I wanted to tell a fun story with Romeo: Jugal Hansraj

Dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans, Jugal Hansraj looked as Masoom as ever. The actor-turned-director came out of the studios, after camping there day and night for two years working on his directorial debut Roadside Romeo, for a night of fun. And where better to let your hair down than on Indian Idol Rubaroo?
Are you a fan of Indian Idol? Have you been watching it on TV?
Yes, I really like the show a lot and so does my family. I have been following Indian Idol, but not as much as I would have liked to because I was busy with Roadside Romeo.
How was your experience on Rubaroo?
Rubaroo was fantastic. I was in the midst of so many talented young people. It was also great because this was an episode without any pressure—one in which they could let their hair down so to speak.
The show was also an opportunity for me to see the other talents of these kids. I really enjoyed the fact that they are all so united—encouraging and supporting each other—when, the rest of the week, they are competing against each other.
So, would you like to come back as a judge on Indian Idol?
100%. I would definitely love to come back to Indian Idol.
Now, coming to the reason why you are here—to promote your film Roadside Romeo. How did you come to direct an animation?
The idea to produce an animation was Aditya Chopra's. He is an old friend of mine, and he approached me for a story because he knows how crazy I am about animation. And he loved the script I came up with so much that he asked me to direct it.
Were you hesitant at all in accepting his offer?
Not at all. I love animation. So when I got this opportunity, I just jumped in. I realise I've been doing research for Roadside Romeo even without realising it—I’ve been watching animation all my life, and I’ve been buying books on the art of animation and watching the director's comments, etc.
And because I loved it so much, I didn't really feel any pressure at all—I was doing it from my heart. It’s now that I feel the pressure—now that the film is complete and up for release.
Were you influenced by anything when you were creating the plot?
I wanted to tell a fun story. I kind of put together all the things that I have been enjoying in movies since I was a child. I mean, I love mainstream Hindi films, I love the songs—so in Roadside Romeo I thought let’s combine that with a lot of animation and just have fun.
What made you choose Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Javed Jafferi for the main characters?
When I was writing the three main characters, I had Saif, Kareena and Javed in my mind all along. Romeo is based on Saif—cool, rich and stylish—and similarly the characters for Laila and Charlie Anna are inspired by Kareena and Javed.
I was hoping they wouldn’t say no when I approached them, otherwise I would have been stuck. But all three of them immediately said yes. They dubbed for it two years ago and they had a lot of fun doing it. I was lucky to get such good actors.
You’ve got Saif and Javed to sing a hip-hop song in the film.
[Laughs] Yes, I got Saif and Javed to sing. Saif is a very good musician and he plays the guitar, while Javed is a good dancer and he has sung before. So getting them in was not a problem at all.
In fact, they went to town with the song. They had a great time and they brought a lot of their attitude and character into the song. I feel that the way we've had fun has come across in the song.
How was the experience working on Roadside Romeo?
It was very different. I've been working on live action movies since I was a child. Though the basic principles for an animation film are the same—it's a story with performance, dance and choreography—the techniques are completely different.
The whole experience was new and different for everyone working on the film, because it was everybody's first animation. We had a big team of about 150 people and their positivity and enthusiasm pulled us through these last two years.
How different was it working on an animation?
Well, for starters, you work in reverse. [Laughs] You dub with the actors when the script is ready and you also shoot them on camera while they are dubbing. In this way you get their expressions, their gestures of hand and face. These form the base for the visuals. Then we storyboard the film and we add the audio onto the storyboard. We edit the film also at this stage.
Any favourite animation films?
My all time favourites are Ratatouille, Finding Nemo and Jungle Book. I also love Madagascar and a Japanese animation film called Spirited Away.
So what’s planned after Roadside Romeo?
A nice long breather [laughs]. I have been completely into Roadside Romeo for the last two to two-and-a-half years. So now I’ll sit back, see how the reaction is and then plot my future course of action.