“Making a film is like going to war” - Rohan Sippy 
By IndiaFM News Bureau, December 14, 2005 - 23:38 IST
With the debacle of his directorial debut way behind him Rohan Sippy is all ready with his next flick Bluffmaster. Starring his favorite Abhishek Bachchan along with a herd of talents including Nana Patekar, Riteish Deshmukh, Boman Irani and Priyanka Chopra, this film promises to be a worthwhile watch these holidays. Here's a one on one with the man himself.
How did Bluffmaster all begin?
It started with the conversation I had with writer Shridhar Raghavan. I always wanted to do a film of this genre - a relationship between a younger and older character in this kind of world. That is the starting point for it and Shridhar also liked the territory and came back with a 20 page story. I liked it. He went on to make a draft and finally the script of the film.
What kind of film is it?
There is a very interesting kind of emotional philosophy to it. At the heart of it, it talks of what makes life really worth living. It has the structure of a suspense film and has lots of twists and turns and throughout there is an undertone of humor.
You have a very diverse cast.
Absolutely, it is an assembled cast. Abhishek at the centre of the film is the spine. And then you have different types of actors who brought life into these characters.
How was it like having Abhishek Bachchan and Nana Patekar in the same frame? They are two different kinds of actors.
It was great. I think this is what drives the film - the new relationships. Be it Abhishek and Nana, Abhishek and Priyanka Chopra and even Abhishek and Ritesish who are doing something very different from what they did before. And off course Boman Irani is amazing as well. All of them mixed together, give a third kind of entity. And I just hope I have doing justice to their talent. You get spoilt as a director with such a range of actors.
Was it easier making the film a second time around now?
I obviously learnt a lot in my first experience. It's never easy making a film and it shouldn't be. I think you should be paranoid and on-edge, because it is like going to war. You are marshalling troops to battle all day. Obviously, you learn from your mistakes and this time the challenge is better. You set your goals higher each time around and it never gets easier.
Abhishek plays a con in the film. Did the fact that he did a similar role in Bunty Aur Babli make you sign him up?
We got the script ready even before Bunty Aur Babli began shooting. So that's obviously not why we did it. Knowing about Bunty Aur Babli didn't really affect us as it is a totally different character. There he was a small-time boy and here he is a street-smart guy. It's as different as chalk and cheese.
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