Firstly, Jodhaa Akbar is historical. Any DP (Director of Photography) would jump at this opportunity. Genres like thrillers, comedies and dramas keep coming. But how many historicals get made on this scale, with big stars and a director like Ashutosh Gowarikar?

How did this offer fall in your lap?

I know Ashutosh since the time he was modelling and acting. He approached me for Swades but our dates did not match. We have been trying to work with each other for a long time.

This time, while he was scripting Jodhaa Akbar, he wanted me as a DP and called me. Initially, I thought he was offering me an ad film, because he had called me to make ads earlier. But it turned out to be Jodhaa Akbar.

How do you shoot about 5,000 people in a war scene, and about 2,500 in a dance sequence?

Luckily, from the time I left FTI (Film and Television Institute), Pune, I have worked with prominent cameramen like KK Mahajan and Nadeem Khan. They have done big films. Working with them was a good training ground for me, and I could handle up to 500 people.

But Jodhaa Akbar was bigger than what I have done earlier.

Also read: Teaching Ash, Hrithik how to fight

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