Vishram Sawant, owner of Risk Design and Advertising Private Limited, is a publicity designer turned director. His first film D, with Ram Gopal Varma released in 2005 and won him accolades. In his second and latest offering Risk, the director has roped in his favourite actor Randeep Hooda, staged a platform for veteran actor Vinod Khanna’s comeback and has K Sera Sera backing his project.

In a chat with Businessofcinema.com’s Rohini Bhandari, Sawant holds forth on his upcoming movie and more…

How has film making been, post D?
I had directed D with Ram Gopla Varma, so it was treated more like his film. Actually I had conceived Risk prior to D. I had designed Risk keeping in mind Randeep’s look and character.

D was Ramu’s story and he thought I was the best person to direct it. So after D, Randeep and me started working on this script. This film was very important for both of us. We have experimented with the film at different levels of performance, attitude and dialogue.

What is Risk about?
Risk is about an honest cop – Suryakant Satam, who’s standing at the crossroads of his life, poised to make tough choices. He chooses to follow his heart and learns the hard way that his job is risk enough, but it’s an even greater risk to do it right. In spite of obstacles, Suryankant is undeterred. He simply surrenders to the passion of reaching the unseen and the undone.

I think the film is a game played by one man on another. It also incorporates the Indian principle of Satyamev Jayate (truth always prevails).

Promos of the film have been on for quite a while now. How has the feedback been?
Risk is a mass oriented film. On the basis of the promos, I have received very good response from the masses, by which I mean the single theatre audiences.

I like to get feedback from people so that I can implement the same sometime in the future. I have cut the promo identical to the way the film has been cut, I am not trying to hide anything. The speed of the film is such that it generated a lot of curiosity at every point and so do the promos.

Why is the release of the film getting delayed?
There are many technical glitches during the making of a film that need to be resolved. I want the film to be technically sound. It’s been getting a good response for the promos, so it’s not that I don’t have buyers for the film.

Many films have already dealt with the topic of an honest cop. What does your film offer to make it distinctive?
Until now, we have seen cop films where the inspector is very principled, and is rude to his subordinates. But my cop is different, he understands people. He deals with crime differently to the extent that he even plays a game with crime.

The character of Suryakant Satam has been created by me. I think we need to have a cop like him, who is focused and dedicated towards his work and his uniform. When the six bullets in his gun give way, he has to draw support from the seventh bullet – the mind game, and then he has to take a risk.

He is a Mumbai based cop, not based in Uttar Pradesh or Bihar as shown in other films. Unlike other films, where certain incidents of life make the protagonist turn bitter, it is Satam’s self motivation that drives him to walk his path. This cop has nothing to do with any real cop or true incident; he has been entirely created by me.

Is it a conscious decision not to heavily market Risk as the comeback film for Vinod Khanna?
I think the film should be its own USP, in its totality and not in pieces. Everyone is a part of the film, so I don’t want to highlight just one aspect. I hadn’t even thought of promoting or not promoting the film using Vinodji’s name. It’s the promo of the film that attracts viewers most and we have concentrated on that aspect.

Since you are a designer by profession, how have you added special nuances to design your film?
I treat the entire film as a design. A film has to be designed well to look good. A film has to have a fragrance of what it deals with and there are many elevation plans to it. I have a team of 20 designers working under me.

The subject of Risk may be that of a cop’s story, but the film has to be placed on a platform for it to be special. For instance, it’s not necessary that a film looks good only if shot in London, even Mumbai is good if captured well and that’s exactly what I have projected in my film.