He’s a Khan yes, but not exactly the dominating kind! The affable ARBAAZ KHAN chats about his methods as a producer with PRATISHTHA MALHOTRA.
n You are an actor-director-producer and know every aspect of filmmaking. When films, especially the ones that release on a festive holiday, hike their price to break box office records, does the actor in you rue the fact that a lot of people didn’t watch the film because it was too expensive to afford?
You know, there has got to be a balance. Certain films allow you to raise the price because they are really expensive and have a big star cast – and it is always a weekend business. If you have those three days in your favour, sometimes those three days are 50% of the lifetime recovery of the film! It is a business where you want everybody to be satisfied and make money somehow. By and large what is the normal price, one should abide by that yaar.
n When someone else is directing your project, are you the intrusive kind or the contributing kind?
I am the contributing kind, the supportive and the inspiring kind. I encourage, I am one of those. My contribution is there to avail of. Of course sometimes, I insist on a couple of things but I also convince the young filmmakers where they trust me with my experience and see the fact that I am encouraging them and that I’m doing it with the right intentions. There is nothing like me trying to supersede them to take charge for no reason.
n Both Rajkummar and Sonam have called you the sweetest producer ever….
(Smiles) Sonam has done a couple of films and has worked with some great production teams including her family’s production house… Recently at a press conference she said that I was the best producer she has worked with and I was like, Wow! (Laughs) She likes the way I conduct myself as a producer and just the way I am, maybe she is judging me on that. But yes, it is nice to know that people don’t just look at you as a producer who is only professional but also like you for who you are. They even acknowledge the fact that you’re not just somebody who is investing money, that you are someone who they can appreciate and like. I tend to really pamper my actors, my technicians and everyone that I work with. I give them the confidence that the reason why you are here on the film is because I think you can really make a difference and can contribute and take this film to another level. It’s not like, ‘Hey you are there because I want you to be there and I am doing you a favour’. That resonates into people having that trust and that is exactly what I believe in.
n When you work with newer younger people, does that ease the stress somehow as there is no extra baggage of that pressure?
On one level, yes. The atmosphere can be a little more conducive, a little more interactive. Sometimes with stars, there is really little discussion which happens. Sometimes very little of the opinions are accepted. Here maybe you have the luxury of taking creative control and getting into discussions. But there are other challenges that happen. You have to battle it out in the world where maybe your film is getting passed off as a film with newcomers or fresh talent where only you – and not necessarily everyone else – has the confidence in it. If today I sign a big director or a big star under my production, no matter what I am making, there would be some curiosity or some interest in buyers and people would want to see the film. But in my case when you do films like this, till you don’t throw out the material and you don’t show people that this is what they would want to spend their time on, they are not going to lap it up. Those are the little challenges or difficulties that one has to face.
