They may not be familiar faces in the industry but let us tell you that they have already bagged a Filmfare lady for themselves (well, courtesy Salim Khan). Debutant directing duo Nitesh Tiwari and Vikas Bahl are all set to release their first flick Chillar Party under SalmanKhan's Being Human Productions and UTV. Debutant directors Nitesh Tiwari and Vikas Bahl speak about their upcoming flick, Salman Khan and Ranbir Kapoor. Was direction always on the agenda for the both of you? Nitesh Tiwari (NT): No, we never wanted to direct a film. Vikas (Bahl) came to meet me in my office one day and narrated an idea for a film. I felt the concept was interesting and we began to develop it into a full-fledged script. Vikas Bahl (VB): Once we finished writing the story, we wrote the screenplay and started approaching a few directors but we realized that the two of us were too much in love with the script and did not want it to be altered even a bit. How did UTV agree to produce the film? VB: I was working with UTV Spot Boy (production house) during that time and when we narrated the script to them, they instantly agreed to produce it (Smiles). What is the film about? VB: The film is about 10 children and the extent they're willing to go for the sake of friendship. As kids, you are not prejudiced and you just follow your heart. These kids support something they truly believe in.
Was it difficult to shoot with kids? VB: The kids are the highlight of our film. We had to understand their weak and strong points and work as per their convenience. We conducted a lot of workshops with kids and figured out their characteristics. There was a huge amount of homework that went into it.
There is a particular tapori (street) dialect used by the kids in the film. Please elaborate. NT: We put a lot of thought into the characters' names. One kid is called 'second hand' because he's a younger brother and gets to wear hand-me-downs. Then there is 'Jhangya' who doesn't wear underwear. There's a reason for the name as you'll find out when you watch the film. Were there any creative differences on the sets? NT: We had no such trouble after spending a year and a half writing it together. Vikas would sit with the kids, I would sit with the monitor.
Why no big star in the film? VB: Ideally we would have loved to have Shahrukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan or Ranbir Kapoor. But we are first time directors and big stars do not easily trust new directors. Is Ranbir's item song a gimmick to attract the audience? VB: It's a dig on the gimmick. Even kids today have realized that Jab tak item number nahi hota hai, picture nahi chalti hai (until you don't have an item number, the film does not work).
