Exclusive! Rohit Shetty gets candid about his next with Akshay Kumar 'Sooryavanshi', 'Simmba' success and more

You can love or hate Rohit Shetty’s cinema, but you cannot be indifferent to it. That’s perhaps why, in a short span of 15-odd years, the masala filmmaker has made super success a way of life. He has an enviable box-office record and is a platinum member of the Rs 100-crore club. His latest cop drama, Simmba, is a certified superhit. But Rohit, of course, has no time to soak in the sun. On Saturday, he kick-started the new season of Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi (KKK). This is the fourth time he is anchoring the reality show. And, he is deeply involved with his next project Sooryavanshi that has Akshay Kumar playing the lead. In a candid chat, he reveals why Ajay Devgn is like his elder brother, what prompted him to cast Sara Ali Khan in Simmba and how he plans to expand his production house in the future. Excerpts…

Ajay Devgn, Shah Rukh Khan or Ranveer Singh, who is your favourite?

No one can take Ajay’s place. He’s been a great support system to me. Whatever I’m today is because of him. Other than that, I’m working with a lot of people and making new friends. Ranveer is like a younger brother. But Ajay will always be special. It’s not about the kind of performer or the star that he is, it’s not a comparison between two stars or heroes. He is like my elder brother and that can never change.

You’re completely work-oriented. From the start of your film to its release, there’s no other life. You don’t party either. Now, since the last few years, you have been hosting KKK. Otherwise, you shoot, edit and do post-production simultaneously. What is your mindset?

I’ve started liking it, which is dangerous. Because for four-five months, you’re in that world; you start analysing and living with that character, which gives you a high. As we are working round the clock, everyone in the team is on the same page.

The ADs, who are young guys, look forward to it like a challenge. Ups and downs keep happening. We had to complete Simmba within six months. Then Ranveer hurt his shoulder, and we had five months to finish it. I had to do KKK in 40 days. But we pulled it off. Actually, it’s not right, but now we’ve started liking it because the movie is complete within five-six months (smiles). Till then, you’re in that world. You don’t disengage from it for even a day because of time restriction. But I think it works because you’re just eating, sleeping, thinking about that particular film and that character. It did with Simmba because we made a lot of changes as we were living with it every day. We didn’t take a break, we were like ‘do we require this?’ ‘we don’t require this’. For that matter, even Singham; we made the film in four months. And Simmba in five (laughs).

You seem to have set certain standards with making films in record time, in a way, setting records for yourself.

When I was making Singham, everybody was saying it’s not possible to complete it in four months. Today, nobody says anything about the time in which I finish a film. Now, people know, ki agar yeh five months bol raha hai, toh yeh aayega hi aayega.

You also made Golmaal Again within a tight time frame.

Yes, we started Golmaal Again in March and released it in October. I think six months is enough to pull off a big film. I’ve been doing that.

So, working at this pace, you deliver a film every year.

Yes, I’ve been doing that. We started our production house some time back, that’s why we stopped. Otherwise, in the last 13 years, I’ve done one film every year.

Sooryavanshi with Akshay is your next?

Yes. We will finalise the script shortly. We’re working on another instalment of Golmaal and planning something else too. I’m juggling with three-four things. I will direct one while the rest will be our production. Three of my chief ADs will be launched as directors next year with their films. We’re also doing a series with Amazon, though that’s still in the pipeline, but it’s going to be on a big scale. There are other directors also who are still working on the script. So, I think by mid-2020, we’ll be a full-fledged production house, where outside directors will work with us and my team will also make films.

Your latest venture, Simmba, is rocking the box office!

The film is very close to my heart (smiles). It is something which I haven’t done earlier. The promos gave the impression that it was a ‘typical’ Rohit Shetty film. However, those who have watched it said that after the first 30-odd minutes, the journey starts and they agree it is something which I haven’t attempted before. It’s an emotional journey for me as a filmmaker. And I say it with humility that I’m proud of it.

A typical Rohit Shetty movie is larger than life. Do you agree?

It feels good, more than anything else. It makes me feel responsible that today people look up to your films because of a few ingredients. There are various movies made by various people. The family audiences, women and elderly people say, ‘Aapki filmein neat aur clean hoti hain’. Some like them because ‘unmein comedy hai’, ‘bachchon ko achhi lagti hai’, some feel my movies have colourful songs, they make them feel happy, some like the ‘larger-than-life’ quotient. So, different takes come together. I make a note that this is my audience and I cater to them within those parameters. Though Simmba deals with a heinous crime like rape, the issue has been sensitively dealt with. We’ve not shown anything gory or made it to shock the viewers. This film gives you the same high that Singham gave.

Are you partial to either Singham or Simmba?

That’s why I’ve brought both of them together (smiles). That’s the plan in the near future. People have loved Simmba as a character and as a film, too. This is the beginning of the new universe that we’ve created. The movie starts with Singham. He is the narrator and in the end, he again makes an appearance. So, we’re trying to create that universe, where Singham and Simmba are together.

Is it true that Sara Ali Khan came forward saying she wanted to work with you?  

Yes, she sent me numerous messages. And I was like this kid doesn’t realise that she is doing Kedarnath. Unfortunately, it was going through a rough patch at that time and got stuck. I knew I could finish my film in five months. And I was like, I don’t want my movie to come first and Gattu (Abhishek Kapoor) to feel bad. Ethically, that wouldn’t be right. And the next call was from Gattu. He said if you want to cast Sara, you see her work in Kedarnath.

I told him that if I shoot and complete my film while his movie is on hold, then Simmba would end up releasing first. I felt it would be wrong on my part if that happened. He said that nonetheless, I should go ahead. So, it’s because of Gattu that I decided to cast Sara. Eventually, I was happy that Kedarnath released first. Somewhere, karma worked for Gattu also, he was ready to help a kid to move forward when things were going wrong, and I’m very happy with the end result. Sara used to always ask me if I’m going to put ‘Introducing Sara Ali Khan’ in the Simmba credits, and I told her that I’d never do that. Even if Simmba comes first, credit has to go to Gattu because he started such a big film with her.

Having worked with Ranveer, how would you describe him as an actor?

Ranveer is honest, simple and hard working. The biggest thing is to have that middle-class attitude and think for them as well as the poor. That is what enhances his performance. He understands people from all walks of life. That’s why he’s able to do a Gully Boy, an Alauddin Khilji and a Simmba. He is pure at heart and down-to-earth. He’s not fake, ke haath jodke khada hai. That’s what makes him a great performer. He is one of the biggest young stars we have today. But I’ve never seen him take his stardom for granted. He works extremely hard like he has to prove with every film. He’s dedicated and honest to a different level.  

This year has seen some amazing films, from Padmaavat to AndhaDhun and Badhaai Ho. Which movies did you see?

I haven’t seen many because I didn’t get a chance to see them. I saw Padmaavat. Other than that, I’m yet to see AndhaDhun, Badhaai Ho and Stree. They are on my wish list. The last five months, I’ve been busy with Simmba.

So, a typical day in the life of Rohit Shetty is to wake up, go to the gym, then head to office, shoot…

And then, I go home and sleep (laughs). I feel privileged. When I step outside my house, I see it, my cars, and my office. When I see so much work and people loving a director, it’s rare. Like you see Karan Johar or Manmohan Desai. Because of TV, people know your face. So, I feel privileged. I think I owe them. What I can do is work harder and not take anything for granted. That’s exactly what I’m doing.