Ashutosh Gowariker Interview: On ‘Swades’ And 20 Years Of Setting Up His Production House

If there is a name that encapsulates the contradiction of extraordinary successes and bold, adventurous missteps, it’s that of Ashutosh Gowariker. The visionary filmmaker has journeyed from being an actor to a director to a producer across four decades, and he still persists in this volatile industry. Over the years, his films like Lagaan (2001), Swades (2004), and Jodhaa Akbar (2008) have etched themselves into the annals of cinematic history. Yet, for every towering success, there has been a What’s Your Rashee? (2009) or Mohenjo Daro (2016) — projects that didn’t quite find a place in the audience’s hearts.

This year marks 20 years since Gowariker ventured into the world of production with Swades, a decision that stemmed from his desire to have the freedom to tell stories that defied convention. It wasn’t merely about crafting movies; it was about creating the space for his visions to come alive unfiltered.

The Hollywood Reporter India sat down with the filmmaker in his office  to dive deep into his career, his legacy, and the unflinching commitment to financing his dreams, no matter the outcome.

Edited excerpts:

Shah Rukh Khan in 'Swades'

When you look back at your career as a producer and as a director, how do you assess the evolution of your style and your storytelling? What do you think has fundamentally shifted?

When we started Ashutosh Gowariker Productions (AGPPL) 20 years ago, the intention was to have complete freedom over our choices of scripts and stories that we wanted to tell — I had this with Aamir Khan when I was doing Lagaan (2001), and I wanted to emulate that in my fourth film. One always knows that one wants to tell stories which are entertaining, but also with some kind of a message. That is very difficult to do because you need to have success and people to back you again.

When I look back on these 20 years, I feel like I should have made 20 films by now, but I've done much less because each film took a lot of time. I feel a lot of gratitude that I was even able to make so many of them — to create a new world each time. Since each of these stories had a very different approach, I was only able to do them because I became a producer.

I feel so far, so good, but I should have had more success. But when I see a film like Mohenjo Daro (2016), I look at it as a film that lacked a perfect screenplay, it was written by me and did not make the cut. There are learnings with every film, like how to tackle a new subject that I'm going to get into. Of course you have to change with the changing times. You have to adapt, you have to recalibrate.

I don't believe that the audience today does not have time and hence they don't want to watch long films. There are so many long films that have released this year and they have been successful.

Pushpa 2 is around three-and-half hours…

Yeah, that's a long film. So I think it's your (the audience’s) narrative pace that has probably undergone some kind of change. But ultimately it boils down to what the audience wants, what their state of mind is when they come in, and how much the trailer has guided them.

That one unit of promotion — the trailer — is more important than ever before. And, of course, you have to be in competition with web series. Hindi cinema has to be in competition with regional cinema. But the way of telling a story has not undergone so much of a change.

When you look back at the films that didn’t work, what do you think went wrong?

Let me give you the example of What's Your Raashee? (2009), which is a curious case of a guy who has to choose among girls belonging to the 12 sun signs. He's going to choose only one, that means 1/11th of the audience is not going to like the film because their zodiac has not been chosen (laughs). That film could have been shorter. Since each zodiac sign had a song, the film went on much longer than it should have.

Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey (2010) was about the freedom struggle, with a freedom fighter whom India didn't care about — because when the partition happened, the land he belonged to  went to East Pakistan and later in 1971, it became Bangladesh. So the freedom fighter now belongs to Bangladesh, right? Why should we care? But I was of the opinion that 52 kids, all teenagers, started a revolution. What drove them? How were they so driven? What were we doing when we were their age? I found that really fascinating, and that's the story I told.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Harman Baweja in 'What's Your Rashee?'

While making Panipat (2019), a lot of people told me, ‘Why do you want to tell that story? It's a story of defeat.’ But my focus was on something else. Maybe it's a story of defeat, but it's also a story of valour. What is the need to travel thousands of kilometers up North to fight somebody else's battle? That was what really got my attention.

Each time, my subject matter has been very unusual and risky. I was thankful that I was getting an opportunity to make that film and tell that story because it was not going to be told ever again. And regardless of what happened commercially,  this is something that I would like to continue doing. But of course, in a commercial way, because my attempt is always to make a commercial film, to always have box-office success. It is true that box-office success sometimes eludes you, but it shouldn’t change your primary pursuit. I want to tell these stories, I need to find a way to tell them.

To be able to fund your ambition and to back yourself is not only smart, but also brave. But it couldn’t have been easy. What were the challenges of setting up AGPPL? Because if not for this, so many of the stories you wanted to tell wouldn’t have found homes…

You’re absolutely right. Either they wouldn’t have been made or at least we wouldn’t have the creative freedom that we did. My biggest pillar of strength has been my wife, Sunita.

After Lagaan, she was the first person I went to, because I was clear that if she said yes to doing this, if she agreed to take over the reins of running a production house, only then should we go into it. She was very willing and brave. She hadn't done production before, because we are not from the business. In that sense, we are first-generation producers. But she wanted to attempt it — and thanks to her, we got Swades (2004) made.

