I got carried away with success; I felt infallible: Sajid Khan

Exactly a decade ago — on August 24, 2007 — he made his big bang debut with Heyy Babyy. And after that, director Sajid Khan continued his winning run with Housefull (2010) and Housefull 2 (2012). But then Himmatwala (2013) and Humshakals (2014) onwards, it went downhill. “I got very carried away with the success of Heyy Babyy; I felt infallible,” says Sajid. “I had seen so much success and so much failure throughout my life, be it on TV or stage. But I had never seen this adulation, especially as a filmmaker. So, because I got carried away, this took me towards Himmatwala.” The director adds that even during interviews, he kept saying that he couldn’t go wrong. “Truth be told, I was playing to the gallery. But what I didn’t realise was that I was pushing a lot of people the wrong way. When Himmatwala didn’t work, that’s when I understood the negativity,” he says. Still, the past 10 years were “entertaining, enlightening and educational”. Sajid says, “I started Heyy Babyy when I was 35; now I am 45. I have grown a lot.” In his head, he has always been up even when life took him down, says the director. “I refuse to lie back and accept defeat.” How did it feel to confront such negativity after such a great start? He says, “I did feel bad, but it was justified. So many people come to me [now] and tell me to make [another] film, but I don’t want to make a wrong film. I don’t want to do the wrong casting. I don’t want to have the wrong screenplay. I’d rather wait.” Hasn’t he missed being behind the camera after Humshakals? “No I haven’t,” replies Sajid. “Even in the case of Heyy Babyy and Houseful, one came in 2007 another in 2010. Today, whatever film I make next, I’ll definitely be much better than [in] the previous one, for the simple reason that I’ve learnt much more. I have understood the technique much more, I have understood screenplay much more, and I have understood the value of correct casting.”