'I think the title Kai Po Che is sexy'

It is unusual for the director of a hit movie to have his next film released after five years, especially when the film is not a big budget, star-driven vehicle.

Abhishek Kapoor, whose second feature film Rock On!!, produced by and starring Farhan Akhtar, was a well reviewed hit nearly five years ago, confesses that he did not think such a long time would pass between his last film and his new one, Kai Po Che.

"For six months after Rock On!! was released, I chilled out," said Kapoor who spent several days in New York to promote Kai Po Che before it had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival.

"I did not want to make my next film in a hurry, I was afraid it might not turn out to be a good film and then people will say Rock On!! was a fluke," he says.

Kai Po Che! is based on a popular novel The Three Mistakes of My Life by Chetan Bhagat and deals with friendship tested by unforeseen circumstances in the turbulent city of Ahmedabad.

The friends realise that nothing comes easy in the city as they face divisive religious politics, earthquakes, riots, unacceptable love, not to forget their own mistakes.

"It is a dense, multilayered and very ambitious novel," muses Kapoor. "It took me over two years to distil the novel into a screenplay. I agonised for weeks and months what to include in the film and what to leave out."

The Gujarat killings 10 years ago that started in Godhra and spread to many parts of the state, especially Ahmedabad, where hundreds of Muslims were killed by the mobs, has caused a great amount of suffering all around, he said.

He did not want to give the attacks and killings superficial treatment. "The wounds are still unhealed. I had to be very careful that there was no trace of exploitation (of the killings, rage and tension) in this film."

Kapoor has family ties to many film producers, including the veteran actor Jeetendra, and Aditya Chopra. But he says he is afraid to ask any family member to back his film.

Even well meaning family members and friends are capable of imposing their vision on a director they have hired, he feels. "They could ruin me," he says, without referring to anyone specific.

Kapoor, who entered films as an actor in 1995 and worked in three films, including Uff! Ye Mohabbat, did not really try hard to turn himself into a saleable actor, but as a director he has shown persistence. Though his first film as a director, Aryan, did not do well, he was determined to continue directing.

"As an actor, I hardly had a say how the film was made and marketed and released," he says. "Here, I am in charge, I am in control and it is my vision and I will fight to keep the vision all through, from the screenplay to the editing to the release."

His new film features artists who are not known to the movies. The key players are Sushant Singh Yadav, Amit Sadh, Amrita Puri and Rajkumar Yadav.

"I could have made the film with stars," he offers. "But some stories, some films, gain their freshness when you have new talent who are prepared to give hundred percent to the film."

He says a filmmaker does not always have to go around looking for newcomers. "There are so many very talented artists in TV and theatre and they are waiting for more meaningful parts and better films."

He is very much against nepotism. "Actors are launched and nurtured even when they have no talent because they have connections," he says ruefully. "So much of money and time is wasted doing this. And on the other hand genuine talent suffers."

A reporter tells him that Kai Po Che! is a very sexy title.

"You are the first person to tell me that," he says with a bright smile. "I think it is sexy too."

Many of the films he admires were made by film-makers who take a risk, he said. The list includes Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding) and Mani Ratnam (Roja), and veteran Hollywood star and director Clint Eastwood (Mystic River).

We tell him that Eastwood took many months to turn Mystic River from the Dennis Lehane novel into a screenplay. Eastwood is also famous for not rushing his artists, for shouting 'Cut' or 'Action!' on the set.

"I believe in that approach too," Kapoor said, "It is very important to me to engage the artists, and not to make them feel tense."

Originally he had called the film Ahmedabad. "But I got not to like the sound of that title," he says with a chuckle.

The current title translates as 'I have cut', referring to the sport of kite-flying.

"Kite flying in Ahmedabad is serious business, and cutting a rival kite is no small thing. The title thus evokes the kite fights. Many have told me that the title hasn't come to them as yet. But once you see the film, or hear about it from others, you will appreciate the title," Kapoor says.

Disney UTV, which is releasing the film, is planning to give it a decent number of screens, say 1000, in India and some 100 screens in North America and the UK. It is a word of mouth film, fuelled by strong reviews, UTV honchos feel.

What was the discussion with UTV like before it agreed to come aboard?

"I had given the screenplay to Aditya Roy Kapoor at UTV," Kapoor replied. "He read the script and had only one question: When are you going to start the film?"

We may not have to wait for another five years to see his next film. Rock On 2 has been announced with him as the director. But he is not in a mood to talk about anything else but his new film at the moment.

"There are a few ideas very active in my mind," he says. "But I cannot decide for the next few weeks. I am consumed by Kai Po Che, and after its release, I want to chill out for a few days."