Director Sujoy Ghosh on childhood fables, living his dream of working with Amitabh Bachchan and his new film

Aladin took four years to complete—Rohan Sippy backed out of producing it and Eros stepped in, there were budget issues during the making, and then the strike pushed the release back by another few months. What kept you going through all this?
I have never been the sort who would give up. If I spot an opportunity, I run with it real fast. Here, I had an opportunity to present my take on a classic tale with people like Mr Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt on board. There was no way I would have given up. Four years is a long period indeed but then Aladin also took time because of the effort that went into it. It’s the first of its kind. Such projects require a learning period since there is no reference point. Then, the scripting and the groundwork for the shoot happened, followed by 140 days of shooting over eight months. Special effects were tedious too. If you consider all these factors, you will realise that it didn’t take that long.

You say Aladin is old wine in a new bottle. How different is the new bottle?
I have always been excited by stories that put people in a quandary. Life always offers you a variety of options at various stages and I like to observe what a person chooses, depending on his priority at that stage. So, Aladin is one such story where the protagonist has been offered three wishes and he can ask for anything in this world. What he chooses depends on where he stands in life at that point and his choices are, of course, affected by the times he lives in.

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