‘Film Industry Doesn’t Like New Things’

‘When
you
try
to
do
something
that’s
not
been
tried
before,
nobody
likes
that.’

Having
made
successful
films
like

Rock
On!!,
Kai
Po
Che
and

Kedarnath,

Abhishek
Kapoor
holds
a
niche
for
his
directing
talent
in
the
Hindi
commercial
space.

‘Gattu’
Kapoor
is
gearing
up
for
probably
his
most
ambitious
film
yet,

Azaad,
which
tells
the
tale
of
love
and
loyalty
between
humans
and
animals.

Featuring
Ajay
Devgn
in
a
retro
look,
the
film
marks
the
starry
launchpad
for
Ajay’s
nephew
Aaman,
Raveena
Tandon’s
daughter
Rasha
Thadani,
as
well
as
for
a
handsome
jet
black
horse.

“The
fact
that
you’re
trying
to
create
a
new
experience,
the
most
amazing
thing
would
be
to
find
new
faces
so
that
when
the
audiences
watch
it,
they’re
pulled
into
a
world
they’ve
never
experienced
before,”
Abhishek
Kapoor
tells

Mayur
Sanap/Rediff.com.

At
the

trailer
launch,
you
said

Azaad
was
almost
10
years
in
the
making.
What
made
this
story
stuck
with
you
for
so
long?

I
wrote
the
script
in
2016,
and
have
been
waiting
to
make
it
since
then.

It’s
such
a
difficult
movie.

The
industry
doesn’t
like
change,
they
don’t
like
new
things.
They
like
to
work
on
repetition.
It
has
become
a
machine.

If
you’re
going
to
follow
a
trend,
it’s
easier
to
just
get
things
going.

But
when
you
try
to
do
something
that’s
not
been
tried
before,
nobody
likes
that.
So
you
just
need
to
wait
for
the
right
opportunity
at
the
right
time.

When
it
comes,
you
seize
the
moment,
like
I
did
with

Azaad.

This
seems
to
be
a
film
that
visually
goes
back
to
an
old-fashioned
aesthetic,
like
the
Hindi
cinema
of
1980s.
Were
there
any
films
in
particular
that
you
were
referencing
or
inspired
by
when
designing
the
look
for

Azaad?

The
hero
of
the
film
is
a
horse
and
when
you
want
to
make
a
movie
about
a
horse,
you
definitely
want
to
see
him
running.
You
want
to
see
that
galloping
horse.
And
for
that,
you
need
open
spaces.

In
today’s
time,
if
it’s
not
a
racecourse,
where
will
you
experience
that
kind
of
thrill
and
excitement?

So
you
have
to
take
it
back
in
time
when
there
was
no
development.

That’s
how
the
period
world
came
into
the
writing
part.
Once
you
go
period,
you
discover
a
new
world
and
you
try
to
tell
people
what
was
happening
back
then.

In
today’s
times,
people
are
very
attached
to
animals.
As
more
awareness
is
created
and
people
are
appreciating
nature,
animal
love
is
going
through
the
roof.

Today,
we
talk
about
how
dogs
are
a
man’s
best
friend.
But
can
you
imagine
back
in
the
day
when
there
were
no
cars,
no
phones,
no
Internet,
what
that
horse
must
have
meant
for
a
human
being?
Or
the
relationship
they
must
have
shared?

All
the
wars
were
fought
by
heroes,
whether
it
is
Maharana
Pratap
or
Prithviraj
Chauhan
or
Chhatrapati
Shivaji,
and
all
of
them
had
a
special
relationship
with
their
horse.
They
were
warriors
together.

I
thought
taking
it
into
a
period
space
so
that
you
can
enjoy
the
landscape.
That’s
how
the
film
evolved.

What
were
your
challenges
during
filming
with
a
real
horse?

Not
only
is
it
a
real
horse,
it
is
my
horse.

At
the
very
start,
I
didn’t
know
whether
to
create
it
in
CGI
or
import
a
trained
horse.
Because
in
the
West,
they
have
a
far
more
evolved
ecosystem
for
horses
and
animals.

I
didn’t
know
where
to
start.

Eventually,
I
put
together
a
team
to
look
for
the
most
beautiful
black
horse
they
could
find.

They
found
him
in
a
village
in
Punjab
but
he
was
not
trained.
When
I
saw
him,
it
was
like
love
at
first
sight.

We
got
trainers
from
all
over
the
world
to
train
him
as
well
as
the
actors.

When
you’re
making
a
movie
with
an
animal,
you
have
to
be
respectful
about
it.
You
have
to
have
high
standards.

There
was
a
separate
vertical
setup,
like
an
animal
department.
We
had
a
full
vertical
of
veterinarians,
doctors,
vehicles,
an
entire
settlement
was
made.

The
horse
was
the
star,
and
we
had
to
work
according
to
what
was
best
for
him.
In
the
process,
we
learned
so
much.

It’s
not
a
dog,
you
know,
it’s
a
horse.
It’s
a
very
powerful
animal.
At
the
same
time,
he’s
very
delicate
and
sensitive.

To
get
a
performance
out
of
the
horse,
you’ve
got
to
tune
into
their
frequency.

You
can’t
expect
them
to
become
like
human
beings.

Their
vibrations
are
very
different.

Everybody
had
to
tune
into
their
vibrations
and
slow
down.

In
this
film,
you
work
with
an
established
actor
like
Ajay
Devgn
and
two
debutants.
What
are
some
things
you’ve
taken
away
after
working
with
them?

When
you
make
a
movie,
it’s
not
like
any
other
business.

When
you
go
to
the
banking
industry,
they’re
all
the
same.
One
banker
is
probably
a
sharper
businessman
than
the
other.

Movie-making
is
very
personal.

Everyone
has
their
own
contribution,
their
own
strengths,
their
own
personalities.

Sometimes,
someone
who
knows
nothing
can
contribute
the
most.

Movie-making
is
a
very
humbling
process.
If
I’m
working
with
a
star
of
Devgn’s
stature,
I
am
humbled.
And
when
I’m
working
with
newcomers,
I
am
again
humbled.

I
am
very
grateful
that
I
get
to
do
what
I
get
to
do.

What
was
it
about
Aaman
and
Rasha
that
really
worked
for
you?

I’m
just
looking
for
actors
that
can
fit
my
characters.
A
story
like

Azaad
demanded
freshness
and
innocence.

The
fact
that
you’re
trying
to
create
a
new
experience,
the
most
amazing
thing
would
be
to
find
new
faces
so
that
when
the
audiences
watch
it,
they’re
pulled
into
a
world
they’ve
never
experienced
before.

When
you
cast
new
actors,
you
try
to
see
certain
qualities
in
them
that
can
fit
the
characters.

You
embrace
them
with
their
good
and
their
flaws.
Then
you
kind
of
marry
(the
qualities
of
an
actor)
with
the
character,
so
that
they
become
inseparable.

How
similar
and
different
are
Rasha
and
Aaman
from
each
other?

They
are
very
different
individuals
but
they
complement
each
other.

The
good
thing
is
that
there’s
no
competition.
I’ve
seen
that
so
many
times
when
actors
tend
to
compete
(with
each
other).

New
actors
want
to
be
better
than
the
other
actor.

But
it
is
not
about
them.

It
is
about
the
film.

And
they
have
to
serve
that
purpose.

If
people
enjoy
the
movie
and
the
movie
is
a
success,
their
careers
will
flourish.

When
a
movie
does
well,
it
means
everything
about
it
has
been
embraced.
Only
then
will
they
make
a
place
in
the
audience’s
heart,
and
their
careers
will
thrive.