{"id":185080,"date":"2023-09-22T05:42:25","date_gmt":"2023-09-22T05:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indiansapidnews.com\/?p=185080"},"modified":"2023-09-22T05:42:25","modified_gmt":"2023-09-22T05:42:25","slug":"jawan-is-my-love-letter-to-shah-rukh-khan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indiansapidnews.com\/tv-movies\/jawan-is-my-love-letter-to-shah-rukh-khan\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Jawan is my love letter to Shah Rukh Khan’"},"content":{"rendered":"
‘A director should be gifted with the right couple to show a love scene.’ Known for helming Raja Rani<\/em> (2013), Theri<\/em> (2016), Mersal<\/em> (2017), Bigil <\/em>(2019), and now Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan<\/em>, Atlee<\/strong> is one of the most talked about film-makers in the country.<\/p>\n After establishing himself as a star film-maker in Tamil cinema<\/strong>, his unique taste for engrossing storytelling, well-rounded characters and incredible spectacles has been unearthed for a pan-India audience in his current blockbuster Jawan<\/em>.<\/p>\n And Atlee cannot stop thanking Shah Rukh Khan for believing in him and giving him an opportunity to present him in a never-seen-before avatar.<\/p>\n “He was my backbone. He is the man behind Jawan<\/em>, for sure,” Atlee says as Rediff.com<\/strong><\/em> Contributor Mohnish Singh<\/strong> listens in.<\/p>\n How do you react to this tsunami of love that Jawan<\/em> has been receiving from the audience?<\/strong><\/p>\n I want to say in one word what Jawan<\/em> is to me.<\/p>\n The day I met Shah Rukh Khan and we aligned to a decision that we were going to come to together for a film, I took a white sheet.<\/p>\n When we were in our teenage, we used to write love letters.<\/p>\n Jawan<\/em> is my love letter to Shah Rukh Khan.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How did you create that love scene between SRK and Deepika that everyone is talking about?<\/strong><\/p>\n A director should be gifted with the right couple to show (a love scene<\/em>). You don’t have to write a good scene; you just have to show them together.<\/p>\n I was very lucky to have both Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in the love scene.<\/p>\n Just placing them in a frame together, it was something else.<\/p>\n There was a love scene that I did not know where I would keep it.<\/p>\n I went to Shah Rukh Khan and I said, ‘Sir, you have to lie down on the bed and she has to speak.’<\/p>\n I would say in Tamil and he would convert it into Hindi and then call Sumeet Arora (dialogue writer<\/em>).<\/p>\n That day, Sumeet was not available, so only we made the scene.<\/p>\n Then we went to Deepika and I said, ‘Ma’am, one more dress change in a bed.’<\/p>\n She said, ‘Okay.’<\/p>\n We did not know where to keep that scene, so we used it towards the climax.<\/p>\n ‘Now you will have a good sleep, Rathore. Love you baby, love you baby.’ That’s all we made.<\/p>\n When you see them together, you get an aura. It’s a difficult thing (to explain<\/em>).<\/p>\n One thing that really stands out in your films is the way you are able to strike a balance between commercial success and critical acclaim.<\/strong><\/p>\n See, basically I am a fan (of cinema<\/em>).<\/p>\n I am not a writer.<\/p>\n I am not a director at heart.<\/p>\n I am a fan.<\/p>\n Whatever attracts me, I feel ‘wow’. Then I also want to create that ‘wow’ for the world and show it as cinema.<\/p>\n I don’t have a formula. Whatever feels right, I make it.<\/p>\n Whatever I love, whatever I have learnt in life, whatever I see, I use it.<\/p>\n For an instance, I take things from my wife, my mother, my sister, my fellow beings…<\/p>\n I replicate that in the form of writing in cinema.<\/p>\n So that is my secret.<\/p>\n I think it is working because I go with the basics.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When we read about Jawan<\/em> and its ensemble cast, we knew that this was going to be a success. But at what point during making the film, did you realise you had a blockbuster in your hands?<\/strong><\/p>\n God is so kind to me.<\/p>\n I have done only five films and all of them are, by God’s blessings, blockbusters.<\/p>\n The day I met Shah Rukh Khan, I knew I could give something good. But I was a little worried because he is mass of mass.