Swades was not the film people thought I was going to make after Lagaan. People thought my next film would be about football or some such sport (laughs). If Lagaan was a drum, Swades was a flute. It was a completely inward journey. If Lagaan was about patriotism, this was about nationalism, which is something that is not external. It's not drum beating, it's not jingoism. It's all internal. You have to feel it.

Because of Sunita, I was able to pull off a lot of those films with very controlled and tight budgets.

Since you are the director and the producer, do you sometimes go easy on yourself? When you need a particular location or costume, and even if it extends the budget a little, do you go for it?

I’m the kind of director who knows what he wants. If I need 100 elephants for Jodhaa Akbar (2008), then I want 100 elephants. But Sunita would work on the numbers and then tell me, “You can't have 100. You can get 75. You have to make do with 75.”

So what is the negotiation like? There's the personal front and then there's the work front… is it difficult to negotiate with the producer when she is also your wife?

A lot of times, yes. It was difficult because both of us were also exploring this world and learning as we went along.

I mean, finally we did have 100 elephants on set!

So you got the last word?

No, I reduced the horses (laughs).

This is possible to do only when you are negotiating the numbers. And because it's me and Sunita, we are able to do that slightly more deftly. She understands the passion, she understands what the requirements are. There are certain times when she's also downright rejected some stuff that I can't have… and then she gets the last word.

The requirements of period dramas are also usually bigger than contemporary films. Tell me about your fascination with the period genre — especially as a producer when you know it’s going to be harder to pull off logistically.

In my growing-up years, I've always been fascinated with the opening line, “Once upon a time in India…” or the line, “A long time ago…” (chuckles). I'm a great fan of Asterix and Obelix, the comics, and that's based in the past. I am fascinated by portions of history that can be recreated even today and made relevant by the storytelling. To give you an example, I would say for Jodhaa Akbar, my thematic value for the film was religious tolerance at that time, which I felt was most required.

For Mohenjo Daro, my whole thing was how we look at global warming and environmental change today and do nothing about it.

Pooja Hegde and Hrithik Roshan in 'Mohenjo Daro'

In today's political climate, do you still find yourself going for period work even though you know that it will make your life harder because someone will boycott it?

Contemporary films also face problems and you just have to circumvent them. It happened with Billu (2009) which was Billu Barber. I don't want to curb my imagination or my inner calling just for the sake of people rising against the film. My heart is clear; I’m clear about why I'm making that film. I'm not trying to be flashy about it. I'm not trying to be controversial about it. In fact, I try to steer away from controversy.

With Panipat, there was controversy about a particular character. He was a king from the North; they did not like a particular scene in the film and the way it was depicted. Even though it's part of history, I removed it. Because that is not the idea of the film. The idea of the film is valour. I wouldn't curb my inner calling out of fear.

If you could go back to the films that you've made, would you change something or would you let them be the way they are?

I would want to change Mohenjo Daro for sure. I have great satisfaction in the way the film has been produced; the detailing is accurate, we had seven archaeologists working and helping on that. But what did not work was the screenplay. I would want to go back and redo the screenplay. I would change even the characters. The only way I can do that now is by creating a web series. I need to tell a new story because there's a lot to be told there.

You're a producer, you're a director, you're an actor. Do you see yourself directing yourself as an actor on the project that you are producing?

You know, I would love to. That thought always crosses my mind with every film. But ultimately sense prevails.

What does that mean?

It means I should not be acting in my own stuff because I want to focus only on direction. Direction is too sacrosanct. You can't adulterate it. I have great admiration for Raj Kapoorji and Guru Duttji who did some great films with themselves as actors. I really wonder how they pulled it off. But yes, someday some such story will come along where I’ll feel that no one else would be fit for this.

Would you like to lead a film? Or do a cameo?

It depends on what kind of script it is. I wouldn't like to do a completely central role. I wouldn't create a star vehicle for myself because that's giving myself too much importance.

But is that tempting to do, when you have so much power?

There's no such temptation. It has to come organically. For me, the first thing is the story and the script that I want to tell. If a part emerges naturally from it that I really feel driven to, I will do it.

So no nepotism here then…

No, no (laughs). I would audition for it.

You would audition for your own film?

I would audition for it. I would ask Sunita to look at it. I would ask the direction team and the production team to look at it and tell me whether I'm suitable for the part. It needs to be an objectively good decision.

What is the plan ahead for the next two decades?

Since I've celebrated 20 years, from here on ahead, I am creating more verticals. I'm making a web-series, an audiobook, a documentary, a television show and I'm also doing a Marathi film. I'm also working with a couple of other directors, who will make films for me. I'm actually doing much more than what I did these past 20 years.

What is your legacy? What do you want to leave behind?

I think films that entertain, but with a message. It’s as simple as that.  If you look at my AGPPL logo, it's the symbol of Goddess Saraswati, who is the goddess of learning. I feel that when you come to watch a film in a theater, you get entertained there. But when you go back home a week later, six months later, you must remember the film. It's not just popcorn. It should stay with you.