Kshama Rao

Director Arjun Sablok has one major regret: not getting the opportunity to launch Esha Deol.

"I sincerely wish I had the chance to make her debut film. When I see her debut [Koi Mere Dil Se Pooche], I wonder why its makers rushed the job. Launching someone means showing the right sides of that person, sides which the audience would associate with and accept willingly.

"I am not saying that because my film Na Tum Jaano Na Hum, in which Esha stars, is better than her debut film. But I have taken ample care to showcase her the right way. In my film, Esha plays herself and hence is more at ease. There is a lot of talent hidden in her and the girl doesn't know about it."

Would he have been happier had Esha's debut film fared well at the box office? "I would have been happier if my film was her first film," is all he concedes. "But that's okay. Now, all expectations have died. The audience has already compared her with her mom, so now when they come to see Na Tum... they will give her a fair viewing."

Scheduled for a May 10 release, Na Tum Jaano Na Hum also stars Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan. "Interestingly, the film's mahurat was on May 10 last year," reveals Sablok. "The shooting has taken a year; the film has been with me for the last two-and-a-half years."

There are talks of the film being based on the Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan starrer You've Got Mail. Sablok denies them, saying, "It's loosely based on my personal life. On the letters written by my father and mother to each other. My parents were heads of their respective college debate teams in Ludhiana. Mom was a vociferous debater and dad quite liked that quality in her. She was also the editor of her college magazine. So dad started writing to her.

"Thus began their association through letters. My mom always felt a person's honesty is better reflected in letters than the spoken word."

Apparently, Sablok's parents got married to each other only because they got to know each other so well through their correspondence. Even today, when they fight, they give little notes to each other. What did they think when their son told them he was making a film on their personal lives? "I wouldn't have used their letters --- that would be an invasion of their privacy. I told them their letters would be the starting point of my film."

"I don't want to give the story away," he says. "But it is about finding your soulmate; it is about dreaming and believing in love. It is a journey played by destiny. It is a love triangle and has pathos, laughter and tears. It is a modern film with a deep-rooted Indianness."

"It's a film where the characters are not picture-perfect. And I have no demands on the characters. It's a feel-good film."

Sablok idolises director Yash Chopra [of Kabhi Kabhie, Silsila, Chandni, Lamhe fame]. He says, "I have never been his chief assistant director, yet I have hung around all his films. He is the only director who gives the audience visual satisfaction through his films. From him I learnt that cinema is all about pleasing as many senses as possible."

Small wonder then that the first promos of Na Tum Jaano Na Hum, which show Hrithik Roshan talking to the camera, are very Yash Chopra-like. "Yes, the influences are bound to come across," agrees Sablok.

What hopes does he have about his directorial debut? "Some days, I feel I have done one of the best Hindi films. Other days, I feel I could have done better. As the release date nears, a director loses all sense of judgement about his film. He has lived that film so many times --- while shooting, dubbing and mixing --- that it's just not possible to think straight. All I will say is other filmmakers may have had better debuts, but I am definitely proud of mine!"

India News Feature Service