'Goldie and I planned Drona when we were kids'

After taking time off to get married to the most beautiful woman in the world and do a family drama – “Sarkar Raj” – Abhishek Bachchan is back with what he promises is a bang.

Directed by Goldie Behl, “Drona” has taken a long time to come. But then, it was planned over two decades ago! The film also has Priyanka Chopra playing Abhi's bodyguard and Kay Kay Menon as the baddie.

In a casual conversation, Abhishek unravels the layers around his new movie. Excerpts:

Why did Drona take so long to make?

Well, the shooting began in December 2006 and was completed in December 2007. It took us one year to shoot because the film has a lot of special effects and they took eight to nine months to complete. The post-production work had to be done thereafter. Now it's September and the film is ready for release.

Our distributors and producers Eros felt that October 2 was the best date to release the film. So now, it has been scheduled for that date.

You have said earlier that Drona was your childhood dream. Care to elaborate?

Yes it was. When Goldie and I were very young – he was six and I was five – my father and Goldie's dad Ramesh Behl were shooting in Goa for a film called ‘Pukaar’. We were staying in a hotel and one day Goldie and I went to the sets.

They were shooting the climax and Prem Chopra and my father were having a sword fight. There were some swords lying around and we picked them up and started playing with them and broke them. We were punished and sent back to the hotel.

So the two of us sulked that our fathers threw us out of the sets. That's when we decided that when we will grow up and make a film it will have sword fights and then we will throw others off the sets.

Now, we have made ‘Drona’. Yes, it is a project we planned as children.

The film's music has been released. Which track do you like best?

I don't think I can choose one or two out of the whole album because I am very close to this film. Like a mother watches her kid grow up, I have seen the film come alive. Right from its conception to its story, screenplay and even the music, I was a part of it every inch of the way.

The music suits the story and the screenplay perfectly. It's a new sound and the credit goes fully to music director Dhruv Ghanekar and Goldie for coming up with something so wonderful and versatile.

You must have seen the promos and heard some of the tracks. It's great music. It has a little bit of everything.

What I like especially is the way it balances modernity with a rustic feel. I like that balance, it's something new and I think they have done a fantastic job.

Drona is a superhero movie like Krrish. There will be comparisons. Are you ready for them?

No, ‘Drona’ is not a superhero film, I'd love it if it was that but it isn't.

Drona is a king, not a superhero. I doubt they will be compared. They belong to two different worlds. Krrish is a fantastic character. It was a fantastic film done by a very dear friend and we all loved the film. The nation loved ‘Krrish’ and I hope ‘Drona’ also gets the same love.

The only thing that's common is that Krrish was a saviour and so is Drona. Maybe we should do a film with both the characters. It will be cool.

You are sporting long hair in Drona. What gives?

Unfortunately, Goldie was very sure he wanted long hair on Drona. He wanted long hair, he wanted a beard. Drona is a king and Goldie felt he will look good with this styling.

When he wrote the story he had a vision of Drona with flowing hair. So I grew my hair for the film.

I schooled in a boarding. I am used to short hair and that's evident. So sporting long hair was a problem and I started wearing a hairband to keep it off my face. For some reason, it became a fashion statement. Most people don't know I did it to keep my hair off my face.

Never mind the efforts it took, the look is fantastic in the film.

Give us one reason why we should watch it…

Haven't the promos already given you that reason? It is THE biggest film I have ever worked on. Once you watch it, you will want to go back and watch it all over again.