Sippy is in New York to promote Bluff Master, the second film he has directed, which unites him with his buddy Abhishek Bachchan.
The two studied in the same school in Montreux, Switzerland, some 15 years ago. And they worked together three years ago on Kuch Naa Kaho, which also starred Aishwarya Rai. The film had a modest run. The new film deals with a charismatic conman (Abhishek) and the complications he runs into; it also stars Priyanka Chopra.
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You thought someone like Sippy, the only son of Ramesh Sippy, the maker of Sholay and Seeta Aur Geeta, would know how to handle his life, that too after getting a degree in philosophy from Stanford University.
The director spoke to rediff India Abroad Managing Editor (Features) Arthur J Pais in New York a few days ago.
A degree from one of the most prestigious schools in America and you are back in Bollywood. How did it feel?
(Laughs). I spent a year in New York before returning home. I knew I wanted to make films but even then the culture shock was too much. Here I was reading Kant and Camus, and suddenly I am back in this chaos called Bollywood.
Did anyone think you were a snob because of your degree?(Laughs more). No. I think it was the reverse snobbery that worried some people.
Reverse snobbery?
Yeah. Like taking the Bombay trains to work, of being New York casual
How did you get to study philosophy?
There is an interesting story there. I was vacillating between liberal arts and mass communications. I was chatting with the student adviser at Stanford about what I should study. I can never forget what she told me. She said: 'It is more important what you say than how say it.' I knew immediately that I should be more knowledgeable about the world, life and philosophy.
My biggest fear was I was going to miss my friends in New York. I was also worried I was going to miss New York terribly. And I was right. If nothing else, the freedom to walk miles and miles in New York is not simply there in Mumbai.
You really enjoy walking in New York, don't you?
I love it, I love it. Yesterday I got out of the hotel on 47th Street and started walking some 40 streets. But before I took 20 steps I felt I had never left New York behind. And mind you, I have returned to New York after 11
Why did you come to New York from Palo Alto (where Stanford is located?
Want to know the truth? I was in love with this woman who had studied at Stanford. I followed her to New York but she decided to go to Honduras on some fieldwork. And that was the end of my attempted romance (laughs again). My love affair with her ended but the affair with New York City continued.
What did you do in New York?
Spent plenty of time in bookshops, worked in a coffee shop, and then did some work for (for producer) Ismail Merchant. Ran errands for him (chuckles).
Did you have fun doing odd jobs?
I was trying to find out what I really wanted to do. Whether to stay back here or go back to India. It helped I was in a lively city and that I could go around doing pretty much what I liked and I was not depressed.
The highlight of my year-long stay in New York was that Ismail Merchant sent me to Martin Scorsese to deliver something very important. They were working together to restore Satyajit Ray's film. Meeting Scorsese was the absolute highlight of my New York stay.
What did your parents think of studying philosophy, and then working in a coffee shop?
They knew eventually I would find out what I wanted to do. They gave me a free hand in making all the major decisions. And when I went back to India, my father was ready to welcome me back and show me the ropes of the film industry.
Didn't I read that you were estranged from your father after he sought a divorce from your mother?
Not really. I am often a very distant person. My mother too had to make extra efforts to get close to me.
What is the most important thing you admire in your father?
His ability to bring extraordinarily talented people together into a team. Like he did with Amitabh Bachchan, Salim and Javed (the scriptwriters for Sholay) and R D Burman. I wish I could have more of that ability.
What were your first few years like when you returned?
I felt quite unhappy. I wondered why I had returned. The film industry was by and large in a very bad shape. Because of rampant video piracy, significant number of people were not seeing the films. The theaters we grew up watching some of the most wonderful films were deteriorating. Many were closing down, in fact.
What do you like about your first film?
Looking back at it, I think I was able to convey something important, that a woman had the right to choose. The film also showed that just because someone was married it did not mean that she could relate to her man from her heart. The marriage certificate could at times be a legalised piece of paper and nothing more than that.
The film did not do well at the box office. Were you discouraged?
It was not an outright flop. When it was shown on television, it got millions of new viewers. I also knew, especially given the fact that I have grown up in the movie industry, that one improves from film to film.
Your grandfather G P Sippy made films. And your father has made many successful films. Were you afraid that a lot was expected from you?
Not at all. If there were expectations they were in the minds of a few journalists. When someone is outside a multiplex, often the person looks at the poster and decides to see the film. Often it is what he has heard about the film that drives him to see a movie. The name Sippy may not mean anything to many people.
And then there were three Sippys -- N N Sippy (Gumnaam, Meri Jung), N C Sippy (Guddi, Anand) and Ramesh Sippy (Sholay) - who were prominent some 25 years ago. And their sons are in the movies today.
(Laughs). That is right, that is right. And the three Sippys are not even related.
Your new film Bluff Master will be released December. What kind of release is it getting in India?
Given Abhishek's surging popularity -- with three consecutive hits -- there is a lot of excitement about the film. I think it will be released in some 350 theatres which is a wide release in India. In North America, I think UTV has plans to release it in some 45, 50 theatres which again is very good.
(Laughs a little). Um, um.. Three reasons?. I can say this much. It has a very intriguing story with full of surprises. And then there are excellent performances. You feel like you are watching an ensemble film. There is Abhishek, Ritesh Deshmukh, and Nana Patekar. And Priyanka. And we have put together awesome music. You listen to the soundtrack and you will notice what we offer in the film is truly world music.
And then there is another solid city. There is hardly anyone one of us -- never mind which part of India we come -- who has been through Bombay at some time or the other. And not fallen in love with the city.
Bombay is one of the key characters in the movie.
And how is that?
We all know it is an amazing city. It has never been photographed as gorgeously in our film. We have shots of some of the city's landmarks taken from very high rise buildings. And you would be seeing the city in a very different light. The city's landscape, its people, its energy and confusion are beautifully woven into the film.