FILM INTERVIEW: ANURAG KASHYAP
'Udaan' and 'That Girl In Yellow Boots' Takes Storm On Festival Circuit
Some stories strike close to home. For Bollywood producer and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, this week’s release of Udaan closely resembles the personal life he once lived — a life of abandonment and self-discovery as a child. So powerful was the story told on the big screen that Udaan was an official selection in the Un Certain Regard competition of the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Weeks later, Udaan is ready for release in Bollywood, as Anurag teams up with Sanjay Singh and Ronnie Screwvala of UTV Motion Pictures to bring the heartfelt drama to anxious audiences in India. Helmed by Vikramaditya Motwane and starring Ronit Roy, Ram Kapoor, Rajat Barmecha, and Manjot Singh, Udaan is a tale of enduring struggle and hardship whilst sacrificing hopes and dreams.
For Anurag, who directed critically acclaimed films such as Dev D, Black Friday, and No Smoking, those hopes and dreams he held so closely to his soul almost never happened, though his story was no feature film — it was real life. In talking to reporters about Udaan, the filmmaker shared an anecdote about a seven-page letter written to his parents in 1993. About 17 years later, Anurag revealed what he wrote — he was leaving home in order to pursue his dreams.
Not surprisingly, the storyline of Udaan centers around a child who decides to leave home in the name of — you guessed it — chasing dreams.
“The theme of Udaan is universal, and everyone can relate to it almost immediately. It’s a phase when all of us are out to rebel against our parents, our society. Even in my case, I was extremely hurt and had written a seven-page letter to mom and dad saying that I am leaving home to pursue my dreams,” Kashyap said. “I desired freedom from my parents, freedom to do what I wanted in my career. Since Udaan is exactly similar in theme, I thought I could share my letter to promote the film.”
That letter will soon be published for all to see on Facebook as Kashyap hopes it will serve as a promotional tool to drive audiences into theaters that are playing Udaan. He hopes it will shed light not only on the struggles he had endured during his ardent journey at such a young age, but also on people with similar dreams who never have a chance to make them a reality.
One person within the Kashyap camp spoke with the media, adding his perspectives on why the director and producer’s story is so relevant to both the plot of Udaan and to the real-life struggles of so many real people in India and around the world.
“Anurag left his parent’s house in Varanasi in 1993 and wrote a seven-page letter in Hindi to his mother and father. He wanted to come to Mumbai and work in the television industry. He was upset that his family and relatives used to call him useless and wayward,” the friend anonymously shared with the media. “They used to say that he would definitely go astray one day. That letter was earlier with his mother. Now, while promoting his film Udaan, Anurag found similarities between his life and the film, which deals with the subject of a teenage boy wanting to choose his career.”
The question now is whether the Hindi film fan-base has endured enough similar situations to be able to both relate to Udaan and be motivated enough to choose it over the other productions it is competing with this upcoming weekend.
Either way, whether or not Udaan performs well at the box office, Anurag should be proud of his accomplishments, as he has made quite a name for himself as one of India’s top independent directors. Even more, not many Indian filmmakers have had the privilege to screen at Cannes Film Fest. Accordingly, Anurag’s risks were well worth it, and he will always be properly praised for enduring nightmares en route to living out his dreams.
To gain perspective on that very life he lived, be sure to check out Udaan when it hits theaters on July 16th.
