'Not easy to shoot intimate scenes with actors'

Abhishek Choubey, who has helmed intimate scenes between Arshad Warsi and Huma Qureshi, as well as Madhuri Dixit and Naseeruddin Shah, for "Dedh Ishqiya", says it isn't easy to can love scenes with actors unless they trust their director completely.

"Let me tell you, it's not easy to shoot intimate scenes with our actors. They have to trust the director's vision. As the director, I had to make sure I didn't let the actors down," said Choubey.

He says "once Madhuri accepted the scenes, she gave all of herself to them".

"However, there are more intimate scenes between Huma and Arshad than between Madhuriji and Naseerji (in the film)," he added.

The director especially can't get over the experience of working with Madhuri.

"It was an honour to work with somebody of her calibre. Getting Madhuriji was the best thing that could've happened to the film.

I feel she has all the emotions within her. It's really up to the filmmaker to pull out the emotions he wants in her character and she gives a pitch-perfect performance," he said.

Choubey said the the script was actually written to accommodate Madhuri's personality and skills.



"What's the point of having her in a film if there's no dancing? We wove her dancing skills into the script. You see, when we decided Madhuri would play Begum Para, we wrote the character according to Madhuri's personality. We incorporated the dancing," he explained.

Madhuri has shot a semi-classical dance number "Jaagi saari raina", choreographed by Kathak legend Birju Maharaj, and it was the most enriching experiencing for Choubey.

"I wanted Birju Maharajji and Madhuriji to recreate the magic that choreographer Hiralal and Waheedaji (Waheeda Rahman) created in 'Guide'. We shot in a beautiful palace in Lucknow. I became this wide-eyed boy watching the two stalwarts at work.

"Birju Maharaj didn't just come and choreograph Madhuri. He heard the narration of the entire script from me and then decided how he would shoot the song.

He spent a week for the song, recording with composer Vishal Bhardwaj and singer Rekha Bhardwaj. He also gave his inputs for the song composition. The number spells out a profound sense of nostalgia for a lost love," added Choubey.

"Dedh Ishqiya" is the sequel to the critically acclaimed 2010 film "Ishqiya".