'Yamla Pagla Deewana' director Samir Karnik on his type of cinema

Not many directors today can brag about casting an actor like Amitabh Bachchan in his debut film. Samir Karnik is one such.

However, he failed to follow that lucky streak with box office duds like Heroes, Vada Raha and Nanhe Jaisalmer. But with his latest offering, Yamla Pagla Deewana, Samir believes he will be back in circulation. The cast, with three Deols sharing screen space for the first time, has naturally proved to be his trump card.

“Contrary to what one may think, it was the script that allowed for all the three Deols to work in the same film, not vice versa,” explains Samir. 

For an international relations graduate from the US, showbiz may seem quite off the radar. But Samir chose to be a filmmaker rather than the diplomat that he could have been. However, he muses, “Film making is, by itself, international relations, don’t you think?” 

The number of misses Samir has had at the box office has only helped up his levels of confidence. “The truth is, if I don’t produce my films, nobody else will. And I can face that. My films Nanhe Jaisalmer and Vada Raha may have tanked at the box office, but no one can deny that they are good films,” he states.