Film-maker Madhur Bhandarkar is known for his unique brand of cinema that has helped him carve special news for himself with movie goers. It is always good to know about the film-makers when they move or shift gears.Madhur Bhandarkar, in an interview with CNBC-TV18’s Anuradha Sen Gupta, spoke about his new release, Dil To Baccha Hai Ji, which is different from the barely disguised fictional account of several real life news stories.
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Q: It is always interested to catch a film-maker when he is trying to do something different. How difficult was this film for you? You had to do no research and had no experts to talk to. How did you manage with this romantic comedy?
A: As a film-maker, I always wanted to explore all genres of cinema. People who know me closely, they are aware that I have a good flair of comedy and humour. I always wanted to make a comedy film, but I was tied up with movies like Chandni Bar, Satta, Page 3, Corporate, Traffic Signal. I didn’t get enough time in those 10 years since Chandni Bar.
I thought of making a comedy film which will be a slice of life. It should not be a candy floss comedy, an over the top comedy or a caricaturist. It should be something people can relate to. It will be like the 70's Basu Chatterjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee kind of cinema.
I thought of taking a shot and making this movie, Dil To Baccha Hai Ji, with three guys, their relationship with girls and what happens to them. There was definitely no research. I have taken characters whom people would relate to - from the work and friends. The characters should be such who have particular trait and nuance. This is what I have put in the film.
Q: Last time when we met after Fashion, you said, “(November 2008) I am an experimental film-maker and I love to experiment with different genres of cinema. My movie do commercially well at box office. But, I am not the typical commercial film-maker who will make a movie with four guys, four girls and put seven songs.” One part of what you have said stands true. But, on the other part, is it a commercial film that you have made so far?
A: No, I would not say that it is a commercial film. The mainstream starcast of Ajay Devgan and Imran Hashmi had a hit like Once Upon A Time In Mumbai, but this movie was started much before that. I am an experimental film-maker. A lot of film-makers are mostly comfortable in one genre of cinema and will never indulge in a film-making which is out of the box as people will scrutinize their work.
People are definitely ready to watch Dil To Baccha Hai Ji by Madhur Bhandarkar. How good or bad will his work in comedy show. When I was about to start this film, a lot of people pleaded me to not start this movie after I had a flop like Jail which didn’t do well in the box office, in spite of getting critical acclaimed.
A lot of people asked me to stick to my genre of cinema as Jail did not do well. As a film-maker, I wanted to go ahead with the film. For me, I won’t call this movie a commercial one, but I am being in my space where I have made a real movie.
Q: Do you feel that with the kind of reaction you got from Jail, people may have got tired of Madhur Bhandarkar’s brand of cinema? People know what to expect from you. Madhur will take one area of one subject, one premise and then expose a kind of approach.
A: No. I don’t think so. If that was the case then there wouldn’t have been any curiosity and hype for a film like Heroine which has not even started. I get recommendation everyday from people giving me movie ideas. They ask me to make a Corporate II, etc. I would not have got those emails or tweets, if people would have been fed up of Madhur Bhandarkar’s cinemas.
A lot of people asked me why I was changing my genre and becoming a candy floss film-maker with Dil To Baccha Hai Ji when they tweeted me or met me on the flight. My hardcore fan kept asking why don’t I stick to my genre of movies and why do I want to change. I said that I needed a break and want to try something different.
People definitely look forward to Madhur is the person who has done morel policing and exposing whatever happens to the society. So, I don’t think people are fed up.
Q: So, it has not got anything to do with the fact that you may be bored or people may be bored of your kind of cinema?
A: No, absolutely not. If that would be the case, I wouldn’t have had a lot of producers to back me up, actors wanting to work with me or the writers saying, “sir ek aisi film banao, only you can make it”. Due to all these things, I felt like taking a break.
