Raju Hirani hopes his film 3 Idiots does the trick

Rajkumar Hirani Tied up with the post-production of 3 Idiots, Rajkumar Hirani is juggling several tasks in his quest to make that perfect film with lots of help from the cast

Rajkumar Hirani

Tied up with the post-production of 3 Idiots, Rajkumar Hirani is juggling several tasks in his quest to make that perfect film with lots of help from the cast. It is the Munnabhai series director's third project and he is aware that comparisons are inevitable. He remains unfazed as he believes that any film he makes should satisfy himself and the audience should love it. As Hirani prepares to unveil a new set of promos of 3 Idiots we ask him...

There are some unique buttock chairs for the 3 Idiots in the new promos?
I had them specially made. Several years ago, I had seen a snapshot of similar looking stuff and it remained etched in my memory. Now I felt it went well with the 3 Idiots of the film. This sequence is part of the song. We will be keeping these chairs at select cinema halls as well the chairs of the Idiots!

Why have you stuck to the same production house (Vidhu Vinod Chopra Productions) for all your projects?
You don't go casting production houses. Moreover the colour of the money is the same everywhere, isn'it?

How easy or difficult was it to make 3 Idiots compared to Munnabhai?
This was the easiest film for me to make. Everyone in the unit was so eager and co-operative. We rehearsed before the shoot. I like to work that way.

On dealing with Aamir the Mr Perfectionist and Mr Interfering.
Thank God for that! There can all be kinds of buzz about Aamir but it is a delight to work with people who go beyond. I have always encouraged opinions from the cast and crew.

You have Aamir Khan as a college student?
The movie moves in two time spans. The fact that I was going to show Aamir Khan, Madhavan and Sharman Joshi as college students was the least of my worries. In the movie, Aamir looks the youngest; he has the ability to get into the character. Seeing is believing. My bigger worry was how to make everyone love the film.

R Madhavan, Aamir Khan and Sharman Joshi in 3 Idiots

Were you part of the feedback trials that Aamir held for friends and family?
Yes. Everyone desires to make the perfect film. So it is all for the betterment of the film. I love to hear feedbacks and then we go by the majority voice even if it involves making changes.

You made Kareena gain weight for the film?
My brief to the actors was to lose as much weight as possible while to the actress it was to gain the kilos. That is my style of working. Most would work the other way round. Aamir, Madhavan and Sharman had to lose it, while Kareena had to pile it on. She has a deglam, simple look in the film.

Was Kajol initially to feature in the film?
I don't know where that buzz started from.

So finally, is 3 Idiots Five Point Someone or not at all?
Chetan Bhagat had sent across his book Five Point Someone to me. I guess he had it in his mind that it could be made into a movie. After going through it I called him up and told him that it was possible. A book is anecdotal but when you make a film it needs a plot. When I started working on the script, lots of thoughts cropped up. Yes, the movie is completely different from the book. But then if Chetan had not sent the book, I would not have made 3 Idiots. He has seen the script but not the film yet.