How many times have you seen each other’s latest films? We’re curious.

Mehra: I’ve seen Lage Raho Munnabhai once.

Hirani: I’ve seen Rang De Basanti two times.

Clearly then, Raju has an edge.

Mehra: Not at all. Lage Raho Munnabhai is the first film I saw in two years.

Hirani: (Laughing): It’s ok, Rakeysh, you can go and see it again tonight.

Assume you hadn’t written your respective films. Supposing the scripts of both were in circulation and you were given a choice, which one would you pick?

Mehra (Poker faced): If I had known the script of Lage Raho Munnabhai existed, I would’ve stolen it. And if I knew that Raju was making this particular film, then I would’ve murdered him. Jokes apart, I would’ve gone for either/or. Both are great screenplays screaming to be made into movies.

Hirani: After Munnabhai MBBS, I was desperately looking for a script to direct. Since I didn’t get anything good, I decided to write the script of Lage Raho Munnabhai. So I would have definitely gone for Rang De Basanti if it were offered to me. And since there is such a dearth of good scripts, I would have picked both of them.

If you had swapped the scripts, how would you have directed the films?

Mehra: Lage Raho... has an exceptionally great screenplay. It’s one of those rare films in which once the plot is revealed, every moment becomes a moment of conflict. When you come across something so nice and beautiful, you just want to let it be. It’s theoretical how I would have made it. The fact is that I haven’t and I want to sincerely accept Raju’s film with open arms.

... contd.