A long pause after his first film "Kyun Ho Gaya Na", Samir Karnik is now releasing "Nanhe Jaisalmer" with Bobby Deol. The film-maker tells us how the film is rooted in reality despite delving into the fantasies of a child.

Q: The poster of your new film displays the tagline "where does the inspiration come from", we ask you the same question.
A: The answer is also written on the poster. From hope, faith, discovery, courage and acceptance. I think faith is the most important among them.

If you have the real passion to achieve something and you believe in it, you'll surely get it. Faith is the strongest criterion for reaching the goal.

Q: You are back with your second film after a long gap after your first one. Are the films very different in terms of subject?
A: There was no one to allow me work after "Kyun Ho Gaya Na". Then I started writing stories and reading them out to actors. But either there were some problems with those stories or the actors got busy.

That's when I thought I can make a child the hero of my film. I had no story then but my intension was strong. Once I left for Delhi by car and stayed at my friend's house in Ajmer on the way.

His mother told me about some children who despite being illiterate could speak four different languages. After reaching Delhi, I decided to make that the subject of my film. I returned to Jaisalmer and completed the story within a month.

Q: Why Bobby Deol and Dwij Yadav?
A: We selected Dwij by audition. He worked very hard and I think there couldn't be a Nanha Jaisalmer better than him. He remembered not only his dialogues, but others' too. He is happy, intelligent and with a flair for learning.

Bobby Deol, because he showed interest in the subject. When I met him he never took it into account that I had directed just one movie which had flopped. Instead, he tried to find what I had for him.

Q: Why did "Kyun Ho Gaya Na" flop despite the big star cast?
A: May be it was my fate. Probably my luck ran out the very moment Aishwarya and Vivek injured themselves in an accident during shooting. Such impediments affect the flow of work. And in the end, the final product changes its form.

Q: How much importance do you give to fate and hard work in the film industry?
A: Fate is important, but hard work is even more important. If you sit at home and wait for good fate, it'll not turn up. This is true in every field.

If I don't believe in my work and start a project hoping for good fate it'll just be a false hope. In this industry, many people have their relatives and friends to help them out, but I have none.

Being alone, I had to work harder to get this second chance. When despite a big star cast, a film flops, all the burden comes on the film-maker. Everyone isolates you then.

Q: In "Nanhe Jaisalmer", is the star in the child's life or the child in the star's life?
A: That's quite a good question. It's a film where there's child and a star. The story is not for any one of them. It's definite that the star affects the child, but at times children do things that become a lesson for adults. It's a different issue that grown-ups don't take such lessons seriously.

Q: Do you think the film will impress both children and adults?
A: Sure. It's for all. Whatever children learn is from adults only. Often, when our family members say something we don't grasp it, but when a close friend says the same thing we try to understand and imbibe it.

Apart from children, adults will learn from this film how they affect children. Children always try to be someone who affects them the most.

Q: Any special reason why you have shown a child being star-struck?
A: See, ours is a star-struck nation. Here if one child wants to become Shah Rukh, another idolizes Salman. Now it becomes the responsibility of the stars how they carry themselves so that the children learn something good from them.

In my film, the child never wants to be a star. He wants to go to Mumbai to meet his friend. He believes he is a good friend of Bobby. It's enough for him to think that they are good buddies.

Q: How will the film affect children?
A: I hope it affects children very much. These days, children have become so irresponsible. They must learn something from the film. Children in Mumbai still know the reality, but there are far-flung small towns where children live in their dreamlands. Everyone will meet such children through this film and they'll know the value those children give to their dreams.

Q: Don't you think that the film is very imaginative?
A: Not at all. I have already told you this is the story of faith. There's a scene in the film where the mother complains that the child always dreams and the child replies that if I tell him (Bobby) just once that my name is Nanhe Jaisalmer, he'll surely embrace me. Just see the faith of that child.

Q: How much hopes do you have from this movie?
A.: My hope is on my next movie "Roshan". It's faith that I have in "Nanhe Jaisalmer".

Q: Tell us about you future plans.
A: I just have finished shooting a film titled "Roshan". It has the same child actor, Bobby and Kangana Ranawat. Besides, I'm going to finish the shooting of multi-starrer "Mera Bharat Mahan", starring Salman, Preity, Sunny, Bobby, Mithun Chakrabarty, Dino Moria, Vatsal Seth, Sohail, Riya Sen and Amrita Arora.

Just the way "Nanhe Jaisalmer" is based on faith and "Roshan" on hope, "Mera Bharat Mahan" is based on pride. These are the values people need to succeed in life.

Q: As the name suggests, "Mera Bharat Mahan" must be a patriotic film.
A: You must have noticed one-liners "OK tata", "Horn Please" and "Mera Bharat Mahan" painted behind trucks. Actually, my film is also about a journey. It'll be complete very soon. -Rajnee Gupta