Aiming to please

He makes only one film in three years, but writer, director and editor Rajkumar Hirani knows exactly what he wants to do.

In the early ’80s, an average student from Nagpur failed to get into engineering college. He tolerated commerce and was bored by accountancy. But theatre fascinated Rajkumar Hirani. He followed his dreams and found his calling at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). Twenty years after graduating as a film editor, he has directed two hugely successful films –

HT Image

Munnabhai MBBS

and

Lage Raho Munnabhai

– and is warming up for the release of his latest,

3 Idiots

.

Idiots in the making

Chetan Bhagat’s novel

Five Point Someone

was the starting point for

3 Idiots

– a story about three friends, all average students at IIT, and their misadventures. “The book took me back to my college days and hostel life,” says Hirani. But during the scripting process, co-writer Abhijat Joshi and Hirani found the story needed a spine. “There are glimpses and shades of the book, but the film is drastically different,” says Hirani.

Ask him if his own experiences feature in the screenplay and he says, “I will make a film on my life at FTII later. Those three years transformed this small-town boy. The issue was not disappointment at not getting into engineering college; it was how to face the world.

3 Idiots

says that: chase excellence, success will follow.”

Hirani finds there is enough material in life to write original stories though a message usually sets the tone for his scripts. “During MBBS, I strongly felt that doctors need to be more compassionate. My first draft was very angry. Later, I found Gandhi bashing had become the fashion. It is easy to blame someone when you know little about them. I wanted to explore the theme of unusual methods of protest and understanding with goodness,” says Hirani. But his responsibility as a filmmaker – to entertain – remained. “Nobody pays Rs 200 for a ticket for a message. Our motto is ‘thou shall entertain’,” he says. The script of

Munnabhai Chale Amerika

is changing. “Earlier he was trying to reach Bush, but we have changed it quite a bit,” Hirani says.

Wanted:

Scripts

Celebrated as a writer and director, Hirani would rather not write and wishes a fantastic script would come his way. “I saw a lot of scripts, but none were great. That’s why I make one film in three years. I will not direct films I am not convinced about,” he says. It is this conviction that enabled his working relationship with producer Vinod Chopra and lead actor Aamir Khan.

“It’s a boon to work with guys like these,” says Hirani. “They know their jobs and if you know your job and live an ego-less existence, then things are fine. Though Vinod has a reputation for being bombastic, his passion for cinema is tremendous. Aamir is the same. I was scared of working with Aamir because I had heard stories, but I realised that people were mistaking his dedication for interference. Both Vinod and Aamir have always said that the last word is mine.”

Ground reality

Hirani still retains the editor’s seat on his films. He admits he is possessive about his cuts. “I find editing meditative and anyone else’s presence in the room is distracting,” he explains. The advantage, he says, is that he edits his film at the script stage itself, therefore cutting extra lines on paper. “I take lots of takes, but not extra shots of scenes. I know exactly what I want,” he says.

He also has two opinions he relies on for unbiased feedback – Vinod Chopra’s and Abhijat Joshi’s. “It’s very important to have people around you who are frank. They say success changes you, but it’s actually the people around you who change,” says the National Award winner. “They become scared to tell you what you are doing wrong. I work hard to create an environment where people have a voice.”

Among those who keep him grounded are his wife, a pilot with Indian Airlines, and his school-going son. “I once read a quote that ‘success brings to the fore what is inherently within you: arrogance or humility’. I used to be a naughty child, and was a prankster in FTII, but success brings responsibility, so…” he trails off; leaving it up to you to deduce what is inherently within him.