Birthday boy Vidhu Vinod Chopra: Maybe I will direct a film in Bollywood

On his 65th birthday, Vidhu Vinod Chopra tells us that he has been writing a script for the past four years.

Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra believes in enjoying the moment, rather than worrying about the future. On his 65th birthday today, he tells us that he has been writing a letter to himself for the past 40 years on this day, expressing such thoughts.

Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra is playing with the idea of directing a Bollywood film. (Photo: Waseem Gahsroo/HT Photo)

“I don’t like to think about the future. The only thing I do is that I write a letter to myself on my birthday. In that, I write about what I want in that moment. For example, a few years ago I wrote to myself that I want to make a film in English. 20 years ago, I wrote to myself that I want to get into production, and stop directing. I did that . So writing a letter helps me focus on enjoying and living in the moment,” he says. “I can’t plan anything. What if five years down the line I want to open a restaurant and retire from filmmaking? Life is not certain and that’s where lies its beauty. I never planned to make Munnabhai. Raju (Rajkumar Hirani) wanted someone to edit the story, and I told him, let me help you, and that’s how it happened,” he adds.

Though his Hollywood debut, Broken Horses (2015), failed to impress at the box office, this didn’t dampen his spirits. “I don’t give a damn about that. For me, it was my wish of making a film in Hollywood. It was a big deal for me, someone who has studied in a government school, in a small town in Kashmir. On top of that, someone like James Cameron telling me that I got out of my comfort zone to make a film, was more than enough. I don’t care about anything else,” he says and doesn’t rule out another project in Hollywood in future. “Why not? If there is a story that is great, and I want to direct it for Hollywood, then I will do that,” he adds.

Chopra says he might return to direction in Bollywood. He last directed the period drama, Eklavya: The Royal Guard in 2007. “I have been working on a script for over four years now. And one day while writing it, I just felt like that maybe I should tell this story in my way. I haven’t completely decided as yet, but yes maybe I will return to directing a Bollywood film as well. Maybe that will be my birthday gift to myself,” he says.

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