Making films is not just about money: Shoojit Sircar

What is your muchspeculated film Madras Cafe all about Madras Cafe is about an intelligence officer from the Army who is appointed by the RAW to do some operations in Jaffna which is reeling under civil war There he discovers a bigger controversy So you could say this is conspiracy espionage in the backdrop of the Lankan war The crux of the story is how it affects the officerrsquos life Director Shoojit Sarcarrsquos upcoming film Madras Cafe is about an intelligence officer on an operation in Jaffna Yoursquove known John Abraham as producer of Vicky Donor How is he as an actor In Madras Cafeacute John is more a character than hero He had to lose a lot of weight and tone himself down We made him wear many fullsleeved shirts so his physique doesnrsquot stand out in a crowd John knew about the subject and was politically aware too There is a lot of scope for him to perform in the film He has been criticised for not being able to act but he has performed really well in Madras Cafe You will see a new John in the film In Rockstar Nargis was praised for her looks but not her acting skills And you have cast her as a journalist in your film I was looking for somebody to fit the look of a foreign war correspondent mdash an Indian girl who works abroad and has an accent I have already worked with her in a commercial much before Rockstar Imtiaz Ali took her in his film after watching that commercial When I met her and told her about this role she was sceptical and asked me whether I was sure of casting her I think half the work is done if the casting is right After this film I donrsquot think there will be any comparison with her work in Rockstar You often say that content is king Do you feel todayrsquos cinema lacks content No in fact in the last two or three years Indian cinema has evolved Most films concentrate more on content Last year people thronged to theatres to watch films such as Paan Singh Tomar Gangs of Wasseypur Vicky Donor Barfi and Kahaani Apart from potboilers people are watching contentdriven films too Even actors are slowly coming to terms with the fact that faffing around in films cannot work anymore Finally itrsquos the content that speaks Yoursquove worked with Amitabh Bachchan in Shoebite and are now making a documentary on him Tell us about that Yes I have spent a lot of time with him It is not really a documentary but more like a memoir I will showcase my time spent with him It will take a long time to make it into a potential filmcummemoir Before making Madras Cafe you made Shoebite with Amitabh Bachchan but itrsquos still lying in the cans Does that still bother you Yes that will always bother me because thatrsquos my child too I feel that the producers have disrespected me and my artistes especially Bachchan For us making films is not just about money but also about emotions and hard work Yoursquove repeatedly worked with John Bachchan and writer Juhi Chaturvedi Do you prefer associating with people and taking them ahead Yes I do I donrsquot think of myself as a Bollywood guy as I still donrsquot know too many people in Mumbai Irsquom not inside any circle Irsquom still an outsider I love to be with my small team of friends In a place like Bollywood itrsquos difficult to find friends because itrsquos such an ambitious placeu00a0