"The kind of erotica I am presenting in HATE STORY will be the first of its kind" - VIVEK AGNIHOTRI

"The kind of erotica I am presenting in HATE STORY will be the first of its kind"

  Producer Vikram Bhatt's HATE STORY is directed by Vivek Agnihotri, the filmmaker who dares to be different in his approach. Vikram feels that Vivek is a matured, stylish and a gutsy maker and called him up to wield the megaphone for HATE STORY. Our Repoter spoke to the dashing , dynamic and the very chiled out director Vivek while he was busy with the post-production work of HATE STORY. Excerpts.

You are very lucky to bring HATE STORY, a woman oriented film just after the success of two heroine oriented films like DITRY PICTURE an KAHAANI. Comments.

I was simply amazed by the way Vidya Balan became a national craze overnight with these two films. I think people are finding more sympathy with women characters as the story moves thier minds and hearts. One such film is also HATE STORY. I have made the first erotica film in India in HATE STORY, I think.

But then Mahesh Bhatt came with JISM which was also an erotic thriller.Comments.

JISM was released long ago and the gap is very huge. I think the kind of erotica I am presenting in HATE STORY will be first of its kind. You have to watch the film and only then you will understand what I actually mean.

You are too much fascinated with Bengali beauties. You had Bipasha Basu in DHAN DHANA DHAN GOAL, Tanushree Chatterjee in CHOCLATE and now Paoli Dam in HATE STORY. Comments.

I think bengali girls have eyes like Goddess Kaali and I have loved eyes which express a lot most of the time. All these heroines have expressive eyes like Goddess kaali. Maybe, I am fascinated with their eyes too.I could have easily shortlisted a top Bollywood heroine for the role but then I saw a few Bengali films of Paoli Dam like AGNIPARIKSHA, KAALBELA and also CHHATRAK which was a very , very bold film. This film directed by Rituparna Ghosh, an acclaimed director had Paoli pose in the nude. I immediately called her up and she agreed to do the film.

What did you first tell her when you met her ?I asked her if she wal willing to pose nude before the camera. She immediately said :"Yes, I will." That made me confident that she could carry the role. Paoli is a bindaas girl and I like bindaas people more than the stars.I wanted a girl who looked desirable on the big screen.She was also to be one who was not seen in any Hindi film before.At the same time, I did not want a fresh face. I was talking about the heroine with my unit people and the suggestion came from one of my assistants. I was indeed happy that I took paoli for this role .

It is said you love to work with serious actors like Om Puri, Rohini Hattangady,Kittu Gidwani,R. Madhavan and your wife Pallavi Joshi.

They are all my favourites too. I think cinema can be better if you are directing serious and committeed actors. I found this seriousness in Paoli Dam too. Then I also took Nikhil Divedi,Gulshan Devaiah in the leads in HATE STORY.

What makes you the cut above the rest directors ?

I always make it a point to remain calm and quiet on the sets. I like fun too. But that can be enjoyed once the shooting for the day is over. I always keep the unit busy and active all the time.The atmospher is young and energetic.I interact with people, charge them up and see to it that nobody is sitting idle or yawning away.I keep the people involved and make sure that there are no visitors on the sets. I also take suggestions from the light men who hold the lights, the filters, etc. as they are a big part of my technical team too and they are clever too. They know everything happening in the scene and sometimes come out with brilliant thoughts which I also incorporate them in the shots.When everyone gets involved, then there is collectibve energy. I think, the director in me always remains alert on the sets and although I think differently, I also know that I must cater to the needs of the audiences.

You directed CHOCLATE and DHAN DHANA DHAN GOAL which were too sophisticated films with the Hollywood touch. Comments.I took my training from the Harvard Insitute in America and the Hollywood  influence will always remain in my style of filming a scene. People say that CHOCLATE was not a commercial success but the film industry people simply loved the film and I am happy for the critical acclaim that the film got. All my actors loved my approach to the film mdeium. DHAN DHANA DHAN GOAL did bring back the money and some profits too. I have also completed the shooting of BUDDHA IN A TRAFFIC JAM. Arunoday Singh and Anupam Kher are the two main characters. Anupam Kher , a professor takes a liking for his student Arunoday Singh who under his influence starts public discourcing and publish articles under his own namethat are authored by Professor Batki i.e. Anupam Kher.The aritcles which deals with the pligt of the poor Indians are posted on the blogs and on Facebook. The story depicts the agony of the deprived in India.

What are you planning next ?

I am completing the script of another hard-hitting film titled FREEDOM. This film traces our country's  plight in the past 35 years.It will be a political drama mixed with many  burning and social issues which is faced by the youth today. I am waiting for the nod of some big actors who are saleable and available too.

You have directed several teleserials like AAROHAN,YEH KAHAN AA GAYE HUM,GUBBARE, SATURDAY SUSPENSE, X- ZONE, RISHTEY etc. But you seem to shy away from Television. Comments.

I am not getting the time for the small screen Also,I am not cut for serials. I cannot get myself to do anything that does not have visual excellence.Most of the serials which you watch are shot on the same location and also the shots are also taken on the same pattern by most of the channels where creative heads are also too many and their inputs have to be taken care of. Most of the shots are in closed rooms too.It simply does not appeal to me much nowadays. I want to remain busy directing films and I think I deserve it as I always breathe, eat ,sleep and eat with cinema in mind.