Source: Sharp Image

Will you release Dasavathaaram in other languages?
We have planned Hindi and Telugu releases. The character of Balaram Naidu (Telugu) will, in the Hindi version, become Pranab Kundu (a Bengali). Beyond this, we need to think of Chinese and Korean releases.

There was a serious cost overrun …
I had cautioned the director on his earlier estimate (around Rs 20 crore). With 10 characters rendered by one person and around 80 scenes in the film (each scene was rehearsed the day before the shoot), costs were bound to be high. But the same movie would cost seven times more to make in the US, and four times more in China.

Critics say that Dasavathaaram is your attempt to go one up on Sivaji Ganesan, who was cast in nine roles in Navaratri …
Tell me, why would I want to play second fiddle to somebody? I have been inspired by several leading films. Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia (1999) is one film that inspired me, as did Sivaji Sir’s Nava-ratri. Magnolia was highly criticised but a commercial success: it weaves in nine different characters in just one day in San Fernando Valley, in California. Since then, I nurtured the thought of making a similar film — not that content and not that story, but something that’s easy for our audi-ences to identify with, like the Mahabharata.

Are your movies ahead of time? Some say that in an attempt to score in creativity, you lose the chord with the audience ...
Most of my films have sold well. It’s an indication of acceptance by the mass audience. Should I do a Vasool Raja MBBS (the Tamil remake of hit Hindi film Munnabhai MBBS) and some stereotypical entertainers just to keep business happy and going? When I write a script, the idea is to sell it. As for my critics, I have only one thing to say: Shakespeare suffer-ed more damage at the hands of the merchan-diser; he still survives in the minds of people.
 

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(Businessworld Issue 1-7 July 2008)