Lucky Kohli, the director of Hari Puttar-The Comedy of Terrors was a worried man. Although he is of Punjabi origin he's been born and brought up in the UK. And his first film ran into major controversies with Warner Brothers having taken Mirchi Movies to court. But Lucky Kohli is not a man to be easily deterred. He went ahead and now finally four days before the release of the film the court has ruled in his favour.Tell us something about yourself. This is your first film in Bollywood…
My family settled in the UK. But I am originally a Sikh. My name is Harinder but my pet name was Lucky and the name just sort of stuck over the years. I am very fluent in Hindi though. I would say I'm more fluent in Hindi even as compared to Punjabi.
How is that?
When my sister and me were really young my mother could not afford a baby sitter for us. And minors below a certain age cannot be left unattended at home. So she used to buy a cinema ticket and leave us in the theatre for about five hours while she went off to work. And my sister and me saw many Hindi films over and over again.
Which ones do you remember?
Ask me which ones I don't remember. Seeta Aur Geeta for one, Mr Natwarlal... they are all my favourite films.
Any particular film, which you would call your favourite?
It would have to be Sholay. I remember every scene, every line almost verbatim.
But your first film belongs to a completely different genre.
There's a reason for that. When my daughter was younger I saw a lot of kiddie films (Shrek, Monsters Inc,) with her. Initially I thought I was being a good parent. But later I found at the end of the film that I had enjoyed myself as much as she had. So I had this dream of making a film, which would be a complete 'family' entertainer.
Have you succeeded?
Yes, but of course the final verdict is yours. But I sincerely feel from the bottom of my heart that I have succeeded.
Why Hari Puttar as a title? Didn't you anticipate the backlash? Or was it a calculated decision to cash in on a highly popular series.
As I told you earlier my full name was Harinder. But I was often called Harry. Our protagonist in the film is Hari Prasad. So he is called Hari. And puttar is a suffix every Punjabi boy is familiar with. So it is nothing but an unfortunate co-incidence.
Source: http://www.buzz18.com
