes to play a superhero. It’s a means of utilizing Naagin as a result of I imagine it is rather natural to us. And since it’s so natural to us, we thought that our superhero ought to be a Naagin. So, it is rather completely different from the way it has been offered earlier. These have been finally revenge sagas and so they have their very own means of storytelling. Ours is barely completely different from it.
Why do you suppose it took so lengthy for Bollywood to make a feminine superhero movie?
I don’t know why it took so lengthy for the film trade however I feel it’s good if issues are taking time. I’ll let you know why. It means it’s not simply born out of a fad or vogue. I feel movies ought to be made when anyone stumbles on a great topic or a narrative concept which she or he believes may be transformed into a great script which is an effective factor. Why ought to we simply soar, simply because now the superhero style has began and so many males are doing it, now let’s solid girl. You shouldn’t be casting anybody except you might have a narrative for them.
Bollywood is usually a male dominated trade. Is it a battle then to make a movie round a lady and put her on the poster of a movie? And why did you selected Shraddha for the undertaking, what does she convey to the desk?
I don’t agree together with your query solely. I’ll reply it in two components. That solely males are seen on the posters is one thing which is a fable. It isn’t solely true. I’ll let you know how and why. If the tales are going to be written round males, males are going to be seen on posters. If the tales are written round ladies, ladies are going to be seen on posters. ‘Mom India’ got here out in 1950’s, ‘Jai Santoshi Maa’, ‘Khoon Bhari Maang’, ‘Guddi’, ‘Khoobsurat’, ‘Razia Sultan’, the record is limitless of so many ladies oriented movies. ‘Mrityudand’, ‘Sita aur Gita’, ‘Chaalbaaz’, ‘Chandni’, all of them have been ladies oriented and girls dominated movies. After which once more I’ll come again to the query that we solely see males on the posters, no. All highly effective prime famous person heroines have been a part of each poster equally. It’s only a perform of the script or the story. You can’t count on writers to come back out with too many women-oriented movies if their creativeness is somewhat restricted. That’s their very own selection. I imply I’ve already produced ‘Veere Di Marriage ceremony’, it solely had 4 ladies. It simply will depend on what you might be pondering and women-oriented movies will not be one thing which is a novelty as a result of I simply gave you examples. It’s nothing new that’s occurring like women-oriented movies have out of the blue discovered some sort of an viewers. They’ve been round since perpetually, so long as we write a great story and we’re going to make a great movie, it’s going to work. It isn’t going to work simply because there’s a girl headlining the movie. It additionally must be a great movie. And when it is going to be a great movie, it’s going to fetch some huge cash and it’s going to be tremendously profitable. Secondly, to come back to your subsequent a part of query about why Shraddha Kapoor, I feel she is likely one of the few actresses who’s a lady subsequent door and might flip into a really sensuous girl with only one change. That I feel is likely one of the qualities that Vishal Surya, the director, and I have been searching for in our Naagin. Additionally, I feel Shraddha has confirmed such as you mentioned, if field workplace is essential, then she has already confirmed her field workplace success too. She has been part of some very profitable movies within the latest previous. ‘Chichchore’, ‘Road Dancer’, ‘Baaghi’, Shraddha has simply been doing very nicely on the field workplace ranging from ‘Aashiqui’. So, I feel we’re actually trying ahead to working along with her each as an artist, as a performer on the field workplace.
How was your expertise as a producer on ‘Veere Di Marriage ceremony’ and is there a sequel within the works?
Truthfully on ‘Veere Di Marriage ceremony’, I used to be not a hands-on producer by selection as a result of that is solely Rhea Kapoor’s child and he or she is such an excellent producer. She does a significantly better job I feel than I do as a producer. And the sort of onerous work that she places in, it’s simply actually fascinating for us to simply watch from the by-lines how she goes about this whole movie and does such nice work. And ‘Veere Di Marriage ceremony 2’ may be very a lot on the playing cards. And naturally, to reply one other a part of your query, expertise teaches you every part. I’ve spent a couple of years right here. I’ve realized from a number of the wonderful individuals I’ve labored round and I’ve gained from their expertise and I attempt to put my very own love for cinema into films that I produce.
From being an aspiring actor to now a producer, how would you describe your journey?
