"Hello is as important to me as my wedding day"- Chetan Bhagat

Continued...
The film is directed by Atul Agnihotri. His first film as a director Dil Ne Jise Apna Kaha bombed at the B.O. Does it bother you?
I had discussed Atul's past film before I gave him the rights. However, he is a non-egoistic person who had a very good idea of why his first film bombed. First, he had scripted it when he isn't much of a writer. Second, he had chosen to make what he thought will work with the trade rather than what genuinely moved him. I did several gruelling interviews with him and told him that under no circumstances can I embarrass my readers. He answered each and every question. He is well educated - from Sydenham college and he has trained under Mahesh Bhatt as an asst. director for five years. In fact, he never planned to be an actor - he just had a chance casting in Sir. He read the book twenty five times and knew it better than me. He wanted me to be fully involved at every stage and write the entire script, screenplay and dialogues. Finally, he told me "If Shyam, who is a loser in your book, can come back and achieve his full potential and deserves a second chance, why can't I?" The fire in his eyes at that point told me the film belonged to him.

In the West, it's quite common for films to be made on popular books / novels. This trend has not been seen so often in Bollywood. Why so??
Because Bollywood is still evolving. There was a relatively set formula in earlier years of making a film work which wasn't so dependent on the script. Today, the script is critical and the money at stake is huge. To avoid creating time bombs, it is a lot better to invest in a tested story than special effects. Hollywood knows this, and Bollywood is learning its lesson the hard way. Of course, the other issue is Indian literature tended to be extremely high brow and not popular, so making popular films with such books was out of question.

People often feel that a film can never have the same effect / magic as the book Do you agree with that?
I agree, it can't have the same magic. But it can have its own magic. A well made film on a book is a treat - for readers to relive the story and for non-readers as they will be assured of a tight plot on screen.

Hello has six principal characters...Could you tell us something about them...Describe them in one line each
The six characters are Shyam, who is having a breakup with Priyanka; Esha, who wants to be a model; Vroom, a hot-headed yet fun guy who likes Esha; Radhika, an overworked housewife and Military Uncle, a retired army man who now works in a call center. The six of them are having the worst night of their life.

Salman Khan makes a guest appearance in the film...yet the film is being promoted as a Salman Khan film...do you think it is fair?
I don't think Hello is being promoted purely as a Salman Khan film. It is very clear that Hello is One Night @ the Call Center and we have millions of readers who already know what role Salman is playing in the film. I also feel Salman's role is important to the story (it is the role I play in the book, so it is obviously important!). So in a way, it is more than a guest appearance anyway. My readers/audience have made me, they trust me and I plan to have a longer innings in Bollywood - so misrepresenting to them would be unthinkable.

How has it been working with the 'Khan-daan'? Salman - Sohail- Arbaaz etc?
The Khan-daan is pretty cool. I have seen them over two years now, and I must say they are really blessed to have a family so bonded with each other. They are simple, straightforward, emotional people, and if they like you, they will go all out for you. The head of the family (Salim Khan) is a writer, so they give a lot of respect to writers. So I had a great time with them.

How involved were you during the making of the film?
I was involved in all stages. Atul drove me mad on the script. He kept making me revise it, he'd say, "It's great, but I know if you look at it one more time, it will only get better." I liked being challenged that way, rather than everyone nodding their heads because I was a bestselling author. Even later, Atul would show me set designs, song samples, and rushes to make sure I was happy with it. I tried to be on sets as much as possible. Otherwise, he would give me shoot updates at the end of the day. He'd say "That joke came out so funny even the light man laughed during the take." Hello is our baby, really!!!

Is Hello targeted at the metros and multiplexes or will it find its audience even in smaller towns and single screens?
I think herein lies the surprise factor. The trade believes Hello is mainly a metro/multiplex film. However, the Bollywood trade is not aware that my books sell a lot in smaller towns. Around sixty percent of my fan mail is from smaller cities. So I think it will go beyond the multiplexes. Of course, the Salman Khan factor will help in single screen business too.

Is there a need / scope for songs in a film like Hello?
Yes...in fact I insisted on it. The book is very emotional, and music is a good way to express emotions. Of course, you can't have eight songs in a book about one night. We have three songs, and they fit into the story or are played in the backdrop. Also, the book is considered a fun book, and we wanted to make a fun movie. Where's the fun in taking Salman Khan and not having his bare-chested song in the film?

The film has been in the making for a while...Why the delay?
The two main reasons are we wanted to get the script absolutely right, so we took a year in adaptation. Secondly, there are a lot of actors in the film, and matching their dates and night schedules took a lot of time. There are no marks for coming first in filmmaking. You need to make the film right.Continued...