Producer-director Suneel Darshan, whose film Andaaz has just completed a 100-day run, is in the news for other reasons as well.
Darshan has sued bigwig producer Pahlaj Nihalani. Earlier he had sued actor-filmmaker Sunny Deol. He claims that both did not pay him his fees for films he directed for them.
He tells Subhash K Jha why the film industry need to get its act together:
Why this drastic action against Pahlaj Nihalani?
I have always held Pahlajji on a pedestal. He is a senior producer. I had to take Pahlaj Nihalani to court to collect my dues for directing a film [Talaash] for him.
Actually, I did not want to direct any film for an outside producer. I did it for Pahlajji out of respect. But now, the matter is in court. I had to stand my ground. In this business, you are often let down by the people you believe in and it is very unfortunate that this had to happen between us.
I am sure he knows I am right.
I am now directing another film, Mere Jeevan Saathi, for an outside producer, Suraj Prakash. I have respected him from the time he made Jab Jab Phool Khile in the 1960s.
Mere Jeevan Saathi was stalled.
That is because of the financial crisis the industry went through last year. All the economics of filmmaking have gone haywire.
I will complete Mere Jeevan Saathi this year, depending on my stars Akshay Kumar, Amisha Patel and Karisma Kapoor's dates.
This is Karisma's best film to date. She is superb. I am sure she will complete it in spite of her wedding plans [Karisma Kapoor will marry Delhi industrialist and childhood friend Sunjay Kapur on September 29].
You also sued Sunny Deol.
Yes, he was my friend when he was making London [the film was originally to be directed by Gurinder Chadha, but that did not happen owing to differences. It was later directed by Darshan and then Deol himself as Dillagi].
I waited for years before approaching the Film Makers' Combine. It took me two long years to get justice. But I have got what he owed me finally. It is quite a huge sum of money.
Sunny was a very dear friend. I respected him. It is sad that our friendship came to this sorry pass. But it is my hard-earned money and people who thought they could get away with it had to cough it up.
I know I have ruffled feathers by taking my colleagues to task. But I had to do what I thought was right.
People in the industry will now think twice before trying to swindle producers or directors in this country.
Not often do people in the film industry take legal action against a colleague.
Someone had to take the initiative. I cannot resort to bhai-log (the underworld) to get my dues. I have to trust in our judiciary to get me justice.
Even producer Bharat Shah and director Rajkumar Santoshi had to go to the Film Association to get the money that Sunny Deol owed them for Lajja.
Is it true that you command a directorial fee of Rs 1 crore [approximately US $218,000]?
I too read this in the newspapers and get shocked. Where's that kind of money? The industry was like a parched land in recent times. It is only now that the rains have come.
Andaaz is the first success of 2003.
Audiences loved it, I guess. It had a fresh appeal to it and very good music. The promotions projected the film in the right perspective. The two girls [Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra] were fresh and presented in the right fashion.
I think the packaging and presentation brought the audiences together. The traditional format made the film work. I would love to make two films a year. I will direct one myself. But all the films that come from my production house must bear my stamp.
Do you think the underworld is still active in Bollywood?
Due to financial constraints and jealousy within the industry, that undesirable element [the underworld] is still functional. Now, with some successful films, we are on the threshold of a new beginning.
What plans for the future?
I have delayed the launch of my next film. I am giving the finishing touches to it. It will be a complete Hindustani film, yet very different from whatever I have done so far. I want to assess the current scenario in the film industry first.
Where have the stars gone? Two actors, Ajay Devgan and Akshay Kumar, are shouldering a lot of the box office. Akshay has been my permanent hero. Since he is working in a lot of films, I have to work his dates.
Fortunately, there is optimism in the film industry.
Unfortunately, a lot of films that are being designed depend on the stars' whims and prices. Not enough attention is paid to content. I am scared about that.
So should stars do a different kind of cinema?
Different is a wrong word. We should stop striving to make different films and concentrate on making classy, commercial films.
Of course, there is a lot of skin show in recent films. But youngsters are exposed to so much nudity on satellite television. In my film Andaaz, Priyanka and Lara were nuns compared to what we see on MTV.
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