'Some say TDP was soft porn'

Director Milan Luthria on taking his film to France and refusing to bow down to cliches

Expectations are bound to be high for a director who delivered one of last year’s biggest blockbusters in B-Town. But with success comes responsibility and the filmmaker understands that to the T. More so when The Dirty Picture (TDP) is still making news.

This time around, it’s bon voyage to France. Understandably, he’s glad with the accolades while at the same time, he is focused on his next project. In a freewheeling chat with us, Milan reveals his thoughts on media stereotypes and how he’s approaching his gangster sequel as well as an untitled next with Saif Ali Khan.

Were you expecting the French national newspaper to shower praises on your work?
Not at all. In fact, we released TDP all across France as an experiment and were expecting good feedback. I recently saw how Le Monde featured it along with The Amazing Spider-Man on the same page with nothing but nice words. I’m not the kind who rests on his laurels but this film keeps surprising me.

What is the biggest challenge about making a mafia film?
A lot of attention has to be given to minute details, be it the attire or the lingo of the characters in the film. Recreating a piece of history that is true to the city would naturally take efforts. Contrary to what people think, Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai wasn’t entirely a mafia film as it had far too many layers. Some even said TDP was soft porn! It’s all media speculation, nothing else. However, this time around there’d be more fiction than facts. There is a romantic triangle as well as a violence-centric story.

Will Imran be shedding his chocolate image with this film?
I think he has come a long way from that image bestowed by media. Here, he’ll be playing Akshay Kumar’s protégé — someone very typical from the streets of Mumbai underbelly. Like I said, he’s already crossing into the non-upmarketish, mass kind of roles.

When exactly did Sonakshi Sinha replace Kareena Kapoor?
As far as I know, Sonakshi has been part of the plan right from the very beginning. She has something about her that is remarkably Indian and reminiscent of 1980s. Also, she has delivered two blockbusters in a row.

And the superhero movie with Saif Ali Khan is not going to happen...
To begin with, Bhushan (Kumar) and I weren’t even thinking of it. I don’t even know where that story cropped up from (smiles). Anyway, Bollywood has made enough superhero films lately!

So who’s the actress in it?
We’re still looking so I won’t take names but since it’s a big production, we can narrow it down to three top names and your guess is as good as mine. u00a0

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