Filmmaker Kabir Khan who for the first time in his career has two over-lapping films underproduction is appalled by the suggestion that his new Salman Khan-starrer Bajrang Bhaijaan is about 'love jihad.'
Says Kabir angrily, "Everyone on the internet has an opinion these days. And several were expressed against my doing this film because it was supposedly about love jihad. First of all, I don't understand what love jihad is. So why and how would I be making a film on the theme? Secondly, even if I was, I wouldn't stop just because some people don't like what I'm doing."
Kabir admits that Bajrangi Bhaijaan is more in the commercial space than the raw, real political films that Kabir is identified with, "Salman has a staunch core audience. Films starring him have to adhere to the commercial language. So yeah, this one is my masala film.
Then, there is his other film Phantom. "That is more real, raw and more authentic." The two films will be released in 2015 within three months of one another. Kabir admits he is nervous about the double bill next year. "This is two-and a-half-years of my life. I've never done two overlapping projects. But there was no choice. The date for the release of Bajrangi Bhaijaan was locked in when the project came to me. It was planned as Salman's 2015 Eid release. Phantom would've come much earlier than its current April 2015 release schedule. But the shooting got extended because Katrina's previous film (Bang Bang) took longer than expected."
Luckily for Kabir, the two films are poles apart in theme content and intent. He protests , "I won't say Phantom and Bajrangi Bhaijaan are apart in intent — they're both big-budget films — but yes, the content and treatment of the two is very different. Phantom is a politically-driven thriller, whereas Bajrangi has a full-on masala mood to it, though I must admit this one too has a strong statement to make."
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