Your wife is back to work, how is the husband handling it?Everything is normal, the house is running like clockwork. Only the kids, Jhanvi and Khushi, miss her during the day. But she makes it a point to leave after they have gone to school and always returns before they go to sleep. As for me, I am easy because she is working on our premises. What is your involvement in Sridevi Productions?I run the entire show. The company is in her name but it’s managed by me. She gives valuable inputs, though. Sridevi is a damn rich lady and her experience in films is phenomenal, I’d be a fool not to use either of these. Why does Boney Kapoor Productions always work with a Kapoor, if not Anil or Sanjay then it’s Kareena?First of all, there’s nothing wrong in it. I have never planned this. But now I am working with the Bachchans and the Khans, too. You like to go for casting coups, don’t you?I am doing No Entry with Anil, Salman and Fardeen, and Kyun.! Ho Gaya Na with Amitabh, Aishwarya and Vivek. I think it’s my credibility as a producer that goes in my favour and all actors want to work with me—it’s a nice feeling. You are often blamed for being an overindulgent producer.Not overindulgent, they just call me indulgent. See, what happens is that I get into a film when I am really charged and then my heart takes over the brain. Sometimes that costs me a lot of money. If things go right, then they say I am a genius, manipulator or a perfectionist. A director like Shekhar Kapur has also given me a 100/100 as a producer. But today when things are not going well, then they call me extravagant. I take it all with a pinch of salt. Just wait and watch, when my films do well, they’ll again hail me as the cleverest man around. You once said that all the money you invest in films is your own.It could be my money or it could be borrowed in my name. Making five films and one television serial at one go requires a lot of funds, so I do enlist the help of my well-wishers, friends, distributors and investors. Now that Anil Kapoor has also turned producer, is competition brewing at home?Not at all. I am there to advise Anil whenever he needs me. I did that for Badhai Ho Badhai, but unfortunately the film didn’t do well. Do you have a fixation for South Indian films since Khushi, Run and No Entry are all remakes?There’s no fixation. It’s purely a business decision that if these films did well in one language, then they can do well in Hindi also. Do you watch a lot of Telugu films?Yes, I do. Not only Telugu but also Malayalam and Tamil. I understand the gist of the films even if I don’t understand the language. Otherwise, Sri is always there to interpret. Your son Arjun wants to be a director.Yes, he assisted Karan Johar’s production house during Kal Ho Naa Ho. I am very happy for Arjun. The more, the merrier. Are you under pressure to make a film with Sridevi?A lot of people keep asking me this. It’s just a question of when we get the right script. Sri has never said she won’t do movies. The topic is not closed. Right now, though, she’s on top of the world with the favourable response to Malini Iyer. We went to the Sahara weddings recently and everybody was talking about it and Sri. She is ecstatic.
