I first saw Gunda in 2006, a good eight years after the film had released. I was befuddled by the collection of bizarre scenes and acting sequences but, surprisingly, I was piqued too.

With a done-to-death story, the only highlight of the film was its sheer randomness coupled with some funny dialogues. Before I realised it, I too became one of the zillion fans of Kanti Shah's films.

Often celebrated for the 'they-are-so-bad-that-they-are-good' phenomenon, Kanti Shah's films have created a cult of their own and the filmmaker, popularly known as the king of C grade films, knows it.

In fact, when I asked him about the success of Gunda, he proudly proclaimed, "Gunda's rating on IMDB (Internet Movie Database) is 7.6 which is higher than Shah Rukh Khan's Ra.One (4.5), Vidya Balan's The Dirty Picture (6.9), Ranbir Kapoor's Rockstar (7.3) and many other superstar films. This is the inheritance of Gunda."

Apart from Gunda, his films Loha, Kanti Shah Ke Angoor, Daku Ramkali, Shaadi Basanti ki Honeymoon Gabbar Ka, to name a few, have all been successful.

Shah seldom speaks to the media. It was after pursuing for two and half month the director finally agreed to give an interview.

In this interview with Sonil Dedhia, Shah explains with refreshing candour his penchant for sex in all his movies, why he does not agree with the C grade categorisation of his films, and the reasons for casting his wife, Sapna Tanveer, as the leading lady in all his films.

People know you for your films but not much is known about your background.

I grew up in a middle class family. I stayed in Juhu with my parents and my brother and sister. I studied till FYJC only. I didn't like studies so I left it.

My parents were very angry and told me to start working so I started working as a car mechanic, which lasted for six months.

Then I started buying pillow covers and handkerchiefs from Ulhasnagar and sold them outside Santa Cruz station. I did this for a year.