I don't like big stars much: Vidhu Vinod Chopra

He invented a quintessential style of film making, mentored some of the most well-known directors of Bollywood — Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Raju Hirani and Pradeep Sircar, directed and produced box office record breakers like 3 Idiots, Love Story 1942.  Yet after three decades of being a part of Bollywood, Vidhu Vinod Chopra still holds on to his principles. He still doesn’t settle for mediocrity. [caption id=“attachment_270898” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Vidhu Vinod Chopra at PVR. Raju Shelar/Firstpost”]  [/caption] Vidhu Vinod Chopra isn’t a man scared of skeletons tumbling out of his closet. Infact, he puts out his dirty laundry for display with a hint of pride. One of the most well-known directors of our times, he is unafraid to confess that he is ‘foolish enough’ to believe that his past can be scrutinized. In a candid interview to The Indian Express Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta on his show, Walk The Talk, on NDTV, Chopra talks about his journey in film. Excerpts below: On his early days of making films on a shoe string budget: “Nana Patekar used to walk off the sets of (Parinda) because we used to get water from home and he would ask for bottled water and I would say A_rre_! What do you mean paani ka bottle ghar se nahi laaya? “You’ll not believe in Khamosh, we had this chita scene. We didn’t have the money to buy the wood, So we hired some axes and cut a tree from the forest” “But the funny thing is, we were having so much fun that we didn’t realize we were so poor”. On when he learned English:  “I learnt ABC when I was 16 years old. That is how I grew up. It was wonderful. I grew up in an environment where for me, honesty, truth all these values were critical. And we were poor.” Chopra and the  star equation: “I am not the kind of guy who gets along with big stars. They don’t like me much. And I don’t like them much” “I don’t look at Aamir as a big star. He is a good guy.” On being ‘fearless’: ‘I don’t think, I have ever been really scared . After 3 Idiots , I have made Ferrari Ki Sawaari in which Sharman Joshi is the lead. Any producer after 3 Idiots can take any big star. Somebody asked me yesterday  ‘are you afraid?’ Sharman is perfect for the role. I don’t think I have fear in me. I come from a small town. I don’t think I have fear. I don’t know what fear is in terms of work.’ On what lies ahead for him: " I don’t know. I have a friend who keeps asking me what’s your five year plan. He said that to me in Africa and I said I think I’ll be dead. He said ‘You never told me . Are you okay?’ I said no, there is a possibilty. The point is that I want to literally live every movie.” On what annoys him: “It’s mediocrity that annoys me. You know, a lack of striving for excellence makes me angry, in whatever field. The striving is important, not whether you achieve success or not… if I strive and fail. that’s ok” Read the full article here