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Jyothi Venkatesh
Whether it was Paanch, No Smoking, Gulal, Udta Punjab or Raman Raghav 2.0, Anurag Kashyap is one maverick filmmaker who believes in making the kind of films that he makes like Mukkebaaz or Manmarziyaan or acting in films like Akira or Imaikka Nodigal (Tamil). He is now all set to launchan international project titled Talagh starring Angira Dhar and an Iranian actress, to be shot across Asia and Europe and inspired by a true-life story. It is the emotional journey of two women from two different parts of the world. It is written by Khatera Khan and Kathrin Wilkes and will be produced by Nurhan Sekerci, who has co-produced the German film In the Fade, which won the Golden Globe Award for Best Film in the Foreign Language category this year, with Anurag’s friend Fatih Akin, who directed the film.Today Anurag Kashyap is celebrating his 48th birthday. To wish him, we at bollyy.com and Mayapuri reproduce this interview of ANURAG KASHYAP by JYOTHI VENKATESH, taken two years ago, where he confesses that the success of Gangs of Wasseypur fetched him the freedom to make the kind of films that he wanted to make without bowing down to the pressures of the market forces.
After Mukkabaaz, Manmarziyaan is your second collaboration with Aanand L Rai. How was the experience as both of you have different sensibilities?
I wanted to make Mukkabaaz, but Aanand said that he wanted to make Manmarziyaan. We read each other’s scripts and decided let’s do both. I connect with Aanand and always tell him whether I like his films or not. Aanand L Rai has been appreciative of my work. I enjoy a massive support system in the industry among the directors. I feel fearless while making my films because I know that tomorrow if no studio or producer will stand by me, the directors will. I get a great sense of security from Aanand. I know I will be allowed to be myself as a creative person while working with him because he gives me immense breathing space. And that gives me a lot more confidence to explore things because Manmarziyaan was his idea. Kanika Dhillon wrote it, but it went to two sets of directors before they pitched it to me. I was clear that I would give it my own sensibility and interpretation. So, I changed the cast first and then the music. I do not like to start working on the sets blindly because when I start work after I over-prepared like in Black Velvet, my film tanks badly. Anurag, who is known to shoot films at real locations, shot with skeleton crew, sound equipment and hidden camera gorilla style in overcrowded lanes of Amritsar and its eateries and popular tourist spots like Thajiwas glacier in Kashmir.
What is Cinema according to you?
Cinema is one medium through which we are able to discover culture and time. It is through Cinema that I set out to see the world when I did not have a passport. Sadly there is no individual producer now. We are no longer making films which have shelf life. The bitter truth is that most of the filmmakers today do not care about films at all, because the trend now is to make films to appease the moment and see that it makes the maximum money in the first three days of its run. We have to change our attitude towards cinema. Till our constitution describes Cinema as entertainment and we continue to treat Cinema as timepass and the public has this mindset that since I am paying 200 bucks to watch a film, I want to be entertained, no one will take Cinema seriously.
What did you feel when your films tanked at the box office?
Every film brings with it different sets of challenges. With every film, the challenge is always to finish it in that kind of a budget and in that kind of time. The challenge was that I just had to finish my films in time. Because we had taken on a much larger film in a very short time, which we did in a very controlled budget, there was no way we could compromise in anything.
Why do you have this penchant to cast unknown new faces in your project?
I like to work with unknown faces because they are hungry to prove themselves unlike the stars, who have nothing to prove since they are already busy. I also feel that there is no guarantee that the stars would be able to justify their roles because they have a baggage of their own, unlike the newcomers who will be able to get into the skin of the characters they essay with ease. Frankly speaking, I have had a terrible experience of working with stars, because I feel that they are extremely insecure of their own market and are not ready to experiment as actors, especially because they are scared to put their market value at risk. There are exceptions to the rule like Aamir Khan, John Abraham and Abhay Deol. Though I do not have any problem at all to work with stars, my question is whether the stars will be willing to work with me in a film where every character is equally important? When I go to the stars with a script, they are very confused.
What happened to your project with Anil Kapoor?
I had launched a film called Allwyn Kalicharan with Anil Kapoor a few years ago. I was known as an avant garde filmmaker and my film Paanch had been banned by the Censors and I was not taken seriously by the film industry, though I managed to convince Anil Kapoor because I needed stars to sell my project. I had just announced the project after Anil agreed to work with me but six days before the film went on the floors, Anil Kapoor was not too sure of my capacity to pull off the project and walked out of the film. It was never made.
