 He's asking me to skip tutorial. Are you asking me for a tutorial? Hey, how are you doing? I'm good. So just give me one more second. Oh, wait. No worries. No worries. I get my poison Excellent. Is that is that coffee or chai? coffee Hey, I love it. Yeah, we're doing well. How are you doing with everything going on right now? Yeah Yeah, you know when you're working you're thinking if you just give me two days. Just give me a couple of days Yeah, the freaking world right? Were you working on a project before this all happened and they shut it down? Yeah, okay doing a spin off a Character in Kehani called Bob Biswas. Yeah, we were gonna ask you about that. So you're in production for that Hang on. You know when I was doing this Somebody sent me a text. Yeah And accused me of reacting up to something right? I'm thinking yeah, like what did I do? Who did I react to? So I just kind of ignored it then I read it and I said it's somebody from stupid reactions Yeah, I was in the middle of my shoot and I thought you know, I must have said something really stupid Our world in this stupid family coming is stupid as a compliment. Yeah, usually. Yeah. Yeah, it's usually a compliment But that's awesome. Yeah, that we we loved that character Oh, we found out after we watched it. We watched it a few months ago Kehani We found out that character was a famous. I mean that actor was a famous Bengali actor Yeah, I had known about what we were super super impressed with everything about that movie for one But so your daughter's directing this one though Yep What what can we this this is this is her first feature film right because she got a lot of attention for her short film Yeah, this is a My go with the colors of the Indian flag splashed on me like I was playing Thank you. Yeah, yeah So, uh, yeah, she's directing because I thought, you know, it's time Somebody saw things in a newer way Because I'm quite cliched and old school and I thought maybe you know, when you Taking something forward you need to have a newer vision to it, you know a new one Thought I'm guessing yeah So, yeah, no, so that's the whole process and yeah, this is the first feature And let's see Yeah, is it with the same same actor? Uh, no, it's okay. Gotcha. It's uh, abhishek donning the mantel of bov But that's it. Let's finish Days to go and Yeah That's got to be frustrating for her to have been right in the middle of helming her very first feature film And have to be shut down in process because of the uh because the lockdown that's got to be frustrating it is But in a way, you know, you have to sort of Balance the pros and the cons and you are putting a lot of people's life at risk if you if you're just selfish and continue Of course Because you're you know every day there's 150 people are more gathering Yeah, have to be a little more sensitive and it's not just us It's not like somebody has a personal agenda towards her and saying hey, do you want to stop your shoot? It's all of us. Right, right exactly across the world is in the same boat. So yeah, and that's uh It was actually interesting that you called yourself Old school in terms of your filmmaking because everything we've seen of you is from uh, bad luck to uh, khani to even your short films All have these massive twists in them. Um, and so I find that one very unique and also they're they're Um, super super interesting So I was wondering if that's something that's really important to you to kind of surprise the audience in that way or Or how do you go about that when you're writing process? Not really. No, okay. I see it all started with shush Hang on this phone of mine Yeah, it started with khani Then it kind of went on to this a little film called ahalia which I made. Yep a little short film We saw that one Um, I really wanted to stop after that because I didn't want you know, it was getting very frustrating because in khani and then We wanted to do a sequel to khani, you know where vidya bachi would go forward and do something as but but but but I couldn't figure out which body part she would remove now Let's not get into the twist, but then came bad luck And bad luck actually, uh, it's all orial follows fault not mine He did it. He did it. He wrote this amazing amazing script, right? And uh, when they gave me the script, it was like, you know, uh, you handed a gold mine on a plate and which I didn't want to change So that twist came with the script, you know, it was a whole package deal. Um, so It's fun. It's fun, uh, when you have a twist in the script But It shouldn't become a gimmick. That's what you've got to be careful about, you know, it shouldn't be a gimmick It shouldn't uh, the I think the last thing I want to do is to pretend that I'm smarter than the audience You can't expect somebody to uh, uh, sit through a film And think, uh, oh, I made a fool of you. That's not nice. You know, that has to be organic To be more of a thank you Than a twist, you know, it's like, hey, uh, this pregnant lady came from London to Kolkata You were with her on the journey. You enjoyed every bit of the journey. You supported her in the journey So even If the twist wasn't there, you would still be sympathetic to her You'll still be with her on a journey. You would still want to find a husband Uh, that's how I see it, you know, it's not like, uh, I think that's what I learned from sixth sense Where you can't be cleverer than the audience, you know, it's a It's just me