I had to tell Kylie to throw tantrums on the sets: Farah Khan

She came, she shot, and she (apparently) broke quite a few hearts. If there has been one personality from the world of glamour who managed to divert media's attention from Slumdog Millionaire to something else in the week gone by, it was Kylie Minogue.
In the country for the shoot of a song and dance sequence in the multi starrer Blue, she was quite comfortably the 'woman of the week'. However, she wasn't the only woman who was the center of attraction since there was one more lady who was pretty much in the limelight as far as the B-town was concerned. The name was Farah Khan.
Calling the shots six months after choreographing Desi Girl (Dostana), the director-choreographer made sure that her dance moves mattered once more as she got together Kylie and Akshay Kumar on the same dance floor.
As Kylie flies back to Australia after completing her shoot for the song, our reporter catches up with Farah Khan and knows from her about the shoot, alleged throwing of tantrums by Kylie and her reunion with Akshay Kumar.
Kylie, Kylie and more Kylie. Now what is so special about her entire song? Please, can you let go of the veil?
This is a night club number which is supposed to be set in Bahamas. However, we have replicated the same setup in Mumbai itself. The song has an international setup to it and why just Bahamas; it could have suited even New York or Miami.
When you say the song has an 'international setting' to it, what exactly do you mean?
It means that we are not making a 'bhel-puri' by bringing in an international artist like Kylie and then making her turn into a Bollywood dancer. She is supposed to be what she is in real life and hence retains her international appeal.
It is with the arrival of Akshay Kumar in the song which brings in an Indian element. A.R. Rahman has come up with another great track where the first half featuring Kylie is in English with a Western tune while the second half has Sonu Nigam coming behind the mike for the 'bhangra' portion.
Farah Khan So does the song belong to Kylie or Akshay?
The song belongs to both of them. They both have equal footage in it. While the first half has Kylie in it, the second half has more of Akshay.
Where does that leave the remainder of the cast i.e. Sanjay Dutt, Lara Dutta and Zayed Khan?
All of them feature in the song as well though it's at a little later stage. Zayed Khan comes first followed by Lara and then Sanju. In fact Sanju's character in the film is the kind that doesn't get into a jig at any moment; hence his dance steps too are restricted. So yes, in a way, the song is mainly a Kylie and Akshay number.
What have you made Kylie wear?
Well, first and foremost I want to let everyone know that she is not wearing a 'bindi' or a 'ghaghra' as some are speculating out there. She is wearing a short Western dress; the kind that she could have worn even at an international platform like say, MTV awards. As I mentioned earlier as well, she maintains an international appeal in her costume, dance and body language.
And how much does the audience get to see of Kylie? Her butt has earned her millions of fans worldwide!
Please, no butt show here in our song. We have restricted the show to her legs!
Well, we will live with that. How about her tantrum throwing on the sets? Appears there was a No Entry sign board, literally, on the floor where the song was being shot!
What rubbish! People will write what they want; you can't go and stop them from doing that. Leave aside the celebrities, every dog and cat was allowed to enter; there was no restriction of any sorts.
The production people may have got a little hassled about the presence of an international celebrity amongst them and hence become a little strict in their screening of visitors. But no, she didn't declare war on visitors, as is being said by some people.
Farah Khan But on the sets, she did throw tantrums, right?
Why do you have to believe in hearsay? Come on, on the contrary I was telling her that she should behave like an international celebrity, throw a tantrum, or two, make her presence important, have people around her in a little awe.
She is such a sweet woman to work with. She used to be on sets from 8 AM to 8 PM without any complaints whatsoever; have her pictures clicked with the dance troupe and others. It was a dream come true to have worked with her.
Didn't you two know each other?
We hadn't interacted ever. I of course knew about her body of work while she too had seen Om Shanti Om. She was also aware about my musical Bombay Dreams so that kind of helped the ice to be broken.
And what about Akshay?
What about Akshay? Well, he is always a pleasure to work with. I have directed him earlier, albeit for a short duration, in Om Shanti Om and it was one amazing shoot that I can never forget.
Moreover, it was close to two years after choreographing him in 'Mast Kalandar' (Heyy Babyy) that I was having him on the dance floors for Blue. With him and Kylie around, we had great fun throughout the week that the song was choreographed.

