Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam! After the success of his Amitabh Bachchan-Akshay Kumar-Priyanka Chopra family drama, Waqt, it’s been a quietly turbulent time for director Vipul Shah. “Very frankly, I wanted Amitji and Akshay again. It would’ve been my third film with the pair, and going by how well Aankhen and Waqt were received I’m sure audiences would’ve liked to see me direct the two again. Unfortunately, Amitji fell ill before I could narrate it. And the film I had in mind was an espionage thriller, which required a lot of physical action and at least 70-80 shooting dates. I know Amitji won’t like my thinking like this. He loves challenges. But at the risk of angering him I postponed my thriller until he was more up to it.”

The new Vipul Shah film tentatively titled Namaste, London will start in July to be wrapped up in October. “It’s 60 days in London and 30 days in India. That’s it.” This would be Vipul’s third film with Akshay Kumar. “And not by design. We do jell well. But I want to get out of the comfort zone and work with other artistes. In fact, I had to brace myself to make a huge break. For Namaste, London I’ve broken away from my regular writer Aatish Kapadia to team up with Suresh Nair. First, Aatish is busy. More important, we had become a predictable pair. If you put Aatish and me in separate rooms we’d still react identically. We had become like twins. I needed to break that comfort of the familiar. Namaste, London is my first love story. And Suresh has done a wonderful job.”

As for the casting, Vipul is upbeat about having cast Rishi Kapoor for the first time. “To me, he’s the ultimate romantic hero. And if I’m making a love story I had to have him. He plays Katrina’s father. He still has so much charm?. Again, for Katrina’s role I wanted someone who looked British and Indian. Katrina has been born and brought up in London?My film is about how today’s Indian youth in India and in England perceive love. In this way I’ll depict two facets of love. Like every filmmaker who matters I had to attempt one love story in my lifetime. This is my chance. And I’m going to do my best.”

Vipul gets reflective about romance in our films. “Love stories are a staple diet for our cinema. For me, it’s the toughest film to make in India. The benchmark for a good love story is almost impossible to reach. From Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt to Yash Chopra and Sanjay Leela Bhansali?standards for love on celluloid are set so high. If my love story doesn’t match these benchmarks I’m finished. The irony is audiences and critics think love stories are the easiest films to make. Little do they know what agony I’m going through. I’d love to make a love story that reaches standards set by Guru Dutt or Sanjay Bhansali. But at the same time it has to have my own distinct stamp. Had I chosen to do something easier, like a family drama, I’d have made my life easier. After Waqt it’s very crucial for me to have another hit. This would’ve been the best time for me to make my Aankhen. At a time when Hindi cinema is going off into tangents like Black, Page 3, Rang De Basanti, Malaamal Weekly and Corporate, I’ve chosen a conventional genre. I must be insane,” he laughs. “Coming from a theatre background I can see many scripts that can fall into the New Cinema genre. But I want to do a romantic film.”

For the role of a boy born and brought up in London Vipul has chosen Upen Patel. “It had to be someone with no image. Upen will have only one release 36 Chinatown by the time my film releases?I remember when I had signed Arjun Rampal for Aankhen he had no releases. I had only seen him in a two-minute clip of Ashok Mehta’s Moksha. Even for Waqt I signed Priyanka when only Hero where she had hardly a part, had released. By the time my films released Arjun and Priyanka became popular faces. Once I had Amitji in Aankhen and Waqt I could dare to take chances with the casting. Filmmakers need to cast newcomers if they want to stop complaining about the star system.”

Vipul’s new film has 11-12 major characters. “I’ve cast the Pakistani actor Jawed Sheikh as a Pakistani cab driver in London. As in Hollywood and European cinema I believe an actor needs to physically resemble the character. Katrina, Upen and Jawed Sheikh fit the bill. In April I’ll go to London to cast the British characters?Namaste, London is a first for me in many senses. It’s my first cross-cultural film, first love story, first film extensively shot abroad and also the first that I’ll have fully international crew, including the cinematographer and makeup man.” For the music Vipul has chosen Himesh Reshammiya. “Because a love story needs solid saleable music. Music is the most essential part of a love story. If the music doesn’t work, a romantic film falls apart. There may be greater composers. But their success ratio is limited.”

Vipul will produce the film while Adlab will present it. “Right now the budget is worrisome. It’s a Rs 25 crore film. Big money. But that’s because I’m working under the wonderful system that’s used internationally, to make my love story look visually different, though let me add our technicians are no less capable.”