old school sixth sense, you know, it's yeah, yeah, yeah No, and you said something you said something that is applicable As well as an as an actor that you don't do something just because it worked before because then if your decision to do it Is just because it worked then you're not being organic and believable You're just doing it to do something and that's that's never a good motivation Absolutely the reason should be right, you know, the reasoning should be right. You should be making film To reveal some twist, you know, if the twist comes in, okay, great else. Yeah, let it Now would it be the same as well? In addition to the twists those three things that Corbin just mentioned, uh, those those the films in your short film also have In addition to the twist they have very strong Female protagonists and heroes Is that something that attracts you in storytelling or is that just coincidental that those stories happen to have that and you just Happen to want to tell those stories I think always the stories came first And then the protagonist whether uh, Vidya or Tapsee Or sir in Badla They came Later, but it's always the story first but having said that, yeah What I See when I was watching films outside India, right? Unfortunately in India we have this And you don't I can't blame anyone for that because the film is a very expensive process And you would anybody who invests in a film would like to see some kind of uh return blah blah blah sure So, uh, there was a certain Thought process behind funding a film, you know anybody who has the money to fund the film would look for certain boxes to tick right And a pregnant woman running in the streets of Kolkata wasn't in that box I'm glad it happened. I'm glad it it it it it it did what it did. I'm glad what Vidya did with that film I'm glad what she helped me to achieve Uh, you know in that film whether it's Vidya whether it's Kolkata whether it's my editor Namrata you know, they all Put together this incredibly hard work to make a film called Kahani which in turn helped to Change certain mindset. You know people earlier Who were not willing to give me money? We're willing to give me money to make films with female protagonists for a line expression. So hence I went on you know, I I went on and uh Crazily, I have been surrounded by very strong females all my life would be my mother My wife somewhere over there uh, my uh daughter uh You know, they have been very influential. They have been uh, I mean they are more stronger than I can ever hope to be They're the one who after me. I don't look after them So, uh, yeah, so it's I just find it's very fascinating how they are more more Capable and able than us as Female versus male. So I think it's great. You know, I enjoy I mean it's I don't do it to Make a statement or anything it just I like strong female characters and they just come naturally. I wouldn't do it I wouldn't make a film for a strong female character, but When I'm writing if they come in great I want to go back to something you said earlier about you you don't want to feel like you're smarter than the than the audience So I was wondering in the writing room um Is there a fine line between not thinking you're smarter than the audience but also not considering the audience uh Making knowing that the audience is actually intelligent as opposed to um You know because sometimes the thing we hate is that some directors not not you of course But will tell us something and assume that we're not smart enough to get it So they have to force feed it to us. So is there a fine line between Those two things of not thinking you're smarter, but also just assuming the audience is intelligent enough You know, that's a very uh It's really a very uh strong task when you're writing especially if you're writing a hindi film Okay, because when you make a hindi film You're expecting it to go across India Okay, and now across india means various cultures various languages various thought processes various uh Outlook towards life, you know and various A strata of people, you know people who are base level people who are mid people who are so you just can't make There is no one set of audience you're making a film for Okay, so sometimes When you force feed something it's not because Uh You're thinking the audience is not smart enough because there is a section of audience Who may want to be who may need to be force fed otherwise they won't get you know, uh, what Perhaps you're trying to say so I'm assuming that's where it comes from That force feeding uh because uh, there's nothing subtle in hindi cinema Um That'll exist That's fun So we kind of uh, that's my son. I'm sorry. No worries. No worries. Yeah. No, I'm just getting rid of him Yeah, so, you know sometimes you do it because you feel some section of the audience may not understand Uh But at the same time we are moving with times, you know, people are getting more global people are watching a lot of Stuff which are beyond hindi cinema, you know, you're getting to see Uh things on otts which are uh international and I think our thinking is also changing So we are accepting broader subjects. We are accepting More subtle things Hopefully with time that'll reduce As We sort of you know evolve Then that that makes me think of actually a two-part question here The first part being For example, both both badla and kahani To our and in our view based on our exposure to indian cinema and actually