Preity is nominated for Best Actress with Susan Sarandon: Deepa Mehta

Under what name is your film releasing across the globe besides India? Across India, the film will be released with the name Videsh and in the rest of the world as Heaven On Earth.
With a story so strong and its message out loud and clear, do you think a change in the name of a film really matters when it’s speaking of a universal subject?
I am not the distributor of the film, I am a filmmaker. If the distributor knows that the change in the name is helping the Indian audiences, I will listen to them because that’s not my expertise.
Jag Mundhra had shown some startling issues surrounding a Punjabi woman’s plight in his film Provoked. Are we going to see your woman, Preity Zinta, going through the same torment in Videsh?
I must say that Heaven on Earth or Videsh is very different from Provoked. It’s like what Shakespeare said - There are three stories in the world and its how you tell them that makes one different from the other.
Yes, this story is partly about domestic abuse, but for me, the film is about the power of imagination. When reality becomes so grim, how can you use your imagination to liberate yourself? That is what the film is about.
The milieu is of course the isolation of the first generation working class immigrant, whether they are in the U.S, the U.K, Australia or in this case Canada because it’s the first generation that suffers the most.
Films are tagged as commercial, art house and world cinema. What tag fits the kind of films you make or have made over the years?
This is so bizarre (laughs). I don’t think I fit any of them. I just write and tell stories. Only when a film is very particular, that's the very minute it starts becoming universal. I hope my films are universal.
Let’s talk about your new find - Vansh Bhardwaj. Tell us a bit more about this talent.
He is amazing. It’s his first film. He was a lead in the play I saw, a play by Neelam Maan Singh Chowdhary. He did Girish Karnad’s Naag Mandala. I was so blown away by the play that I used it in the film too with Girish’s blessings.
I think the theatre actors have a lot of depth and discipline. I asked Vansh if he wanted to be a part of my film and he readily agreed, and you put him with a star like Preity Zinta, nothing beats it. I must say, Preity was very generous to Vansh.
The Best Actress at the Chicago Film Festival 2008 - Preity Zinta! Will she be able to surpass the best?
(Laughs) I think it'll be really immodest if I said that this isn’t her best performance to date and the other directors won’t like me too much. But I think she is superb in the film and personally, it's a world class performance.
Preity is also nominated under the Best Actress at the Genie Awards 2009 along with top international celebs, right?
Yes, you’re right. She is nominated for the Best Actress in a Leading role along with Susan Sarandon. The awards are to take place next month in April.
Do you agree that it rightly takes a director to suck out the best of the hidden talent from an actor in order for them to win an award on a global platform? And why can't other directors do the same?
I think it’s the work. It’s not necessary that a director is very important. I can never forget Cher in the lovely movie Moonstruck. What a wonderful performance. Everybody was shocked that she could act like that.
She also won an Academy Award for the Best Actress for Moonstruck and she went up on the stage and said, ‘‘I would like to thank my hair dresser’’. She didn’t thank the director.
It was a bit weird but what I’m trying to say is that, generally, good directors really take out wonderful performances. But for a film to do well, it isn't the director alone. It has to start from the script.
What other films are you working on?
I’m working on two films currently. One is a film called Exclusion with Akshay Kumar and the other is based on Sulman Rushdie’s book called The Midnights Children.
Any filmmaker likes commercial and critical acclaim. Are you content or hungry for more?
The day I get content, I will stop making films. Contentment makes you lazy and gives you a false sense of security. If you want to make films, you need to be hungry for more.
In your future projects, would you like to work with actors of your past films like Aamir, John, etc?
I can’t think of any right now. But I am really looking forward to be working with Akshay Kumar in my next film. I hope one day comes when I work with Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukerjee.
You’re a Canadian citizen. Don’t you get impressed with stories from the West as well?
Yeah, some of them. I just feel that I can deal with the authenticity of India and the Indians far better. It’s not that I haven’t done anything in the West. I have. I think to get into the western mind sets is difficult for me, not impossible, but it’s not entirely satisfactory.
What is it that you’re trying to say with Heaven On Earth?
That you can’t be simplistic about it. It’s out dated now that the West has a lot to offer than India. So if anybody would be able to revisit the fact that perhaps, they should not be so ready to leave home. As the character says in the film - Sometimes it’s better to live in Hell than in Heaven where there is more self dignity.
How did you celebrate Holi?
I’ve got a lot of purple colour on my face from which I can’t get out. It’s scary because I have to attend the Press conference for the film too. I had great fun with friends and we celebrated the festival of colours with a lot of rang.
You’ve worked with the music director A.R. Rahman before. But how about working with the Oscar winner now?
(Laughs) Yes, A.R did the music for Fire, Earth and Water. I’d love to work with the Oscar winner now, you’re right (laughs). He definitely deserved an Oscar.
But we should never ever forget that he has always been a brilliant music director and just because the West has recognised him doesn’t mean that he is more recognised now
Sum up your film Videsh in one word please.
Videsh is a celebration of the imagination.