Ravi Chopra

Baabul marks the 50th year of BR Films. How big is the film for you?

It is surely special because Baabul celebrates 50 years of our banner. I am happy with the way we have been able to make films and television software all these years. We have had reasonable success in our ventures. Today we are a respected name within the industry, everyone looks at us and our work with respect. When at a time people were only doing conventional work, my father (B.R. Chopra) went by his own convictions and we started on a tangent. And from there on we have never compromised.

Was it a given for you to take forward your father’s school of film-making?

No, everybody has his own thinking. But I believe the past is our base to carry things forward. I have never disregarded the past but at the same time I have always tried to move ahead. If you see our last few films, we have been able to repackage our cinema. The look is now very modern, very today. At the same time, the storytelling hasn’t changed over the years. We still want the whole family to sit together and watch our film and maybe take something home at the end of it all.

Baghban sure helped turn things around for you…

Absolutely, there’s no denying that. We had been out of film-making for a long, long time. Baghban was like a restart for us. But the good thing is that everyone felt that we had picked up from where we had left so many years back.

Is Baabul with a similar cast on the same lines?

It may be of the same genre but certainly has a different story. Like Baghban, Baabul too is a family entertainer. Again, we have something to say and there’s also the required amount of fun. It’s very important to send a message through the medium of movies. My father created this stamp and Baabul too has that trademark stamp. Here, it’s about how a father-in-law becomes the father of the bride, or baabul.

Did you write the script with Mr Bachchan in mind?

Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan in Baabul; (below) John Abraham and Rani Mukherjee in the film

I never write a script with anybody specific in mind. It so happens that when I am finished with the script, he turns out to be the best possible choice.

He surprised everyone in Baghban. What do we expect from Mr Bachchan in Baabul?

Oh, he surprises me every day! Basically, the two of us have a great understanding. We have been working together for a long, long time now, right from Zameer. So this long association helps us relate to each other. And it is always great fun working with him.

You are presenting some of the hottest stars of today — John Abraham, Rani Mukherjee and Salman Khan — in very different images in Baabul…

Isn’t that the idea? Otherwise people will get bored of watching them. Like John, he is a surprise item in my film. After you watch him in Baabul you will realise that he is capable of doing so much more than what we have seen him do. Rani, of course, will blow your brains out.

What about Hemaji, who made a great comeback in Baghban?

She has an important role too. A couple of people who have seen the film felt that her character is the one people will take back home. She is looking lovely and is such a delight to work with.

Do you think that in the days of Dhoom 2 and Don, people will watch a film rooted in traditions and cultures?

This question has been answered with my Baghban. If a romance between an elderly couple can work, then why not Baabul? If you see, all the other films that became hits around Baghban have been forgotten but people still remember Baghban. Whenever they talk about it, there’s a smile on their faces.

After a slow return, now BR Films is producing a whole lot of movies…

We are now in a position to make more films. We are producing Bhootnath where Amit plays a ghost. Then, I will direct a comedy Pappu Paas Ho Gaya. Then Amit and I are also planning an emotional film, apart from a period piece called Mitti.

What about making Mahabharata on the big screen?

That’s a 2008 project. We are still scripting. The casting is yet to happen.