'I like to bring in new concepts'

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After Aashiqui, he became every hero’s best friend and when he graduated to lead roles, he became one of the most promising stars in B-town. But then Deepak Tijori moved out of the spotlight, moved behind the scenes and went on to script, direct and produce movies.

A move, which he describes, was a gradual growth in the industry, “At one point of time, being just an actor does not give you that satisfaction. Today many actors have donned many other roles within the industry which is just a way of growing,” says Deepak.

Even though directing was always on his mind, it was a comment by a certain director that urged him to do more, “Once while shooting, a director mentioned to me ‘Who’s the director here?’ That triggered things off and I decided then that I would direct and never use that line to any of my actors,” he laughs.

That’s when Deepak brought out movies like Oops, Tom, Dick and Harry, Khamosh - Khauff Ki Raat; all of which had different concepts but unfortunately were not hugely accepted. “I have always been known as a ‘before-time’ film-maker but somewhere, the timing was not right,” he says while adding, “I rather bring in new concepts than follow the current trend.”

After much delay, Deepak’s latest offering Fox will soon release and he is quick to add, “Finally, we are seeing the light.” About the rumours on the delay of Fox, which completed shoot last year, Deepak says, “People thought it was the actors who had problems and hence the delay. But nothing like that happened. We did finish on time but for a few shots, which we couldn’t finish due to the rains in Goa. Plus, there were some management changes within Zee Television but I’m glad that too got sorted out.”
Fox is a modern, sleek thriller shot in Goa and Mumbai.

It is a story about a cat and mouse chase between a young successful criminal lawyer (Arjun Rampal) and a mysterious stranger who is controlling and threatening his life. Now the lawyer must seek the help of a reluctant cop (Sunny Deol) in solving the mystery.

With an unconventional combination like Arjun Rampal and Sunny Deol, Deepak promises that the audiences are in for a surprise as both the actors don a new avatar.

“It will be a change as we will be not be seeing Sunny raising his voice or into full-time action. He was an unconventional choice for the role but I am really glad he took it up,” he adds. But will we get to see him in front of the camera soon? “Well, if there is a role that fits my size why not?” he laughs and adds, “I have become very lazy after becoming a film-maker. To face the camera now, I will have to lose at least 10 kilos.”

Then again the industry has changed a lot and he agrees, “Today, one does not need a six pack to be a hero. You get to see people like Irrfan Khan or Vinay Pathak becoming heroes and that shows how much the industry has changed.”

Soon Deepak will start his next venture, Bhaag Johnny, which will be produced by Vikram Bhatt and will feature three new faces.