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'People will not see a sexy Celina in Accident...'
When you hear the words, Accident on Hill Road, the first thought that crosses your mind is probably Salman Khan's accident at the same location, when his car ran over a pavement dweller, killing him on the spot, in 2002.
But first-time director Mahesh Nair claims that his film has nothing to do, in fact, with that incident. Instead, this Celina Jaitley-starrer is inspired from a Hollywood film, the name of which Nair refuses to divulge before the film releases on December 31.
Mahesh Nair tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf what to expect.
Meanwhile, if you want to become a fan of Celina Jaitley, just click here.
Accident On Hill Road has no star value except for Celina. The other actors in the film are Farooq Sheikh and Gulaal actor Abhimanyu Singh.
The film is not being sold on star value. It is a realistic thriller. People will not see a sexy Celina.
'Accident... is not like Race; it is a logical film'
Is the film inspired from Salman Khan's accident on Hill Road?
No. Accidents happen in most of our lives. We can relate to them. I find it difficult to relate to terrorism in New York or Philadelphia. At least 250 people die due to road accidents (in a day). The first reference can be Salman Khan but there are also the Sanjeev Nanda and Alister Perriera cases. People in metros as well as small towns will relate to this if they have a car.
There are very few thrillers in Bollywood. Accident... is a thriller on the lines of A Wednesday. That film was about terrorism, this one is about an accident. Accident... is not like Race; it is a logical film.
Don't you think December 31 is a bad day to release a film?
No. Most people drink and drive that day, and that's the subject of Accident On Hill Road.
Also, December 31 is a Thursday, so we get a long three-day weekend after that. If a film does not perform on those three days, it cannot perform on any other day.
'The Censor Board needs to be consistent'
The film has got an Adult certificate from the Censor Board.
That's because it shows a girl drinking and taking drugs. It also has a lovemaking scene -- but there was no pushing and heaving, no lip lock. Even then, the Censor Board asked for a cut.
They objected to a scene where Celina removes her stockings too. Stockings are part of a dress, it's not an undergarment. But the Censor Board thought it was an undergarment.
I think they need to be consistent. In Kurbaan, the leading lady (Kareena Kapoor) was backless. The film had a lip lock scene but it got an 'A' certificate, it was not edited out. I think new people have joined the Censor Board, and Accident... was the first film to go there, and it was chopped.
How did you get Farooq Shaikh on board?
We needed a man you could sympathise with, who can give an interesting twist. That means we cannot have Amitabh Bachchan because he cannot have a role like that. Farooq gets stuck in a car, and it's a very physically demanding role. It was tough convincing him to do the role. But once he came on board, he gave a mind-blowing performance.
'Everyone has an opinion about films'
What next after Accident...?
I have two-three projects at hand.
It's easy to get your second film if you've made a decent first. Many people have made one film and disappeared. If you make a decent film -- even with a limited budget -- people will notice it and you will get a chance to make another film.
This is the only product in the world where every Tom, Dick and Harry has an opinion. Everyone has an opinion about films.
'No big filmmaker will want to make small films'
How do you view the Hindi film industry?
See how many hits we've had at the end of the year -- only six. Look at the films that have recovered its cost. Nobody has a clue as to what to do in this industry. You make a Blue, and it becomes a disaster. Did that make any difference to its maker? Maybe. But does it mean the makers of Blue will make small films from now on? No. Does it make any difference to Akshay Kumar? Maybe. But he will still get films because he's in demand.
No big filmmaker will want to make small films. The money is not big enough. The West made a small-budget film like Paranomal Activity, which went on to make millions. Why can't that happen here?
Bheja Fry was called a success. But it was the copy of a French film. It was made at Rs 75 lakh but it made Rs 10 crores at the box office.
At the end of the day, the box office is not determined by small films but by trends. Anurag Kashyap and Vishal Bhardwaj started this trend with Dev D and Kaminey respectively. So the best films will be pushed by people making small films. The money, however, will come from the big budget movies.