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July 16, 1997
BILLBOARD
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'You can't have a good and honest man,
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Aziz Mirza |
For Aziz Mirza, films are a passion, but not all consuming. For him, life lies beyond films.
When Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman became a hit, it was a surprise. Its lead player Shah Rukh Khan did not then have a successful resume, it was a small budget film by a small budget film-maker, a man who first came to be known with serials like Nukkad, Circus and Manoranjan.
At a time when everybody claims to make a film with a difference, Aziz Mirza actually made a film which was different. "My film tells you about people who are ambitious, yet manage to fall in love. Yes Boss has that quality again," he says.
Juhi Chawla and Shah Rukh Khan in Yes Boss |
Juhi Chawla is paired opposite Shah Rukh again. But in Yes Boss -- unlike Raju -- she is a model and wants to be rich too. "It's very clear when she says that if she doesn't make money, then she will marry a rich man," says Mirza. Then we have Aditya Panscholi, the boss, who is trapped in a marriage to a lady with all the money in the world.
Juhi Chawla |
The idea for Yes Boss, he tells you, originated years ago. He had gone to see Billy Wilder's The Apartment and was much impressed by the character Jack Lemon played in the film. So he decided to make a film along similar lines, about a man who is trapped by his ambition. "But there is not a single scene that has been copied from that film," he is quick to add.
In all of Mirza's works you can find ambitious and struggling characters. Does he in any way identify with them? Or their lifestyle?
He seems obsessed with middle class youth -- their extreme ambition, struggles and conscience all interest him very much. Richie Rich kind of stories do not excite him. The desire of the youth riding a scooter to
Aditya Panscholi and Shah Rukh Khan in Yes Boss |
But how, you wonder, can he claim to know what today's youth wants?
"I quit films when it became too commercial and got into the transport business. I did many odd jobs before making my serials. I learned a lot in that period. So I know what today's youth dreams of," he says.