Chetan Anand's death anniversary: Acting has always been a 'joke' for me

Chetan Anand, after spending years in a creative life, is still working in this business and claims to make a good movie if he gets a good audience.
He became famous for his film 'Neecha Nagar', and after spending years in creative life, is still working in this business and claims to make a good film if he gets a good audience. After making many popular and memorable films like 'Haqiqat', 'Hindustan Ki Kasam', 'Aakhri Khat', 'Heer Ranjha', he remained away from film life for many years. Today he has brought his serial 'Paramveer Chakra' to the audience on the small screen.

What new taste will Chetan Anand serve to the audience through the small screen?

He hates new cinema. Here he discusses with us what is right and what is wrong in Indian cinema and tells us how the taste of the audience has changed in the last forty years. It remains to be seen what new taste he will serve to the audience through the small screen after so many years. 
Chetan ji, we are curious to know what your life must have been like before coming into films.

'All the work I did before film direction was a kind of creation. I was a broadcaster in All India Radio and British Broadcasting Corporation. Apart from being a teacher in Doon School, I was also a theatre activist. I did theatre work in Lahore. I was also associated with IPTA.
You have always directed memorable films. You have made successful films like 'Haqiqat', 'Hindustan Ki Kasam', but the soul of both these films was the same, their theme was the same and is there any special reason for the repetition of this theme?

There is no specific reason for this. I made 'Haqiqat' on the war between India and China in 1962 and 'Hindustan Ki Kasam' on the performance of the Indian Air Force in 1971, but I had no intention of repeating any theme. And anyway, after 'Haqiqat', I made 'Aakhri Khat', which was completely different from Bohr's Picture. After that, I made a love story like 'Heer Ranjha'. Take my first Indian film 'Neecha Nagar', which was sent to the Kanjee Film Festival, or 'Andhiyan', which was appreciated at the Venus Film Festival, all were different from each other. 
Yes, in the war theme, I am attracted by the bravery of the youth. That is why I have made a serial 'Paramveer Chakra'. This serial of yours has become quite popular on the small screen. Please give us more information about it.

The series 'Haqiqat' and 'Hindustan Ki Kasam' are different from the films because the films were based on imaginary characters and the characters of this serial are real, that is, those who were mostly martyred in wars and those who received 'Paramveer Chakra' for their extraordinary performance in the military. These fifteen episodes are being aired on them. Each episode is 39 minutes. This serial is totally about national heroes. We had asked which film actors were going to become national heroes in it. 'Some of the actors working in this serial are Annu Kapoor, Farooq Sheikh, Puneet Issar, Pankaj Dheer, Naseeruddin Shah, and Gurdas Maan.

So did you not try to dramatize it at all?

That has to be done, if a documentary is made then the audience would not be interested in watching it. That is why I believe that the situation should be dramatized while staying as close to reality as possible.

How did you manage to keep the show realistic?

'I have tried my best to ensure that the serial is based on reality and truth. For example, there is an episode in the serial on Major Som Nath Sharma, which you have seen on TV, who was the elder brother of today's Army Chief General V.N. Sharma. It is an incident of 1947 when Pakistan raided Srinagar airport. There were 800 Pakistani raiders and Som Nath had only 97 people with him. They were being attacked from three sides. But Som Nath fought like a brave man and died at the end of the day. But he saved the airport. This entire episode was shot in the same village where all this had happened years ago. We found some bullets in the trenches, which may have been from the time when all this had happened. Both your brothers Dev and Vijay Anand were also in the acting field apart from filmmaking, but you worked in only a few films. One of them is 'Kala Bazaar'.

I made 'Kala Bazar' for Goldie. Yes, I did a few roles in films like 'Aman' but I did them due to some circumstances. Otherwise, acting has always been a joke for me. I never took any special interest in it. He said, what would you say about today's action and sex films?

'I would just say that today's films are a reflection of our society. Along with that, the taste of the audience has also changed; they are interested in such films. Give us a good audience and we will still make good films. The audience, society, and politicians are responsible for s*x and violence films that let things reach this level.

What do you have to say about intellectual cinema?

'To be frank, I never believed in this kind of cinema. After all, you don't make a film for a few people, you make it for the masses.

'Why should anyone watch intellectual cinema? When you want to show your creations to millions of people, you have to satisfy them. Which this kind of cinema can never do!

How did you have to work while making your serial 'Paramveer Chakra'?
'We had to work very hard on this because the Defense Ministry did not have any specific information about the National Heroes. For about a year, we formed a group and went to the friends, relatives, and acquaintances of these heroes, refreshed their memories to get information about them, and in this way, by gathering information, kept making their real-life stories, he said.

In this way, Chetan Ji is presenting the heroes of heroes in their true form in front of you.

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