"Bollywood is looking for short-term gains"

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: Of his five films in 16 years, four were with the Badshah of Bollywood, Shahrukh Khan, and this is director Aziz Mirza’s first film without SRK. “We needed a younger hero,” says Mirza, “and that’s all there is to the fact that Shahid Kapoor, not Shahrukh, is in Kismat Konnection.” Mirza, with his pulse firmly on the working class loves doing romantic films which are not really plot-oriented but made up of small, memorable moments. Think Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, Yes Boss, Chalte Chalte and even the box-office dud Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani. Mirza took a break from film-making after the release of Chalte Chalte to mourn the death of his wife. Then daughter Rahila urged him to get back to films, even providing a germ of an idea. The idea kept bouncing back to Mirza and eventually he was behind the camera, directing Shahid Kapur and Vidya Balan. Set for a July 18 release, Mirza says like his other films, it’s also the story of a boy struggling to get things right. He talks to Sudipta Datta about SRK, new Bollywood and why Dreamz Unlimited, the company Khan set up with Mirza and Juhi Chawla, failed. Excerpts:

How is a new Aziz Mirza film without its trademark hero, Shahrukh Khan?

(Laughs) Well, he didn’t fit the role. It’s that simple. We needed a much younger hero.

Are you happy with the performance of Shahid Kapoor?

He is very talented and very nice to work with. As you know my scripts are not plot-oriented. There are small moments in my films and I require someone who can hold scenes — Shahid fitted the part really well. He is an ordinary guy working under his own compulsions, struggling to get things right amid a spate of good luck.

You do seem to have a great liking for the name Raju/Raj. Shahrukh’s character in Raju Ban Gaya… and Chalte Chalte and now Shahid in Kismat Konnection have that name.

I love that name. Initially, I named Shahrukh’s character Raju in Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman because it was a tribute to Raj Kapoor and Shri 420.

Why do you think Dreamz Unlimited failed?

After we set up the company, I ended up making all the films. But I can’t work that way. I don’t want to take responsibility for anyone else’s money. I don’t want to be tied down to anything. Shahrukh is ambitious and I am happy for him. It’s just that I am not in that ballgame.

How has Shahrukh changed over the years? You have worked with him since the Circus days on TV.

He is just the same, humble and hardworking, doing 100 things at the same time. Even when we were at Dreamz Unlimited he would want to buy land, build a studio — he’s willing to spend everything on his ambition. He would have made a very good CEO. There is more than an actor in him, that’s for sure.

You have been working in Bollywood for more than a decade. How has it changed?

Everything has changed.

Unfortunately, life has changed too. People are just looking out for the next five minutes. Outside India Shining, people are not being able to make ends meet. The same thing is being reflected in the industry as well — look at the nature of films being made. Everyone is looking for short-term gain.

What next from Aziz Mirza?