<\/p>\n So even Vijay (Thalapathy<\/em>) sir and I had a conversation at that point of time.<\/p>\n He asked me, ‘What are you going to do?’<\/p>\n I said, ‘I don’t know, but I am going to give my life to that film.’<\/p>\n So the day when (Shah Rukh<\/em>) sir said ‘yes’, I knew it would be a blockbuster.<\/p>\n But where can I take it? I have to take this film to a certain extent.<\/p>\n Sir said one thing to me the day when we met.<\/p>\n He messaged me, saying, ‘Sir, I am doing this film and the reason is that the entire world should know what kind of director you are. I know the film will work. The film will be a blockbuster. I want you to succeed the most.’<\/p>\n I don’t know why he said that to me. It became, not a pressure, but a big love to me.<\/p>\n I felt I had to do something great.<\/p>\n Fortunately, he was my producer too.<\/p>\n Gaurav Khanna (CEO, Red Chillies Entertainment<\/em>) and me had a private talk but I want to reveal it here.<\/p>\n He told me, ‘Sir, your vision is here. Mr Khan’s vision is here. But the problem is you both think very big, but I am in the middle, I am getting stuck. So I have to make (this film<\/em>) within this, within that.’<\/p>\n But he never stopped me. When I asked for Sethu (Vijay Sethupathi<\/em>) anna<\/em>, he said ‘okay’. When I asked for Deepika ma’am, he said ‘okay’.<\/p>\n One more surprise I’d like to reveal. I narrated this film on a Zoom call.<\/p>\n During COVID times, theatrical footfalls were down and people were not ready to greenlight even a Rs 30 crore-Rs 40 crore (Rs 300 million-Rs 400 million<\/em>) film.<\/p>\n But sir greenlighted a Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion<\/em>) film. And we didn’t finish at Rs 300 crore, we went for more (laughs<\/em>).<\/p>\n To answer your question, I think we made a blockbuster in three days. Now we are just flying!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How did you want to portray him on the big screen?<\/strong><\/p>\n The first thing I felt is that we should show him in a manner the audience had not seen before.<\/p>\n I think, from school (days<\/em>), we used to go to the salon and ask for ‘Shah Rukh Khan cut’.<\/p>\n So the first thing I wanted to do was make Shah Rukh Khan bald.<\/p>\n ‘Sir, in 30 years, no one has seen you as bald, so can we do that?’ I asked him.<\/p>\n We had a discussion and the idea came from him only.<\/p>\n ‘Sir, should I go bald?’ he said.<\/p>\n I could have easily confused him, saying, ‘No, sir!’<\/p>\n But I said, ‘Yes’.<\/p>\n I am always good at writing father roles. Basically, I love my father very much.<\/p>\n So I narrated the entire script and sir said, ‘I love Azad, Sir’.<\/p>\n I said, ‘You going to be be wrong. The entire world is going to love Vikram Rathore.’<\/p>\n That time, as a joke, he said, ‘Sir, I am class, you are mass. Let’s see who’s going to love whom.’<\/p>\n Finally, after seeing the edit, he said, ‘Sir, everyone is saying Vikram Rathore. I am wrong.’<\/p>\n But he knows the craft more than anybody in the world because he believes in the director.<\/p>\n Why he is so big, you know? He doesn’t see age. He treats everyone equally.<\/p>\n When I did Vikram Rathore’s first shot, with the smoke coming out of the cigar, I felt a new Shah Rukh Khan sir.<\/p>\n Whatever he did for Vikram Rathore is purely for me. I genuinely think, in the 30 years of Shah Rukh Khan’s films — and I love all his films — my biggest love was towards Vikram Rathore.<\/p>\n Also, he loves other actors too. He was very particular with Vijay Sethupathi sir’s role.<\/p>\n ‘The villain should be very strong. Do something, sir. Increase his (screen time<\/em>),’ he called me up specifically to say this.<\/p>\n For Deepika ma’am, for Nayanthara ma’am, for every particular actor, he used to run to the mixing studio.<\/p>\n He would say, ‘Sir, can I see that scene alone to know how it has been done it? Has that come out really well?’<\/p>\n He was my backbone. He is the man behind Jawan<\/em>, for sure.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
‘I was very lucky to have Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in the love scene.’
‘Just placing them in a frame together, it was something else.’<\/strong><\/p>\n