The King Cometh

Does it derive from the many controversies regarding “ownership” that Mumbai is embroiled in?
The movie does emanate from there and it’s probably true that over the years,there is something that Bombay — I’m not calling it Mumbai because I have referred to it as Bombay in the movie,since back in the Maharaja’s time,that is what the city was called — has lost which only a mad man can help bring back. But having said that,I’d like to add that the movie has no underlying message.

The Maharaja is dressed outrageously,in a red jacket that brandishes his medals,breeches and long hair on his bald pate. Did vanity not come in the way?
No. One either has to have guts to do it or be stupid enough. You can decide which of the two I am.

Don’t you feel that the kind of characters you do — the old insane guy in slapstick comedy — are limiting and repetitive?
It’s also the kind of work that is thrown at us. If there’s something that has made me popular,I can’t stop doing it and wait for the perfect role to come by. Besides,if such characters are what bring the audiences to the theatres then I’d much rather repeat the roles so that when I do something different,audiences will still be drawn by the actor in me.

Even though you have signed big projects like 3 Idiots,you make it a point to also do a lot of small-budget films. Is that because it allows you to experiment?
I believe that if we want to make a mark on the world cinema scene,then we have to be able to produce a variety of movies. It’s a lame excuse that the audience demands commercial stuff. Back in the 1940s and ’50s,we had some wonderful work by filmmakers like Bimal Roy. Then came Satyajit Ray,and later,filmmakers like Hrishikesh Mukherjee,with their small budgets,made memorable movies. Why then,in the late ’80s and ’90s,did we start making only one kind of films? Small-budget films open these doors and I am as eager to work in them as I am in big banner films.