Subhash Ghai, A.R.Rahman at loggerheads

It happens when they are young and new. It happens with everybody. The initial two-three years, it’s very difficult for them to select the projects that come their way. It’s happening even today. If a newcomer delivers a successful film with a filmmaker then he or she starts following a policy of not talking to the filmmaker for at least one year because they consider themselves as stars.

They start believing that they have arrived in competition to the people who are already there in the industry for more than two decades, without knowing whether they would be able to survive for at least half of the duration. So it is not about Mahima or any other actor.

When Mahima met me two years after the case, she started crying and apologised. She realised how big a mistake she had made. I smiled and told her that it had happened with many people. Today, we share a wonderful relationship. I go to her house, she comes to mine.

Would you not make films with your discoveries again?

I would definitely love to work with these people particularly who belonged to Mukta Arts. The only thing is that I should have a right script for them. They are always keen to work with us, as we are to work with them, because they are like family to us.

Sometime back, you had a major problem with Salman Khan. Didn’t you ever feel awkward to go back to him for ‘Yuvvraaj’?


Our relationship started when we fought because before that we didn’t know each other. Salman’s father Salim sahab was a dear friend. So Salman is like a son. Unfortunately, things went wrong during the party that they (Salman’s family) hosted, which resulted in a discomfort and the relationship between their family and me went for a toss. But the very next day, Salim sahab asked Salman to apologise to me and Salman did that.

 So things are okay since then, and later we started meeting each other on occasions. During this process, we both felt the need to work with each other and that’s how ‘Yuvvraaj’ happened. So it grew like this. Like how our Hindi films’ hero-heroine fight first and then love develops. Today, we have a great rapport and he has great respect for me.

Whistling Woods International has been around since some time, but nobody from the institute has got anywhere. Why is that so?

It’s absolutely the silliest comment I can ever hear from anybody who expects that the students who graduated in July should star in a film just next month. No institute in the world can do so. Aisa thodi hota hai? The Pune Film Institute has produced more than 400 actors and directors. Where are they today?

You could ask this question at least after two years when two batches pass out, give them some time and see the results. But then again it all depends on their talent and their luck. Our duty is to guide them but they have to set their own path. It’s an institute to nurture your talent, to rediscover yourself and then one has to battle his own in the industry.

The institute had been in controversy sometime back because of the land dispute. It was heard that the government leased out a huge part of land to you for a very low rate. How is it contributing to the government in any way?

It always happens. But just because it belongs to a public figure like Subhash Ghai, people write about it. It’s not that me or my relatives are residing here.

Recently there have been two tributes to ‘Karz’; one was ‘Om Shanti Om’ and the other Satish Kaushik’s ‘Karzzzz’. Do you think Himesh could replay Rishi Kapoor’s magic on screen or you are just happy with SRK’s act in ‘OSO’?

I was inspired by the reincarnation theme in ‘Karz’. I cannot claim that ‘Karz’ was an original story. So why should I object to ‘OSO’ and ‘Karzzzz’ that depict moments of the original hit movie? ‘OSO’ was treated differently, the plot being the same. It’s not that they plan to hide something before the film’s release. The team of ‘OSO’ requested me to act as a director of ‘Karz’, and so I did it. I took it as a compliment.

After that Bhushan Kumar and Satish Kaushik came to me as they wanted to make exactly ‘Karz’ and wanted copyrights from me. They wanted me to direct the film. But I had enough ideas to work upon. If I choose to repeat my previous movies, then I should leave the film industry. T-Series paid me a good amount of money. I don’t know what they’ve made because I haven’t seen the film.

Breaking his silence after two successive court verdicts cancelling allotment of land to his Whistling Woods International film academy, veteran filmmaker Subhash Ghai Friday said he "felt cheated by the Maharashtra Government".

"I feel cheated by the Government of Maharashtra when we are told, after ten years of setting up Whistling Woods International at a cost of Rs.75 crore, that our joint venture agreement since the year 2000 is not valid," a hurt Ghai said in a statement here Friday.

He said the reason given (for the cancellation) was that because of a government error a board resolution was not passed and the land was undervalued.

"What is our fault? They gave the agreement to us signed by the then MD, cultural secretary and minister of culture to have a partnership in Whistling Woods Ltd with share equity and we invested Rs.20 crore to begin with," Ghai said.

Proving a major setback to Ghai, the Supreme Court two days ago (Wednesday) dismissed an appeal by Mukta Arts Ltd, owned by Ghai, challenging a Bombay High Court ruling cancelling allotment of 20 acres of prime land in Goregaon east for his film academy, Whistling Woods International.

Observing that the entire transaction 'lacked transparency', the apex court said last Wednesday that the application for allotting the land remained in cold storage under three chief ministers and was revived after Vilasrao Deshmukh became the CM and the land was allotted by him.

Last February, the Bombay High Court had quashed allotment of the land for the state-of-the-art world-class film academy, a joint venture between Mukta Arts Ltd and the Maharashtra Films, Stage & Cultural Development Corporation.

Undeterred by the change in the legal status and reduction in size of the land from 20 acres to 5.5 acres, Ghai said he was proud that 500 alumni have passed out since 2006 and are already "very well placed, and 400 are still studying here".

Meanwhile, top industry personalities have come out in Ghai's support.

Eminent filmmaker Shekhar Kapoor said Ghai spent 15 years' time and energy to create 'a centre of learning for film'.

"Whistling Woods International is not a scam. He should be applauded. It is not possible to build educational institutions at current land prices in any city and the government has to allot land for this. Tisch School of the Arts in Singapore is on land given free by the government and now that country's directors are making grade worldwide," Kapoor said.

Another acclaimed film-maker Shyam Benegal said he felt "deeply saddened" by the court verdict in the matter as Ghai had made it his life's mission to create a world class film school.

"Mumbai could now pride itself on having a film school as good as any in the world, and suddenly this. Strange," Benegal lamented.

Reacting immediately after the apex court ruling, Ghai had said: "We are opening branches of Whistling Woods International in many states. My production house Mukta Arts is also carrying on the movie-production business full-steam ahead."