Did the phenomenal success of Dev D make things better for you?
Yes. You can say that. Dev D did change the scenario drastically for the better for me as a filmmaker. I should say I was greatly relieved by the response of both the critics as well as the paying public to my film. Earlier there was a lot of pressure because of films getting banned and there was this pressure of my survival. I felt angry and at a stage had even decided that I should set out to burn the world. However, my experience with all the six films- Black Friday or No Smoking, which people said they could not understand at all, Dev D or Gulaal and Udta Punjab, has been fantastic. Each film for me has been a learning experience as a filmmaker.
As a filmmaker, how do you react when your actors interfere with you on the sets?
I tell my actors very politely in my own way that I do not want interference but prefer collaboration on the sets.
How would you describe yourself as an actor?
I’m a good actor, but frankly, I like acting on stage. Recently, when Makarand Deshpande who has directed me in his plays asked me why I do not act in films too, I told him I preferred to work on stage as I feel that theatre is an actor’s medium, but cinema is a filmmaker’s medium. I’m very selfish; I want it to be my medium.
What is your advice to new and young filmmakers?
All that I can tell them is that they should not be scared at all of trying out anything new. They should not accept defeat when things do not work out the way they want them. When things proved to be too bleak for me, I said I will take a step back and tried to be more comprehensive but not simplified.
How would you evaluate your growth as a filmmaker over the years?
I’d be honest enough to confess that over the years, as a filmmaker, I have become very dishonest. If I continue to be honest, I do not think that I can continue to make the kind of films that I am making today. The system has made me dishonest. It has been a very painful journey with a lot of hiccups but I have no regrets at all because it is a journey which I have chosen to walk on. I know that you have to take everything in your stride, fight it out and face your opponents.
Do you think that the audiences have changed over the years?
The generation has changed a lot. I watch films with my daughter and I have absolutely no qualms to confess that my daughter hates my films. If I show my daughter some old films in Black &White, she will find the songs to be painstakingly slow pace- wise and the films extremely boring, though I used to enjoy watching the same films twenty five years ago.
Is there any filmmaker who you derive your inspiration from?
I would not say that I derive my inspiration from any particular filmmaker, because I have a mind of my own and think and write. Yet I’d not hesitate to give credit to Ramgopal Varma because he is one filmmaker who never broke box office records with his films but his films have impacted a generation of filmgoers who make films today. Don’t ever forget that Pyaasa received a lot of accolades but it did not click at the box office.
Do you think filmmakers today are able to get moneybags to back them easily?
I am thankful to Viacom for backing me and Gangs of Wasseypur all the way. I had made Udaan entirely on my own steam. It is upto us not to take undue advantage of them, because it is only because of backers like Viacom that even after two years, we are able to make a film like Gangs of Wasseypur and yet rake in 200 cr at the box office.
In what way has the success of Gangs of Wasseypur benefitted you?
I have received a lot of acclaim, appreciation and acceptance after a lot of years. I treasure the text message that I received from an actor like Amitabh Bachchan (who has always been my favorite actor) and quite a few others who I revere. The success of Gangs of Wasseypur fetched me the freedom to make the kind of films that I want to make without bowing down to the pressures of the market forces and also bestowed a lot of strength on me as a filmmaker.
What do you feel when you look back?
It is 25 years since I entered the film industry. In other words, I have given 19 years of my life for continuing to do what I believe in. It took me twelve years to get a houseful audience for my film Gangs of Wasseypur, though it did not boast of mega stars. Manoj Bajpayee was the only known star whereas the rest of them were all newcomers in Gangs of Wasseypur. It has been a slow and gradual process for me. I wanted to bring about a change but I did not know where I fitted and hence had to literally fight for myself to get the space that I realized I fitted in. Though my debut film as a filmmaker- Paanch could never see the light of the day and Black Friday was banned by the government, I survived even by making flops only because all of them have shelf- life. People know that my films may not work immediately but ten years hence they will definitely work. With consistency, I have built up a reputation of my own over the years and people say that I am a brand name.
How do you look back at your journey as a filmmaker?
I’m very happy. I’ve had 25 good years of filmmaking. I’ve done more than 100 films as a writer, director, producer, though frankly I came here to make one movie.
