While Kabir Khan’s latest film Phantom starring Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif hasn’t opened as well as his last successful outing Bajrangi Bhaijaan with Salman Khan, the director is unperturbed. In an exclusive chat with The Quint, Kabir talks about Phantom’s mixed reviews, controversies and box office performance.
Love v Hate
While Pakistan remains a constant in both his recent outings, Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Phantom, both films embark on two opposite journeys – one of love and the other of hate. But how convinced was he as a director while dealing with such extreme emotions?
Though it may seem so, the films don’t contradict each other. Despite its utopian setting, Bajrangi Bhaijaan explores people to people friendship. The confusion comes because we look at Pakistan as one big enormous mask and we aren’t able to distinguish between different elements that any country is made of. Pakistan’s common people have no animosity or hostility towards India.– Kabir Khan
Kabir is of the opinion that when common people of India and Pakistan meet in another part of the world, there will always be warmth, friendship and goodwill among them, just like there is between Bajrangi and Chand Nawab.
Problems begin when politics begins. We have a very contentious relationship when it comes to politics between our establishments.
– Kabir Khan
India-Pakistan Politics
In the Saif Ali Khan-Katrina starrer Phantom, Kabir says he is focusing on a part of the establishment that supports certain elements like Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The agenda of those elements is hate because they don’t want any friendship between our countries. We should be able to distinguish between these elements and realise that the action of those people, in no way should be projected as the action of the people of Pakistan. Till we eliminate those elements from our society (India and Pakistan), there will never be true friendship. Because the moment there is a terrorist attack, the atmosphere will get negative and vicious leaving little scope for friendship.
– Kabir Khan
Justifying a line from the film where an old Pakistani nurse helps in killing a terrorist saying, ‘I am doing this for Pakistan’, Kabir says,
We fail to take cognisance of the fact that there are victims of terrorism there as well. For every 26/11 that happened in India, there was also the Peshawar school tragedy, where they massacred kids. You can’t expect the people of Pakistan to be sympathetic to such terrorists who are killing their children. They don’t want this.
– Kabir Khan
According to Kabir, the India- Pakistan relationship is complex, complicated and schizophrenic.
They love our films, we love their music and musicians but when it comes to politics we become hostile towards each other. We must be able to distinguish between the common people, the armies, intelligence agencies and elements like Lashkar in Pakistan.
– Kabir Khan
Cinematic Liberty & Mixed Reviews
Kabir believes that through Phantom he has tried to address the national consciousness about wanting closure for 26/11. He adds,
While I agree that in real life the government has not done the same for certain specific, valid reasons. But, cinema allows us that liberty to explore these things. It doesn’t mean whatever we are doing in cinema, we are saying that it should happen in real life. But it is possible (to reflect on) through this medium because it’s fictional. In real life, I would not advocate a guy to take a kid and infiltrate Pakistan near the border post. No! He will get killed and get the girl killed as well. But cinema allows you that liberty to explore things. – Kabir Khan
On Phantom’s mixed reviews, Kabir says everyone thinks Bajrangi got only positive reviews, since the film has crossed huge numbers at the box office. But that’s not the whole picture.
There were some nasty, vicious reviews by a newspaper, a website and a socialite. Reviews don’t matter much to me. I just see if the overall drift is positive or not. Phantom is getting positive a drift in that sense and ultimately the word of mouth counts. There are so many reviewers today that they have become inconsequential.
– Kabir Khan
He also said that it’s unfair to compare the box office figures of his last two films.
Isn’t it unfair to compare a Salman Khan masala entertainment film with a thriller, which has no song or romance? The moment we start comparing every film at an equal level, we will all end up making similar films. A film can be successful when it makes Rs 40 Crore and not be successful at Rs 200 Crore depending on what its budget was. If Phantom reaches Rs 60 Crore at the box office, it is a very successful film, because its production cost was approximately Rs 30 Crore + P&A.
– Kabir Khan
Kabir Khan is also in a happy mood because MSF’s peition against the film was recently dismissed by a Delhi court. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) or Doctors Without Borders is a medical charity that works in international war zones.
They thought MSF was mentioned in my film. When they saw the film they realised that there is no mention of MSF in the film. I don’t know what the basis of that petition that they filed was, but now the case has been dismissed.
– Kabir Khan
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)