EXCLUSIVE: Kabir Khan - "When I see wrong politics being highlighted in films, it really makes me angry"

Filmmaker Kabir Khan kicked off his feature films career with Kabul Express (2006) in which he narrated what he had witnessed during his time in Afghanistan. The film starred John Abraham and Arshad Warsi. In a recent conversation with Bollywood Hungama, the director shared his experiences in Afghanistan, talked about the politics in his films like New York, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, and more, and whether it would be difficult to make Kabul Express in the current political climate.

When asked if could make a film like his debut movie in today's time, Kabir Khan said, "I would definitely want to because that's the only way I know. I would not make compromises; I would never make compromises on my ideology, or rather not do that story, then make compromises on ideology. For me, the core of a film is the politics of the film. When I say the politics of the film, a lot of people sometimes just misunderstand that; politics is not about political outfits. Politics is the way we see anything in this world; the way we look at women in our politics; the way we look at minorities or politics; the way we look at people living on the fringes of society is politics' the way we look at the people in power is a politics and that always has to come through. No story can exist in la-la land; in a vacuum. There is a real-world there."

He further added, "So with every shot, with every note of background music, when it comes, where it comes, how close am I going to the protagonist, how far I'm going away from the scene, how am I cutting it; my politics are coming through. So that is something you have to own. For me, that's always been the most important part of a film. I can forgive bad writing, shoddy camera work, you know, sloppy editing, but I can never forgive bad politics because mainstream media films are a very powerful platform and they can really influence a lot of people. So, when I see wrong politics being highlighted [in films], it really makes me angry."

Meanwhile, on the work front, Kabir Khan will helm Ranveer Singh starter 83. The film is waiting to release in theatres.