having grown up obviously in american cinema Both of those films are way at the top of the list when people from america ask us Or indian ask us what should I have my american friend watch as far as a film that can come from india But will be digestible and acceptable both in runtime and the storytelling process that will have a definitive Story that has a climax a conflict, you know conflict climax resolution and both badla and kahani are are so digestible for Western audiences and that's my first part is Do you think about that when you're making a film? Are you looking for what you just said to find a way to make it as broad and acceptable to as many people as possible? Or is that just something that's a byproduct of the end result? Well, I my first and foremost Loyalty remains to the indian audience. I will whenever I make a film in hindi. I don't care about Honestly, I don't care. I don't mean it in a bad way But my I have it has to be first and foremost for the audience who are in india But having said that what I do try to do is I try to uh maintain a technical standard which is acceptable beyond india in terms of sample in terms of color in terms of Cinematography in terms of production design. I try to not it's not that I achieve it every time Because I feel that's Uh, what helps the other audiences to feel a little familiar With what I'm doing, you know, even though uh the content is hardcore indian but Since uh, I'm maintaining a certain amount or at least trying to maintain a certain amount of other technical the ISOs or the ISI whatever you call them It helps, you know, it's like a bank is a bank is a bank But I still give you the atm facility and net banking. So, you know, even though it's an indian bank You're still familiar with the atms and the net banking Great good analogy. Yeah, well, you do you see you do that Do we want to applaud you for that and what you said specifically we pick up on And we may have even mentioned this in our reviews of both badla and kahani that your that's part of the accessibility That's broader than some of the indian films. We've seen is the art direction and the production design and even the way that you edit and frame your shots They have an accessibility to the palette of a western audience without losing the the dna of it being an indian film It's why we love those films to recommend them to an american audience to say if you want to get a real feel for And the other part to my question had to do with specifically say kahani you you're wanting to Cater to and um attract your indian audience and give them the content you want One of my favorite things about kahani and i'm prejudiced in this is how um Everything takes place in calcutta and the specificity of so many bengali things and durga puja And I thought you did a brilliant job in terms of the connection of the Durga puja and the mother and kahani and the pregnant woman and but also making it Not just a bengali Centric film. It felt like it was now. Here's the second part of my question How hard was that to do to make it because it feels like it's a fully available indian film to everybody in india, but it is very Calcutta bengali specific How did you do that? I don't know I don't know it's just that when I was writing Uh, I wrote it in calcutta and I was talking to another lady a couple of days back and you know in a city When you're shooting in a city, uh, especially Whether you're shooting in london or calcutta or bombay. I think it's the people who makes the city I I don't think one specific building or one bridge or one Tower of some kind and that that doesn't define the city. What defined the city is the people of the city And that's what I uh kept looking for when I was writing. I wanted to introduce as many characters as possible So as an audience when you go into calcutta, you meet a lot of people You know, you're gonna meet a lot of people and I wanted her to walk a lot of the streets So you get to see a lot of street But within the streets, you'll meet the people within the guest houses You'll meet the owner within the lanes. You'll meet a tea stall owner or a little boy. So I I think that's what I thought makes, uh, uh A city what it is, right and and especially I'm a great, uh Big fan of a director called shuttuji try You know and uh So are we The most of my films right is uh, some way or the other connected to him. I I blatantly copy his style I blatantly copy Anything good that he does and I've learned so much because I never went to school or anything right? I learned everything on my own and I learned mainly by watching his film and uh So in his books that he used to write about mysteries and adventures, right every time he went out He used to introduce a lot of the characters within that place You know when you go to nipah tank talk or rajasthan You would get to meet the people there and that's you know, what kind of stays in the back of your head and That's what I did and the motif of durga puja. I felt was uh Something very unique, you know, like I'm a big durga puja fan. I Like I can't explain how big I am in in terms of fan uh, so I thought it would be interesting, you know, how ma durga comes in every year Just for a three days, you know, she solves all your problem and goes away And I thought it'll be an interesting motive. It'll be something which is very Known to us very close to our heart and Like I said, I'm old school and I've grown up