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I was actually planning to publish this post after some time, but thought it apt to post it now seeing the reactions to Pratim’s post on Aamir Khan and ‘Memento.’ Perhaps it will help clear the air about ‘Memento’ and Murugadoss.

When I met A.R. Murugadoss a couple of weeks ago, he was getting ready to go to South Africa to scout for locations to shoot the Hindi version of ‘Ghajini’, starring Aamir Khan. But he graciously sat down for a chat, asking his assistants to hold all calls. (Actually, he is now shooting in Mumbai, and will be leaving for South Africa in a day or two on a month-long schedule.)

Murugadoss actually wanted to start work on the Hindi version soon after finishing the Tamil version of ‘Ghajini’ in 2005, and even approached some Bollywood stars but in vain. “I showed it to many top stars there (though he refused to name any), but they were not too keen on doing it. But Aamir saw the movie and liked it very much. He wanted to do the Hindi version.”

As the director got busy working on ‘Stalin’ in Telugu with actor Chiranjeevi and Aamir was working on ‘Fanaa’ and other films, they were able to start work only in March 2007. Shooting will be completed by September, but no date has been set for the release. “We will decide that [the date of release] only after finishing the post-production work,” says Murugadoss. Also, though Asin and Jiah Khan have been signed on as the lead actresses, the hunt for an actor to play the villain is still on.

Earlier, Murugadoss was open to the idea of other people directing his stories (‘Ramana,’ a big hit in Tamil, was remade in Telugu as ‘Tagore’ by another director), but not anymore. “I feel when someone else directs my story, the plus points in the script are not highlighted … other directors tend to miss them. That is why I have decided to direct them myself in different languages.”

In Hindi, the story of ‘Ghajini’ is a little different though. “There were two villains (Pradeep Singh Rawat played the role of twins) in the Tamil version, but there will be only one in the Hindi version. And consequently, we have had to make some alterations in the story.”
Though he does not know either Telugu or Hindi, he does not face any problems making films in those languages. “I communicate to the actors in English. Anyway, the dialogue they speak is my own … from a movie I have done earlier. I get the drift all right. I am able to explain to them the voice modulation, where to pause, etc…”

A big fan of directors Mani Ratnam and Bala, Murugadoss does not think that making the same movie, though in different languages, is boring. “In fact, it is more exciting to work in a new environment, a new language, for a different audience. You are always on your toes because it is almost like your first film… You have to work harder, and the other point is that you also get many new experiences.”

One advantage of working in Mumbai was that he got to watch ‘Shwaas,’ a Marathi movie that he liked very much, “I also liked ‘Lagaan,’ ‘Rang De Basanti’ and ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’ because of their interesting and innovative scripts.”

He laughs when asked about the similarities between ‘Memento’ and ‘Ghajini.’ “Actually, I wrote ‘Ghajini’ in 2003, and only after I finished the screenplay did I get to watch ‘Memento.’
Initially, ‘Ghajini’ was about a rich man falling in love with an ordinary middle-class girl, who is murdered and the hero’s search for the murderer.

“After seeing ‘Memento,’ I liked the main character and found it interesting. That is when I decided to incorporate the bit about the hero suffering from short-term memory loss to add novelty to the film, and also because it would make the search for the murderer even more exciting.” Even though he is tied up with the Hindi movie now, Murugadoss has two or three stories in mind for future projects.

“I have not decided which one to take up first. That will be only after I finish the project with Aamir. But I am sure about one thing: the movie will be different. I want newcomers, and though I will be making it in Tamil, I plan to dub it into Telugu and Hindi. I am not worried whether the audience like the actors or not. Because, I am sure that if you make a gripping movie, film buffs in any part of the world will watch it.”