'There was no role for John Abraham in Blue'

Anthony D'Souza is indeed a lucky man. After all he got to direct a multi-starrer as his very first film.

The film in question is the very much hyped underwater thriller Blue which stars Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, Zayed Khan, Lara Dutta and Katrina Kaif.

The 35-year-old B.Com graduate talks to Patcy N about the film and how he convinced his producer and the entire cast to risk drowning.

Tell us about yourself. How did you get into films?

I was 13 when I started working with a company called Far Video. I was paid Rs 2000 per month which I thought was a big amount at that time. Slowly I got into direction and did music videos with Silk Route, Bombay Vikings, remixes of Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar. I also did ad films like Nokia, Videocon and Airtel. Soon after I went to the US and shot 56 episodes of Ripley's Believe it or Not. I never really planned them... things just happened.

I was in India when I learnt that Michael Bay was making Armageddon. He needed help to shoot in India so I helped him out. I am still in touch with his office. I keep going to US for work.

What made you think of Blue?

Though my mentor is Michael Bay, it is cinematographer Amir Mokhri who has been my source of inspiration. Amir even helped me shoot one of the scenes by explaining me how he shot Transformers and Bad Boys.

I wanted to make an action film which is larger than life. Most of my music videos were also shot underwater. I love the ocean so I tried to imagine a big action film involving water. It is inspired from two films -- Bad Boys and Indiana Jones.

How did you convince your producer to make a lavish film like Blue? The film has Rs 90 crore riding on it. Did it ever give you sleepless nights on whether you will be able to give a hit or not?

I had this script with me for about two and half years, but within six months I got a producer. It was John Abraham who introduced me to Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd. They liked my story and the homework that I had done for it. I told them the cast I wanted and they fixed up meetings with them. I don't think it is tough do something if you believe in yourself. Anything is possible if you work hard. I didn't suffer from jitters. As it is, my sleeping patterns are different -- I sleep in the daytime.

As it was John who introduced you to the producers, why didn't you cast him?

There was no role for John in this film.