text: MUMBAI: Now that ‘Heyy Babyy’ has made an impact at the box office, director Sajid Khan has no qualms about revealing its antecedents. He says the film was inspired by the wild lifestyle of a college friend.
  
  
  
  Revealing the secret, Sajid said, "People said it was 'Three Men & A Baby'. But I don't copy films. I had done 17 drafts of 'Heyy Babyy' before the final screenplay emerged. It's actually based on the wild lifestyle of a friend. In fact, when he saw 'Heyy Babyy' he threatened to sue me and said I'd better pay him royalty."
  
  
  
  Sajid, who is known for his film-based shows like ‘Ikke Pe Ikka’ on television and as choreographer-turned director Farah Khan's brother, is now trying to make his mark on the big screen. ‘Heyy Babyy’ was his first step in that direction. Before the film, he directed a small story for Ram Gopal Varma's 'Darna Zaroori Hai’.
  
  
  
  Sajid says the friend on whose life the film is based was a part of his college gang.
  
  
  
  "He had a faithful, sweet girlfriend. But he played the field like crazy. Many times I lied to his girlfriend while he was with other women. After a while he got caught. They fought but I acted mediator and got them married. But even after marriage he didn't stop.”
  
  
  
  "Then we lost contact. Recently, he called me home for his baby daughter's birthday. I had never seen such happiness in his home before. This friend told me how a baby girl changed his life."
  
  
  
  That's how Sajid's baby story was born.
  
  
  
  "All the transformation, misgivings about my friend's daughter's future and joy about her present have gone into the script. When I narrated the idea to Sajid Nadiadwala, he loved it. It was a real story. But I had to treat it as a comedy because no one would have come to see it otherwise. They expected my film to be funny."
  
  
  
  Getting gender savvy, Sajid confided, "No man at the beginning of a relationship tells the woman the truth. Initially, he just wants to have fun. The truth is you may be far happier as a bachelor, but you are far more at peace as a father."
  
  
  
  Sajid also reveals that ‘Heyy Babyy’ is structured like a Hrishikesh Mukherjee film.
  
  
  
  "I keep my storytelling and camera angles very simple, just like Hrishida. 'Heyy Babyy' needed fast cutting and eye contact. It didn't need fancy camera angles. When I acted in his 'Jhooth Bole Kauva Kaate', I learnt a lot about the virtues of simple storytelling from him. I've tried to keep in mind audiences of every age and taste."
  
  