FILM INTERVIEW: MADHUR BHANDARKAR - PART 2

 

Madhur Bhandarkar: Firstly, I should say that this is not to inspire anyone to drop out of school. I am sure all parents and teachers will curse me then. I dropped out of school after sixth standard, but I must confess that I was an avid reader and very crazy about movies. I used to go see shoots, and as a kid, not a lot of people used to stop me. I had seen the shooting of the song "Disco 82." Then, from seeing the shoots to reading about them, to being the delivery boy at a video cassette library, to assisting Ram Gopal Verma in four movies and finally making my own movie one day, I could say that it was a hard journey and how everyone should sympathize with me, but actually, if I had not had this journey, maybe I would not have learned so much. I am glad that this journey was the way it was. I have no regrets whatsoever!

 

NSM: All your movies--like Page 3, Corporate, Traffic Signal--are inspired from real life situations. How did the idea cross your mind?

 

MB: All these were areas I had observed and wanted to explore more. I wanted those people to know about the page 3 circuits, the traffic signal areas, or the corporate world that had no clue about it. I researched a lot in these areas and realized that good stories for movies are right around us. We don’t have to go to a different planet to know about them.

 

NSM: You worked in a video cassette library and learned most of your craft from there. Do you remember the movies that made the most impact on you, that made you want to turn into a director?

 

MB: The video cassette library made me realize that I wanted to be a part of the industry for sure. I delivered cassettes at various houses of the big shots of the industry. I wish I could name one movie that made me want to become a director. It was a mix of so many movies and the shoots I used to see that made me want to hold the fort and make something for the people to view and get entertained by. I didn’t just watch movies; I devoured them and worshiped them. I guess one has to have an undying passion so as to be driven to do what they dare to dream of.

 

NSM: You have depicted various characters that hold a mirror to the society in general. Where do you draw your inspiration from?

 

MB: I draw my inspiration from the society itself. All my stories are inspired from the life around us. One just has to be a keen observer to know that, in a day, we walk along so many different untold stories.

 

NSM: What is your latest venture--Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji --all about?

 

MB: Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji is my first attempt at comedy. It is a romantic comedy, which has Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, and Omi Vaidya depicting three different male characters looking for love. Humor has always been a very important part of my daily life, and a lot of people insisted that I should bring it on to the silver screen as well. I guess, after making a string of hard-hitting cinema, it was time to make something lighter and different. It was time to take myself out of my comfort zone and make a movie in a different genre.

 

NSM: How was your experience working with Ajay Devgn?

 

MB: I love working with Ajay. He is a brilliant actor. I am glad to see that, even though he started off as an action hero, he has tried his hand at different genres of movies. He has great comic timing, and I really loved the way he slipped into his character. In Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji, you will see a very different side to Ajay because of the character he plays.

 

NSM: You have won three National Awards. How does it feel?

 

MB: It feels great and humbles me in ways I can’t explain. National Award is a great honor, and it makes me feel that I must have done something right. Awards like these motivate you and tell you that you are on the right track.

 

NSM: Your craft as a director is very unique. Who do you admire the most as a director?

 

MB: There is a long list of filmmakers and movies that I like, but keeping Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji in mind, I love Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s movies. They have entertained people and are a collector’s item. I have always wanted to make cinema that people would want to preserve and go back to time and again.

 

NSM: You are known for working with a lot of fresh faces. How was it working with a cast like Shruti Hassan and Shahzan Padamsee?

 

MB: In this movie, the entire cast was new for me. This was the first time I was working with Ajay, Emraan, Omi, Shruti, Shraddha, and Shahzan. It was brilliant working with these two young, talented actresses. They are talented and have a long way to go in this industry. They executed their characters really well. I will always wish them good luck for their futures.