Each of your films has a sugar coated message... be it jaadu ki jhappi or Gandhigiri. Do you believe that cinema should essentially carry a message?

It’s a very individualistic idea of cinema. If everyone starts treating cinema as a medium for giving message, then it will become very boring. So, I like the fact that everybody tries different kinds of things through cinema. It’s just that I have been making my kind of films because I’ve been wanting to say some thing. But it’s not necessary that I would say something with every film I make. I’ve tried to analyse why is it happening. I think, I choose to tell stories that I feel really strongly about. I am not picking up a story that some writer has given to me and saying, okay, I will make this film. I am telling a story that touches me emotionally. I am making films that I want to see. So, the things that are presented in my films are the things that I want to say from my heart. Somewhere, I have issues with the way things are socially. And though in my life, I don’t say it out in that many words, maybe that finds vent through my work – my films. At the same time, I am aware that nobody will go to a theater to be preached at. So, I have to make it entertaining. I have to put a lot of efforts in ensuring that whatever I am trying to say is camouflaged in a way that is entertaining. But I don’t think it is necessary that cinema is always meant to say something. Cinema is also meant to be entertaining. There are various reasons for cinema to be made. There should be different reasons for cinema to be made. Only then, you would have a variety of cinema.

Which directors would you say influenced you?

I would say, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, mostly. That kind of cinema... Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Gulzar... Guru Dutt, I am a big fan. I knew I could never make Manmohan Desai kind of films but I enjoyed his films, at least when I was in Nagpur.

How do you unwind? Are you taking a break now that 3 Idiots is such a phenomenal success?

I have a flaw. It is that I don’t know how to switch off. Vinod does it very easily. Even when he is scripting, he will work for a given number of hours and then he will switch off. He will not even think about the script once he has set it aside for the day. He will give time to his family or handle any other activity that needs attention. My problem is that...

The complete story...in the February 2010 issue of FHM India. Grab a copy!