Making a commercial film is not easy- Rohit Shetty

Creating his own brand of movies, Rohit Shetty has given some hugely successful and entertaining films over the years.

Bringing back the Golmaal franchise after seven years, Shetty revives popular characters like Gopal and Madhav in the upcoming Golmaal 4. Joining the regular cast members Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor, Kunal Khemu and others, is Parineeti Chopra and Tabu. With Golmaal Again, Shetty explores the theme of horror-comedy, a genre that not many Hindi film directors have ventured into.

The Diwali release’s trailer of the film has received a very positive response and has opened well given the Hindu festival weekend. To know more about the film and to get insights on the making of the film, we caught up with the director. Rohit Shetty had much to share as he spoke about trying to crack the horror element.

He also talked about being labeled as a commercial director, his future venture with Ranveer Singh and much more.

Rohit Shetty

Golmaal 4 is coming after seven years from the third film, so what was the hold-up, were you looking for something specific in terms of the script?

When we were working on Golmaal 3, we tried to crack the horror element, but it didn’t work out then. After that, we started working on Singham and Chennai Express. It was when we were making Singham Returns, we again started working on the horror element because by that time we were planning that we will make another part of Golmaal. This time we cracked the story and incorporated the horror-comedy. Even though we had a story the shooting started almost two and half years later. We had written a draft, we knew that whenever we would make Golmaal, the movie would be a horror-comedy like this, but we couldn’t crack the whole script till we started making Singham Returns. Now, we are happy with the story.

How difficult is to bring something new on the screen with characters that audience are so familiar with?

You cannot take your audience for granted even though they have liked your previous work and all you can do is keep trying something new. I think people are liking the promo of Golmaal because of the horror element. If it was again a run of the mill comedy or situational comedy that would have got a response, but not on this level. We went for the horror element because we were thinking what new we can do for Golmaal.

Tabu is one of the key characters, so how is her character placed in the movie?

Tabu’s character is quite different from the others in the film. She is not in the same zone as the other characters. You won’t see her doing much of slapstick comedy, which is visible in others. Plus, I think she is the anchor of the film. Her character has come out very nicely in the film.

Rohit Shetty with the cast of Golmaal 4

Most of your movies have a huge cast, how hectic does it get to handle a large cast and so how is the shooting conducted?

It is hard to handle so many people and it is mostly the technical part that is difficult. It is not about 18 characters, it is about 18 actors coming on sets and standing with 18 makeup men, 18 hairdressers, 18 spot boys and so on and so forth. It becomes really difficult, but handling them is fine.

While narration my writers enact the whole film so it feels like you are watching a play. Also, while shooting I have assistant directors and actors who after pack-up do the next day’s rehearsal so when everyone comes on the sets the next day they are clear about the scene that we are going to work on.

You have been boxed into the category of a ‘commercial film director’, how do you feel about that?

I am proud of it, I am happy about the kind of work I am doing and people are liking it. There is a lot of work that goes into making a commercial movie. It is not only me but my whole team, we work for 17-18 hours a day. Making a commercial film is not easy and the sad part is that it has always been looked down up. Just imagine shooting a song, there are five thousand people that you are handling. Every shot would take half a day sometimes so it is very difficult to make a commercial film.

Rohit Shetty

But does the brand ‘typical Rohit Sherry film’ create a constraint in terms of exploring more genres?

I am happy in my space. Since it is an entertaining film people think that it is the same genre, but I don’t think that. For me, Singham and Golmaal are not from the same genre. I don’t see the presentation or the characterization of these films as same. I take the brand as a compliment.

You are about to work with Ranveer Singh, can you talk a bit about that and is there a Golmaal 5 on the cards?

As far as Golmaal 5 is concerned, if Golmaal 4 works we will go for a fifth film. And yes, we will start working with Ranveer Singh around May next year. The script is ready, but we haven’t picked a title or even other cast members as of yet. It is a hardcore action movie and something that he hasn’t done before.