watching films of manmondesai prakash mehra. Yes. Chopra and nothing works better than a mother There's nothing bigger than a mother in hillish, you know Yeah, so Yeah, well, it's straight out of the opu trilogy. There's such the motif of the mother In in in those films as well. So yeah core and i'm sorry. She was she was she was such a good actress In the opu the mother in that one. I love the mother. Yes. I was incredible anyways On actually acting we're both actors And so that's what low that's how we like to watch a lot of films acting is first and foremost for it, especially me Um, I love it and you've had a ton of our favorite actors, whether it be amatuck buck chun Tapsy panu no azad and sadiki Vidya and so all these actors So first and foremost, you're the first one that we've talked to that's either worked with amatuck buck chun And directorial or producing Um, but we've heard he's also like a really like one well prepared on set And so we're wondering like if you could tell us like how he is on set like what is that legend like on on on set Well on set he's an actor To define him Because you know, this is what I had been immensely Grateful to serve about Even in my first film, you know when I I was Basically a nobody He's still treated me like a director on set. I mean, this is amita And so when he's on set, he's absolutely loyal to the film is absolutely loyal to the script and he's He will discuss with you if he has any issues But at the end of the day, he will always run with what you say He's so that's an incredible amount of trust. He puts in you Which in turn really scared the shit out of you because you don't want to Right Yeah, you know, yeah, so so he So I think that's an incredible incredible Strength and humility of a person when you're willing to You know, your loyalty lies to the script and to the cinema more than anyone's, you know, he doesn't Bring amita bachan on to the set. Hey, I'm amita bachan and I'll do this and nothing like that You know, sir is the most amazing person to work with. He has tons of stories. He has a lot of massively Happy music and everything and so I just love him working I'll tell you and he's like a freaking institution man. He knows everything about cinema. He doesn't say I remember in aladin We were shooting right and there was this one particular angle we were trying to do and sir was standing on a kind of a slope And we were trying to angle it and for the life in us. We just couldn't figure it out how to do it Right, so he came he was looking at it. He didn't say anything and we didn't want to tell him We didn't want to look silly in front of him saying we didn't know We don't know what we're doing And we were kind of shitting bricks because you know what was ticking and he was there And then he just came for a shot and he just took two steps this way and stood there and we suddenly saw oh shit We have solved the problem So so the man knows a lot of things but he never kind of imposes that upon me, you know, he never But but he's the best person to work with Amazing amazing And how involved are you with casting sorry, uh, how no no go ahead in terms of like um, we've talked to um on your gushy up in in another director and then even nois as well, but When you're casting your films, um, do you um outside of the stars at least the um the smaller characters So do you sometimes because sometimes in some films it seems like people just pick Certain people off the street And put them in their film and and that's they look so natural in that in that uh in that role So I was wondering your process with all that you know, uh mostly I write my films Because like I said, I'm I'm not a trained director I I need to really prepare in order to uh make a film I need to understand my film. I need to understand my characters. I need to what they're doing In order to direct the film. I I just can't Take a script and boom that's tough. I can't do that So most of the time, uh When I'm writing I have an image in my head that a character called Corbin looks like this, you know, he sounds attractive Yeah Ash, you know, he's the kind of guy who's very vain who soft focuses background Ha ha ha ha ha ha You hate it on the map So, yeah, that's funny Yeah, so so you you you perhaps kind of an idea And the only time the only time I've broken that notion of what I had in my head versus a character I created was Uh, probably Nawaz in Kahani You know, I that's what I why did I know you were gonna say that? Yeah, that's the only time You know, uh, because when I wrote Khan in my head Khan was a Patam Khan was a big guy No nonsense kick ass, you know, uh Like Imposing kind of a thing And then my casting director said, why don't you go and meet this person called Nawaz, you know I said, okay, I'll meet Nawaz. Why won't I know us? So I I met Nawaz in a place called Varsova in a coffee shop and in comes this man Who's as small as me And I'm thinking, hang on. Why am I meeting this guy? But when I started talking to him and I saw there was so much Freaking anger in Nawaz, you know, he's like You know, he's like a volcano ready to burst, right? And I thought wow, this is Khan You know because what Nawaz taught me that day I don't matter You know, uh, physique don't matter. It's absolutely It's uh, you know, he of course when I saw him he reminded me of Robert Carlyle in trains for him You know, if you had no physical presence, you know, you would think you