At one point, I worked up a list of five requirements for a superhero: superpowers, a costume, a code name, a mission, and a milieu. If the character had three out of the five, they were a superhero. But that's just my definition.
The prime reason behind making 'A Flying Jatt' was that there are barely any 'desi' superhero films in Bollywood which Indians can relate to. I wanted to exhibit that a superhero is more than just superpowers and leads a normal life like the others do. I wanted to attach a human factor to a superhero.
As it turned out, if you look at the history, everything in superhero comic books pretty much lies between Superman and Batman: Superman being the greatest superhero there is, and Batman being the one of the few superheroes who has no superpowers and is, in fact, not a superhero.
If you've learned anything from the modern superhero myth, if you see a bat around and it bites you, you have a 75 percent chance of ending up a superhero. Otherwise, you'll probably get really sick. But it'd be cool to be a superhero. You don't need to be too afraid.
I had tried to come up with a superhero comic, but it didn't work 'cause I wasn't a superhero artist, and I left it unfinished.
I had no confusion about making a superhero film. From the very day one, I knew I will make a movie of this genre which will have an Indian superhero. I never wanted to copy my superhero from any of the Hollywood ones.
Every superhero has this superhero identity and a civilian identity. A lot of their lives are about code switching.
I'd be Doctor Manhattan, a character from the Watchman.' He can do everything, he's the best superhero. There's no other superhero that could beat him in a fight.
There's a Marvel superhero called Black Bolt & his real name is Blackagar Boltagon & that really tells you a lot about superhero comics.
I think that the superhero-as-metaphor involves a superhero being some sort of intellectual, emotional, or other such concept writ large. But I don't know that it's a necessary part of the appeal that the superhero be superior.
The thing that I love about The Flash and about superhero shows, in general, is that it's not about having superpowers that makes you a superhero. You don't have to be The Flash and have super speed to do the right thing. You can be a great reporter or you can be a cop, like Joe West, and still fight for the things that matter.
The problem is there are so many stories out there where I can pull that superhero out, put any other superhero in, and the story works the same. For me, that's broken. I have to write a story that no one else but Aquaman or Shazam can be in, and as soon as you pull that character out and out someone else in, it doesn't work.
'Drake and Josh' was strictly nine to five. We'd go in and know what we were doing, and 'Superhero Movie' was just nuttiness every day because there's a joke every ten seconds.
Who hasn't dreamed of being a superhero? I don't know what my superhero name would be, but my power? I would have to say time travel.
I think I'd make a great superhero. I'm serious. I want to play a superhero, and I've already got one in mind. I think I've still got the body for the costume, and it's something I really want to do.
I was the youngest of three brothers by five years, so I spent most of my childhood playing alone, being Zorro or some other superhero, doing Lego, watching telly and riding my bike.
What does it mean to be a superhero? We're all fighting for the better good. But, at the same time, I think what stands out is, as superheroes, you don't give up; you don't surrender. I think that's what makes a superhero.