Thugs of Hindostan director Vijay Krishna Acharya: Can’t be a fanboy of Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan on set

Vijay Krishna Acharya is presently directing ‘Thugs of Hindostan’ starring Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan.

Directing two of the biggest stars of the Hindi film industry – Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan – together in a project can be a mammoth of a task, especially if the director’s filmography has just two films. But it, perhaps, gets easier if one has handled multiple stars (and multiple egos, which are complimentary) in both the projects, like Vijay Krishna Acharya, who is currently giving directions to Big B and Aamir in ‘Thugs of Hindostan’.

His debut Bollywood film ‘Tashan’ was a disaster at the box-office but directing the ensemble cast of Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor and Anil Kapoor taught Vijay Krishna Acharya a lot about handling many big names at the same time. He carried that experience to the sets of ‘Dhoom 3’, which featured Aamir in a double role along with Katrina Kaif and Abhishek Bachchan.

“What I learnt was a real star never comes on set wearing stardom. Anybody who is at the top of his game will never (do it). Today, the sheer presence of a star cannot make a film work. The film is the star, just that a lot happens between the Friday and the Monday,” says Acharya about working with superstars in three consecutive projects.

According to the director, he doesn’t let his actors dictate the stories he chooses to tell. He asserts, “I never approach an actor till I have finished the script.” But the stars surely are important in deciding the reach of his films.

“It all depends on the story. If I want to tell a story to 10 people, I don’t need a star. If I want to tell it to 10,000 people, the best case scenario is you get an actor and a star. In both of my films, I have had people had a good actor-star mix, be it Aamir or Akshay,” he says.

At the same time, Vijay Krishna Acharya does not shy away from acknowledging Hindi film industry’s heavy dependence on stardom, as he rues, “Sometimes, you must have a few films under your belt which will force other people to make sure you get what you want. Unfortunately, we rely too much on stars. Someone or the other in a film has to be a star, if not the actor, then the director, or the music director and there is this whole social media industry which is fueling this. That, to me, is the most dangerous thing. Films have to be made out of passion and not excel sheets. Unfortunately, our business today seems to dictate much more than the creative.”

Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan will be sharing screen together for the first time in the history of Hindi cinema, in the film Thugs of Hindostan.

Finally, opening up a little about his experience of working with Amitabh Bachchan Bachchan and Aamir Khan in ‘Thugs of Hindostan’, Acharya says the one thing he has to constantly remind himself while directing them is that he cannot afford to be in awe of either of them. “Amitabh Bachchan is such a senior actor, a big star, everyone is in awe of him, but he is such a great guy to work with. He is totally professional, makes everyone at ease. What I have to tell myself is to see that I don’t fall into the trap of being a fanboy. That is the only thing I have to watch out for, because as a director, I cannot like one more than the other nor can I have too much respect and awe. My job on the set is to call the shots,” the director says.

The interaction with Vijay Krishna Acharya was on the sidelines of recently concluded Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival.