Handout photo of Ali Abbas Zafar
Film-maker Ali Abbas Zafar has hit the jackpot with his third Bollywood film. “Sultan”, a 170-minute wrestling saga starring Salman Khan and Anushka Sharma, is breaking box-office records this month and looks set to become the most successful Hindi film of all time.
The director of “Mere Brother Ki Dulhan” and “Gunday” spoke to Reuters in a Facebook Live chat (Click to watch) about the making of his new film. Edited excerpts below:
Did you expect these numbers with ‘Sultan’?
Well, with a Salman Khan film, you are bound to do numbers. It is also to do with the love the audience is giving the film. As a director, you want your film to do well critically and commercially. (I am happy) it’s got both. It has been reviewed well too.
What goes into the making of a successful Salman Khan film?
There are no rules. What works with him is that people love him and the star he is, so if you can continuously redefine him – within the periphery of what Salman Khan stands for, if he can do new roles, that is what always works. That is what we tried to do in “Sultan” – it has everything he stands for. He is singing, dancing, he is funny. But it has more logic to it. There is an inherent story that is running, which is very strong.
What can you not do in a Salman Khan film? Is anything taboo?
No. I did it in “Sultan”. When he is completely out of shape. For a Salman Khan audience, that was the most shocking scene. He is the bible of body-building in this country. Every gym has his photograph. If the scene was not justified according to the story, people would have said we were creating an impact. But because of the emotional impact, you understand why he is broken. I believe that if you want a larger change, you need to make smaller changes first. In the next few films, people will start looking at him differently and that is because of the kind of films he is choosing.
There has been a sudden increase in sports films in Bollywood now. Why?
When the time is right, the genre just comes up in everyone’s minds. The fact is the way we have started looking at sports has changed. When I was growing up, sports was a secondary thing. My dad and mom used to say – study first, play later.Today, parents are saying we want our kids to be a footballer, a sportsperson.
Now it is a career option. Now there is a lot of money coming in.
Kabaddi, boxing, even football is doing well. It is only when a country shifts its focus to newer things, it becomes a newer avenue. The same thing happened with the Indian film industry. My reason for making a sports film is that sports movies always leave you hopeful. That is a great end to any story.
– Reuters
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