The director on his recent bad run at the box office while rubbishing the claim of Aamir Khan rejecting his script

Ever since his last two Bollywood films bit the dust, Priyadarshan had been patiently waiting in the sidelines, prepping for his next. The film has a cast that comprises newbies and the director explains why he decided to helm this project. Priyan minces no words as he admits that his recent bad luck at the box office makes this film starring Jackky Bhagnani and Priya Anand all the more special. An excerpt:

Your recent films have not done well at the box office. Does that worry you?
It is extremely important for me that this film works. However, it has happened to me a couple of times in the past as well and I have always survived. This is my 87th film and I have a positive feeling about it. I am just worried about the initial, as there are no stars. Though I know that word-of-mouth will help the film to pick up.


There was buzz that Aamir Khan rejected your script. . .
I have not seen Aamir for the last 10 years. I had met him long back to discuss a script and he wanted to see it. But I never had the time to send it across. In fact, I have met Aamir only thrice till date and I don't know which script his production house is talking about.

After working with big stars, what made you cast newcomers in your next?
Except Jackky, everyone else is a newcomer. The film is close to my heart because I too faced a similar situation once where I had helped my friend Satyen run away with his girlfriend from her house. It was early morning when we got them married and we had even arranged for a car. This is why this film is so close to my heart.

There was buzz about a recent fight during a cricket tournie?
It was more of a fight between friends. The other team thought there was a Ranji Trophy player in my team called Madan Mohan but that wasn't the case. It was a mix-up of names. Everything is sorted now.


Tell us about your next project?
I will be doing a film in the South. I have some commitments back there so I will be absent from Bollywood for some time now. But I could do a film with Akshay Kumar soon.