'One of the great things about being a director as a life choice is that it can never be mastered. Every story is its own kind of expedition, with its own set of challenges.' -- Director Ron Howard [Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind]
Perhaps, this very challenge prompted Chennai-bred Padam Kumar to don the cap of director with Champion (Sunny Deol, Manisha Koirala, Rahul Dev). The film, which was a tacky remake of the Bruce Willis-Alec Baldwin starrer, Mercury Rising, sank without a trace.
Before he got interested in direction, Padu was a cinematographer in Tamil films with some 18 films to his credit. Later, he wrote scripts for Sunny Deol's masala potboilers like Raj Kanwar's Jeet (Karisma Kapoor, Salman Khan) and Angrakshak (Pooja Bhatt).
With his new film Supari, starring Uday Chopra, Nandita Das, Rahul Dev, Purab Kohli, Aakash Saigal, Nauheed Cyrusi and Saraswati, Padu hopes to capture the materialistic psyche of Generation X.
Supari -- which is written, produced and directed by him -- is scheduled for a May release.
He shares his hopes for the film with Vickey Lalwani:
Supari has been in the making for a long time.
I don't know why people feel Supari has been delayed. (In a sarcastic tone) People can't wait to see what I have made. Impatience is getting the better of them.
I wrote the script three years back. I started shooting only 16 months ago.
How was Supari conceived?
When Champion was nearing completion, I was not feeling my usual self. I had to make some compromises in that film that I never wanted to. The film was made for the masses. A lot of unnecessary additions were introduced, which I was not comfortable with.
But it was my first film as director and I could not put my foot down. If I had, I would have spoilt my name in the trade. It would have been said Padam Kumar couldn't deliver a project worth Rs 1.5 crores [Rs 150 million]. I decided my next film would come from within me.
That is why, for Supari, I took the production in my own hands.
What is Supari about?
I was thinking on the lines of the problems faced by today's youth, courtesy the marketing blitz in the media. If they have a Maruti, they want a Ford Ikon. If they have a Ford Ikon, they want an Opel Astra. It is a vicious agenda of never-ending wants.
Twenty years ago, a kid was cool about going to college in a cycle. How many kids would do that today?
They [children] see criminals getting away due to loopholes in our legal system. Cricketers who were their idols once are getting involved in hanky-panky activities.
In such times of consumerism, failing law-and-order and diminishing hope, it is natural for youth to lose their focus and take to criminal activities that can provide them quick and big money.
How did you select the cast?
I wrote my four male characters. I fully studied those characters. Uday Chopra, Rahul Dev, Purab Kohli and Aakash Saigal fit the roles perfectly.
One, I wanted actors who had no fixed images. Two, I wanted them to look like boys-next-door. My strayed youngsters did not come from a village to make a living, have an unshaven look, etc. My characters are middle-class people, maybe slightly rich too, who want to become very rich.
Like, their father gives them Rs 2,000 to buy a pair of Action shoes, but these guys want Nike. I did some research before starting this film. I met parents who give sufficient money to their kids to buy good clothes, but the kids wore clothes that cost thrice the amount their parents had given them.
What I had conceptualised was bang on target. It was actually happening. That strengthened my resolve of going ahead with this topic. Our society is undergoing a social metamorphosis, which is extremely dangerous for the welfare of our children.
Could you tell us about the four male characters in Supari?
Uday [Chopra] plays a guy who wants to wear Armanis and drive a foreign sports car.
Rahul [Dev] comes from a rich family. After a point, he gets disgruntled with his father's money.
Purab Kohli is a typical middle-class Gujarati boy who has to take his pocket money from his sister. His self-respect stops him from being dependent on her any more.
Aakash [Saigal] is the frustrated son of a retired government servant who writes letters to ministers and fights battles in consumer courts.
What about the heroines?
Nandita Das plays a typical Page 3 Mumbaikar. She is a shady character and supposedly the wife of a rich man. But no such man exists. In her younger days, she used to be a college lecturer. She understands youth psychology very well and takes advantage of these four guys.
Newcomer Nauheed plays a Parsi in love with Uday.
Another newcomer, Saraswati, plays Rahul Dev's love interest.
Wasn't Arjun Rampal the original choice for Uday's role?
Yes. Then, he became too big. He signed Rajiv Rai's Pyaar Ishq Mohabbat [Suniel Shetty, Aftab Shivdasani, Kirti Reddy, Isha Koppikar]. He built a certain image around him. That's why I switched to Uday.
Does Supari have abusive lingo?
Right. There are a few gaalis [abuses]. Today's children are exposed to such coarse language; even an eight year old knows what sex is.
Do you think the film will face problems with the censors?
No. Films with much more objectionable stuff have seen the light of day.
Doesn't a film with such a theme mislead the youth?
In fact, it guides them. Most of the youth are doing anything and everything to make big money. Supari will halt them in their tracks. It will make them realise shortcuts are not the best way. One of these characters can't take it. He kills himself. Isn't that suggestive enough to say crime does not pay?
Has Yash Raj Films helped finance of your film?
Rubbish. If that were the case, I would have released the film by now.
Why would they do it? For Uday Chopra? Is Uday banking so heavily on my film? He has several offers. He is extremely choosy. Don't mistake him for a non-happening actor. He is a partner in Yash Raj Films. He is not a star son who is desperate to reach somewhere. He is the son and brother of two great technicians.
If Yash Raj Films were so desperate to push him, they could have easily made a blockbuster by now, with Uday as the solo hero.