Courtesy: IndiaFM

An ex-ad man and husband of National award winning actress Pallavi Joshi. Chocolate is Vivek Agnihotri's nugget for Bollywood this coming Friday. Dip for some crisp talk with this no-nonsense director...

Doing a really stylized film for a debut? Wasn't it difficult?
This is not a stylized film. It is made using the correct classical grammar of film-making. This film looks stylised because you cannot see this grammar.

But why a suspense drama?
Before we used to have this tradition of making really strong suspense films but in the last 25-30 years that has not been the case. Guru Dutt and Vijay Anand used to do a great job in this. There have been horror films in the name of suspense films but nothing astounding, so I decided to make a pure 100% suspense film.

The music is really catching on. What made you choose Pritam to score the music for the film?
There are two reasons. One- I saw him hungry wanting to make a good composition just as I saw myself wanting to make a good film. Both of us started our careers pretty much at the same time. Two - he is not just a music director but also an FTII trained film-maker. He read my script and suggested a few changes. So he's the real deal and our sensibilities match really well.

Don't you think that the music will act as a hindrance for the international audience?
Internationally if we go to see there should be no songs in films but there are exceptions everywhere and our film industry is an exception. Our films are known for our music and there is an overseas music market as well. Our films are really long and the music comes in as a relief factor.

How important is the music in Chocolate?
The music blends beautifully in Chocolate. The film is a puzzle and the music puts the pieces together.

So how close is this movie to your heart?
I don't listen to my heart but to my soul. This film is for my self-satisfaction. 

Send in your views on this interview

Other Interviews