Q&A | `Ghajini's subject was a proven success'
19 Jan 2009, 0010 hrs IST
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Text:
A R Murugadoss was just the man Bollywood needed. Ghajini, his
directorial debut in Hindi, has set cash registers ringing and bailed out the
industry from its lean patch. Murugadoss, who is in his 30s and has a few
hits to his credit in Tamil and Telugu, spoke to N Venkateswaran :
Ghajini has already collected Rs 200 crore. Did you expect such a reaction
at the box office?
After seeing the huge first week collections, many people said it was
natural as it was a much-expected Aamir Khan movie. They also said it would
not get repeat audiences and that collections would taper off because it was
an action flick. But we were confident that the movie would make it big.
Do you think Aamir's popularity was responsible for the Hindi version
becoming such a big hit?
After the movie became a hit in Tamil, we released a dubbed version in
Telugu. I was new in the Telugu industry and Suriya (who played the lead
role in the Tamil version) was also a new face there, but the movie became a
huge hit. This made it clear that it was a proven subject. So i think both
Aamir's popularity and my story were equally responsible for the movie
becoming such a huge success.
Then why did you change the climax in the Hindi version?
I carried out some changes in the script and corrected some mistakes. I just
wanted to make some improvements in the Hindi version. I like both
versions... both are the same to me because i like both Aamir and Suriya.
Aamir was good in the action sequences, and Suriya in the romantic scenes.
It is only natural; they are different actors.
The music in the Tamil version (by Harris Jayaraj) was very popular. Why did
you choose A R Rahman for the Hindi version?
I wanted a different colour for the Hindi version. I wanted it to look
different from the Tamil version. That is why i chose Rahman for the Hindi
version. And for the same reason, we chose a different cinematographer as
well.
But you repeated Asin as the lead actress in the Hindi version?
The character (of Kalpana) needed a fresh face. And Asin had done a good job
in the Tamil version. That is why i decided to use her in the Hindi version
too.
You are the only director from Tamil cinema, after Mani Ratnam, in recent
times to make it big in Bollywood. How does it feel to follow in Mani
Ratnam's footsteps?
Mani makes classy films, and his themes are very different. I wanted to make
a good movie, but at the same time appeal to even the B and C class
audiences in order to make sure the collections are good from all centres.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Editorial/QA__Ghajinis_subject_was_a_proven_success/articleshow/3997526.cms
--
regards,
Vithur