could just slap him and he'll fall down What is his mind is fearless You know, when your mind is fearless when a man has no fear in his mind that man is capable of doing anything And that's what the kind of feeling Nawaz gave me I was seeing That this fucker has no fear in his head. He's willing to do anything to get what he wants And and that's how Nawaz took on Khan and how he killed the freaking Yeah, we if we fully agree he's One of my favorite actors just in general anywhere I love the man. I think he's so so genius and effortless in what he does And he could do literally any role ever Which I won one of the reasons I loved him in your film so much because it was such it was a very different role Because at first at first you think it's going to be his stereotypical Negative role is how in India how they call it, but then you kind of flip it on its head And and it's it was so phenomenal that character. I loved it so much So credit to you and and Nawaz for doing that because it was such a great performance But I think Nawaz did it because he got to wear a jacket I'm gonna wear a suit That's funny Well, and it's a it's a very different role for Nawaz and when we talk to him That's one of the things that he wants to make sure he does is that He's very interested in making sure that he doesn't replicate the work. He's done. He wants to stretch He wants to be a new character. Uh, he doesn't want to be Put into this place where he's just gonna he wouldn't even allow it He can't be the same character and you said exactly the same thing on your akasha told us about Nawaz That when you meet him in person and we have the the blessing of knowing this as well when you meet him He's small of stature He's not a big presence when he walks in the room as far as being loud or big or expressive He's a very well mannered almost shy kind of a person as you're talking to him But the moment you engage him and you start to talk to him there's an intensity in his eyes And and a directness and a focus and a And one of the most important things about any screen actor Nawaz has a stillness that's simmering It's not just a stillness. You said it. He has a stillness that simmers And that's why when you take that and put it on a movie screen Uh, he's he's utterly captivating and every moment he's on screen and in whatever role he has So it must have been a joy to work with him. Yeah, and those days Uh very early days of Nawaz, you know, yeah We were both learning and it was great, you know, because we were all hanging out in the same hotel we're all You know just just roughing it out like how we would do in our university days and And that's what makes the film, you know blood and sweat That's what makes a film and and there was so much of it from whether it's Nawaz or Vidya or Poro or Upu, you know, all of these work just put in so much hard work And today you're interviewing me or Kahani, but I I was just one little cog in the wheel because there's so many other people making that film, you know It's a collaborative art form and it's one of the things we love about it Yeah film is a collaborative art. Nobody can say that I need that film. It's always we make, you know If anybody's saying I made that film. He's a cock Agreed In in that collaborative effort you said that without any training I would really love to know what your experience has been from film to film Uh, especially for people watching who don't understand the relationship between the director and the dp The cinematographer How What has that been like for you? What has what has it been and how much have you learned Working with cinematographers How did you since you weren't trained? How did you learn to take what you're envisioning? And partner with your cinematographer and turn it into a reality on screen. How did you learn that? Just on the street just doing it Yeah, and I'm very good at cheating That's one No, no, bro, let me let me I'll tell you why all this is coming from right. I remember very early days I read one interview of Bhanu Athaya Who was a who was the costume designer for Gandhiji? Okay, who went on to win an Oscar? And somewhere she said she only made, you know Richard Atenborough twice in the whole process of Okay Wow, really? I that's you know, I could be wrong but that's what I read and that's what stuck in my head and I thought wow that is so cool because the immense confidence you need to have in your HODs if you just meet them twice in a whole filming process right so you're hiring someone and you're completely totally and fully ready to run with that person okay so I hire my costume designer and I know she's gonna do the job that I'm trusting her and that's the principle I've always followed so when I hire someone I'm sorry I'm not saying hire in a that way when I work with my DOP or an editor I let them be but that's what they're bringing on to the table so whether it's Setu shooting Kahanee in fact lot of Kahanee Setu you know you think it's me but it's Setu he does all that colors he does all those massively beautiful framing you know he he tells me look let's do it this way so you have to trust to HODs because because they are a skilled individual who knows what they're doing you know and Obig for example Badla man that guy is you know I'm not even one tenth of what Obig is you know in terms of his capabilities or his knowledge of cinema or anything so so I trust them for the good or the better I having