Mumbai: He might have a “personal tuning” with actor Emraan Hashmi, who played the lead in his first two films, but director Kunal Deshmukh also wishes to direct King Khan some day.
He might have a “personal tuning” with actor Emraan Hashmi, but director Kunal Deshmukh also wishes to direct King Khan some day.
The director, whose second film Tum Mile released last week, says that he would love to work with Shah Rukh Khan in the future, once he has achieved the position to direct one of the biggest stars in Bollywood.
“I would love to work with Shah Rukh one day, but only when I have reached that level when I can ask for a re-take if the shot is bad. Right now, I might freeze if I see him,” said Deshmukh.
Like numerous others in India, he has also grown up on the hit films of Khan in the 90’s.
“I have grown up on his films like Dilwale… and Darr and their songs. He is an icon who is still going from level to level,” said Deshmukh.
Even as he dreams of working with the star, he is not merely a star-struck director and knows that casting can make or break a movie.
“I think casting is half your battle, you need to cast right. If I think an actor is right for a film, then I will beg, borrow and steal, go down on my knees and see to it that he works in my film,” Deshmukh said.
And that is the reason why he chose to go ahead with Hashmi for his second film after working with him in his debut directorial venture Jannat, as he wanted to be well prepared before embarking on his dream project.
“When you go in for your dream film, you need someone you can completely trust. I have a personal tuning and rapport with Emraan. Tum Mile was a difficult film to shoot, especially the flood scenes. If you are going in for war you should go well prepared with the weapon of your choice,” said the Mumbai-based director.
Tum Mile might have opened with a good response in theatres last Friday, but Deshmukh had to face a number of ‘no’s before he could actually make the film with Hashmi and Soha Ali Khan.
He had thought of the story in 2005 end, even before directing Jannat, the film based on match-fixing, but producer Mahesh Bhatt was not confident that a newcomer would be able to execute such a film.
“The budget was huge and I had not yet proven myself, so Mr Bhatt was not sure whether I will be able to carry it off. So I made Jannat first,” he said.
“A lot of other people said no to the film including Imran Khan, Kangna Ranawat and Kunal Kapoor. But nothing could tamper my spirit and I was hell-bent on making it,” he added.
He might be just two-films old in Bollywood, but Deshmukh has already set his priorities straight in deciding the kind of films he wants to dish out for his audience.
“I am not comfortable with every genre. I can’t watch horror films because I get scared, so I can’t make them too. I can’t make a comedy either as I am a serious sort of a person. I would like to direct a sensible action film some day, a period film and a musical,” said Deshmukh.
–PTI–