Straight answers

Subhash Ghai, Filmmaker, On promoting small budget movies
Of late, your company has been promoting small-budget movies, extensively. Why?
In our company's market research, we found that many new good directors or writers with interesting stories and scripts felt hesitant about approaching us for low budget ventures. They were either intimidated by our company's large scale productions or thought that they will have to work for Subhash Ghai's kind of movies.
Being a director yourself, do you expect other directors working for you to follow your approach to filmmaking?
No.When my company entrusts any project to another director, I take on my role as a producer, in purely professional terms to create the best environment for the director and his team. They can follow their own school of filmmaking, but I only ensure that they remain true to the mutually approved script and remain within the budget and time schedule and quality committed for.
Do you think today's audiences are accepting low-budget movies?
Of course. They want good films. Thanks to the growing multiplex culture in India, audiences are getting to watch movies of various genres. Today, audiences want simple, well-made and genuine films, irrespective of the budget.
But you direct a film yourself that's targeted less at the box office and more at artistic appreciation?
Somewhere it's always been my earnest desire to create an optimum balance between box office and good cinema while making. And I hope, that someday some film of mine will get it's due. Which is why I am encouraging directors with fresh approach and great stories to make under my banner along with the required mass appeal.