I have I'm gonna run with you because they're running with me I'm all came to run with them the only time I get involved is I beginning of a scene I tell them that this is the emotion that I want from a scene this is the message I want to give to the audience from this scene right I tell them look this is a happy scene and the message is X so just help me to shoot it that whatever your lighting is whatever your thing is and they do it and they do it extremely extremely well so I do get involved but I do a point because beyond that I don't know what I'm doing so I rather let them do it and on that because you've done obviously writing producing directing how hard is it for you as a director to not intervene in terms of to with the director in when you're producing yeah sorry when you're producing how hard is it for you as a director to not interfere with the vision of the director in that film it's a very interesting question because you know the weirdly the first film I produced was team which reboot directed and because I was just a producer I was completely able to stay away from it you know I was completely able to stay away my only job was to drive sir to the set and drive him back and chat with him on the way so which I really love it's a good job I was yeah I was a show the whole thing and then there was Vidya on the set so I could yeah with her so that was pretty cool Bob however is causing problem for yeah yeah I tell you why also because I've written this gotcha so so I find I'm more irritating as a writer than a producer that makes sense yeah I'm more interfering as a writer than a producer when you're writing that's your baby yeah as a writer I'm extremely extremely interfering I'm making my daughter's life miserable I'll be happy if she talks to me after the film but I don't know man when you write and because you have written it you have certain things in your head and so you're also always arguing no no but I wrote it like this right and you tend to be a little stupid on set yeah no but I'm learning I'm learning but I think yeah like as a producer I'm absolutely non interfering but never take me on a set as a writer I'll keep that mind you you you said something in that answer that is both it's encouraging it's refreshing and it's very revealing in terms of your own disposition and your humility and it's the fact that you said you basically admitted that you don't know everything a lot of people will want their audiences to think they know what they're doing and that they're the master of what they do versus being comfortable with the fact of okay I'm on set and there's Sir Amitabh Bachchan and I really don't know what I'm gonna do right now and that's okay I don't know what I'm gonna do and I think a lot of artists whether they're directors or they're writers or actors I think one of the biggest obstacles they have is feeling like they have to be perfect or they have to be better before they actually start to do something in his film class Martin Scorsese he said that don't wait until you think you're good enough to do something just start doing it what would you recommend as far as an encouragement to anybody wanting to get into the film industry would that be your main encouragement to say don't wait until you think you know what you're doing to just just start creating what encouragement would you give people who want to be in the film industry yeah thinking no I think the first and foremost you need to know your core strength what is it right yeah and you need to accept that and more importantly you need to accept what you're not good at okay and those things you're not good at be it fighting or editing or cinematography or whatever that you need to take help you can't pretend don't pretend you know to know what you don't know I mean that's my only advice to anybody would be because that's you're digging your own grave right you know it's much easier and acceptable if you just say I don't know do certain things and there are a lot of people willing to help you out so I think first and foremost you need to know what is it that you want to do okay whether you want to be a director whether you want to be an editor whether you want to be a writer whatever that vocation that you're strong at and pursue that unfortunately a lot of time I'm I find a lot of the people that I meet so-called they want to come into the industry you know they say I want to be a director but I'm willing to do anything that scares me because you know you have to be a little focused and hold on to that I know it's easier said than done but that's how I I was always I always wanted to be a writer director and I always held on to that I didn't want to assist anybody I didn't want to do anything and not because I am you know apiti or you know but I felt if I have to be a director the most important weapon that I need is a script how the script I'm nothing as a director I mean no matter what I am no matter how big a director you are without a script you are nothing so I would rather concentrate on writing a script than to assist somebody and I had this thought in my head if I had a good script I'll always get a film made you know yeah because there's so many people out there who wanting to make a film all they need is a script you know so that's how I have planned my career it could be the most wrongest way of planning a career I don't know but it worked for me you know I didn't want I