A Chit Chat With Shibani Bathija- The Screenwriter of Popular Films Like KANK, Fanaa and the upcoming Kara Johar film My Name is Khan starring Shah Rukh Khan!

1. How did your journey with Bollywood films begin?

It began in my childhood as my father, Raj Bathija, produced films for a few years. In recent times, I wrote a script that I requested Karan Johar to read in 2002. He read it and then passed it on to Aditya Chopra who contacted me to write for Yash Raj. And so it all began.

2. You have written scripts for blockbuster films like Fanaa, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna and upcoming films like Kidnap and My Name is Khan. Which is your personal favorite?

How can you choose a favorite amongst your children? I love them all for different reasons.

3. How has it been working with banners like Yash Raj and Dharma Productions?

Dharma and Yash Raj have both been wonderful companies to work for. I feel blessed that I had the opportunity to begin with the best. Karan and Adi are writers themselves and know how to allow equal measure of freedom and direction to a written work. And most importantly they respect writers and the give due importance to the script.

4. If you could write a script for an actor and actress from the seventies, who would you want playing the lead roles in the film?

Rishi Kapoor and Dimple. Bobby is one of my favorite films of all time and I would have loved to follow up with another film starring the two of them.

5. Tell us a little bit about your upcoming films Kidnap and My Name is Khan. What can audiences expect and how are they different from your previous films?

Kidnap is a dram-iller or a dramatic story told in a thriller format. Just in that it is completely different from Fanaa and KANK. It takes on the themes of Crime and Punishment in an interesting way, I believe. The rest is for the audience to decide! My Name is Khan has been the most challenging film I have written till date and certainly the most ambitious. It is a subject Karan and I feel very strongly about, and regardless of what he modestly says, he is most certainly the best director for it.

6. You are currently in San Fransisco writing for your next film. Can you tell us a little more about your upcoming projects?

I am researching and writing a ‘young’ film for Studio 18 here in San Francisco, and am very excited about the new challenges and opportunities in store.

Source: Bolly Curry

Check out the interview of SRK from DNA.

You have flu and you are still working?you are obviously a workaholic…
I know. But what to do. I can’t do anything beyond work. Except when I am spending time with my kids, doing anything other than work gets to me. Socialising is a problem, sometimes even holidaying is a problem.

Is that why you have clubbed the premiere of ‘Om Shanti Om’ in the UK, with a holiday with your children?
We thought why not make it a celebration for all of us. It would be the first for Deepika. Kids are also having holidays from the November 1 and we will go a little early and stay on in the UK till the 12th. And in that weather, you can actually wear a suit and look good!

Do you let go so easily in other spheres of life too?
I have never cheated anyone or my work. I have done my best, whether I was unwell, tired or unhappy. It has always worked for me. I truly believe in the tagline of this film, ‘Like in films, in real life, at the end everyone is happy, if not it is not the end.’

Do you get superstitious when a lot is at stake?
I get superstitious about God, about saying prayers for my kids. I feel if I haven’t prayed right, it is not working right. I truly believe that self belief comes from believing in God.

But for God to help you, you need to help yourself. Every one of us will find someone better. I can always look at Laxmi Mittal and feel bad?why don’t I have ten mansions?.but instead of accepting that the person is better than you, you will say, he is lucky, which is so not fair. » Read the rest of the entry..