Joker is a family film: Farah Khan

Husband and wife, Farah and Shirish worked together on the new movie.

KARACHI:

Farah Khan stepped into the industry as a choreographer and gave the likes of Malaika Arora and Hrithik Roshan the dance moves of their lifetimes. She then impressed the entertainment world with her directorial debut Main Hoon Na and now with her acting skills in Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi. Time and again, Farah has proven that she is a highly talented woman and always honest and outspoken in her line of work. 

In an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune via telephone, Farah spills the beans about Joker, her new film as a producer starring Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha, directed by her husband Shirish Kunder.

“The best thing about Joker is that it’s just an hour and 45 minutes long, short enough to make you crave more and not too long to be a drag,” says Farah.

However, while a shorter movie might come as a pleasant surprise for those who don’t watch Indian films because of their lengthy duration; it can even work against it — as typical B-town audiences seem to enjoy the long drawn process of drag and discovery.

To this point Farah retorted, “I totally disagree with that, I believe that the Bollywood film audience around the world has matured with time and as the film crosses two hours they start getting uncomfortable.”

Joker is a fantasy movie about a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) who returns home to discover that his village has dropped off the map of India. To put it back on the world’s radar he must now forge an unlikely alliance with crazy villagers and aliens that will turn him and his village into the biggest tamasha the universe has ever seen.

“In a nutshell, Joker is a family film with a lot of comedy, aliens, crop circles, flying saucers, spaceships and above all a lot of crazy people,” says Farah, “It is a clean film with no obscene scenes or vulgar intimate moments. I want people to take their wives and children along to watch the movie and have a ball of a time.”

However, no matter how clean the film may be — targeting families and especially children, a vulgar item number titled “I Wanna Fakht You” might defeat the purpose and raise a few concerns in Pakistan if not in India.

Speaking more about Joker Farah says, “The verdict shall be of the audience, but as the producer I believe it is an outclass idea with a very different story. Sci-Fi in a real set up hasn’t been done before and people will enjoy it.”

Farah’s last directorial venture Tees Maar Khan received a lot of criticism as a half-hearted attempt to make a film by an otherwise acclaimed director. The only thing it earned praise for was the sizzling item number “Sheela Ki Jawani”, featuring Katrina Kaif.

Even though Farah has put all her effort in promoting the project and taking her husband’s work to the next level, some serious questions about Kunder’s style of film-making might arise if the film doesn’t do well at the box office. So far, his work has neither been critically appreciated nor has it brought any money back. Kunder’s earlier film, Jaaneman, starring Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan had proven to be quite a disappointment.

Joker also marks Akshay Kumar’s 100th film in Bollywood and funnily enough it has been released a year before Bollywood itself celebrates its 100 years of film-making. Kumar seems to be Farah’s front man for the second time now, seemingly replacing her old time friend Shahrukh Khan.

To this Farah replied, “First of all, it’s not my film it’s Shirish’s  project and nothing is wrong between me and Shahrukh as we have just announced a film titled Happy New Year together.”

Joker has been released all over Pakistan and so far the film seems to have garnered a decent response from audiences across the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd, 2012.