Jigar shah
Q Is your film on the life of a dhobi?
The film is not only about a dhobi, it is about Mumbai; a dhobi is playing a role in the film. I believe that every job has its own pride, its own self respect and every work has some art in it.
Q As a producer, are you satisfied with your wife Kiran’s directorial abilities?
I’m very proud of the film. Kiran has been able to achieve what she set out to make. The film is very different, it is an art house film.
Q What is the budget of Dhobi Ghat?
We have made the film within a budget of `5 crore; I feel that I shouldn’t load the market with my fees so I haven’t added that. If the film does well, I will earn. If I don’t, I will take it out from Kiran later on.
Q A major consideration is that a large portion of the film is said to be in English. How will the audience react to that?
There were about 10 scenes in English; but we realised that this would reduce the audience by excluding those who don’t understand the language. I met a lady who said she wanted to watch Dhobi Ghat and also gauge Kiran Rao as a director. But she lamented that she wouldn’t be able to do so as she had heard that the film had scenes in English and she couldn’t follow the language. Kiran and I had a word about it and we decided to dub those few scenes in Hindi.
The film will have two kinds of releases — one will be completely Hindi and other with just those scenes in English. The dialogues are in English because Kiran wanted to stay true to the character — we have this character called Shai who is from abroad, so when she talks to Prateik, she speaks broken Hindi and she talks to me in English.
Q In an interview, Katrina has said that she wants to do a romantic film with you.
I wish she had said this to me; yes I would like to romance her in films.