Prabhu Deva's directorial offering Rowdy Rathore opened to very good reviews last week. To test the audience's response, Prabhu himself hopped in and out of a couple of theatres in Mumbai and wasn't disappointed. There were people whistling, hooting, cheering, dancing and soaking in the fun on the big screen.
Prabhu is a man of few words but in this case, he couldn't contain his excitement. "I was overwhelmed by the sight of so many encouraging people. People's reviews matter the most and if I have been able to entertain them for those few hours, my job is done," he says.
Prabhu doesn't bother that his latest venture is a remake. "The subject appealed to me and I wanted to make it," he reasons. Ask him whether the film was tailor-made for Akshay Kumar and Prabhu says, "Yes, in a certain sense it is. I visualised it for Akshay and he has performed extraordinarily well. He has held out both the characters, Rowdy and Rathore, in perfect balance.There's no overlap. He has his own style."
There's a lot of 'Prabhu Deva' flavour that has come into the movie, especially the dance moves.
"Yes, that's my style. I gave the choreographers the freedom to do whatever they wanted. All I wanted them to do was to make Akshay dance the way I wanted him to and they did a great job." Says Prabhu, "It is important that the hero of a film emotionally connects with people. And we have been able to achieve that here. There's a charm about the hero, it's magical."
And while he very generously talks about his leading man, he doesn't forget to rave about Sonakshi as well. "She picked up the dance moves very fast. She's a brilliant actress. She debuted with Salman in Dabangg and I debuted in Bollywood with Salman in 'Wanted'.
Our beginnings were the same," he shares. Would he direct and act in the same movie sometime? "I prefer to handle one thing at a time. I am keen on direction at the moment. I've nothing planned, I take things as they come,'' he signs off.
Nina C George