'Can't compromise my film to accommodate stars'

Actor-director Rajat Kapoor says he will never rope in Bollywood A-listers in his films at the cost of the script.

Rajat, 53, who is behind critically acclaimed films Raghu Romeo, Mixed Doubles, Mithya among others, said his script is always the star of his film.

“I am not a regular filmmaker. I take a lot of time to write a particular script. I make films on issues which we face everyday but tend to ignore it. My films are for common man and any actor can serve the lead. I will never compromise my film in order to take Bollywood stars. I am really not interested,” Rajat told PTI.

The versatile actor is again donning the director’s hat with Delhi-based drama Aankhon Dekhi. The quirky film revolves around the character of Raje Bauji (played by Sanjay Mishra) and the day-to-day experiences he shares with his extended family.

“I have been writing this script for past eight years. The idea of the film is very simple. We know many things in life but we tend to believe those which we have either experienced or seen. I think this idea has crossed many of our minds. It is a funny, philosophical and family film,” he said.

Rajat also revealed that he wrote the script keeping Sanjay in mind, whom he met on the sets of 2010 satire film Phas Gaye Re Obama.

“When I did Phas Gaye Re Obama, I was writing the script of Aankhon Dekhi. I and Sanjay shared screen space together in it. He is such a brilliant and effortless actor and I was really moved to see his performance. I decided that time only that Sanjay is my Bauji in the film,” he added.

Aankhon Dekhi is set to hit theatres on March 21 and has been shot entirely in Delhi, where Rajat had spent his childhood. “This is the first time I have shot my film in Delhi. I captured basically the Old Delhi side because I am well acquainted with the place. Shooting in those areas were like revisiting my childhood days.

“Even my ancestral family used to be like Bauji’s family. We managed to find a house, where we shot the film, near to my ancestral house in Daryaganj,” the Mumbai-based filmmaker said.Rajat is best known for his role in mainstream films like Dil Chahta Hai, Corporate, Monsoon Wedding, Bheja Fry and Dasvidaniya. Rajat has been in the ind­­u­s­try for a long time but the writer-director-actor says not much has changed in Hindi cinema.

“Our cinema is the same old thing. Nothing has changed if we talk about the content. It has become technically better but the storylines are similar. I must say that there are few independent filmmakers who are really doing good job. But others are not pushing themselves,” Rajat said. Rajat’s next as a director would be a gangster film.