Age?

42. And not at all bashful about it. "What's there to be bashful about?" he retorts.

Status?

Married. "And very happily so." He smiles contentedly, presenting the image of a happily-married-pleased-with-my-life person.

But why is he gracing this column?

His latest venture, Jadh: The Root Cause, is arousing a lot of curiosity. For many reasons. One being that people are talking about Shantanu Sheorey post the Chikni Chachi-turned Chachi 420 controversy...

So what was the controversy all about?

Actually, he seems to think it wasn't much of a controversy at all. "What happened was that Kamal and I had some creative differences. And I told him that I wanted out. He hadn't paid me and this was where the whole problem began. Once I got my cash, it was over." That simple, eh? Well, the fourth estate sure made a larger-than-life thing about how the two nearly came to blows over the film.

But why did the genius behind unforgettable campaigns like Garden, Vimal and Thums Up, switch from ad film making to feature films?

"Well, I think that I've graduated from ad-films completely. That was a phase, now it's over. Has been, as a matter of fact, for over three years. But it isn't as if I've sworn off ad films. If there is an offer which I find interesting, I will definitely do it."

What is the difference between ad films and feature films, considering their chalk-n-cheese identities?

"The difference, you see, is that ad films are more planned, focussed in the sense that there are specific targets you have to achieve. You know where your target audience lies. Whereas in feature films, the general pattern is that there are some fixed formulas, like how many songs, how many foreign locations and stuff like that. Only then does the story-line comes into play."

So is his film `different', as everyone likes to say? No songs? No foreign locations?

"Well, in the end, it's a commercial cinema venture, so to say that there will be no songs and the regular trappings of a regular movie, would be wrong."

Then the `difference' lies in...

"The film is more of the story and then comes the rest. My story is my `hero', so to speak. It is something about a conflict between two ideologies, not generations, as reported elsewhere. There is the fact that one of the guys is older than the other, but it isn't exactly what you'd call a generation gap. And yes, the movie has six songs, which are all situational numbers. It is difficult to imagine the film without these songs in it." The two protagonists are played by hunk Arjun Ramphal and Jackie Shroff.

But the lead man, Arjun Ramphal, is almost impossible to get in touch with.

"Well, that is a sort of a verbal commitment between the two of us. He's agreed not to talk to the press before the film is complete. Over-exposure often kills a star. It has happened with a famous model-turned actress, who suffered because of being too verbose. I don't want the same thing to happen to Arjun. He is a brilliant actor and he shouldn't be making any wrong moves."

Quite the godfather here, it would seem. But Sheorey is a director more committed to his film and the story, than the actors in it.<

"What you need to make a successful film is a tight script and good performances. That's the reason a rerun of Sholay draws big crowds even today. Similarly, take a look at Top Gun. It has 11 songs but is still a good film, imminently watchable many times over."

Speaking of that, what about the other two films he's in the process of directing?

"I think it's a little premature to be talking about them. One is a semi-commercial venture and the other is a film based on ancient Indian culture, with a commercial story. Beyond that, I wouldn't like to say anything. The interesting part is that I've had an offer from an Australian firm, that wants to do the entire production of the film." Both star Arjun Ramphal, by the way.

Sounds big.

But Sheorey has his own opinion. "I think this is all about how our cinema is heading towards being internationally accepted." Well, well, well...

And what is this lensman-turned-film director most likely to say?

"If I were a rich man..."

bAnd least likely to say?

"If I were a poor man....

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.