We had certain legal issues. We had to make some changes to accommodate the developments. They were sorted out. I believe in completely going by the law of every land. That's what we did in LA when troubles arose.

Q: Was Aamir replaced by Jimmy Sheirgil after a great deal of deliberation?

A: Yes, we did have to do some serious re-thinking. I spoke to my casting director Shanu Sharma for immediate release. I was very happy to have Jimmy Sheirgil on board. I had done his clothes for Aditya Chopra's 'Mohabbatein'. So I know him from his debut. It was unfortunate that things didn't work out with Aamir Bashir. Like Jimmy, he was terrific in 'A Wednesday'. I look forward to working with him some other time.

Q: Were you upset with Aamir Bashir for going to the press about the visa problem?

A: I don't blame anyone for the situation. I don't see why the issue had to be reported so prominently in the Indian media. It complicated things for me. If creating hurdles for a filmmaker on a difficult foreign location makes news, so be it. It constantly kept creating stress for me.

Q: Was it a painful experience to shoot in LA?

A: In all my 11 years as a filmmaker, I've never felt the experience to be so different. Content-wise 'My Name Is Khan' is diametrically opposite to whatever I've done in the past. You know, on the very first day of shooting my cameraman Ravi Chandran looked at me and said, 'I don't think you've ever shot something like this.'

It is for the first time I'm directing a screenplay I haven't written myself. This gives me a level of detachment from the proceedings and yet a lot of attachment. It has released a plethora of unexplored emotions in my head.

This time I'm being creative in a different ways. And Shah Rukh plays a completely different human being ... I've never directed that person before. It took a few days for all of us to get into the groove. How this exploration of a new territory will turn out, no one knows.

(Subhash K. Jha can be contacted at jhasubh@gmail.com)