struggle like to make junk art beats it took me three years you know it three years of knocking on people's door you know people sick but you can't give up yeah yeah you can't hold on to it you know yes that's it you know that that's all advice I have I don't think there's any magic want somewhere which will just boom and it'll happen that's how you do it I guess I'm sorry I'm I'm sorry if I'm not getting no no it's great answer that's a fantastic answer absolutely agree with you I want to thank you for your time I'd like to finish the interview off with a little almost rapid fire just a bunch of silly questions answer to the best of your ability and so first what you say no chemistry question no chemistry question no no nothing on chemistry no formula or some shit like that yeah yeah we're mathematics yeah yeah please I'll try I'll cut out all the algebra questions all right so first and forth well you already answered coffee or chai you prefer coffee coffee good favorite hollywood film huh none uh there's so many I I can't I can't show shank show shank nice great call go ahead Rick do you want me to do that no I've got one I'd like to ask him go ahead being from being from Kolkata um do you have a favorite mishti my favorite mishti it keeps changing bro I found this incredible mishti where they wrap this something called arm popper you know it's like a mango thing and inside there's a little shondesh kind of a thing so it's it's like it looks like a bullet the top is mango and inside there is shondesh and it's about this big and I can happily kill about 10 of them in a shot dang that sounds delicious uh favorite hollywood director oh this is difficult because there's so many okay Spielberg of course he's he's he's my favorite that makes me happy he's in the range man I mean I know it's his range yes range yes sir you can do everything favorite hollywood actor male or female male or favorite hollywood actor I don't know uh no no Tom Hanks maybe gotta love Tom Hanks so many you know like I'm like old school you know right now I'm watching all Steven Seagal films you know right now big seagal fan so you know it changes it changes every week uh what's your what what's your favorite drink drink uh coffee and sometimes I go to the udp I have a filter coffee so that's oh yeah yeah we had filter coffee when we were just in India a few weeks ago it was delocious and I've been I've been to Calcutta a couple of times and have frequented several places that I know you frequent but that I will not name here so they remain anonymous so that nobody knows where your hangouts are but I love Calcutta and places that you frequent oh next time we'll do this next time we'll do it together absolutely uh and uh I have a two personal questions uh do you like to eat rice with naan no I love like you know you're doing Stefan on me man my friend Stefan and he's a little bad thing you know like rice with naan I love it in restaurant I said I want some lassi and I said lassi's a dog meat you don't serve dogs that's funny and then uh last one uh I've asked us to a few directors and I want to get your opinion just because I like to get it in Indian cinema um the one of the biggest issues I've had is almost all white actors or foreign actors are terrible uh and so can you tell me why that is because I don't think you know I don't think we can afford a proper actors from London or the U.S. fly them down keep them so you know we walk on the street hey I think yeah that that sounds that sounds familiar to what others have said that's what other other people have told us um man this is but but we're working for a better budget next time if you ever if you ever feel the need to go out and ask people just give us a call and we'll uh come come right down at the drop of a hat uh we'll challenge you to a cricket game and that's it that's great well thank you so much for your time it was so insightful and so wonderful that you're such a wonderful person to talk to you're funny you're hilarious you're intelligent uh and we love love your films looking forward to my wife and you can repeat all that yeah I'll bring you're in I won't tell her um but yeah we're so looking forward to uh your next what the the spinoff of with bob that character of that your daughter's directing that sounds fantastic so thank you so much for allowing us to sit down and chat with you I help uh next time we're in Bengal we can chat with you as well um and Rick would you like to finish it off yeah no I just appreciate so much and I have a very particular appreciation for your love of Calcutta and for Satyajit Rai and my first deep connection to India has been for a lot of personal reasons has been Calcutta it's the first city I visited when I came to India um the love of my life lives in Calcutta and so things all things Bengali that's why Kahani means so much to me is uh that that connectivity so we're we are honored that you came on to the channel and really appreciate your time you spent with us today I'm sorry man about that SMS I I was thinking that I read it SMS and I then I realized you were in town so oh no no no you were in the middle of doing your your shoot at that time yeah and and I kept thinking what did I react stupidly to no it's okay that's no worries at all thank you so much again it was wonderful wonderful to talk to you I hope you and your family stay safe during this time stay safe thank you so much our stupid reactions