I wished to be an actor foremost, truthfully as a result of that’s what I dreamt of since childhood. To be sincere and truthful, my movies didn’t do too nicely. As a result of they didn’t do too nicely I wasn’t supplied good work. As a result of I wasn’t supplied good work I finished saying no to unhealthy work. And slowly all presents simply sort of stopped, even the unhealthy ones. So, then it was a query of my livelihood. I needed to take up manufacturing. I once more needed to begin from scratch. I simply did some smaller TV exhibits which turned out to achieve success, I produced a number of commercials and commercials. Then I moved on to ‘Veere Di Marriage ceremony’. It has been a journey, my function as a producer will not be one thing I selected. I needed to do it. It was by default. Such as you mentioned, I wished to do one thing with cinema, cinema consumes you. If as an actor I wasn’t doing too nicely, I ultimately had to decide on one thing round it and possibly behind the digital camera and is what I did.
How did you deal with failure when movies did not work out for you, did you might have anybody to go to for recommendation?
There is just one method to go failures. They’re robust, no one likes failures. You might be by no means ready to fail and all of us need to succeed. However we aren’t at all times going to achieve success, that is part of life that we have to settle for. Which suggests, if we fail, we have to deal with it positively. I’m not simply saying this to sound good. Positively means we have to analyse our failures and settle for them. To begin with, there must be an absolute acceptance when issues haven’t gone your means and there’s no place for bitterness. We can not begin blaming others for our personal failures. We have to take duty for failures and the one means to deal with it’s to maneuver ahead. Work more durable, pray more durable and simply maintain occurring. Make that journey. Ultimately one thing good will come up and I strongly imagine that.
There may be this notion about you that your friendship with two huge names – Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan has helped you get work, how true is that?
This notion is completely false. I got here right here to be an actor. What number of movies have Salman and Shah Rukh bought me and why ought to they? I by no means anticipated it from them and admittedly talking they shouldn’t. Movie trade is a small place. All of us have relationships. These relationships don’t translate into work except you might have confirmed one thing to these individuals. In fact, when you have a confirmed monitor file of one thing. If few of my movies would have been tremendous hits, my buddies would have preferred to work with me extra, why not? There may be already a relationship, plus if I’m already promoting a number of tickets on the field workplace, then why wouldn’t they need to solid me? Don’t all of us need to work with individuals who we’re comfy with? However when it doesn’t work out, relationships don’t come both in the best way that will help you or to forestall you from succeeding. A number of the largest names, youngsters of the largest stars, haven’t bought movies. Do you suppose their relationships haven’t been sturdy from their childhood days with each member of the movie trade? Have these relationships actually helped them? No, it doesn’t work like that. It’s a must to finally show your self. If a few of my relationships have lastly agreed to work me, it’s only as a producer that I may show myself with different movies, first. No one simply presents you one thing simply because you already know them and you might be their buddy or relative, it doesn’t work like that.
What have you ever learnt out of your interactions with Salman and Shah Rukh Khan?
They work so onerous on a regular basis as if they’re making their debut. That’s the largest studying lesson from them.
You latterly mentioned that Salman Khan is answerable for the debacle of the final ‘Dabangg’ movie, please elaborate…
I feel it was a mischievous headline. Any person requested me if ‘Dabbang 3’ underperformed and I mentioned no, I don’t suppose so. They insisted that they imagine it has and I mentioned nicely you solely can blame Salman for it as a result of except Salman’s movies don’t do a enterprise of Rs 300-350 crores, something lesser than that is known as underperformance. It’s like you might be at all times anticipating him to attain 95 per cent marks. The second he scores 80 or an 85 per cent you say that he has failed, which is so unfair to him. And he set such excessive benchmarks and requirements for himself that any underperformance is considered as a failure and that’s how it’s being put throughout. I couldn’t have been clearer than that as I’m being now. India Field workplace of Rs 173 crores, what number of movies try this? What are we even speaking about?
Did you count on to get seen to your work in ‘Rip-off’?
No, I didn’t. Frankly none of us did who have been part of ‘Rip-off’. And nothing succeeds like success, I assume. All I can say is, as I may see, I didn’t spend an excessive amount of time with actors on units, however I noticed that everyone was giving of their 100 per cent and dealing with a number of honesty, honesty is dispassionate. No one was planning that that is going to be an enormous success, my strains ought to look good, my digital camera angles ought to look higher. I feel everyone did their components very truthfully and that honesty has bought us outcomes.
