Peeping Moon brings you a bombastic question and answer session with the only & only KR.

You were saying the rain in Mumbai is good. You enjoy this weather?

Yes and no. I have been shooting some kabbadi action scenes in Powai for Ashwini Iyer Tiwari's Panga. The rains have cooled things down. The weather definitely makes things better. But of course the phone-lines have been a bummer since the last couple of days. We shot some action sequences in May and June and it was hot, sweaty and sultry. At least in the last two days, the temperature has come down. So, it has made it a lot better to can action sequences.

The trailer of Judgemental Hai Kya with Rajkummar Rao and you has been well-received. You bring a x-factor to the table as an actor.

That's kind of you. I think it is a long way before we as women actors get the kind of reactions the male superstars(say for e.g. the Khans) do. But yes, I am fully aware that my films evoke a certain interest factor and they do initiate a dialogue. I'm grateful to my audience and the media for this. The media likes my candour and my conversations, as do the audience. My films definitely bring something to the table.

Rumour has it that your producer, Ekta Kapoor and you had differences on the film. True?

Ekta is a strong-headed person as am I. Of course it is true that we did have our differences. We have had differences in the past too. However, we did meet on middle ground. She let me have a say in the edit and I was happy for her to take over the marketing. Ekta is a marketing maven and I personally think she does a fantastic job of it.

You shot a promotional video with Badshah?

Left to myself I would not have worn something skimpy and provocative and done a promotional track for a film like Judgemental Hai Kya. It is a sensitive film and deals with a sensitive issue. But as I said, I met Ekta half-way. She let me have a say on the creatives, so I was happy to comply with her marketing requests.

Whose idea was it to bring Hrithik Roshan's Super 30 and your film JHK on the same day?

Well it certainly was not my idea. I was informed about it by Ekta after her team chose the date. When you are dealing with a studio things are more democratic. When you are dealing with individual producers, things are sometimes autocratic. I certainly didn't want a promotion campaign to get any mileage from my past. Actually I don't see any merit in milking a dead cow. Whatever happened between Hrithik and me is far gone. It makes no sense to keep bringing it up. Anyway, it certainly was not my idea to bring our films out on the same date. Besides Judgemental Hai Kya is a youth-centric film. We are catering to almost a similar, youthful audience like Kabir Singh. For us Kabir Singh would have proved a bigger threat than Super 30. So, we were more worried about giving ourselves a window between Kabir Singh and ourselves. We didn't even think of Super-30. Ekta made a smart business move by giving a few weeks between Kabir Singh and us.

Is it still hard to for a female-centric film to get the kind of patronage that a male-dominated film does?

May be we can get equal attention. But when it comes to box office, it is easier for the male-dominated movies to get bigger numbers. Our audience is mostly male. I would say approximately 70-80%. Not all of them are from the educated or informed strata. And the cinema they patronise is different. The family audience prefer a different set of films. My films be it Manikarnika:The Queen of Jhansi, Tanu Weds Manu, etc cater to a more urban audience. I'm looking to do a film that will cut across segments. I want my movies to move from urban to rural.

One hears you are launching a new film on July 6?

Yes, I am announcing, Dhakaad, a spy-thriller. It is a mainstream, commercial film and it is the kind of subject and premise that can lend itself to a franchise. I'm excited about this.

Panga should have the appeal which Dangal did right?

Dangal was a story told from a dad's point of view; it was male-centric. It's appeal was therefore larger. Panga is from the mom's point of view. so the appeal may be slightly reduced. The point I made earlier is repeated. 70-80% of our audience is male-dominated.

What about doing a film like Seeta Aur Geeta or say a Chaalbaaz? Wouldn't that be right up your alley?

No, those films are done with. They played out differently because those times were different. Those formats can't be repeated. What Hema(Malini)ji did or what Sridevi did may not work now.

Bollywood continues to stay male-dominated despite efforts to end pay parity and get `inclusive.'

I'm not saying men have it better. I'm saying the audience ratio of male v/s female is skewed. So male-centric or say Khan-centric films have a better chance of raking in bigger numbers. I went out on a limb for Manikarnika:The Queen of Jhansi. I tore a ligament, got 20 stitches on my forehead and really pushed myself. We had some incredible action-sequences in there. However, I guess the blood I spilled, has less value. The film went on to doing a business of 100 cr. Yet, some where, it was made to seem like it didn't count for that much.