Still don't know how to make a successful one: Priyadarshan after making 98 films

Filmmaker Priyadarshan has said that insecurity, rather than confidence, has driven his career across 98 films. Speaking about his latest release, Haiwaan, which released on September 11, the director said every success still leaves him unsure about what he will do next, and that he still does not believe he has figured out how to make a successful film.

Reflecting on more than four decades in cinema, Priyadarshan said the uncertainty he feels about his craft has also pushed him to keep adapting to changing audiences, technology and storytelling styles. He also spoke about how he approaches remakes, why he changes older stories for new contexts, and why he has never wanted to be limited to one genre.

“I’m a very insecure person. Because each time a film runs, I don’t know what I’m going to do next. That insecurity is what made me do 98 movies,” he said, in an exclusive interview with India Today.

He added that even a successful film does not necessarily leave him convinced that he has found a formula that works. “That insecurity is very huge. And every time I write a screenplay and the film works, I believe that I know the technique — and then the next film drops. So then I know, ‘Okay, I still don’t know how to make a successful film.’”

Priyadarshan said that constant questioning has meant learning to change with audiences over time. “There is a big, big struggle going on in your life. And as time changes, the audience that was watching movies 40 years back, when I started, is not the audience watching today. So you have to adapt,” he said.

He said longevity in the industry depends on keeping pace with both technology and the way audiences think. “I am telling you, there are great filmmakers, much better filmmakers than me, who worked with me and today are sitting at home without work because they couldn’t adjust to the technology and the audience’s mind. So you just have to understand how people think today.”How he approaches remakes

That approach, he said, also shapes how he revisits older stories. Priyadarshan described Haiwaan as his 98th film and said it is inspired by one of his earlier works, but added that adaptation does not mean recreating a film scene by scene. “When I made Virasat or when I made Gardish, the original film was completely changed,” he said, explaining that culture, professions, surroundings and social circumstances need to be reconsidered when a story moves from one setting to another.

He said he keeps the storyline but changes the rest wherever needed. “So, whenever I make a remake, I adapt only the storyline. For the rest, I always prefer to see what can be changed. If you see Manichitrathazhu and if you see Bhool Bhulaiyaa, you can see a lot of difference between both films.”

According to Priyadarshan, this is especially important when South Indian films are adapted for Hindi audiences. “I’ve seen a lot of these remakes of South films — people do not relate to them in the North because they still look like South films. Even after they’re remade, they look like South films,” he said.

He said his own method of adaptation has helped him sustain a long career in Hindi cinema. “I have never done that. That’s, I think, the only reason I have done more than 30 films here. I don’t think any other South director has ever done it. So, that adaptation works very well for me.”Why older stories change

Priyadarshan said changing technology is another reason older stories cannot simply be reproduced in the present. “Many of my old films, when I make them again here, I change a lot because, in those days, there were no mobile phones, no computers. But if the plot is interesting, you put it in today’s situation, today’s environment, and today’s social situation. When you put it there, it completely becomes another film. Only the story is the same.”

He recalled Gardish as an example of how far he could take an adaptation. Before Jackie Shroff eventually played the lead, he had approached Sunny Deol and Anil Kapoor for the film. “When I made Gardish, I went to Sunny Deol. I went to Anil Kapoor; none of them did it. Ultimately, Jackie did the film.”

After watching the finished film, Sunny Deol reacted differently, Priyadarshan said. “One day Sunny told me, ‘Why didn’t you tell me that this is how you were going to make it?’” Priyadarshan recalled. He said Sunny had seen the original, which was set in a small village, while he had moved the story to the underworld of Mumbai. When Sunny asked why he had not explained how differently he planned to make it, Priyadarshan replied, “Who asked you to see the original?”Not limited to one genre

Priyadarshan said staying relevant depends on changing the way a story is told, even when its basic idea remains the same. “You can tell the same story, but not in the same way. It should be told in a different way. So, I think so far I have succeeded. That’s why I’m sitting here in front of you.”

Despite being closely associated with comedy in Hindi cinema, he said he has never wanted to be defined by one kind of filmmaking. “I have tried every kind of movie. I never had a signature where people could say, ‘Okay, he makes only this kind of film.’” He added that serious films excite him in a different way as a director. “As a filmmaker, I am more thrilled because when you make a serious film, you can really bring out your craft better than when you’re making a slapstick comedy film.”

Haiwaan stars Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan in lead roles.- EndsPublished By: Priyanka SharmaPublished On: Sep 18, 2026 13:58 ISTALSO READ | Haiwaan actor says friends skipped film, Hanuman Ansh director offers support