<p>"The bell actually rang three years back when I was sure that I will direct a film. This is the second script that I have written," Parmeet told IANS.<br /><br />"Yash Raj Films (YRF) had approved my first script too, but we couldn't make it. I waited for one and a half years, but the film didn't take off and I was frustrated. I was in a dilemma whether to stick to my plans to direct a film or go back to acting. Then in frustration, I wrote this script," he added.<br /><br />"I had five ideas with me out of which two were most compelling. I wanted to write another script before this but that required research work in Canada, which would have taken six months. I didn't have the money. I didn't have the time. So I chose this one because I enjoy the genre very much. I think no one has done a full-on con film intelligently," the actor-turned director said.<br /><br />Set in the 1990s, "Badmaash Company" is about four young friends - Shahid, Anushka Sharma, Vir Das and Meiyang Chang - from middle-class Mumbai who get together to start a company. Their business is an instant hit because they find a way to beat the system by doing all the wrong things in a right way.<br />The critics have praised the film despite it being too long.<br /><br />"First, I worked out the whole con thing in my head, then I put it down on paper as script and then wrote dialogues. There are four con jobs in the film and I had to come up with interesting ideas each time to make it as believable as possible," said Parmeet.<br /><br />To get the right feel of the 1990s, he shot some scenes in Hyderabad.<br />"The cars, the houses and other locations that we shot in Mumbai, I was particular about everything because I wanted to bring the essence of the 1990s. I actually went to Hyderabad to shoot the airport scene. Mumbai airport of today is very, very modern. But the Hyderabad airport still looks like the old Mumbai airport," he said.<br />The director, who worked with freshers like Vir and Chang, says he signed Anushka Sharma on Aditya Chopra's recommendation.<br /><br />"I wanted some very fresh faces and Vir and Chang were the perfect choice. I didn't want to have predictable faces. Anushka was Adi's recommendation. I didn't know her personally. I was a little doubtful, but Adi assured me that I'll like her once we meet," he said.<br /><br />Parmeet, who featured in Aditya's directorial debut "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" (1995), says he was sceptical while approaching YRF to produce the film.<br />"I spoke over phone and asked for an appointment with Adi and I got it. That's all I did. In the last 15 years I hardly met Adi as he hardly socialises...everyone knows that. I was hoping he hadn't forgotten me. But he not only gave me the appointment but gave me respect and was pleasantly surprised by my script," he said.<br /><br />Parmeet now wants to be behind the camera and make more films but doesn't rule out the possibility of getting back to acting.<br />"I haven't said good bye to anything. I don't want to be cocky about life. But as of now it's only direction for me. I think this is my main career now."</p>
<p>"The bell actually rang three years back when I was sure that I will direct a film. This is the second script that I have written," Parmeet told IANS.<br /><br />"Yash Raj Films (YRF) had approved my first script too, but we couldn't make it. I waited for one and a half years, but the film didn't take off and I was frustrated. I was in a dilemma whether to stick to my plans to direct a film or go back to acting. Then in frustration, I wrote this script," he added.<br /><br />"I had five ideas with me out of which two were most compelling. I wanted to write another script before this but that required research work in Canada, which would have taken six months. I didn't have the money. I didn't have the time. So I chose this one because I enjoy the genre very much. I think no one has done a full-on con film intelligently," the actor-turned director said.<br /><br />Set in the 1990s, "Badmaash Company" is about four young friends - Shahid, Anushka Sharma, Vir Das and Meiyang Chang - from middle-class Mumbai who get together to start a company. Their business is an instant hit because they find a way to beat the system by doing all the wrong things in a right way.<br />The critics have praised the film despite it being too long.<br /><br />"First, I worked out the whole con thing in my head, then I put it down on paper as script and then wrote dialogues. There are four con jobs in the film and I had to come up with interesting ideas each time to make it as believable as possible," said Parmeet.<br /><br />To get the right feel of the 1990s, he shot some scenes in Hyderabad.<br />"The cars, the houses and other locations that we shot in Mumbai, I was particular about everything because I wanted to bring the essence of the 1990s. I actually went to Hyderabad to shoot the airport scene. Mumbai airport of today is very, very modern. But the Hyderabad airport still looks like the old Mumbai airport," he said.<br />The director, who worked with freshers like Vir and Chang, says he signed Anushka Sharma on Aditya Chopra's recommendation.<br /><br />"I wanted some very fresh faces and Vir and Chang were the perfect choice. I didn't want to have predictable faces. Anushka was Adi's recommendation. I didn't know her personally. I was a little doubtful, but Adi assured me that I'll like her once we meet," he said.<br /><br />Parmeet, who featured in Aditya's directorial debut "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" (1995), says he was sceptical while approaching YRF to produce the film.<br />"I spoke over phone and asked for an appointment with Adi and I got it. That's all I did. In the last 15 years I hardly met Adi as he hardly socialises...everyone knows that. I was hoping he hadn't forgotten me. But he not only gave me the appointment but gave me respect and was pleasantly surprised by my script," he said.<br /><br />Parmeet now wants to be behind the camera and make more films but doesn't rule out the possibility of getting back to acting.<br />"I haven't said good bye to anything. I don't want to be cocky about life. But as of now it's only direction for me. I think this is my main career now."</p>
