I have never gone by box office formula: Subhash Ghai

National-Award winning filmmaker Subhash Ghai, who is hosting a special screening of his yesteryear classic Karz, says as a director he was always driven by passion and did not follow any box office formula for the success of his films.

Asked what drives him to make films on unusual subjects, Ghai said, “I’m always been a director who is experimental by nature. Whenever I worked on a subject for my film, they were ahead of its time. The same thing happened with Karz. People told me that the film will not do well at the box office.But if I have to follow the box office formula, how will I make a difference?”

The filmmaker feels that one has to take a chance to explore creatively. “I did that. My journey as a director is passion driven and never gone by box office formula,” he added.

Ghai is one of those directors who are known for using music very intelligently in his film. In fact he delivered some musical films like Pardes, Taal, Yaadein, Kisna: The Warrior Poet, Yuvvraaj among others.

So, does having a musical sense helped him to use music for the better? “Yes, I think so. As a director I always try to understand the sound of an instrument and what emotion can be depicted by that sound. It should be a part of the narrative, and then the music fits in to the situation of the film,” he said.

He said, “As a filmmaker if I do not have a clear conception on situational music, how will I guide or talk to music director on what I want? For instance guitar is western and Sitar is very Indian, if I cannot utilise these different sounds in different situation, then I am not doing the right thing as a director.”

From Ek Haseena Thi that tells the core story of the film or romantic numbers like Dard-E-Dia, Main Solah Baras Ki and a dance number like Paisa Yeh Paisa -- all songs of the film Karz received huge appreciation from audience.

The film featured Rishi Kapoor, Simi Garewal and Tina Munim and Pran in the main roles. Sharing from his early shooting memories, Ghai said, “Working with Rishi Kapoor was a delightful experience. The cast was amazing to work with. In fact, I can remember, how Rishi Kapoor was in doubt in the beginning of the shooting of the film for those dance and music sequence. Later, when it came out nicely, he said that he was wrong and that I have a good sense of music.”

Ghai, who is currently focusing on training youngsters about film-making in his Whistling Woods International Institute, believes that formal training is needed in filmmaking. “This is a medium where one has to learn how to utilise the advance technology to tell a story. It is a mix of art and technology; one should not over power another. I believe that every technician should be an artiste and every artiste should also be a technician. But of course, no one can create a genius through training,” said Ghai.

So, is there any favourite filmmaker from the new generation? “In today’s generation, there are some very promising filmmakers. I often give my feedback; message them after watching their film. But they have to maintain a consistency of good films. Otherwise, they will not make a mark in Indian cinema,” he said.